Edition · 05 · vs BJJLink
Comparison

OLM vs BJJLink

BJJLink and OLM are the closest two products on philosophy — both purpose-built for jiu-jitsu, both flat-pricing-first. Here's the honest breakdown of where they actually differ.

Who's writing this

A jiu jitsu student building software for the academy he trains at.

I train at a gym that uses this app, and I build the product. If the table below says BJJLink beats us on something, it's because they do.

The honest read

BJJLink is the only competitor in this list that shares OLM's core thesis: BJJ deserves software built for BJJ, not generic gym software with a belt field bolted on. They're built by coaches at Martial Arts Technology, they offer flat-rate pricing with unlimited students (BLACK at $49/mo + 1% on payments, CORAL at $149/mo with no service fee), and they include a curriculum builder OLM doesn't have yet. The honest tradeoff: at meaningful scale, BJJLink CORAL is genuinely cheaper than OLM's per-transaction model on memberships alone. Where OLM separates is structural. We're not just back-office software — we're a consumer-facing app that surfaces your gym to BJJ-curious locals, traveling drop-ins, and people in your area looking for an academy. Because we're pay-as-you-grow, our incentives are aligned with yours: we only make money when you do, so we're invested in growing your member base, not just charging to manage it. The white-label is a true white-label too — your colors and logo on the app members install, not 'BJJLINK Connect' with your name on the side. Add multi-discipline rank portability (a judo black belt joining your BJJ gym keeps their judo rank), Stripe Connect Standard so you keep your own merchant account, training journal with AI coach, and member profiles that travel across OLM gyms. Pick BJJLink if you want a flat monthly fee with a curriculum builder and you only run BJJ. Pick OLM if you want a software vendor that's also bringing demand to your gym, run multi-discipline, or want the journal + AI for members.

10

OLM wins

3

BJJLink wins

7

Ties

What matters most

Built for

OLM

Multi-discipline martial arts (BJJ, Judo, Muay Thai, Karate, MMA, wrestling)

BJJLink

Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academies — BJJ-only by design

Starting price

OLM

$0/mo · 2% on memberships ($2 min) · 3% on seminars/merch/drop-ins · free POS

BJJLink

BLACK $49/mo + 1% service fee on payments; CORAL $149/mo, 0% service fee

Free trial

OLM

Free to sign up — no card, no contract, pay only per transaction

BJJLink

30-day free trial — no card, no contract, unlimited students, 24/7 setup support

Full feature breakdown
CategoryOLMBJJLink

Built for

Multi-discipline martial arts (BJJ, Judo, Muay Thai, Karate, MMA, wrestling)
Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu academies — BJJ-only by design

Starting price

$0/mo · 2% on memberships ($2 min) · 3% on seminars/merch/drop-ins · free POS
BLACK $49/mo + 1% service fee on payments; CORAL $149/mo, 0% service fee

Free trial

Free to sign up — no card, no contract, pay only per transaction
30-day free trial — no card, no contract, unlimited students, 24/7 setup support

Multi-discipline ranks

A judo black belt joining your BJJ gym keeps their judo rank — separately from BJJ. Per-discipline lineage.
BJJ-only — single discipline by design

Belt & rank tracking

Per-discipline with promotion lineage; mirrors org's primary discipline to the org_member view
BJJ belt + stripe automation tied to curriculum and attendance

Portable member profiles

One profile across every OLM gym — journal, check-ins, belt lineage travel with the member
Profile scoped to the gym

Curriculum builder

Not included yet (on the roadmap)
Included — academy LMS with curriculum and progression tied to ranks

Training journal / AI coach

Included — 8-axis chart, voice-note transcription, technique heatmap
Not included

Churn prediction

Built-in AI Monitor with 14-day lead time
Business reporting; no predictive flagging

Seminar & one-off ticketing

Built-in — seminar product, registrations, flat 3% fee
Lead generation tools and outbound marketing; not a dedicated seminar product

Billing rails

Stripe Connect Standard — your Stripe account, your payouts, your customer relationship
BJJLink integrated processing — funds route through their platform, plus 1% service fee on BLACK

White-labeled member app

True white-label — your colors and logo on the app members install (no OLM branding visible to members)
BJJLINK Connect mobile app — branded as BJJLink

