ClubRunner Comparison (Pricing, Features, & Benefits)

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

Choose Exercise.com’s All-In-One Fitness Business Management Software. Review our head-to-head ClubRunner 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 the right software to run your business can be an overwhelming decision. But Exercise.com is here to provide direct comparisons of management software to make the decision easier.

In this review, we will take an in-depth look at ClubRunner and how it compares with Exercise.com’s All-In-One Business Platform. By the end of this review, it will be clear to see how our business platform helps your business grow for years to come! Book a demo today and keep reading to learn more!

Fitness Pros Who Trust Exercise.com

ClubRunner Software Review

ClubRunner was founded in 2003 as a solution for increasing the web presence and communication of Rotary International clubs, districts, and zones. Although it is originally designed for Rotary clubs, ClubRunner’s mission is to make technology accessible to everyone and they claim that their software can be used by any organization.

ClubRunner offers a number of sophisticated features that could be utilized by a fitness center, such as a website designer, member directory, reports, email and newsletter communication, events planner, online payments, and billing. Additionally, ClubRunner has features that are specific to Rotary clubs (but are still included in the software purchase) such as integrated contacts with Rotary International, scheduling event volunteers, a grants manager, and more.

ClubRunner vs Exercise.com

To a large degree, it doesn’t make sense to use software for your fitness business that isn’t designed for fitness businesses. This is like using hand soap in place of shampoo or cans of soup instead of handheld weights. It might get the job done, but the long-term effectiveness is questionable at best.

Although some of ClubRunner’s features can be used for a fitness business, the fitness industry is not ClubRunner’s intended audience. This means there will be features ClubRunner includes in their software that you will pay for but never use, and there will be features missing from ClubRunner’s software that you wish you had.

However, Exercise.com is designed to meet the needs of fitness businesses, and is custom-tailored to meet the needs of your business! In addition to ClubRunner’s base features, we offer fitness-specific features, such as performance assessments, workout creator/logger, e-commerce, and nutrition trackers.

Let’s dive into the review and explore the ways Exercise.com helps your fitness business succeed!

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

Fitness Business Management Software

Fitness centers need reliable, efficient, and effective management software that takes the brunt of time-consuming managerial work so managers can stay engaged with their staff and customers.

Several of ClubRunner’s features could be adapted by fitness businesses, but as you’ll see below, Exercise.com’s software meets the needs of your business with a fitness-specific, comprehensive approach.

Client/Class Scheduling

ClubRunner has three aspects of scheduling: the basic scheduler, a volunteer scheduler, and MyEventRunner. The basic scheduler allows admins to create events, email an invitation to club members, and publicize events to your website’s calendar. Participants can register by finding the event on your website or by responding to the email invitation. The volunteer scheduler (for $129/year) allows you to schedule volunteers for events. MyEventRunner allows customized registration forms.

Unfortunately, ClubRunner’s scheduler has many drawbacks for a fitness center:

• Viewing Format: ClubRunner’s calendars are designed to show one or two events in a day, not a packed business schedule with multiple classes, training sessions, and events. This makes finding information difficult for customers and results in fewer bookings.
• Payments: ClubRunner only accepts online/mobile payments if you pay for an add-on. This forces fitness centers to pay more for a service they need. We will cover this in more detail in the payment section of this review.
• Booking Process: If a customer finds the event on your website and wants to register, the next step in the registration process is to contact an admin for more information. This is a very inefficient process and discourages bookings! Members who are automatically emailed event invitations can register via email, but receiving dozens of emails for every class can be irritating to members.

Admins and customers alike will struggle with ClubRunner’s scheduler, but Exercise.com’s scheduling feature is perfectly created to meet the needs of fitness businesses! The schedule makes it easy to view multiple events, sessions, and classes without overwhelming the customer. Customers can even use a search filter for location, trainer, day, time, and more, to find the class that best fits their schedule, which results in more bookings and greater profit!

