vs Spark Membership
Comparison

OLM vs Spark Membership

Spark is one of the best-known names in martial arts school software. Here's how it compares with OLM on price, payments and the member app.

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 Spark Membership beats us on something, it's because they do.

The honest read

Spark Membership is built for martial arts schools and sells an all-in-one package: one plan at $199/mo with every feature, an account rep to set you up, and an optional done-for-you marketing service. That's a real strength for owners who want someone to hand the setup to. The trade-offs are the fixed monthly floor and payments: Spark promotes its own integrated processor (Spark Payments) and doesn't publish its processing rates, so it's harder to compare total cost or to take your stored cards with you. OLM costs the gym nothing per month, runs payments through the gym's own Stripe account, and puts the gym's own brand on the member app. Pick Spark if you want a vendor that includes hands-on marketing help. Pick OLM if you want a $0 monthly floor, your own payment account, and ranks that follow your students.

7

OLM wins

3

Spark Membership wins

2

Ties

What matters most

Built for

OLM

Martial arts schools, multi-discipline (BJJ, judo, karate, muay thai, MMA, wrestling)

Spark Membership

Martial arts schools first, also other studios (dance, yoga)

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

Spark Membership

$199/mo, one plan with every feature, after an 8-week free trial

Payment processing

OLM

Stripe Connect Standard — your own Stripe account, your payouts, your stored cards

Spark Membership

Spark Payments, their integrated processor; rates aren't published

Full feature breakdown
CategoryOLMSpark Membership

Built for

Martial arts schools, multi-discipline (BJJ, judo, karate, muay thai, MMA, wrestling)
Martial arts schools first, also other studios (dance, yoga)

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
$199/mo, one plan with every feature, after an 8-week free trial

Payment processing

Stripe Connect Standard — your own Stripe account, your payouts, your stored cards
Spark Payments, their integrated processor; rates aren't published

Contract

None. Your gym never pays OLM, so there's nothing to cancel
"No long contracts" per their pricing page; exact terms aren't published

Member app

Included — your gym's name, logo and colors on the app members use
Free iPhone and Android apps for staff and members; we couldn't confirm a gym-branded app

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
Belt history and progressions

Setup help

Self-serve and free; optional $499 white-glove onboarding (roster import, Stripe setup call, app theming)
Account rep and free student data migration

Marketing services

Lead funnels, leads inbox, email campaigns and automated workflows; no done-for-you service
Lead tools and automations, plus an optional done-for-you marketing service

Check-in

Kiosk, QR and front-desk check-in included
Kiosk app included

Digital waivers

Included, with audit trail and parent signer for minors
Not covered on the public pages we reviewed

Leaving

CSV export any time; member cards stay in your own Stripe account if you leave
Cards stored with Spark's processor; export terms aren't published

Track record

Newer to market, building its review base
Long-established with a large martial arts customer base

Spark wins on hands-on setup and marketing services, and it has a much longer track record. 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…

  • Schools that want no monthly software bill in slow months
  • Owners who want payments in their own Stripe account
  • Schools that want their own brand on the member app
  • Multi-discipline schools where students hold more than one rank

Best fit

Spark Membership is better if you're…

  • Owners who want an account rep and done-for-you marketing
  • Schools happy with one flat monthly price for everything
  • Owners who prefer a long-established vendor
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 Spark Membership can cost beyond the bill

  • A $199/mo floor that runs in slow months too.
  • Processing through Spark's own processor, at rates you can't compare on their site.
  • Stored cards live with their processor, so leaving can mean asking members to re-enter cards.

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 Spark Membership — FAQ

Honest answers, side by side.

Is OLM cheaper than Spark Membership?

For the gym, yes: OLM costs the gym $0 a month, against Spark's $199/mo. On OLM your members pay a 2% platform fee on each charge, so a member on a $150 plan pays $3. Counting gym and members together, a school charging $150 a month crosses Spark's $199 at about 66 members. Run your own numbers in the savings calculator.

Can I keep my own payment processor?

On OLM, payments go through your own Stripe account (Stripe Connect Standard): your payouts, your stored cards, your customer relationship. Spark promotes its own integrated processor, Spark Payments.

Does OLM give my gym its own app?

Yes. Members use the OLM app with your gym's name, logo and colors.

Can I move my students from Spark to OLM?

Yes. Export your student list from Spark and we import it. Optional white-glove onboarding ($499) does the import and Stripe setup with you on a call. Because cards stored with another processor can't always be moved, plan for members to add a card in the OLM app.

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Still deciding?

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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.

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