Demand pipeline / member discovery

Consumer-facing OLM app surfaces your gym to BJJ-curious locals and traveling drop-ins — we grow when you grow
Admin-side only — no consumer-facing discovery

Tablet kiosk

Included (kiosk, QR, geo, admin override)
Tablet kiosk included

Marketing & lead gen

Basic — invite links, email broadcasts
Outbound marketing email + CMS, lead generation tools, public membership pages

Internal automations

Basic email + push automations
Internal email & text automations as a core feature

Onboarding

Self-serve, live in under 10 minutes
30-day free trial with 24/7 setup support

Contract

No subscription — pay only per transaction
No contracts — month-to-month

Digital waivers

SHA-256 audit trail, IP stamp, minor-form parent signer, auto-renewal
Included

Reviews & track record

Newer to market — building review base
Strong customer testimonials; very limited Capterra footprint at last check

BJJLink wins on curriculum tools and flat-rate pricing at scale — we say so. Pricing and feature sets change — this page reflects a best-effort snapshot from publicly available info. Check their site directly before deciding.

Best fit

OLM is right if you're…

  • Academies running multiple disciplines (BJJ + judo, muay thai + boxing, MMA blends)
  • Owners who want to keep their own Stripe account and customer rails
  • Gyms whose members would benefit from a journal + AI coach inside the member app
  • Owners who don't want any monthly floor — pay literally $0 in slow months
  • Academies running seminars / smokers / competitions as a real revenue line

Best fit

BJJLink is better if you're…

  • Pure-BJJ academies that want a flat monthly fee predictable regardless of growth
  • Owners who specifically want a curriculum builder tied to belt progression
  • Larger gyms (100+ members) where flat-rate pricing beats per-transaction
  • Owners who want strong outbound marketing + lead-gen tooling built in
OLM vs BJJLink — FAQ

Honest answers, side by side.

Aren't BJJLink and OLM almost the same product?

Philosophically close — both reject generic gym software for jiu-jitsu, both offer flat-ish pricing, both are built by people who train. Mechanically different in three ways. (1) BJJLink is BJJ-only; OLM is multi-discipline with portable per-discipline ranks. (2) BJJLink runs payments through their own processor; OLM uses Stripe Connect Standard so you own the merchant relationship. (3) OLM has a training journal + AI coach for members; BJJLink doesn't. BJJLink has a curriculum builder; OLM doesn't yet.

Which one is actually cheaper?

Depends on your size. At a 50-member gym charging $150/mo, OLM is ~$150/mo (50 × $3) vs BJJLink BLACK at ~$124/mo ($49 + 1% of $7,500) or CORAL at $149/mo flat. At 200 members, OLM is ~$600/mo vs BJJLink BLACK ~$349/mo or CORAL $149/mo flat. BJJLink CORAL becomes a clear winner at scale; OLM's pay-as-you-grow wins at the bottom and during slow months. Run your own numbers — there's no universal answer.

I run BJJ + Muay Thai under one roof. Which one?

OLM. BJJLink is BJJ-only by design — one rank per member, BJJ-belt-shaped progression. OLM treats every discipline as a first-class rank with its own promotion lineage. A muay thai pra-jiad goes in the muay thai rank; a BJJ blue belt goes in the BJJ rank; both belong to the same member.

What about the curriculum builder gap?

BJJLink has a curriculum builder tied to belt progression — that's a real feature gap on OLM today. It's on the roadmap. If a structured curriculum-LMS is core to how you teach, BJJLink is more ready out of the box. If you teach from a flexible week-by-week class plan and don't need a built-in LMS, OLM works fine.

Why does the Stripe Connect difference matter?

OLM uses Stripe Connect Standard, which means you (the gym) are the merchant of record on Stripe. Your bank account, your customer payment history, your dispute relationship. If you ever leave OLM, Stripe and the customer payment data stay yours. BJJLink's integrated processing means the merchant relationship is brokered through them. Some gyms prefer the simplicity of one bill; others prefer keeping their Stripe account portable.

Can I migrate from BJJLink to OLM?

Yes via CSV export. Member roster, contact info, and active subscriptions migrate cleanly. Curriculum and rank progress typically need to be recreated since the data shape differs. Belt rank itself is a single field per discipline — straightforward to bulk-import.

Still deciding?

Try OLM free. lose nothing.

No credit card to sign up. No contract once you go live. If it's not the right fit, you keep your Stripe account, your member list, and your data.