PushPress Alternative: When a Custom Gym System Makes Sense

So you're looking for a PushPress alternative. Maybe the bill crept up, or maybe there's one thing it just won't do the way you run your gym.

You can go two ways here. You can move to another gym platform. Or you can build your own setup, where booking, memberships, Stripe billing, check-in and reminders are all yours.

I'll be honest, for most gyms I'd probably say stay put, or switch to something similar. Building your own starts to make sense when you've outgrown the platform. Being annoyed at the monthly bill isn't really enough on its own.

When it makes sense, and when it doesn't

I'm putting this first because I think it matters more than the prices do.

I'd stay on PushPress (or switch to a similar platform) if:

• You run one location with fairly normal memberships.

• Nobody on your team wants to own software.

• What bugs you is mostly a missing feature or two.

A custom build is worth a look if:

• Your memberships or pricing just don't fit any platform, and you're working around it every week.

• You're paying for a big stack of add-ons and only using a slice of each.

• You want booking, billing and your own website or app to work as one thing.

• You've got someone, in house or outside, who'll maintain it.

That last one gets skipped a lot.

And there's a middle path I think a lot of gyms miss completely. You keep PushPress for billing and check-in, and build small things on top using its API or Zapier. Maybe a custom report. Or a better reminder, or something that follows up with leads. You don't have to move your payments anywhere, which is kind of the scary part.

What PushPress costs right now

I checked the PushPress pricing page on October 21, 2026. It's all in US dollars, and it tells international gyms to contact sales. So if you're in Montreal or Toronto your quote might be a bit different, I don't know by how much.

There's a free Core plan. No monthly fee, but card processing is 4.99% + 30 cents, which is high.

Then Core Pro is $159 a month and Core Max is $229 a month. Both bring the card rate down (the exact rates are in the FAQ below).

On top of that there are add-ons for workout tracking, marketing and a branded app. PushPress says the "Full Stack," everything together, comes to about $559 a month.

To be fair, you get a lot for that. Class scheduling with waitlists, recurring billing, digital waivers, QR code check-ins, a member app, a staff app with kiosk mode. It even does rank tracking for martial arts, which as a BJJ guy I appreciate. It also lists a public API and Zapier, and that's the bit that makes the middle path above possible.

Wodify and Zen Planner

Most people searching for PushPress alternatives mean other platforms, not a custom build. So here's a quick look at two.

Wodify lists Essentials at $199 a month, and its plans go up to Ultimate at $499. It's running a promo this October that knocks those down, so check the page. There's also a small onboarding fee mentioned.

Zen Planner starts its Studio plan at $99 a month. But that goes up as you get more active members. It also sells a website add-on and a marketing tool called Engage.

Yearly software fees at list price, before card processing. Wodify Accelerate is $299 a month. Zen Planner's website add-on starts at $99 and Engage is $249. Your actual quote may differ.

For just the core stuff they all land in roughly the same range per year. It's once you add marketing and a website and an app that it gets big.

Card fees don't go away

This one surprised me a bit when I ran it.

A lot of the "replace PushPress" idea assumes you save money by dropping the subscription. But you still need a payment processor if you build your own. Most custom builds use Stripe.

Stripe's Canadian pricing page lists 2.9% + CA$0.30 per successful domestic card payment. And if you use Stripe Billing to run recurring memberships, pay as you go adds 0.7% of billing volume. Stripe's fixed monthly Billing plans aren't available to businesses in Quebec yet, according to that same page.

Card fee on one $150 payment. PushPress in US dollars, Stripe in Canadian dollars, not converted.

So on a $150 membership, Stripe with Billing comes to about $5.70 CAD. PushPress Core Pro is about $4.64 US. Different currencies, so I wouldn't read much into the gap.

Basically, going custom doesn't make processing cheap.

The free PushPress plan is different though. At 4.99% that's where the fees can really add up, if you've got a lot of members on it.

(You can also have your own code schedule the charges and skip Stripe Billing. That avoids the 0.7%. But then failed payment retries and that kind of thing are on you.)

What building it actually involves

Nothing too exotic. You need a schedule people can book from, and membership plans with your rules, like class packs or freezes or family plans. Recurring billing on Stripe. Check-in, which honestly can just be a QR code at the door. And reminders by email or text, which is basically gym booking automation. That's usually where people want the most control, in my experience.

Texts cost money too, by the way. Twilio's Canadian SMS pricing lists $0.0083 US per outbound message segment plus a carrier fee, and about $1.15 a month for a local number. Not much. It's yours to pay now, though.

I don't want to make up a price for the build itself, because it really does depend on scope. If you want some kind of reference point, Job Bank puts the median wage for a software developer in the Montréal region at $45.67 an hour. That's what an employee makes, so a freelancer or agency will charge more to cover overhead. I went into rates more in what an AI consultant costs in Canada.

But upkeep is what I'd think about hardest.

Someone has to fix it when a payment webhook breaks on a Saturday morning. Someone has to update it when Stripe changes something. And in Quebec there's French first service and Law 25 privacy work too. Plus the consumer rules on cancelling a gym membership, which the Office de la protection du consommateur explains. A platform takes care of some of that for you, which people forget.

If the phones and DMs are the real headache, that's a separate thing, and I wrote about it in AI receptionist for gyms. There's also AI agents for small business if you want the bigger picture.

FAQ

What is the best PushPress alternative?

It depends on what you're missing. Wodify and Zen Planner cover the same basics at similar list prices. Custom only really wins if no platform fits how you run things.

How much does PushPress cost?

As of October 21, 2026, PushPress lists a free Core plan, Core Pro at $159 a month and Core Max at $229 a month, in US dollars. Card processing goes from 4.99% + 30 cents on the free plan to 2.89% + 30 cents on Pro and 2.75% + 30 cents on Max. Add-ons include Train for workout tracking at $79 a month, Grow (CRM plus email and text marketing) at $329, and a branded app at $97.

Will building my own system on Stripe save money?

Not always. You drop the software fee, but you pay Stripe's 2.9% + CA$0.30 per card payment, plus 0.7% if you use Stripe Billing. And you take on hosting, texting and upkeep.

Can I keep PushPress and still customize things?

Yes. PushPress lists a public API and a Zapier integration, so you can build small tools on top without moving your billing.

If you want the full build breakdown, I wrote up what it takes to build your own gym software.

Next step

If you can't decide, pull your last three months of PushPress invoices and card processing statements. Write down the two or three things the software won't do for you. Then book a call with Tom and we'll see if that list is worth building for, or if a setting or add-on already covers it. If you're local, I also wrote about working with an AI consultant in Montreal.