Software
Leaving Trainerize when you sell session packs
By Scott, builder of PacksLeft · Reviewed
The best Trainerize alternative for an in-person trainer who sells 5-packs and 10-packs is the tool that keeps the remaining count, the expiry date, late cancels, and partial payments in one place. Most coaching apps are built around programming instead. This guide checks each option against that prepaid session-pack test, PacksLeft included.
Key takeaways
- Trainerize prices by coaching seat, and selling packs takes its paid Stripe add-on. Your clients see their credits in the Trainerize app.
- Spreadsheets fail at reconciliation because the payment and the remaining count live in two different places.
- PacksLeft and CountedIn put the session count first and give clients a no-login link. Everfit and TrueCoach are programming apps.
- Per-client pricing grows with your roster. A flat price does not.
- Before you switch, write down every client's remaining count and expiry date, and confirm the expiry date with the client in writing.
Why Trainerize frustrates trainers who sell packs
Trainerize is built around coaching in its app: a client gets a program, logs workouts, and checks in. An in-person pack business runs the other way. A client buys a 10-pack up front, and what you manage is the remaining count, the expiry date, late cancels, and whether the Venmo payment came through.
You pay for a workout builder you never open. Trainerize prices by coaching seat: free for one client, Grow at $10 a month for two, and Pro from $25 a month at five seats. Selling packs needs the Stripe add-on, $10 a month on Grow and Pro (official plans, checked September 2026).
The count also lives in an app your client has no reason to open. When the workout happens with you, the client never checks a workout app, so the sessions-left number sits where nobody looks and the real count drifts back into your notes.
What actually breaks in a prepaid pack business
Four things: the remaining count, pack expiry, late cancels, and partial payments. Everything else in a coaching app is built for programming, which you deliver in person anyway.
The disputed count is the expensive one. The count lives in your head or your sheet, the client remembers it differently, and weeks later you are arguing about whether a no-show used a session. A 10-pack is a promise with a number attached. When the number is wrong, you give back the session or have the argument. It starts once you can no longer hold every client's count in your head.
Venmo requests and a spreadsheet do not share anything. A client pays half a pack, you mark it in the sheet, forget to request the balance, and now the count says 10 while you have been paid for 5. Late cancels need one rule applied the same way every time, and a sheet cannot enforce it.
Which alternatives count sessions and expiry
Most Trainerize alternatives put programming first and counting second. Two put the count first.
PacksLeft keeps one remaining count per client, with an expiry date on every pack. A completed session, a late cancel, and a no-show each use one session, and undo is there any time. You log from your phone. The client sees the same number on a private link with no login and no app, and books the next 1:1 on that link. A client who cancels inside your late-cancel window uses the session automatically. Payments are recorded against the pack, and the amount owed is tracked separately from sessions left. There is no workout builder and no per-seat price.
CountedIn also puts the count first. Its site says clients get a shared link with no login, credits count down as you go, and late cancels deduct a credit. Starter is $29 a month for up to 50 clients. Studio, at $49, adds Stripe payment links and the cancellation policy (checked 18 October 2026).
How the options compare
PacksLeft makes one product in this table. Competitor details come from their public pricing and help pages: Trainerize checked September and 1 October 2026, Everfit and TrueCoach checked 3 October 2026, Acuity checked September 2026, CountedIn checked 18 October 2026. We have not used the other tools, so verify before you decide.
| Tool | Count and expiry | What the client uses | Payments | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PacksLeft | Sessions left and expiry on every pack | A private link, no login or app | Your own Stripe at 0%, plus cash, Venmo, Zelle, and bank recorded by hand | $14.99/month or $149.99/year, unlimited clients |
| CountedIn | Credits count down; late cancels deduct | A shared link, no login | Manual payments; Stripe links on Studio | $29/month up to 50 clients; Studio $49 |
| Trainerize | Pack credits and expiry with the Stripe add-on | The Trainerize app | Stripe add-on, $10/month on Grow and Pro | Grow $10/month for two clients; Pro from $25 |
| Everfit | Packs through the Payments & Packages add-on | The Everfit app | Add-on, $9/month | Pro $19/month at 5 clients, $49 at 20 |
| TrueCoach | Check pack handling in the trial | The TrueCoach app | Stripe payments included | $29.98/month up to 5 clients, $69.98 for 20 |
| Acuity Scheduling | Appointments left on a package code (Standard and Premium) | A code on the scheduler, or balances by email | Stripe, Square, or PayPal | $16–$61/month |
Storing a payment is not tracking a pack
Any of these tools can store a payment. Storing a payment means you can see “Venmo, $400, March 3” on a client record. Tracking a pack means the system knows that client bought a 10-pack on March 3, has used 4 sessions, has 6 left, that the pack expires June 3, and that last Tuesday's no-show used a session under your policy.
