Playpass Comparison (Pricing, Features, & Benefits)

Manage and Grow Your Fitness Business Better with Exercise.com. Learn more below.

Choose the Exercise.com All-In-One Fitness Business Management Software Platform. Review our head-to-head Playpass software comparison and see for yourself. Get a custom web and smartphone app designed for your brand with additional customization available throughout your custom-built software. Grow your business, turn leads into clients, and increase revenue.

Choosing software to run your business is a big decision that can be overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be, and by the end of this Playpass review we hope that the best choice stands out.

In this review, we will compare Playpass to the Exercise.com all-in-one business software platform. In the end, it will be clear to see how the Exercise.com platform promotes the growth of your business and makes management a breeze through customization and versatility! Interested in learning more? Book a demo today!

Fitness Pros Who Trust Exercise.com

Playpass Software Review

Founded in 2014, Playpass is an online sports league and sports registration software that manages scheduling, referrals, registration, waivers, and website building of sports events. Although it can be used for managing a sports team, Playpass focuses mostly on the organization of the registration process and scheduling of leagues, tournaments, camps, classes, and more.

One of Playpass’s biggest assets is that it offers a free sports league website plan that includes almost all of its available features. For a lot of managers, the free plan sufficiently meets their needs. If not, Playpass offers other plans with additional features at a very reasonable price. Either way, it’s tempting to adapt to Playpass to save money on management software. However, as we will see below, this would significantly hinder your business growth in the long run.

Playpass vs. Exercise.com

The biggest difference between Playpass and the Exercise.com software platform is its target audience. Playpass is for sports managers and league organizers to improve registration and scheduling of their events, while the Exercise.com software is designed to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of fitness centers through customization and versatility.

Using Playpass as your fitness business management software leaves your fitness business without the necessary management functions crucial to the success of your business, such as reports and facility management, marketing tools, workout software, and e-commerce.

But Exercise.com software helps grow your business by offering every feature to meet the unique needs of your fitness center. Keep reading to learn all the ways Exercise.com can grow your business.

Unless otherwise stated, all images and reviews below are of/about the Exercise.com All-In-One Fitness Business Management software platform.

Fitness Business Management Software

Business management software is vital to the successful running of your business. But not all software is created equal. While some generic software can be beneficial, software that is specific to fitness will enable you to provide better services to your customers. And even better than fitness-specific software is fitness software that is customized to meet the exact needs of your business.

Playpass software is neither geared towards fitness nor is it customizable. It’s not designed to manage a fitness business, so you will be restricting your growth and creating greater hurdles to managing a business. The Exercise.com platform, however, is designed for fitness centers and provides every feature you need for your business to succeed.

Let’s take a look at the restrictions of Playpass and the flexibility of Exercise.com.

Client/Class Scheduling

Playpass allows admins to add games, events, tournaments, and informative details into a master schedule that participants can view. Schedules, scores, and tournament results can be shared publically. Tournament playoffs can be elimination or double elimination. While these features might be beneficial for sports leagues, they are not helpful for a fitness center schedule.

Playpass’s scheduler has a number of drawbacks for fitness businesses. Events are available for registration on your website but not in a calendar view; customers must scroll through a long list of classes to find the one they want. This is an inefficient system for a busy fitness center. For example, a customer looking for spinning classes must scroll through all other classes and manually compare times and days to see what’s best for their schedule. This frustrating process can lead to fewer bookings and less revenue.

But perhaps the most problematic for fitness centers is that Playpass doesn’t offer appointments for personal training sessions. Since customers expect to book appointments with a personal trainer, not offering this on the schedule is confusing and frustrating. This is a huge hurdle for your business. All in all, Playpass’s scheduler does not meet the needs of fitness businesses.

Exercise.com knows all of the needs of a busy fitness center. Easily add any class, event, appointment, session, or other time blocks you’d like and they are clearly presented on a professional calendar layout that is easy for customers to view and find their favorite classes. Customers can also use our search filter to view the calendar by day, time, trainer, class, and more, to improve search results and bookings.

With the Exercise.com software platform, our hassle-free booking and payment system guides customers through the registration process, which results in more bookings. Staff can track participants and payments, and stats are easily tracked in our reporting feature. And finally, since our software is customized to your needs, you can add any other scheduling feature you’d like!

Gym/Facility Management

Playpass does not offer any business-related reports. The only report that Playpass offers is one that shows which participants have started, but have not completed, their registration application and a timeline of registration and payments. While this might be beneficial for acquiring registrations for a tournament, it is not a helpful report for fitness businesses.

There are countless other reports that are not only crucial to the maintenance of your business but also beneficial to its growth. Using Playpass as your business management software means you’ll have to find another management software to track and analyze reports.

