--- title: "Gymdesk Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra" description: "Is Gymdesk the right Martial Arts solution for you? Explore 148 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice." source_url: "https://www.capterra.com/p/148663/Martial-Arts-on-Rails/reviews/" page_type: "reviews" language: "en" --- Gymdesk 4.8 (148) 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 August 26th, 2026 # Reviews of Gymdesk Ease of use 4.7 Customer Service 4.9 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews CP Cameron P Head Instructor - OwnerSports, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “Gymdesk fits all of our business needs for tracking memberships, hosting a website and communicating with clients - it is extremely user friendly and customer service is on point!“ October 11, 2024 SM Sean M Owner, Head InstructorHealth, Wellness and Fitness, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “Our only issue with website builder is that it downgrades our quality of photos and images don’t fit properly and are not scale able to fit.“ September 11, 2024 LB Logan B COONon-Profit Organization Management, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “I evaluated many other vendors and GymDesk was one of the only ones that didn't lock me into a proprietary payment processor/hardware, didn't require implementation fees or contracts, and was very transparent and affordable with pricing.“ May 9, 2025 AB Avigayil B DirectorSports, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “For example, there is no option to bulk upgrade student belt rankings or even filter by age or unsigned documents.“ October 16, 2025 KS Kimberly S Operations DirectorRecreational Facilities and Services, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “Managing our school calendar in the Gym Schedule section has worked well and integrated well into our external website.“ September 3, 2025 AR Alec R Owner, ManagerHealth, Wellness and Fitness, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “The Growth charts are a nice touch but the details are not adjustable and running custom reports is not really a function, despite being told you can filter lists...not enough.“ December 17, 2024 HL HANWEI L HEAD COACHHealth, Wellness and Fitness, Self-employedUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “They provide a pretty decent website along with the monthly subscription which is vital to small business owners like me as I didn't want to sink in website design and start up cost.“ July 12, 2024 AB Avigayil B DirectorSports, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “No staff app = no effective approach for tracking accurate attendance.“ October 16, 2025 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 148 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Alan M. Owner / Head Instructor Sports Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Why MaonRails is the best solution for a Martial Arts Studio" February 10, 2020 5.0 Excellent. As a martial arts studio owner you NEED a billing system, MAonRails is built specifically with martial arts studios in mind (Brazilian Jiu Jitsu is my discipline) which is important. It allows me more control over my accounts then other solutions as well. Pros I have actually used a number of products and competitors in the past, and I feel the customer service is top notch, ease of use and the right features are in place. (this was clearly built by a martial artist for martial artists Cons I haven't used the offered website as I already had my own. MaonRails has definitely grown since I first started using them and I am eager to see what new and useful features they plan on integrating. Review Source CM Chris M. Instructor Sports Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Best software" December 11, 2024 5.0 Changing from glofox to gym desk was the best decision ever for my gym i would recommend gymdesk to anyone Pros The program is simple and easy work with. Cons There is no cons about this software its amazing. Switched from [ABC Glofox](https://www.capterra.com/p/136861/Glofox/) They were way to expensive, system always crashed. Wasnt gym or client friendly Review Source RQ Ryan Q. owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Usable but I would recommend different gym software" April 29, 2023 2.0 Gymdesk runs and works in the many essential areas but there are many obvious flaws Pros Nice looking interface, easy to use dashboard. Very easy initial set up compared to a competitor service I was also using. Many things just work. Staff responds to problems quickly enough for what I imagine is a small company, but the company doesnt have the resources to continue development to deal with what I feel are obvious issues. Cons Very few customization options. No integrated parent/guardian option on sign up forms and waivers (has to be done custom), which for software catering to martial arts businesses is a little ridiculous. Cumbersome to set up document and membership options and difficult to individualize membership options outside of the template you've created (although you can discount or add signup fees, etc). Students uploading