# Page 2 | Zen Planner Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 2 - Is Zen Planner the right Membership Management solution for you? Explore 268 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/134351/Zen-Planner/reviews --- Zen Planner 4.3 (268) [View alternatives](https://www.capterra.com/p/134351/Zen-Planner/alternatives/) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Page 2 - Reviews of Zen Planner ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 26-50 of 268 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use SJ Sean J. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Extremely good value!" November 3, 2025 5.0 Very happy and have recommended them to others. The options they have to help run your gym are fantastic! Pros The UX is very easy to navigate and the customer service is very responsive and fast! The analytics are so good! Cons Can be hard to edit things but the customer service team is really good at helping. Wish it refreshed automatically but thats a personal preference. Review Source Response from Daxko November 18, 2025 Hello Sean! Thank you for the wonderful review! We're so glad our service is working well for you, and we'll pass your compliments along to our customer service team :) We really appreciate your feedback about editing and auto-refresh—this helps us prioritize improvements. Thank you for recommending us to others. Please reach out anytime if you need assistance! JT John T. Front Desk Associate Sports Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Easy to Navigate Interface but has occasional major crashing. No useful Tech Support" December 18, 2024 3.0 From an employee's perspective, it seems to do what is needed with minimal issues. When issues do arise, you are basically on your own to troubleshoot or just have to wait until whatever network malfunctions subside. Pros Zen Planner's interface was very easy to navigate. The network had minimal lag when it was functioning properly. Cons Sometimes the website would crash during critical processes such as signing up new members. I tried to contact support when the system was completely malfunctioning, and they were completely unhelpful and rushing to get me off the phone. Review Source RH Robert H. President, Senior Instructor, Board member Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Zen Planner Review" November 18, 2024 4.0 We've used it for almost ten years now and it has been very helpful for tracking membership data. It's not very intuitive and training new volunteers how to use it takes a while, but its working for what we need it to do. Pros We can document the important most data from our membership. Cons It is not very flexible and report writing is very clumsy. There is a very bad bug with testing records that overwrites previous data with blanks if you not careful. This has lead to numerous problems and repeat data entry. Review Source VG Vincent G. Operations Manager Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "ZenPlanner Review" November 18, 2024 3.0 Not the best. I have looked into other apps and am reviewing a change with the \[sensitive content hidden\]. Pros Downloadable info into spreadsheets. Being able to customize search queries. Cons App freezes and is inconsistent on a lot of features. Sometimes it works well, others it does not. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Front Desk Supervisor Sports Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Not bad, but not the greatest!" November 14, 2024 3.0 Overall, Zen Planner is not my favorite CRM, but it did was it was supposed to do well enough that I was able to do my job. All the bells and whistles are nice and do overall improve your product, but being able to work consistently without major errors is very promising! I am leaving the fitness industry so I doubt I will utilize Zen Planner ever again, but I hope they consider their customers feedback and make a good product! Pros Relatively easy to learn basics, and was relatively snappy. Cons Notes would not save, reporting system is very rudimentary, and not very straightforward with settings being scattered across multiple pages. Tasks are very bare bones and not very customizable, found that tracking them and keeping up with them became overwhelming due to the lack of separation between dates. Review Source GT Gretel T. Social Media Manager Facilities Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great for Organization and Management" November 20, 2024 5.0 Overall, Zen Planner was helpful for managing memberships and keeping things organized. It had great tools, but some features, like the mobile app timing out, could be improved to make the experience smoother. Pros I loved how easy Zen Planner made it to manage memberships and track attendance. It saved us so much time and kept everything organized. Cons I didn’t like that the mobile app would close after just a few minutes of not using it. Review Source ST Savannah T. Program Administrator Sports Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Good program" September 18, 2024 5.0 pretty good app. Gets the job done. Would recommend Pros Easy process to enter members. Gets the job done. Check in process is very easy Cons trouble shooting. When there are bugs in the system and merging