Comparison · Gymdesk alternative

The honest Gymdesk alternativefor independent studios

Gymdesk is genuinely good software — transparent pricing, every feature on every plan, and the best rank-and-belt tracking in the business. For US martial-arts gyms it's hard to beat. But it starts at $75/month, and the stack is built around US payments. For European studios, Class Booking is the EU-native alternative.

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Studios switching from Gymdesk typically save €40+/month for small studios
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Why studios switch

The most common reasons studios leave Gymdesk

Priced for US gyms, not small EU studios

Gymdesk starts at $75/month for up to 50 members. A small European studio pays several times Class Booking's entry price for the same core booking and membership features.

US-centric payment rates

Gymdesk Payments is reported at 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction. Class Booking runs on your own Stripe account, where European card fees typically sit closer to 1.4% — roughly half the cost per booking.

EU data residency

Gymdesk is US-based. Class Booking hosts all data in Denmark — one less international-transfer question in your GDPR paperwork.

English-first UI

Class Booking's member and admin UI is available in English, Danish, German, Swedish, Norwegian and Spanish. If your members book in their own language, that matters daily.

Add-ons for app and locations

A branded mobile app ($100/month) and extra locations ($50/month each) are publicly reported add-ons. Class Booking includes a branded web app on every plan and multi-location on Studio.

Side by side

Class Booking vs Gymdesk

No spin. Both columns reflect public pricing and published features at the time of writing.

Class BookingGymdesk
Starting price€10 / £8 / $13/month$75/month (up to 50 members)
Price at ~200 members€50 / £40 / $60/month$150/month
All features on every planTiered plansYes — no feature gating
Free trial14 days30 days
Annual contractNo — monthly rollingNo — monthly rolling
Card processing (EU)Stripe rates (~1.4% in EU)2.9% + $0.30 (Gymdesk Payments, reported)
EU GDPR-compliant hostingYes — DenmarkNo (US-based)
Multi-language UIEN, DA, DE, SV, NB, ESEnglish-first
Belt & rank trackingAttendance & levelsExcellent — martial-arts native
Branded member appBranded web app included$100/month add-on (reported)
Extra locationsStudio plan$50/month each (reported)
Data migrationDone for youSelf-serve imports

Honest take

When Gymdesk is still the right choice

We're not the right fit for everyone. Here's when you should stay with Gymdesk.

  • You run a US martial-arts school — belt ranks, testing cycles and curriculum tracking are Gymdesk's home turf, and it does them better than we do. Full stop.
  • You have 100+ members, at which point Gymdesk's all-features-included flat tiers become genuinely good value.
  • You want the 30-day trial and Gymdesk's consistently well-reviewed support experience.
  • You're US-based and Gymdesk Payments' domestic rates are competitive for your card mix.
Migration, done for you

Switching from Gymdesk? We do all the work.

Tell us when you want to switch. We export your members, classes, schedules and active subscriptions from Gymdesk, import them to Class Booking, sit on a video call with you to verify everything looks right, and switch your domain over the weekend. Your customers don't notice.

  • All members & contact info
  • Active subscriptions (no re-auth needed)
  • Class-pass balances preserved 1:1
  • Historical bookings & attendance
  • Personal handover by a real human
How migration works

Typical migration timeline

  1. Day 1Discovery call — we understand your setup and timing.
  2. Day 2–3We export your data from Gymdesk and import to Class Booking.
  3. Day 4Walkthrough call — we verify everything looks right with you.
  4. Day 5–7You configure final touches (branding, custom pages).
  5. WeekendDomain cuts over. Your customers wake up Monday on Class Booking.

Switching from Gymdesk — FAQ

Honest answer: not at Gymdesk's level. We track attendance, levels and member notes, which covers grading decisions for many schools — but Gymdesk's dedicated rank, testing and curriculum features are the best in the business. If that's the heart of your operation, Gymdesk may be the right tool.

Memberships billed via Gymdesk's own payment processing typically can't transfer 1:1 — members re-enter their card once on first login on Class Booking. We provide an email template you can send the day before, and we confirm your exact gateway setup on the discovery call.

Typically 5–7 business days. Gymdesk provides data exports; we handle the export, import members, memberships and attendance history, verify with you on a call, and cut over on a weekend.

Four practical reasons: entry price (Gymdesk starts at $75/month), EU card fees (Stripe's European rates vs. reported 2.9% + $0.30), EU data residency for GDPR, and a member UI in six languages. If none of those apply to you, staying is a reasonable call.

No — Gymdesk is month-to-month, same as Class Booking. That makes switching low-risk: run both in parallel for a couple of weeks and cancel when the cutover is verified.

Ready to leave Gymdesk?

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Gymdesk alternative — Class Booking