Zivvy vs management software
Trick question — it isn't a versus. Management software runs your school: billing, attendance, belts, bookings. Zivvy is the growth platform for martial arts schools — it connects to whichever one you already run and finds the money hiding inside it. You don't choose between them. You stack them.
what management software actually does
The category is real and the incumbents are good at it. Kicksite leads with martial arts CRM software. Gymdesk sells gym management without the learning curve, priced $75–$200 per month by active members. MyStudio runs studio management for martial arts and enrichment programs. Zen Planner covers fitness business management and billing. Spark claims 2,700+ martial arts schools on its student management platform.
Different flavors, same job: the daily machinery of running a school. If you don't have one, get one. Zivvy assumes you already do.
Every tool in the category answers "how do I run my school?" Zivvy answers a different question: "where is the money my school already made?"
what the machinery can't see.
Management software is built to process — enroll the student, charge the card, mark the attendance. Processing is not the same as noticing. When a card fails in month eight, the software logs it. When a kid's attendance fades from three classes a week to one, the software records it. When a lead goes quiet after the first call, the software files it.
Logged, recorded, filed — and then nothing, because chasing what fell through is nobody's job. That's where hidden profit lives: not missing from your data, sitting in it. Zivvy is the layer that reads what the machinery already captured and turns it back into money.
Your software has been keeping the evidence all along. Nobody was reading it.
side by side, honestly
One column is a category. The other is a layer that works with all of it. Yes means yes, no means no.
| Feature | Management softwareKicksite, Gymdesk, MyStudio, Zen Planner, Spark | Zivvy |
|---|---|---|
| Runs billing, attendance, bookings | Yes — that's the job | No — works alongside yours |
| Belt and rank tracking | Yes, category-standard | No |
| Builds or hosts your website | Varies — Gymdesk includes one; others vary | No |
| Publishes full pricing on the site | Varies — Gymdesk yes, $75–$200/mo; [Verify pricing pages for Kicksite, MyStudio, Zen Planner, Spark] | Yes — $397 / $597 / $897 |
| Finds unrecovered failed payments in your data | [Verify per vendor — logging a failure is not recovering it] | Yes — The Vault |
| Flags students likely to quit before they quit | [Verify per vendor] | Yes — The Family Room |
| Shows you hidden profit before you pay anything | No — calculators estimate at best | Yes — the free Diagnostic reads your actual school |
| Requires you to migrate | Yes, if you're switching between them | Never. No switching, no migration, no hostages |
| Trial | Varies — Gymdesk free 30 days; [Verify others] | 14 days for $1 |
| Take your data if you go | [Verify per vendor] | Yes — always |
[Rows marked verify are pending documented captures per vendor. Do not publish unverified rows as No.] Incumbent rows reference vendor pages as of August 2026.
keep whichever one you run.
Kicksite school? Keep Kicksite. Gymdesk school? Keep Gymdesk. MyStudio, Zen Planner, Spark, something older — keep it. Zivvy was built on a simple bet: the problem in most schools isn't the machinery, it's the money the machinery quietly drops. Switching software costs you months of migration pain to end up with the same leaks in a different bucket. Zivvy skips the switch and goes straight for the leaks.
Keep the software. Add Zivvy.
when to choose which
Choose management software if
You don't have one, you're opening, or yours genuinely doesn't work. It's the foundation. Zivvy doesn't replace foundations.
Choose Zivvy if
The foundation is fine and the money still doesn't match the effort. Full-ish classes, working billing, and a bank account that shrugs — that gap is hidden profit, and finding it is the entire job.
Choose both if
You're serious about the school as a business. The machinery runs the day. Zivvy reads what the day left behind.
the questions owners actually ask.
Is Zivvy management software?
No. Zivvy is a growth platform. It doesn't take attendance, run billing, or track belts — it connects to whatever does and finds the profit hiding in it.
Which management software does Zivvy work with?
Any provider that allows a two-way Zapier integration. If your software can send data out and take instructions back through Zapier, Zivvy works alongside it — no switching, nothing moves.
What does Zivvy actually cost?
$397, $597, or $897 per month — REVEAL, RECOVER, and RUN. The difference is how much of the recovery work Zivvy's team does for you. Full detail is on the pricing page.
Do I have to migrate anything?
No. Nothing moves. Your management software stays exactly where it is, doing exactly what it does. And if you ever leave Zivvy, you take your data with you.
What support does Zivvy include?
In-app chat, live one-on-one calls, a ticketing system, and email — staffed Monday through Friday, 9am–5pm Central. When something's wrong with your money, you talk to a person.
Where do I start?
The Diagnostic. It's free, it takes minutes, and it shows you what your school is hiding before you spend a dollar. No card, no call.
More honest comparisons: All comparisons · Zivvy vs Market Muscles · Zivvy vs Gymdesk
see what your school is hiding.
Run the free Diagnostic. If the number surprises you, start the full platform — 14 days for $1.