A user-friendly booking process is equally as important, and Exercise.com’s booking function couldn’t be simpler! Exercise.com guides customers through the booking process with clear instructions and prompts and easily accepts mobile payments–without charging you more to do so!

Finally, because our platform is completely customizable, you can add any other booking and scheduling features your business needs! For all these reasons, Exercise.com’s scheduler is far superior for fitness businesses than ClubRunner’s.

Gym/Facility Management

ClubRunner advertises standard and customizable reports that can be exported into a format of your choice to be saved for record-keeping. ClubRunner is especially enthusiastic about the customizability of their reports, claiming you can get any information you’d like.

However, on closer inspection of the reports ClubRunner offers, they are for information that would be of little use to fitness businesses, like anniversary and birthday reports, or whether members are exchange students or a visiting member. This data has little to do with the financial ins and outs of your business!

Exercise.com also offers standard and customizable reports, but ours are actually beneficial to your fitness business. Our targeted reports examine your business from all angles so you have a complete picture of your business’s strengths and weaknesses. We also provide invaluable insight by analyzing these reports so you can make confident decisions that improve your business! A few of our tailored reports include:

• Revenue
• Taxes
• Commission and e-commerce
• Client and group reports
• and more!

Client Automation

Automated features are why business management software is so beneficial. Instead of being stuck at your desk manually performing managerial duties, an efficient software allows you to schedule emails, SMS messages, events, classes, staff schedules, payments, and so much more, in one sitting so you are free to engage with customers and your staff. But it’s more than simply having software with automated features; for your fitness business, you need fitness-specific automation.

ClubRunner allows some basic automation, like scheduling emails to be sent at a later date and accepting automatic payments, but this is just a drop in the bucket of helpful client automation. Additionally, ClubRunner doesn’t offer SMS reminders or notifications.

Exercise.com is designed for fitness businesses, so while our software supports basic client automation like emails and SMS messaging, we also provide fitness-specific automation. These automations include things like automatic delivery of workouts, nutrition plans, and other resources. Under ClubRunner’s software, these tasks must be manually sent and managed, but with Exercise.com, these are delivered and tracked automatically, saving you dozens of admin hours.

Dedicated Zapier Support

ClubRunner integrates with social media platforms and the Rotary International database. While social media integration is very important, there are many other integrations you need to effectively run your business. (Not to mention, most managers wouldn’t want their member database to be cluttered with the Rotary International database.)

Exercise.com is built to run a business, not a humanitarian club. So while we do integrate with social media, we integrate with so much more. First, we already have dozens of helpful integrations embedded in our software that make your life easier; but, we also partner with Zapier and its over 2,000 apps so you have everything you need to deliver an exceptional experience to every customer.

Dedicated Account Manager

ClubRunner’s customer service is one hurdle after another. Admins needing technical help or customer service are first routed to a self-help page of articles and forums to try and find an article helpful to their difficulty. If the problem persists, admins can complete a request form that a customer service representative will answer in the order in which it was received. This is not only inefficient but very frustrating as well!

Additionally, ClubRunner charges its customers extra prices every step of the way. Look at the chart below to view prices (which are in addition to a custom software subscription fee) from initial set-up throughout an admin’s partnership with ClubRunner:

[Information from ClubRunner’s website]

ClubRunner’s prices are a huge barrier for any business to improve its services. This shouldn’t be the case.

Exercise.com takes our customer service very seriously!  With our software, you receive a dedicated account manager who assists with all your software needs–indefinitely, and at no extra charge! Your account manager not only helps you set up your perfectly personalized website and app but is yours to contact at any time throughout your partnership with us.

Your account manager is dedicated to the adjustment of your platform as your business grows, such as modifications to your logo, adding an online fitness store, or completely revamping your website. Your account manager is happy to not only make every alteration but also guide you and your staff through changes. Again, these are modifications that ClubRunner charges a steep price for but are all included with Exercise.com’s software.

Customized Software

Customer service is being redefined by personalization of the customer’s experience. This is true for almost every industry, including fitness. In order to remain competitive and profitable, fitness businesses must find unique ways to personalize their members’ fitness experiences.