Review Source Response from Daxko November 13, 2024 Thank you so much for your 5-star review! We’re thrilled to hear that you find Zen Planner easy to use for managing members and check-ins. It’s great to know it’s working well for your needs. We also appreciate the feedback about troubleshooting and merging. Ensuring a smooth experience is a priority, and we’re continually working to improve these areas. If you ever need help with specific issues, please don’t hesitate to reach out—our support team is here for you! Thanks again for recommending us, and for sharing your experience! ST Stelios T. Fitness Training Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: I used a free trial ### "Good planning software " May 7, 2025 5.0 Pros Good planning software. Helps keep everything organized well. Cons None Review Source Response from Daxko May 21, 2025 Thank you for the review Stelios! We look forward to working with you! JR Jen R. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Zen Planner is the best gym software I have found." August 22, 2024 5.0 We have had it for over 5 years now and have always been well supported. Pros Easy to use and questions are answered quickly and follow up is appreciated. Cons I struggle with retail, combining retail with other charges. Review Source DC Damien C. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "A must for managing martial arts studios" July 23, 2024 5.0 10/10 would recommend. We have had a great experience and enjoy using the software. Pros We have been supported the entire way with their superior customer service. Everything from set up to troubleshooting tech issues, the staff at Zen Planner have been there to support and guide us in our day to day operations. Cons We had an issue with a tablet that wasn't able to be resolved. However we found a work around and now have no problems whatsoever! Alternatives considered [Kicksite](https://www.capterra.com/p/131168/Kicksite/) Reason for choosing Zen Planner Another gym we know uses Kicksite and they had many issues during implementation. Review Source RL Renee L. HR Associate Computer & Network Security Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great app and easy to use" September 6, 2024 5.0 Overall it's been one of the best scheduling apps I've used. Easy to use, and I would definitely recommend it Pros Zen planner is easy to use, and has an intuitive interface Cons The design of Zen Planner is pretty straightforward, I can't think of any cons Review Source Response from Daxko November 13, 2024 Thank you for the kind words! We're so glad to hear Zen Planner has made scheduling easier for you and that the design feels intuitive. Your recommendation means a lot—thanks for sharing your experience! CL Christopher L. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great customer service, full of options, bit of a learning curve." August 3, 2024 5.0 Positive, when I have reached out for help, they are quick to respond with thorough answers. Pros It holds a lot of features that can make day to day and planning far less hassle. Cons There can be a steep learning curve for many of the features and options. Sometimes the options can be confusing and there is almost too much to just get up and running. Review Source RR Richard R. President Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Good software; Horrible back office customer service!" April 24, 2024 3.0 ZP's back office customer service is horrible. In fact, "customer service is a misnomer; it is actually customer disservice. ZP's tech support is, from time to time, difficult to access by phone, but the tech support staff is excellent. Additionally, the software is highly evolved, fairly intuitive and reliable. Pros Zen Planner has nearly all features we require to run our school of traditional Japanese karate, including payment processing, rank tracking, online store, class and event management. Cons We started with ZP in late 2023 and had fully migrated by March 2024. In December 2023, we decided to change banks and asked ZP and its payment processor, Gains, to do so. For four months, we've been waiting for them to resolve this issue, but they don't answer our emails and refuse to telephone us to make this simple back-office change. We are mystified and disappointed. So, we've let them know we'll leave ZP if they don't resolve this matter by May 1, 2024. Reason for choosing Zen Planner We had used ZP before the pandemic. We left because ZP because it did not have the capacity to stream live online classes or recorded content. Switched from [WellnessLiving](https://www.capterra.com/p/145039/WellnessLiving/) Wellness Living is expensive; it's Tech Support is very difficult to reach by phone (long waits on hold is the norm); it made no enhancements to its features for traditional martial arts schools during more than 2 years we were clients. Review Source JB Jill B. Exec Director Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Not quite live - but almost!" October 19, 2022 4.0 Your onboarding process has been very good. \[SENSITIVE CONTENT\] is AMAZING!!!! I just can't say enough good things about her. The cost of credit cards and fees keeps me up at night. We are a non-profit center and the fees are high. I would love for everyone to just use cash or