profile pictures from all webcams come out with wrong aspect ratio and make my business look unprofessional. Cannot disable capchas on signup forms (among other elements that cannot be customized). Essential membership documents are not required to be signed right away and add an extra step for staff that can easily be missed when I feel the software should be able to automate this task. Alternatives considered [WellnessLiving](https://www.capterra.com/p/145039/WellnessLiving/) Reason for choosing Gymdesk wellness living was difficult to get set up, particularly when it came to merchant processing Switched from [GymMaster](https://www.capterra.com/p/57469/GymMaster/)[Zen Planner](https://www.capterra.com/p/134351/Zen-Planner/)[Mindbody](https://www.capterra.com/p/40229/MINDBODY/) wanted to try new gym software Review Source Response from Gymdesk June 29, 2023 Hi Ryan, Sorry to hear you did not have a good experience with our product! We wanted to follow up and see if we could address some of your concerns - \* We do have integrated parent / guardian options, both a signature requirements for waivers, and as contacts \* You can require membership documents to be signed during sign up (it's an optional setting) If you could let us know what is missing for you with regards to customizing your memberships and sign-up forms, we'd love to take a look. Also, we'd be happy to take a look at any uploaded member photos that did not look right, though we are limited in what what we can do with the assets members upload themselves. Please reach out to us at support@gymdesk.com and let's chat! JL Jeff L. Owner and Operator Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Best Gym Owner App on the Market" November 11, 2024 5.0 It is an easy-to-use and modify application for any gym. Pros Gymdesk took me 2 days to fully set up for my new gym. As I grew and needed to change and adapt certain aspects, I could do it on the computer or from the app in a matter of minutes. When I had a question about merging clients, they were super responsive and gave easy instructions. Cons I like it all. I have not had any issues. Switched from [Mindbody](https://www.capterra.com/p/40229/MINDBODY/) Mindbody is not user friendly and is a bunch of patchwork that takes hours to change anything. Review Source AT Andrea T. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A Taylored Body" October 3, 2024 5.0 Pros User friendly and only what I need, nothing too complicated Cons Would be great to have a texting platform that can be used from a phone app on the business side. And a general business management app. Also- programming that you're able to write for each individual member rather than linking a program to a specific membership. Switched from [Mindbody](https://www.capterra.com/p/40229/MINDBODY/) Too expensive and complicated. They kept increasing the price every year because they added features i didn't need Review Source MD Matthew D. Co-owner and coach Sports Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Awesome software" September 17, 2024 5.0 Awesome software. Everyone finds it easy to use. No real complaints at all. Pros Easy to use, logical UI, helpful staff. It's very enjoyable, and leagues ahead of the others I tried. Cons Checking in history isn't saved.. I guess if you use the front desk app it might, but that's a whole load of overhead for us. Also seem to have 2 waivers being signed sometimes somehow, dunno how or why there are two 😄 Alternatives considered [Martialytics](https://www.capterra.com/p/136339/Martialytics/) Reason for choosing Gymdesk Martialytics has a horrible UI and poorer features. Review Source Response from Gymdesk November 6, 2024 Matthew, Thanks so much for taking the time to share your feedback. We're thrilled to hear that you've had a great experience. We also did want to offer support for the cons you referenced. If you see duplicate waivers, that’s usually because the document is assigned to both memberships and the sign-up form. You’ll want to remove the waivers from your memberships to prevent this. To remove the documents from memberships, click on the “Members” tab -> click “Memberships” -> click the pencil to edit the membership -> under the “Documents” section, uncheck the document. Do this for each membership. As far as the check-in history, we'd be happy to troubleshoot that for you, as it should be logged. Could you reach out to our support team (https://gymdesk.com/contact) with an example and we'll get that sorted for you? Thanks so much for your partnership! -The Gymdesk Team AH Alec H. Owner and head instructor Sports Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Fairly priced and full of features that we need" September 15, 2023 5.0 Very satisfied with the amount of features and customer support when I do run into issues Pros Managing capacities per class is crucial. I want to places can do auto billing but to be able to reserve the amount of spots per class and be able to see how many are taken incentivize users to book their class is ahead of time. One thing I would like to see them implement is allowing me too cut off the window. 