The primary way to effectively offer and manage dozens of personalized options is by having a business management software customized to support these capabilities. Unfortunately for ClubRunner, there aren’t many customizable features.

With Exercise.com, your software is completely customizable, user-friendly, and designed to help your fitness business succeed! Let’s examine the ways in which this is accomplished below.

Custom-Branded

ClubRunner allows you to upload a custom logo to your website but otherwise has no custom branding options. Your customers will download and use an app with ClubRunner’s marketing and logo. This is a huge missed opportunity to engage members with your brand.

Exercise.com is designed to promote your brand in all aspects of your business. Instead of following the cookie-cutter system of ClubRunner’s templates, you decide what gets featured on your website, app, and platform. This keeps your customers strongly connected and engaged with your brand.

iOS & Android Apps

ClubRunner has one app for members and admins. With ClubRunner’s app, members can view functions such as accessing contact information of other members and executives, find upcoming event information, and view their personal attendance. Although the app may meet the needs of rotary clubs, it is not sufficient for fitness businesses.

ClubRunner’s app lacks certain basic functions necessary for a fitness business, such as booking and mobile payments. Additionally, workout and nutrition loggers, resources, and performance assessments aren’t features supported by ClubRunner’s app, nor are reports or other admin features. In many ways, ClubRunner’s app will be more of a hindrance than a help.

However, Exercise.com’s app is built to support all functions of fitness businesses and is easy for admins and customers alike to use. Our schedule view, booking, and payment process are user-friendly to increase bookings. Admins can send automatic emails, texts, reminders, and alerts, plus deliver workout, resources, nutrition, and assessments straight to clients. This streamlines your business and keeps customers engaged with your brand!

Websites

A professional website is the technological foundation for gaining and retaining members. A website that looks outdated or lacks organized, accessible information will deter potential customers and poorly engage current members.

Several problems exist with ClubRunner’s websites. The templates lack customization features and look outdated. The websites are embedded with ad banners that can only be removed at the price of $350/year. Companies must also purchase a domain name, and any alteration of the website comes at a hefty price.

But Exercise.com’s websites are completely customizable, secure, and SEO-optimized. Instead of choosing a template, with Exercise.com’s software, you can choose unlimited theme changes, custom graphic work, colors, features, custom dev, and more. This saves you hours of valuable admin time! (Plus, we’re a Google Certified Partner.)

Security Features

ClubRunner has standard security features, such as unique logins and passwords, TCP/IP filtering, firewall, and anti-virus software that protects member data.

Exercise.com takes security and protection of membership data very seriously, so we go above the standard security measures. At Exercise.com, our websites and apps are SSL Secure, client information is protected 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

ClubRunner doesn’t offer any marketing integrations. While this isn’t necessarily a knock against ClubRunner because its focus isn’t to drive business, the lack of marketing integrations will nevertheless keep your business from thriving or force you into countless marketing admin hours.

Exercise.com knows that marketing integrations are essential to the success of your business. Some popular integrations include:

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

Workout Software

Workout software is an excellent way to offer the personalized services your customers desire. Our workout software can be adapted to meet the needs of almost every customer; which means better customer loyalty and engagement, and more profit for your business.

Workout software is not a feature ClubRunner provides–and that’s because it’s not designed for fitness businesses. Since ClubRunner doesn’t provide workout software, let’s take a look at this feature provided by Exercise.com.

Workout Creator/Logger

Exercise.com’s workout creator and logger efficiently and effectively engages clients and keeps them motivated towards meeting their fitness goals.

Trainers can choose to assign a pre-designed workout or create a personalized workout plan for each client. Once these plans are automatically delivered, clients can view and log their workouts anytime, anywhere, on your custom-branded app. Clients can also communicate with their trainers at any time. All in all, this system gives clients a personalized fitness experience while keeping trainers productive.