check - but that's impossible. Pros Reporting. It's easy. The front page overview of each member. I can quickly see the data I need. Love the alerts, notes and tasks. Very useful. Love the ability to email a template to a set of members with a click of the button. The configuration of the software is good. The help files are pretty good. I have found a few broken links - and some explanations seem to be a bit outdated. Love the dashboard. Love the ability to click in and get the relevant supporting data. Cons I wish "students" was changed to "members". It confused the hec out of our staff (who are 98% volunteers). I would like to see the support tickets be answered with the original support request data. There is no place for me to see what ticket number was written for - so if the email thread contained the original text - it would be easier. The new "Z" in the bottom right hand corner is always in my way. I have to make an effort to not touch it. When you have a LOT of members (>350) it's a pain to always click people or students - and do show all. I'm panicked about using keytags for this many members- but we need to track all usage of our fitness center and classes. Reason for choosing Zen Planner It looked like it had the features we needed. Initial conversations were good. I felt as though we would get good support. Review Source KH Kris H. President Sports Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Very poor software with appalling customer service" April 14, 2017 1.0 We are a martial arts school who used the software for 3 years, on the basis that while the software didn't do everything we were looking for they were putting in product feature requests to make improvements, and to fix the many bugs in the software. After 3 years they finally came back with: "I do not have a timeline for release on features that you have suggested. Any changes or additions we make to Zen Planner need to be commonly requested, and fit into the Product Team's vision for our software. As a result, some features you have requested may never be implemented." However I have seen many other martial arts schools request similar changes. So after initially promising everything to get you signed up, they then back track if you keep following up with them trying to get a straight answer. Continuing to try and hold them to account results in: "Zen Planner is not for everyone, and it's important that you find a system that works for you. This message is providing you with notice that your Zen Planner account will be closed" and I have also heard from several other users that this has happened to them as well. So they misrepresent their software, then promise to get it working, take your money - and you invest a significant amount of time setting it up, and then more time every week doing manual workarounds waiting for a fix they never intended to make. Then they just cancel your membership without giving you enough time to transition everything, particularly changing over your billing for members. Some of the issues are: parents signing up their kids for martial arts classes is very difficult and confusing for members. They can't use the same email for their children - who can be too young to even have their own email - and then automated emails don't send as there is no email for the member. When they try it often results in an error and they try signing up multiple times, bloating the database with duplicate registrations and memberships, which are tedious and difficult to combine, that cause errors while completing. I ended up doing more admin to fix this than signing them up manually. Then booking classes for kids is so difficult I ended up doing it manually for parents. Also a main feature they promote is be belt progress skill tracking - this is designed for entering a single workout for a cross fit box, and so trying to enter results and comments for a grading against all the skills is totally unusable. Pros For existing members, once you have gone through the lengthy set up process, it processes payments automatically for you, but making changes is very difficult. It is easier to just use the payment gateway provider directly and use a manual system to track it. They did have financial reporting - but I found them to be more trouble than they were worth, but I am a Chartered Accountant and might just have standards that are above minimalistic offering available on Zen Planner. Cons It is extreemley difficult for parents to book classes for their kids, especially for more than one child, for more than one day - as the calendar defaults to the parent -with no classes as they don't have a membership. They need to change to the first child then click on one class then reserve a place, then go back to the start for the next class & child. Also for automations to work the child needs an email entered, and you can't use the same email as the parent, or link them to the parent. Apparently this change is too difficult as many members asked, but they won't fix it. When the automations don't work, parents think there is an error and start another registration, which creates many duplicate records in the database. Manually combining them, updating profiles, and manually sending the "automated" emails takes more time than just doing it