If a tool only does the first, the second still lives in your head or your sheet, and a disputed count stays your word against theirs because the client cannot see the number you see. In a trial, sell yourself a 10-pack, log a late cancel and a no-show, take a partial payment, and check what the client sees.
Per-client pricing and a growing roster
Per-client pricing charges for every active client, every month. On the public price lists checked 3 October 2026, Everfit Pro is $29 a month at 10 clients and $49 at 20, and TrueCoach is $69.98 a month for 20. You keep paying for the client who bought a 10-pack in March and comes twice a month.
A flat price does not climb with the roster. PacksLeft is $14.99 a month, or $149.99 a year, with unlimited clients and a 30-day free trial. The trade-off is real: a flat counter gives up the programming library and the exercise videos.
When a spreadsheet is the better fit
If you train a few regulars on the same days and nobody has ever disputed a count, a spreadsheet plus Venmo is fine. No monthly fee is worth paying for a problem you do not have.
Two things usually push trainers off the sheet. The first is expiry: a 10-pack with a 90-day window needs a date someone actually checks, and a sheet does not remind you. The second is the disputed count: a client says they had two left, your sheet says zero, and a partial payment makes it hard to tell who is right. If your setup has never produced either, do not switch yet.
Before you move clients off Trainerize
Write down every client's remaining count, purchase date, and expiry date before you cancel anything. Trainerize's client export is a basic list of names and contact details, not session counts or payments, so take the counts from each client's profile.
Add pack size, remaining sessions, and price to that list, dry-run the import in your new tool, then pick one cutover day so the count only moves in one place. PacksLeft imports CSV and Excel, Google Sheets included, and shows a dry run before anything is saved.
Then send each client one message: the training stays the same, the app they ignored is gone, and the count now lives on a link. Confirm the expiry date in writing, so a pack that expires mid-switch is not quietly extended or forgotten.
Which one fits your workflow
If you sell in-person 5-packs and 10-packs and your clients ignore apps, decide by what breaks: the count, expiry, late cancels, and partial payments.
- Keep Trainerize or Everfit if clients follow programs in the app and you are fine paying per client.
- TrueCoach fits remote coaching with programming at the center.
- CountedIn fits if you mix billing models and want the count first; check which plan covers Stripe links and the cancellation policy.
- PacksLeft fits a sheet-plus-Venmo business where the arguments are about the count: one number per client on a link, 1:1 booking, your own Stripe, and no per-client price. It has no workout builder.
- Acuity fits if booking is the main job and the package rules are simple.
Is there a Trainerize alternative that doesn't require clients to download an app?
Yes. PacksLeft and CountedIn both give clients a link with no login. On PacksLeft, the link shows sessions left, the last five sessions, and your policy, and lets the client book the next 1:1 and buy the next pack. Trainerize, Everfit, and TrueCoach clients use those apps.
What's the cheapest way to track session packs and payments?
For a few regulars with no disputes, a spreadsheet plus Venmo costs nothing. As the roster grows, per-client prices climb: Everfit Pro is $49 a month at 20 clients and TrueCoach is $69.98 for 20 (checked 3 October 2026). PacksLeft is $14.99 a month for unlimited clients, and CountedIn Starter is $29 for up to 50 (checked 18 October 2026).
Can I keep using Venmo and just use software for session counts?
Yes. In PacksLeft, record each Venmo, cash, Zelle, or bank payment against the client's pack by hand. Sessions left and the amount owed stay separate, so a payment never uses a session. PacksLeft does not sync with Venmo automatically. CountedIn's Starter plan also includes manual payments.
Do Everfit or TrueCoach track remaining sessions on a 10-pack?
Everfit sells packs through its Payments & Packages add-on ($9 a month), and TrueCoach includes Stripe payments (both checked 3 October 2026). In both, clients use the app. We have not used either, so in a trial, sell yourself a 10-pack, log a late cancel and a no-show, and check what the client sees.
How do I handle late cancels and no-shows with prepaid packs?
Pick one rule and apply it to every client. In PacksLeft, a late cancel or no-show you log uses one session. A client who cancels on their link inside your late-cancel window (12 hours by default, anywhere from 0 to 168) uses one automatically, and a cancel you make never does. Undo is there any time, and the client sees the same number you do.
Move one client over first
Add a client and her pack, log a session, and open her link. 30 days free, no card.