At Exercise.com, we know that every trainer-client relationship is different, so our workout creator/logger has endless possibilities for delivering workouts, tips, and encouragement to clients in any scenario, including:

1-1 Training

Workout and nutrition plans, goals and progress reports, performance and fitness assessments, and resources are all easily customized by trainers and automatically delivered to a client’s app. The user-friendly format keeps everything easily accessible for better program adherence, improved fitness results, and greater client satisfaction.

Group Training

Use the same scheduling, resources, and support as 1-1 training and apply them to group training! This is an easy way to utilize the flexibility and versatility of our software, boost customer satisfaction, foster a tight-knit gym community, and ultimately increase your profit!

Online Training

Online training is the next big fitness trend, and Exercise.com’s platform allows you to provide these services with our platform! Similar to 1-1 training, trainers create custom workouts with our extensive video and exercise library, but instead of meeting clients in person, our platform allows exclusive online progress tracking and communication via your custom-branded app.

Exercise Library

Exercise.com offers an extensive library of educational and instructional exercise videos with which trainers create pre-designed or custom workouts. These professional videos give clear instructions on proper form and modifications for injuries or difficulty levels.

ClubRunner does not offer an exercise library. This means trainers using ClubRunner must provide their workout plans through other means, such as their own videos or another app. However, both of these options are inefficient and frustrating for trainers and clients.

Custom Exercises

Exercise.com’s videos are professional and instructive, but a unique way to promote your brand is by incorporating your own videos. Easily integrate with your YouTube or Vimeo accounts with our exercise library so trainers can incorporate these videos into their workout plans. Using your custom videos builds trainer familiarity, which promotes your business and adds value to your brand.

TV Workouts

Further engage members by casting an Exercise.com or custom video onto a gym television screen during group classes or 1-1 training sessions. This changes up the presentation style and adds a personal touch to your business!

E-Commerce Software

In short, e-commerce is essential to your fitness business. As more individuals want online training and more commerce moves to be electronic, having e-commerce capabilities will be an ever-increasing opportunity to grow your business and revenue.

But for ClubRunner, these opportunities are limited because it only offers mobile payment processing for registration events. While mobile payments are definitely important to fitness businesses, Exercise.com has endless e-commerce capabilities that are specific to fitness so they promote your business.

Check out just a few popular ways Exercise.com grows your business through e-commerce!

Payment Processing

ClubRunner accepts mobile payments but has many additional hidden fees:

[Information from ClubRunner’s website]

Further, ClubRunner’s mobile payments are an add-on and are not included with the base-feature packages. As a business, you must be able to accept payments, so these fees become an additional required fee to your monthly rate.

Exercise.com simplifies the mobile payment process by using the ease, security, and accessibility of Stripe for all payments!

Sell Products

Having your own e-commerce store is a great way to boost your profit and engage your customers. You can list just about anything in your store, such as personalized products, workout gear, supplements, and more!

Sell Workout Plans

Selling your own pre-built workout plans is an excellent way to meet the needs of your specific clientele in the comfort of their own homes. Offering a variety of plan lengths, difficulties, fitness focuses, and more meets the needs of every client and keeps them fully engaged in your brand. This gives you an advantage over generic workout videos and promotes your brand. Exercise.com allows you to list unlimited workout plans, so there’s no cap on your potential profit.

Offer Online Workout Memberships

As previously mentioned, more customers are demanding personalized online workout options. Fitness centers are able to charge a premium price for independent personalized workouts, but these are time-consuming to create and the profit is often not worth the time investment.

Exercise.com allows you to capitalize on the profit of this trend with our efficient software. Trainers create a client’s entire program in one sitting and schedule it to be delivered in automatic delivery intervals. Finally, trainers gradually track the client’s progress through their program. It’s a win-win situation.

Sell Workout Challenges

Workout challenges spur gym members on in their fitness goals with additional accountability and community support. With Exercise.com’s software, simply input the details and let the software run the challenge automatically. This is an effortless way to boost revenue without increasing your workload.