manually. The skill tracking system is also very badly designed, it is almost unusable, and takes a huge amount of time to enter if you want to record results against all the skills a martial arts student needs to know in a single session, such as a grading or pre-grading. Members can't even see what skills they need to pass if no results are previously entered, or a summary of their skills. Review Source RA Ross A. owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Zen planner does an ok job " July 22, 2021 2.0 Would not waste my time with this software, they don't deliver on their promises, invent fees to access your data, don't follow through with their support. It took me 3 months to get them to finish my cancelation as they kept sending emails to students saying they owed because their payments failed AFTER I switched to another system. Very unprofessional and rude. Pros It was quite a bit less per month then any of the other software I checked into at the time. It did an ok job for doing parents nights out. Cons On the surface it looks like it will do a good job but in reality it is buggy, poorly implemented and just didn't deliver on the promises it was supposed to. Alternatives considered [RainMaker](https://www.capterra.com/p/130861/RainMaker/)[Mindbody](https://www.capterra.com/p/40229/MINDBODY/) Reason for choosing Zen Planner Zen looked like it would do everything that Rainmaker did for less than half the price, 2 years and lots of frustration latter I switched to Spark, Review Source LM Liz M. CEO Sports Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Used it for three years - feature rich but hard to use" December 2, 2020 3.0 We switched from Mindbody to Zenplanner and used it for three years. Zenplanner is chock full of features (other than membership discounts, as mentioned above), but it's so full of features that it becomes clunky and hard to use. I could do just about anything from my admin account, but my fellow coaches who spent less time in it had a harder time working with it. Customers also struggled a lot. We have now switched to Upper Hand, and while it has fewer features and the reports aren't as good, our customers are actually booking their own classes instead of making me do it. Pros I was the primary account administrator, and I could fix just about anything retroactively. Once you really know your way around, it's got almost everything you could think to want. There are a lot of customization options for emails you can send your customers, and it was easy to check which emails an individual had opened. The reports were great. Best reporting I've seen, and it's pretty much the only thing I'll miss. Support was good - very responsive, with multiple ways to contact them. I also appreciated the discounts they gave businesses at the start of the COVID shutdowns. Cons The software was very difficult for customers to use, so much that about half of our parents (and a couple of our coaches) just wanted me to do everything for them. Doing so on my end was time-consuming. Zenplanner offers some options to integrate with our existing website, but it didn't work in every circumstance. What customers could do from our primary domain was pretty limited, and it wasn't easy to switch back and forth between our site and the ZP site. Zenplanner does not offer automatically-applied membership discounts, so we had to have customers use offer codes. Membership discounts (such as on retail or private lessons) are pretty standard in fitness businesses and not having that option was a major pain. There was no way to easily see which coaches had availability at which times. Switched from [Mindbody](https://www.capterra.com/p/40229/MINDBODY/) Mindbody raised rates while reducing features. Mindbody was even harder for our customers to use. Review Source BG Beth G. Director Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Good Overall Studio Management Software " July 10, 2019 4.0 The migration process was rocky. About 30% of the database has inaccuracies. They need to improve and automate this process. Tech support is excellent. Customer support was slow to resolve a billing issue I had. They refused to speak to me on the phone and did not return emails. But everything finally got straightened out with persistence on my part, and an effort to make up for the issue on their part. Overall, customer support is generally very good. The software works well, is not buggy. Overall, I really like the software except for the way purchasing works. Pros Reporting is excellent, the best I've seen. I like the fact you can create your own reports. After learning how to use the system we have been able to create any reports we need. That is definitely not the case for Mindbody or Wellness Living. The Kiosk application is nice to have and our clients like it, but needs some improvement. The Front Desk and Kiosk Applications are easy to learn which is helpful as we have 10 teachers at the center. Cons The POS system does not work like all other online systems (choose what you want, put in user info, payment info then press complete or check out and credit card is charged), and works differently in their different interfaces. The Front Desk software does not allow for discounts (that is being addresses in a future release). The