But the Exercise.com platform is comprehensive, so there’s no need to find additional software. Our software allows you to easily track everything in your business, from memberships and revenue to workout challenges and subscriptions. Not only do we offer a host of standard, powerful reports, but we also provide customized reports so you can find exactly the information you want.

Client Automation

Playpass does not provide automatic email or text reminders to members of upcoming games, events, or classes. This is a huge drawback to Playpass. Most customers expect to be reminded of their appointments, classes, and events. Additionally, it’s a missed opportunity to engage customers with your brand and build customer loyalty.

The Exercise.com dev team knows how targeted, customized, perfectly-timed notifications engage customers and grow your business. Some of our automated notifications include:

• Send automatic emails for recurring appointments, classes, or customized messages
• Automatically charge and receive payments
• Deliver workouts and resources automatically
• Customize and automate reminders, alerts, and notifications to be sent through your app, text, or email

Dedicated Zapier Support

Another huge drawback to Playpass is that it doesn’t offer any integrations. Without integrations between management apps, you must work harder to incorporate Playpass into your management system by manually transferring data to and from Playpass.

Instead of making managment easier, Playpass actually reduces your business’s efficiency.

The Exercise.com software platform is here to make your life easier. Our software comes embedded with dozens of popular integrations that automatically boost your business’s efficiency. But we know every business is different, so we partner with Zapier, which provides over 2,000 apps that take your business to the next level. Best of all, Zapier guides you through every step of the process.

Dedicated Account Manager

Like many companies, Playpass offers customer and technical support through email and a chat room; but Exercise.com is committed to providing you with exceptional customer service.

Instead of having your requests and questions be one of many, we provide you with a dedicated account manager who personally knows your platform, preferences, and personalizations. Your account manager creates, manages, and updates your website, app, and platform as needed, saving you countless admin hours so you can stay focused on engaging your customers.

Customized Software

Providing a personalized fitness experience for your customers is key to customer satisfaction, loyalty, and retention. In order to provide personalized services, you must have software that is customized to your business so it supports the services your business provides.

Overall, Playpass is poor in providing customized software: besides a minimally-customized website creator, there are no other customizable features. This means your gym has to adapt to the restrictions of Playpass instead of the software fitting your specific needs.

The Exercise.com platform is completely customizable, which gives you extensive opportunities to promote your business, engage customers, and retain members. Let’s look at some of these unique ways below.

Custom-Branded

Playpass allows you to update your website’s favicon with a custom logo, but otherwise, there is no custom branding. Members must log in to Playpass’s website to register or view your schedule, which means customers are more engaged in Playpass’s brand than yours.

Exercise.com supports all aspects of your unique business by keeping your business front and center. Everything in our platform is customized specifically to your brand: your custom-branded app, website, e-commerce opportunities, workout software, and performance software. This keeps customers engaged with your brand for increased loyalty and retention.

iOS & Android Apps

Playpass does not offer an app. Instead, members must log in to your website to view the schedule or register for a class. This is not only inconvenient for customers who want the ease of an app, but there are many missed opportunities for a more complete fitness experience. Without an app, customers and clients don’t have access to their workout or nutrition plans,  assessments, resources, and more.

With Exercise.com, you have a reliable, professional, custom-branded app! Customers can easily view the schedule, book, and pay for a class, plus have access to all of their workout and nutrition plans, assessments, resources, notifications, and messaging with their trainer. Staff can perform any management tasks on the app, trainers can track their clients’ progress, create new workout or nutrition plans, and privately message with clients.

Websites

Playpass has a website creator, but it only offers limited features. There is no customization of colors or templates beyond uploading a banner and custom logo. On a Playpass website, you can list past and current events, the team schedule, registration, waivers, and sportsmanship conduct. Your business’s basic contact information is featured in a small sidebar box.

Exercise.com wants your website to be authentically yours, so we have no limit on customizations. Choose from unlimited themes, custom graphic work, colors, features, custom dev, integrations, and more. Our custom dev team creates a professional, SEO-optimized website that converts visitors to leads and engages your customers.

Additionally, Exercise.com is always available for tech support. Your dedicated account manager gladly takes care of every alteration or overhaul so that your business stays professional and profitable.

Security Features

Playpass is cloud-based software but otherwise doesn’t make any specifications of security. Exercise.com takes the security of customer health and payment information very seriously. Every website and app created by Exercise.com is SSL Secure. We protect your clients’ information with the internationally-secure Privacy Shield Framework, and we utilize Google Cloud for storing and transferring data. Payments are made and processed through Stripe.