Performance Health Software

Performance assessments are essential to the personal trainer profession because they keep the client and trainer safe, guide trainers to make effective training plans, and track progress over time. Since this is a vital tool for personal trainers, a comprehensive fitness management software should support performance assessments. Unfortunately, because ClubRunner isn’t designed for fitness businesses, it doesn’t have a performance assessment feature.

Exercise.com, however, knows the importance of performance assessments and the opportunity to set yourself apart from other fitness centers with the presentation, storage, and accessibility of assessments. Since ClubRunner doesn’t offer this feature, let’s examine how Exercise.com promotes your business through assessments.

Assessments

Initial assessments establish a client’s baseline and guide a personal trainer’s approach to address each client. Periodic re-assessments are often motivating for clients as they see their progress. Exercise.com offers both standard and customizable assessments for a personalized fitness experience. Our assessments are easy to complete so trainers stay engaged with clients. Finally, assessments are automatically sent to clients where they can be stored and viewed in your app.

Performance & Measurement Reports

Exercise.com goes one step further in personalization and provides personalized customer interactions. Out software automatically delivers workout reminders, goal achievements, recurring assessments, progress photos, measurements, and more! This personal touch increases customer engagement without adding managerial tasks.

Nutrition

Last but not least, Exercise.com offers a nutrition tracker where clients can easily log and view their daily dietary intake. This is helpful for clients and trainers to determine whether clients prioritize pre and/or post-workout meals and maintains dietary accountability.

Software ClubRunner Pricing

ClubRunner has a very complicated pricing system. ClubRunner offers three different packages: Lite, Standard, and Admin. These packages do not include any add-ons (the essential payments add-on comes with several additional fees) or any custom work. Each package has a different price, and the price for each package goes up the more members you have.

For instance, the Standard package is ClubRunner’s most popular software. This starts at $24.50/month (with $100 set-up fee) for 1 member and goes up approximately $7 for every additional 10 members added. At 100 members, the price is $63/month (with a $275 set-up fee) and at 200 members is $100/month with a $400 set-up fee.

This pricing system is very frustrating for fitness businesses who often see fluctuations in their membership roles and might fall under different pricing brackets depending on the month (membership roles are always higher at the beginning of the year!), promos, commission, and more. Even worse, the bracket system is almost a penalty for business growth.

But Exercise.com doesn’t penalize you for growing your membership role! Under one flat rate, you can add as many staff and members as you need.

ClubRunner Software Competitors

ClubRunner’s competitors include:

• Box
• Wrike
• Marketing360
• Bitrix24
• Lucidpress
• monday.com
• Confluence
• ContentStudio
• Widen Collective
• M-Files

And of course, Exercise.com!

The Bottom Line: Pros and Cons

Choosing a business management software is a big decision because the capabilities of the software will either enable or restrict your business growth. With that in mind, let’s take a final look at ClubRunner and Exercise.com

ClubRunner Cons

ClubRunner is designed for Rotary International clubs, and for that clientele base and purpose, it seems to be excellent software. However, it is inadequate in almost every area to manage a fitness business. The functions ClubRunner does offer– the scheduler, reports, automation, integrations, payment processing, websites, apps, and e-commerce–are all insufficient and cumbersome.

But, almost more challenging for fitness businesses using ClubRunner is the fitness-specific features it doesn’t offer: workout and nutrition software, exercise library, fitness e-commerce, performance assessments, and marketing integrations. These are the features that businesses especially need to succeed in the world of fitness, but are unfortunately not offered with ClubRunner.

Exercise.com Pros

Exercise.com is a comprehensive platform for fitness businesses, but we take it one step further by completely customizing our platform to meet the needs of your business! We have general and fitness-specific management tools that help your business stand out and succeed.

Just a few of these features include a custom-branded website and app, a user-friendly scheduling and booking system, countless marketing integrations, automated services, e-commerce opportunities and fitness-specific features such as an exercise library, performance assessments, workout creator/logger, and nutrition tracker.

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