Dashboard processes the sale, then you have to process the payment separately in a different step. In the beginning we lost sales because our staff was confused. Many of my teachers are still unsure whether a sale goes through or not. When the Front Desk application can accept accept discounts and credit card swipes it will greatly improve the POS process. The client kiosk does not include a form for entering info for new clients and signing a waiver. For some strange reason that is on the staff side of the application. We keep it on the staff application but it means after a client signs the waiver they could get to a screen that offers a free class, which we do not actually offer. I have a hard time understanding why that is baked into their software, it is not considered a best practice. We have found work arounds for these issues but would like to see an updated and more robust kiosk application. The automated emails are very good and it integrates with Mail Chimp. You can also implement a retention process with tasks assigned to different people. Reason for choosing Zen Planner Overall Zen Planner had all the functionality we were looking for. Also, another TriYoga studio in PA was using it and recommended it. Review Source Response from Daxko July 24, 2019 Thanks for the feedback, Beth! hM heather M. Studio Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Would not reccomend" January 4, 2022 2.0 I regret switching to Zenplanner from Mindbody. Constant bugs in the app and website. Disruptive to employees and clients Pros I can't think of anything I liked about it at this point. Cons The app for customers and employees was awful. Switched from [Mindbody](https://www.capterra.com/p/40229/MINDBODY/) Mindbody Was expensive Review Source KR Kim R. Owner & Instructor Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "You can't beat their support team!" September 18, 2019 5.0 I am love the people at ZP. There isn't one person I've come in contact with that hasn't been helpful, positive, encouraging, understanding and cheerful. I went to their office because I was starting a new program and wanted help with the set up of the program and the membership. They set me up with one person to be my helper that day. Now what company will do that? I can tell you that no other software company I've used would've offered me that. Also, love the Zen Academy. I learned about so many more things the software could do for me that I wasn't either using or doing in a google spreadsheet . So now ZP is helping me save more precious time and I'm learning more about my business in the process. Thank you reports and automations! Pros Honestly, their customer support! However, I don't have to call often as the on boarding team set me up wonderfully to begin with. But the support articles answer almost all my questions so I don't have to call. I am a small studio and don't have a front desk staff but ZP does it all for me (well, allows my clients to do it all for me). It is super easy to use on all fronts. Cons I have't run into anything that I don't like. I use ZP on my laptop in a web browser and I've found it confusing to try the staff app on my phone or tablet. This old dog struggles with learning new tricks :) So we can't blame ZP for that. Reason for choosing Zen Planner When I switched...ease of use and price. But now I'd say for their support and how they help keep me up on trends via their blogs, social media posts and Zen Academy. I'm even switching my website over to ZP! Switched from [Mindbody](https://www.capterra.com/p/40229/MINDBODY/) Price; they are local, I'm in CO, and their customer support. Review Source Response from Daxko September 19, 2019 Thanks for your feedback, Kim! TK Teagan K. Assistant Opperational Manager Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Finally Found the Right System" October 8, 2019 5.0 This software has made this much more simple and allowed us to enhance our customers experience in our facility! Pros \-Set up was detailed step by step process and had video reviews that our staff could go back to -Customer service is the best that we have seen -Hotline always has a person you can talk to (have answered every question we have had and has taught us how to solve the problem should it ever come up again) - Hotline is available 7am-7pm -Email (you can send a detailed email and have it answered within one business day) - Our on-boarding assistant fallowed up with us after a month to make sure everything was running - Has easy quick reporting - Great schedule (imbeds into website so you do not have to leave company page) -Great point of sale (imbeds into website so you do not have to leave company page) - Mobil app is simple for customers and makes scheduling simple Cons online mobil site cannot work with out cookies which most smart phones automatically disable so we needed to send out an email with instructions on how to enable them Alternatives considered [GymMaster](https://www.capterra.com/p/57469/GymMaster/)[EZFacility](https://www.capterra.com/p/54308/EZFacility-Club-Management/) Reason for choosing Zen Planner Zen planner had everything that we need and everything that we were ready to sacrifice thinking that no software system would have. Review Source Response from Daxko October 14, 2019 