Marketing Integrations

Playpass doesn’t offer any marketing integrations. Instead, it has a referral program so your members essentially become your marketing team. After a manager creates the referral program (for example, $10 off a new membership and $10 given to the friend who recruited the new member), Playpass sends you a personalized link to pass on to your members. They share it with their friends in hopes of bringing in new recruits.

While a referral program might be somewhat successful, it shouldn’t be your only marketing strategy. Even more problematic, Playpass charges a 2%-15% referral fee and a 1%-3% new member registration fee. Not only does Playpass not include marketing integrations, but you’re losing more money on the only “marketing” option offered!

Not having marketing integrations is a significant hurdle for fitness businesses. All emails, notifications, social media updates, and advertisements must be done manually, which adds dozens of desk hours to your workweek or forces you to pay for other marketing software.

But Exercise.com’s software integrates with an abundance of popular integrations such as:

• MailChimp
• ConstantContact
• ConvertKit
• Zapier
• Google Analytics
• Facebook Pixel
• And more!

Through Zapier, we can integrate with just about every program, so you can be sure to find the right marketing integrations that help your business grow.

Workout Software

Workout software is a powerful way to engage customers with personalized fitness experiences. The Exercise.com software platform enables trainers to develop specific workout plans for their clients. These plans are delivered to the app so clients can perform and log their workouts from anywhere. We also include a messaging feature so clients can stay in communication with their trainers. This increases customer engagement and satisfaction, which results in customer retention and business growth.

Playpass, however, doesn’t offer workout software because it is a sports management program. This means you’ll have to pay for a workout software in order to provide personalized services.

Since Playpass doesn’t offer a workout feature, let’s examine the features Exercise.com provides.

Workout Creator/Logger

The Exercise.com software includes a premium workout creator and logger that is easy for both trainers and clients to use. The accessibility and flexibility of our workout logger improve program adherence, customer engagement, motivation, and client results.

Trainers can assign clients a pre-designed workout or create personalized workouts using the workout plan creator. Workouts are automatically delivered to clients in your custom-branded app for clients to perform and log their workouts anytime, anywhere. Trainers follow their clients’ progress and clients can communicate with trainers using our messaging feature. Our highly-personalized workout creator/logger improves customer satisfaction for better customer loyalty.

No two trainer-client relationships are the same. Exercise.com’s workout creator/logger gives you the tools to effectively engage every client with endless possibilities for delivering workouts, tips, and encouragement to every client, including:

1-1 Training

The Exercise.com workout creator/logger helps trainers stay productive and clients stay accountable. Trainers can easily create and track workouts, and clients are able to perform their workouts at their desired location and time. Plus, our app keeps all resources, nutrition plans, and assessments in one convenient location. With everything in one place, clients have all they need to stay on track and motivated in their fitness journeys.

Group Training

Customers expect to see not only private personal training sessions on your schedule but group training, as well. With Exercise.com software, you don’t have to learn more functions and features–simply apply the same resources trainers use for their 1-1 sessions to group training. With Exercise.com software, it couldn’t be easier to create, schedule, and track group classes.

Online Training

Go beyond the walls on your gym and deliver customized online training workouts to any client. Trainers follow the same workout creation process as with their 1-1 training clients, but trainers communicate with clients completely through the app messaging feature instead of having regular in-person training sessions. It’s an easy way to utilize the capabilities of our software to boost your revenue.

Exercise Library

Exercise.com offers an extensive library of educational and instructional exercise videos for trainers to build custom workouts in our workout creator to suit the specific needs of their clients.

This feature is not included with Playpass–it’s exclusive to Exercise.com. Only with Exercise.com can your trainers have all of the tools they need to create effective workouts so their clients experience the greatest fitness results.

Custom Exercises

Not only do you have access to numerous videos through the exclusive Exercise.com library, but you can integrate your YouTube or Vimeo accounts for an exercise library customized to your brand. When trainers use your own videos in the workout creator, your clients become familiar with your trainers, which builds gym loyalty and adds that personal touch customers are looking for.

TV Workouts

Change up your presentation style by casting any video from your exercise library onto a TV screen during a group or 1-1 training session. This sets you apart from other fitness studios and adds another personalized touch.

E-Commerce Software

Playpass doesn’t offer any e-commerce opportunities aside from online payment processing. Exercise.com offers a host of unique e-commerce opportunities that engage your customers and boost revenue. Check out just a few popular ways Exercise.com grows your business through e-commerce:

Payment Processing

Both Playpass and Exercise.com use the ease and security of Stripe to process payments. However, as mentioned earlier, Playpass charges additional fees for registration and referral programs. Exercise.com doesn’t have any hidden fees, which is more money in your pocket.

Sell Products

An e-commerce store is a fun way to bring in significant additional revenue. You can sell just about any product, such as custom-branded apparel or water bottles, supplements, energy bars, and more. Customers love the convenience of pre- and post-workout nutrition and are regularly engaged with your brand by using custom-branded products.

