MatPilot vs Zen Planner
Zen Planner is one of the longest-standing gym platforms in the US and does belt and skills tracking well. The differences are how the price is set, what the add-ons cost, and what happens to your books. Both columns are the vendors' own words, as of 14 September 2026.
Zen Planner is a good product used by a lot of good gyms. This page is for you if you are choosing between the two, and it says where Zen Planner is the better fit for you.
Left: Zen Planner Member App, member home, from its App Store listing. Right: MatPilot, member home.
Price, terms and what each knows about martial arts.
| As of 14 September 2026 | MatPilot | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | €79 a month on Pro, flat, unlimited members. Free plan at €0. | Published tiers of $99 (Studio), $198 (Essentials) and $348 (Ultimate) a month, set by active members. Their pricing page now routes base pricing through sales; marketing (Engage), a website and a branded app are separate modules. |
| What sets the price | Nothing. The same price at 40 members and at 400. | Active members: anyone with a membership or who attended in the past month. Add-ons raise it. |
| Contract | Monthly. Cancel in Settings and it ends at the end of the billing month. | Month-to-month, with an annual contract available on request. |
| Notice to cancel | None. | 30 days' notice from the date the cancellation form is received, per their published terms. |
| Setup or exit fee | None. No exit fee either; your data exports from the app. | No startup fee stated. Reviewers report a fee for a data export on closing; ask them before you sign. |
| Fee on payments | 0.49% of each payment on Pro, on top of Stripe's own; 2% on the Free plan. | Payment processing is included in the plan; the rate is not published on the pricing page. |
| Card processing | Stripe's own rate, paid to Stripe, into your own Stripe account. Card, SEPA direct debit, Bacs or ACH depending on your currency. | Set with Zen Planner's processing; not published. |
| Free plan or trial | A Free plan with no time limit, no card. Pro is a switch you flip later. | Demo first; no free plan. |
| Belt and rank tracking | Nineteen arts, each with its own ladder or none: the IBJJF adult and kids ladders, nine karate styles, WT and ITF taekwondo, judo kyu and dan, armbands for Muay Thai. A rank per art on every profile, every promotion dated. | Yes: belt ranks and skills tracked per student, the history of every belt earned, and a member app where students see their progress and shared curricula. |
| Family billing | One parent pays once for every child on one subscription split per plan; a guardian signs a minor's waiver from their own phone. | Yes: families linked under one account for billing, scheduling and communication. |
| Kiosk check-in | Self check-in from the app or a front-desk kiosk, a coach's roster, a TV mode with the round timer and the live roster. | Yes: mobile, self-service kiosk or staff check-in. |
| Waivers | Signed before the first class, from the join link, the kiosk or the app; a minor's by a guardian. | Yes, digital. |
| Accounting | Xero on Pro: each payment becomes an invoice and a payment against a clearing account, VAT per plan mapped to your tax rates. | Reports and exports; no accounting integration stated on the site. |
| Where the data lives | AWS in the EU (Stockholm); export and erasure from the app. | Not stated on the pricing page. |
Zen Planner's column is read from their pricing page and their martial arts page on 14 September 2026, quoted where it matters; "not stated" means we looked and did not find it. Prices and terms change: check theirs before you decide, and tell us if a cell is out of date. Zen Planner's logo belongs to Zen Planner and is shown to identify them.
Where each one fits better.
Zen Planner may fit better if you want
- A US school that wants software, website, marketing and a branded app from one vendor, and is happy to pay for each module.
- Skills tracking shared with students through the member app, curriculum by curriculum.
- A team already inside the Daxko family of products.
MatPilot may fit better if you want
- A price that does not rise when the roster does: one flat monthly fee and 0.49% on payments, against tiers plus modules.
- Books that keep themselves: every payment lands in Xero with its VAT rate.
- A family that pays once for every child, on one subscription split per plan.
- No notice period: cancel in Settings and the month ends it.
Six things you will not find in the usual gym software.
Seminars and courses, waiver firstOne link for a visiting black belt's seminar: register, sign the waiver, then pay, at the member price if you are one. A free seminar needs no Stripe account at all.Read how it works → 
A poster studioTwenty-four designs per size, filled from the seminar's own title, date, price and QR code. Drag, retype, swap the photo, export for Instagram, a story or A4.Read how it works → 
A co-pilot that actsAsk it to announce a closure, cancel a class, add a schedule or chase failed payments. It shows the action, you confirm, it runs.Read how it works → 
3,700 techniques in a libraryNineteen arts, every move named and linked to its neighbours. Your syllabus points at them, and each student's record fills in as classes are taught.Read how it works → 
An injury log with follow-upsTap the body map, say how bad. A serious injury schedules staff check-ins at one, three, seven and fourteen days, and billing can pause while they recover.Read how it works → 
Curriculum coverageWhat the syllabus says, what was actually taught, class by class and belt by belt, so a gap shows before a grading does.Read how it works →
Checked against Zen Planner's website and app listings on 14 September 2026. If they have one of these and we missed it, tell us and this page changes.
What the left column looks like.
Export your members from Zen Planner to a spreadsheet and import them in an afternoon. Members re-enter their card once through your join link, because a card stored with one processor cannot be moved to another; the waiver is signed in the same flow.
Nobody trains before the waiver is signed, whichever way they arrive.
Questions you might have about the two
Does MatPilot track belts and stripes like Zen Planner?
Yes, and per art: the IBJJF adult and kids ladders, nine karate styles, WT and ITF taekwondo, judo kyu and dan, with every promotion dated. Zen Planner tracks belts and skills too; the difference is that MatPilot ships the ladders as the federations write them, and a member holds a rank in each art they train.
Is there a notice period to leave MatPilot?
No. You cancel in Settings and the plan ends at the end of the billing month. Zen Planner's published terms ask for 30 days' notice from the date the form is received.
Can I move my members' cards across?
No platform can: a card stored with one processor stays there. Members re-enter it once through your join link, which also signs the waiver. If you are already on Stripe, MatPilot links your existing customers and subscriptions in place.
See it with your own roster.
No card required. Import your members from a spreadsheet in an afternoon.