Thank you for the review, Teagan! We're glad you've found the right system for your business! IL Itzak L. CEO/Owner Sports Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Perfect for managing a martial arts studio" May 24, 2021 5.0 I was really impressed on how well they understand how martial art schools work. The software takes into account everything you need to keep your school running - from scheduling out classes students reserve for, to taking payments and setting up merchant accounts, to desk check-in software, to students having their own portal to track their membership and status. Customer support was very helpful during the onboarding. Pros You can tell this software was designed for martial artists. One of my favorite things you can do is designate belt rankings to students, and design your system in a way that when a student is ready to test for the next belt, whether its the amount of time they've been training with the studio, to achieving certain skills required, Zen Planner notifies you and helps you plan belt testing. I loved that they recognize how important it is for martial art schools to know where students rank. I was able to plan out all my belts, what skills are required and minimum of time with the school they need to have to test. Most gym software don't recognize all the small nuances that martial art schools need to track where their students stand. Cons The apps for desk login can be a little buggie sometimes and require an update or reset the iPad to get the software to work. Alternatives considered [Mindbody](https://www.capterra.com/p/40229/MINDBODY/) Reason for choosing Zen Planner Zen Planner was designed for martial arts schools, not your typical gym. There are a lot of things we need to track that most gyms don't need to track, whether its belt rankings, to skills, to testing. Their pricing was also much more fair than other software like Mindbody. Review Source Response from Daxko May 26, 2021 Thank you so much for your review. We are proud to empower and serve martial arts communities around the globe. MB Michael B. Owner Sports Used the software for: 2+ years ### "My review 10-10-22" October 10, 2022 5.0 I think ZP does a great job with support. That to me is super important! Pros Billing and scheduling is made easy through ZP which is my only function right now. Cons This is not a email system that is all encompassing so it makes it hard to set up a nurture program. Having it integrated with Mailchimp in a cleaner way would be great. It's not easy to manage. Switched from [Rainmaker Platform](https://www.capterra.com/p/198198/Rainmaker-Platform/) ZP is better. Review Source LL Logan L. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Customer service is THE best" July 27, 2021 4.0 Once you learn how to use the system, it's easy to charge people and view membership history. There are so many financial tools available and that side can get a little confusing (like narrowing down your quarterly taxes is a bit of a hassle). I have yet to find a product with better customer support. They always answer promptly and always have a solution. Pros This software makes it easy to track membership history, but the BEST thing about Zen Planner is their customer service. They're friendly, they answer fast and they ALWAYS know how to fix an issue. Cons Zen Planner is quite an advanced system, so it is easy to get lost. Luckily, the customer service is always there to save you (except for holidays and off-hours of course). The app sometimes crashes. It could use an update. Review Source Response from Daxko July 28, 2021 Thanks so much for leaving your review, Logan! We appreciate the feedback and having you in the Zen Planner community. RR Rodrigo R. Owner Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Very disappointing " April 26, 2018 1.0 Pros Have been with Zen Planner since 2015, it is very user friendly. Costumer service was not bad up until something started to go wrong. Cons Unfortunately they have some flaws that for some reason sometimes they multiple charge my students or don't charge at all. It will happen once in a while and when that happen, their customer service become very slow and dismissive, they will send you to the processor and the processor will send you back to them. For instance, now, I have been asking to talk to a supervisor for days and they simply don't call and when I call to reach someone no one is ever available. It is very unfortunate because as I said the system is very user friendly, but they are not trust worth. Following up: Zen Planner gave me notice of cancellation after I refused to remove this review. Based on the problems I have had with them, I already had in mind and was searching for a more reliable system. Unfortunately I was forced to do it rushed, I have been trusting all my billing transactions and contacts to Zen Planner, and this transfer process does take a long time. one of the supervisors dealt with this situation very unprofessionally, focusing on make me remove my review rather then fix the real issue, treatned a few times and finally just gave me notice. I have never seen this before... I can't stress enough that you can't trust such important information for your business in such hands. Review Source Similar Products Featured