Sell Workout Plans

Bolster your brand and avoid losing customers to trending workout videos by selling your own pre-built workout plans. Since you know your clientele best, offering a variety of plan lengths, difficulties, fitness focuses, or other specifications will meet their needs and keep customers engaged with your brand. Best yet, Exercise.com allows you to sell unlimited plans, so there’s no cap on your potential profit.

Offer Online Workout Memberships

In today’s busy society, more and more customers are demanding customized online workouts. While you can charge a premium price for this service, the cost is often offset by the time invested in creating and delivering personalized workouts.

But with powerful and versatile software like Exercise.com, we maximize your profit from online workout memberships. Trainers create the customized workout plans in one sitting and schedule the workouts to be delivered at automatic intervals. As clients complete the program, trainers can track client progress. This allows trainers to take on more clients at a premium price and keep clients happy with a personalized workout experience.

Sell Workout Challenges

Change things up in your gym and try one or more of Exercise.com’s workout challenges. These encourage a competitive spirit, accountability, and gym member bonding around the common goal of better fitness.

Exercise.com’s workout challenges effortlessly boost your revenue without increasing your workload. Simply input your custom information into the challenge and it runs automatically.

Performance Health Software

The metrics derived from performance assessments are fundamental to safe and effective personal training. Every fitness center must offer performance assessments for personal training sessions, but you can impress your clients with how data is gathered, inputted, shared.

Playpass doesn’t offer any performance assessments because it is a sports management software and this feature would be useless to its intended audience. So, while this isn’t a knock against Playpass, not having integrated performance assessments will hurt your fitness business.

But the comprehensive Exercise.com platform includes performance assessments in our software. Let’s examine this feature below.

Assessments

The Exercise.com software includes a full range of assessments, both standard clinical assessments or customizable assessments. With customized assessments, you can tailor data to the client’s specific needs, which not only adds a personalized touch to a client’s program, but it will also yield tailored results so clients can make the most progress.

Our assessments are in a simple, hassle-free layout so trainers spend less time inputting data and more time with their clients. After the assessment is completed, trainers can automatically deliver them to the client’s app for easy access and progress tracking.

Performance & Measurement Reports

Exercise.com also offers personalized interactions to further enhance a customer’s personalized fitness experience. These keep your customers engaged and motivated on their fitness journey by automatically delivering:

• Workout reminders
• Goal achievements
• Recurring assessments
• Progress photos
• Measurements
• and more!

Nutrition

No fitness software would be complete without addressing nutrition. With Exercise.com, your clients get a user-friendly nutrition tracker to log and track their daily dietary intake. This accountability keeps clients focused on meeting their short and long-term fitness goals.

Playpass Software Pricing

Playpass offers four packages:

[Information from the Playpass website]

Although Playpass is reasonably priced, it’s clear to see that Playpass doesn’t offer the features a fitness business needs. The focus of Playpass is to provide hassle-free scheduling for sports games and leagues; this is not something your fitness center needs, and Playpass’s limitations will hinder your business growth.

Playpass Software Competitors

Playpass’s competitors are listed below:

And of course, Exercise.com.

The Bottom Line: Pros and Cons

Choosing the right business software is a lofty decision. Which software you choose can significantly alter the trajectory of your business’s success. Let’s take a final look at Playpass and Exercise.com.

Playpass Cons

Playpass is designed for sports team and league management. While it may meet the needs of sports managers and league directors, it simply doesn’t have the capabilities to successfully manage a fitness business. Consider the necessary fitness-specific features that Playpass does not offer:

• Class or appointment scheduling
• Class or appointment booking
• Business-related reports
• Automated client communication such as email, text, and notifications
• Management or marketing integrations
• Neither a Playpass or custom-branded app
• Workout software
• Performance assessments
• A variety of e-commerce opportunities

These and other inadequacies box in your growth and ineffectively manage your business. Instead of easing your managerial burden, Playpass adds time-consuming tasks to your to-do list. Playpass should not be considered to manage a fitness business.

Exercise.com Pros

Exercise.com is customized to fit the specific needs of your fitness businesses, so it eases your managerial load through:

• Unlimited integrations that automatically perform mundane tasks
• Providing a dedicated account manager who makes every alteration to your website, app, and platform
• A clear and user-friendly scheduling and booking feature so customers can easily book classes and appointments
• Targeted reports give invaluable business insights that support growth
• Workout software and performance assessments that set up your trainers and clients for success
• Endless e-commerce possibilities that boost your profit
• And more!

Exercise.com makes your business platform decision easy! We’re here to help your business grow. Are you ready to get started? Book a demo today!