vs Gymdesk
Comparison

OLM vs Gymdesk

Gymdesk is a well-reviewed martial arts gym platform with transparent pricing and a clean exit. Here's where it and OLM 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 Gymdesk beats us on something, it's because they do.

The honest read

Gymdesk (formerly Martial Arts on Rails) is one of the fairest platforms in this space. It publishes its prices, runs month-to-month, lets you use Stripe and other processors, and makes exporting your data easy. Its pricing is per active member: $75 to $200 a month on its own payments, $25 to $40 more with another processor, and a branded member app is a $100/mo add-on. OLM's difference is the price model: the gym pays nothing per month, the branded app is included, and member ranks and training history follow students to any OLM gym. Pick Gymdesk if you want a mature tool with a website builder and you're comfortable with a monthly bill that grows with your roster. Pick OLM if you want a $0 monthly floor with the branded app included.

4

OLM wins

2

Gymdesk wins

6

Ties

What matters most

Built for

OLM

Martial arts schools, multi-discipline

Gymdesk

Martial arts and other gyms, unlimited programs and ranks

Price

OLM

Free for gyms ($0/mo, no cut of payouts) · members pay a 2% platform fee per charge · you pay only Stripe processing, no markup

Gymdesk

$75/mo (up to 50 members) to $200/mo (151–250) on Gymdesk Payments; $100–$240/mo with your own processor; custom above 250

Branded member app

OLM

Included — your gym's name, logo and colors on the app members use

Gymdesk

$100/mo add-on (first month free), with your own App Store listing

Full feature breakdown
CategoryOLMGymdesk

Built for

Martial arts schools, multi-discipline
Martial arts and other gyms, unlimited programs and ranks

Price

Free for gyms ($0/mo, no cut of payouts) · members pay a 2% platform fee per charge · you pay only Stripe processing, no markup
$75/mo (up to 50 members) to $200/mo (151–250) on Gymdesk Payments; $100–$240/mo with your own processor; custom above 250

Branded member app

Included — your gym's name, logo and colors on the app members use
$100/mo add-on (first month free), with your own App Store listing

Extra locations

No per-location fee
$50/mo each ($100/mo with your own processor)

Payment processing

Stripe Connect Standard — your own Stripe account, your payouts, your stored cards
Gymdesk Payments, or Stripe, Square, Authorize.net, GoCardless and others; no markup stated

Contract

None. Your gym never pays OLM, so there's nothing to cancel
Month-to-month, no setup or cancellation fee, 30-day free trial

Belt and rank tracking

Rank per discipline with dated promotion history; a member can hold BJJ, judo and karate ranks at once, and the history follows them to any OLM gym
Ranks per program with promotion criteria and a ready-to-promote flag

Portable member history

Ranks, check-ins and journal follow the member to any OLM gym
Scoped to your gym

Website builder

Not included; embeddable class schedule for your existing site
Included

Check-in

Kiosk, QR and front-desk check-in included
Kiosk, barcode, name search or phone

Leaving

CSV export any time; member cards stay in your own Stripe account if you leave
Self-serve export of members, attendance, payments and documents; card tokens can move between processors

Track record

Newer to market, building its review base
Established, with strong review scores

Gymdesk is transparent and easy to leave, and it includes a website builder OLM doesn't have. 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…

  • Gyms that want no monthly software bill as the roster grows
  • Owners who want the branded app without a $100/mo add-on
  • Multi-location gyms that don't want per-location fees
  • Schools whose students train at more than one gym

Best fit

Gymdesk is better if you're…

  • Gyms that want a built-in website builder
  • Owners who prefer a long-established tool with many reviews
  • Gyms that want to pick a processor other than Stripe
Beyond the invoice

The sticker price is never the whole price.

Gym software costs more than the monthly line item — it costs setup weeks, add-on negotiations, and the dread of moving your roster. Here's both sides of that ledger.

Effort & lock-in

What Gymdesk can cost beyond the bill

  • The monthly price steps up as your active member count crosses each tier.
  • The branded member app is a $100/mo add-on.
  • Each extra location adds $50–$100/mo.

OLM's answer

How OLM removes it

  • One price rule for every gym: OLM is free for the gym, and members pay a flat 2% platform fee on top of every charge, shown on every receipt. You pay only Stripe's processing, with no markup. No tiers to decode, no quote to chase.
  • Every feature included — white-labeled member app, AI churn alerts, waivers, training journal. Nothing is sold back to you as an add-on.
  • Self-serve setup is free. If you want it done for you, optional $499 white-glove onboarding imports your roster from your current software, sets up Stripe Connect with you on a call, and themes the app to your brand.
  • No contract to exit. Stop using OLM and your members stop paying the platform fee; you never paid OLM anything.
OLM vs Gymdesk — FAQ

Honest answers, side by side.

Which costs less, OLM or Gymdesk?

For the gym, OLM: $0 a month, with the branded app included. Gymdesk is $75–$200 a month by member count, plus $100/mo for a branded app. On OLM your members pay a 2% platform fee on each charge, so counting gym and members together depends on your dues and roster. The savings calculator runs it with your numbers.

Both let me use Stripe. What's different?

On OLM, Stripe Connect Standard means the Stripe account is yours, and OLM adds no processing markup. Gymdesk also supports Stripe among several processors. The bigger differences are the price model and the included branded app.

Can I move from Gymdesk to OLM?

Yes. Gymdesk's self-serve export gives you members, attendance and payments, which we import. Optional white-glove onboarding ($499) handles it with you.

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Still deciding?

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