15 minutes out. They allow intervals of hours or days, I would like to see them add minutes so that I can close the window. 15 minutes before class starts so that people can’t register or cancel in that timeframe. Cons Would like to be able to cancel sign in/cancellation 15 minutes out Reason for choosing Gymdesk Pricing and just had all the features that I was looking for Review Source JM Joey M. Coach Sports Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Gymdesk nailed it" February 8, 2024 5.0 Excellent. I would highly recommend any gym owner give gymdesk a shot. Even if it wasn't for you (and I'd be surprised if it wasn't), you lose nothing by trying. Pros Very easy to use Lots of built in features No upsell No sales team/sales pitches Excellent customer service. You email, they get back to you quickly. Simple as that. Tons of online content: youtube videos, articles, podcasts, etc. Cons It does not pair super well with Square. There are some limitations to how you can use the physical POS with it. I hear stripe is the better option in this case. Alternatives considered [Kicksite](https://www.capterra.com/p/131168/Kicksite/) Reason for choosing Gymdesk Excellent price Modern and easy to use Lots of features and extras with no upsell No awful sales team and sales pitches Switched from [Mindbody](https://www.capterra.com/p/40229/MINDBODY/) Mindbody was terrible and extremely expensive Zenplanner was OK but felt very dated and lacked modernity. Prices have gone up quite a bit too. Review Source LB Logan B. COO Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Great value and great service" May 9, 2025 5.0 I was able to get setup extremely quickly and make it work for our use case. I evaluated many other vendors and GymDesk was one of the only ones that didn't lock me into a proprietary payment processor/hardware, didn't require implementation fees or contracts, and was very transparent and affordable with pricing. Pros The onboarding and live support was fantastic. I was truly impressed with everyone I interacted with and the company's willingness to take my feedback. I also love the fact the there's no implementation fees or contracts. Cons The platform is a bit restrictive, would be great to have more flexibility in the configuration and customizations. Alternatives considered [SmartRec](https://www.capterra.com/p/198905/SmartRec/)[ROLLER](https://www.capterra.com/p/164715/ROLLER/) Reason for choosing Gymdesk Service, Price, Self-Service Kiosk support Review Source Response from Gymdesk May 12, 2025 Thanks so much for your partnership and sharing your experience Logan! We'll reach out on the configuration piece as it's possible we have some options to solve for what you're looking to do. We have plenty of configuration settings, so we'll see if we can help! Thanks! -The Gymdesk Team KR Kyle R. Owner and Head Coach Sports Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Gymdesk is my hero as a small business owner!" April 30, 2025 5.0 Can’t complain, highly recommend using the software for businesses Pros Attendance tracking and signing up new members at my bjj academy, all the students love using the app and checking in to class is seamless. Cons Need to be able to add videos to content just for members Review Source SC Stephen C. Martial Arts Instructor Sports Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Nothing but amazing!" October 9, 2020 5.0 Pros The beautiful UI and overall feel of the software got us hooked! This software is on par if not better than most big named software out there that we have tried at a fraction of the price! Although there are a ton of amazing features, nothing comes close to how the customer service makes you feel when you join. Customer service is hands down the best thing about this software. If we have an issue they personally emails us back almost instantly to get it resolved! They are there anytime of day to assist and make sure the software is running at its full potential. The best of all is that they listens to feedback and actually implements them! WHAT? I've asked my recent software many times for what I thought were simple requests, and have always gotten a "we will see what we can do" response. The software is constantly being updated and cared for! Martial Arts on Rails has been one of the greatest decisions we have ever made for our school/business. Don't be like us and wait to get started. Sign-up now and see for yourself how amazing this software is! Cons There is nothing to dislike. If we have an issue the customer service finds a way to fix it. No matter what. Alternatives considered [RhinoFit](https://www.capterra.com/p/166393/RhinoFit/)[WellnessLiving](https://www.capterra.com/p/145039/WellnessLiving/) Reason for choosing Gymdesk Pricing. Integrations to our current billing system. Beautiful UI and customization. Switched from [Zen Planner](https://www.capterra.com/p/134351/Zen-Planner/) Kept feeling like the price was going up while more and more restrictions were being added. We would contact customer support just for them to transfer me to another person who would then transfer us to another person, that would make us wait for an email that never arrived. Also It felt/looked like their software was stuck in the early 2000. Complete opposite of Maonrails! Review Source BA Bobby A. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Warrior Axe CrossFit" August 17, 2024 5.0 Absolutely love the experience. Customer service has been very attentive and responsive Pros Very easy to use. I love the web design function. Cons A lot to learn. As I have played around I have gotten more effcient Switched from [GymMaster](https://www.capterra.com/p/57469/GymMaster/) price and what was included with the subscription Review Source LB Luke B. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Fantastic Software" October 20, 2021 5.0 Fantastic so far Pros The ease of use is what I like most. Everything is easy to use, even our members have mentioned how much easier it is for them to use. Cons Would be great if you had an App version for members also. Also an Event section, i.e putting on an internal comp or grading and our members could register for the event through this program. Reason for choosing Gymdesk Better overall package, and \[SENSITIVE CONTENT\] answered every question within hours. Switched from [Kicksite](https://www.capterra.com/p/131168/Kicksite/) Kicksite was decent but there customer service was poor. And the software was Clunky at times. Review Source CP Cameron P. Head Instructor - Owner Sports Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Gymdesk is a must have for serious business owners!" October 11, 2024 5.0 Satisfying! The company has put a lot of effort into creating this and working with business owners. Pros Gymdesk fits all of our business needs for tracking memberships, hosting a website and communicating with clients - it is extremely user friendly and customer service is on point! Cons There are no significant cons. I understand it's a product that is undergoing constant adjustments in conjunction with user feedback. Review Source AdWK Andre de Wit K. Sifu Professional Training & Coaching Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A must have for gyms and studios training students." July 17, 2022 5.0 Overall this really help boost your dreams. Getting this software management application is a must have, even when starting up! Pros Effortless and easy for management of your school as a manager. Easy process for your students to sign up . Cons I would like to have an application (App) on my mobile via Google Play, or AppStore. No complaints. Switched from [Zoom Workplace](https://www.capterra.com/p/144037/Zoom-Video-Conferencing/)[Heja](https://www.capterra.com/p/232129/Heja/) Was recommended by a user. Review Source TH Trish H. Head Coach Sports Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Awesome and Easy to Use Software at a Solid Price Range" June 17, 2021 5.0 Very positive experience overall. Customer service is amazing and I have no plans on changing software. Pros I really enjoy how easy it is to set up memberships, schedules, personal training and other sales using Martial Arts on Rails. Loads of flexibility for payments and how you choose tot run your business. We're a small, not for profit boxing gym so flexibility was absolute key. Cons I would like if there were a way to track athletes progress more a long with coaching plans so I could keep everything in one place more efficiently. Also, I know its not in the cards and it's not a huge deal- but would be amazing if there were an app. Reason for choosing Gymdesk Ease of use and price point. Review Source MG Maurice G. Owner Sports Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Great martial arts management software" November 17, 2021 5.0 Pros Great membership management, auto billing which is important, attendance tracking, sales & marketing Are great. The only email and text function is a game changer too! You have to pay a little extra but it’s a huge life saver to send messages out quickly to all members or to certain members. Cons I’d like to see this software give the member the ability to track their progress according to the program, ranks and promotion requirements. For example, when I set certain skills for a particular rank, the student cannot see what those skills are on their one member portal. They can see what rank they are, but not the skills associated with the rank. Review Source Response from Gymdesk November 22, 2021 Hi Maurice, thanks for the positive review and continued support! We do have the option to show promotion criteria for the current to members, if you reach out we'd be happy to show you how to do that. HL HANWEI L. HEAD COACH Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great ongoing support" July 12, 2024 5.0 Great, highly recommended. I've used it for over a year and plan to continue on it as my gym grows and expands. Pros The support is great. I usually will receive email replies within the day if not within 1-2 hours if enquiry is sent in their timezone. This is extremely important sometimes as members may be waiting to make payment or book classes etc. Also it is web based so I can pretty much do everything with my smartphone browser. They provide a pretty decent website along with the monthly subscription which is vital to small business owners like me as I didn't want to sink in website design and start up cost. Cons There are some functions which cannot be personalised or changed but can find ways to work around it. For eg, credits are deducted upon booking and not attendance. Just have to adjust our policies around it. Review Source ginda R. TEACHER MANAGER Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "RECOMENDED APPLICATION FOR YOUR GYMS" July 31, 2024 5.0 Pros this is easy application to use because it can help me to manage the teacher's schedule of workout!! Cons there are no problems inside the application and i use it well Review Source YM Yan M. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Almost satisfied" August 13, 2022 5.0 I'm enjoying the experience. The software is making our business routine easier. Pros Attendance tracking: - Pros: you track everyone on the class that they belongs Punch Card: - Pros: We found a way to create a membership as "Punch Card" and it's working the remaining class pretty well. Check In Report: -We can see every student that checked in and their dates. Cons Attendance tracking: - Cons: Some teenagers are attending adults class and there's no way to track their attendance on adults class counting attendance for new stripe or promotion on their belts. Punch Card: - Cons: We can't take the expiration date for future charges. We have to select a date for the next payment even if the remaining classes are not done. Reason for choosing Gymdesk Due the attendance tracking that in the past was made by spreadsheet. Now we're trying with the recurring payments. Review Source Response from Gymdesk August 17, 2022 Thanks for the positive review of our product, Yan! We're glad to hear you found it useful for your business. There is an option to have a session apply towards promotion in multiple programs by setting it to "All Programs" - if you need more help with setting that up, please reach out to our support and we'll be happy to assist you! LM Latasha M. GYM OWNER Recreational Facilities and Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "A Must have for Gym Owners" October 1, 2023 5.0 Gymdesk is a lifesaver. I am able to organize all of my work flow in one system. I love the membership renewal, the personalized website, the group text message marketing, the online store for selling our products, and so much more!! It’s definitely a must have for all gym owners. There are so any features to use. I love Gymdesk and will never change. They are truly the best!! Pros I absolutely love Gymdesk memberships management. Cons I really cannot find anything that I least like at this moment. Review Source Cindy G. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Client management software for martial arts " October 26, 2019 5.0 We needed client management software for our martial arts gym; I switched to MA on Rails based on the recommendation of another gym owner. The author has been incredibly responsive about small changes we needed. Overall, it does what we need well and with a simple, clean interface. Pros It is simple to use and handles all our needs (managing clients, gym shop sales, attendance, scheduling). It's very flexible about types of membership options, from drop-ins to monthly. I like that the clients can access their own account. It has good tracking for attendance, bill paying, lets us freeze clients when needed. It also has a basic web-site. Cons The attendance check-in is a bit confusing when you have multiple classes running. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Generalist animator Animation Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "GymPreview" September 19, 2022 5.0 A great app with all the right features, very helpful and easy to setup, customer service is top notch. Pros Has a appealing user interface,with many customizable options Cons Not many negatives I have towards this platform but wish it had an app in the playstore and the gym sheduling can be a little confusing. Review Source DN Douglas N. Instructor Professional Training & Coaching Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Instructor" October 11, 2021 5.0 Pros Having used a couple products prior, this one works best for our schools, because of the size, the affordability and features. We use to have to carry hard copies of paperwork/release now we can pull it at any location, even at tournaments sites if needed. Cons The inability to just read or replay to messages seems to be a bit problematic as I get email notifiations, but, if I don't read the email or on the message screen, those messages may go unanswered for some time. Review Source AC Angelo C. Owner Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Nice GOS. " August 19, 2024 4.0 Overall, we use it, it works well.We wish it would hook up to our website and to our scheduling system.A lot better. Pros It's fairly easy to use, and it has a lot of good information. Cons It does not interact very well with websites and facebook and instagram interlinking. Review Source ## Send me user reviews about this product ### Fill out the form and we'll send a list of the top-rated software based on real user reviews directly to your inbox. Talk to a Capterra advisor for free and get results within 15 minutes.