A gym is a subscription business with a physical door: recurring billing across hundreds of members, classes with capacity that fill (or don’t), access control, and a churn rate that decides the P&L far more than new signups do. The right management software automates billing (including the failed payments), fills the classes, and warns you which member is about to quit before they do. We compare three strong European platforms (Virtuagym, Resawod, Timp), note where coaching apps fit instead, and give a verdict per type of facility.

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What gym software must solve

• Recurring billing with retry logic for failed payments, the silent leak of every membership business (the automated recovery circuit).
• Class booking with capacity, waitlists and no-show penalties (the fine print that makes bookings work).
• A member app: booking, schedules and push notices from the pocket is the expected standard.
• Access control (turnstile, QR, wristband) tied to payment status.
• Retention data: per-member attendance and inactivity alerts; the member gone quiet for two weeks is a cancellation in two months (the full anti-churn system).

The 2026 comparison

Indicative prices July 2026, before VAT; all price by active members or modules, so quote with your real numbers.

1. Virtuagym, the full-stack international platform

A complete international platform: management plus a member app under YOUR brand (not theirs), digital workout and nutrition plans for members, challenges and community, serious access control and deep business analytics.

• Pros: the white-label app puts your brand in every member’s pocket; digital coaching included; scales to chains.
• Cons: price and complexity; oversized under ~300 members.

👉 Request a Virtuagym demo

2. Resawod, the class-and-community engine

Widely used across boxes and cross-training studios, where the group class IS the product: impeccable capacity booking with waitlists, recurring billing, access control, and a member app people genuinely use (workout of the day, rankings, bookings).

• Pros: the most battle-tested class flow; community features that quietly retain; fast onboarding.
• Cons: a traditional open-floor gym without classes pays for muscle it won’t use.

👉 Try Resawod

3. Timp, the boutique favorite

Strong in boutique studios (pilates, yoga, cycling, EMS): polished bookings, flexible session packages and cross-activity packs (the “8 pilates + 2 massage” bundle that breaks other systems), recurring billing and an elegant member app.

• Pros: the finest package logic of the group; excellent price/function balance.
• Cons: access control and big-facility features run shallower than Virtuagym.

👉 Try Timp

And if you’re a trainer, not a facility

Coaching businesses without a door to control need a different animal: program delivery, client check-ins and payments. That is Harbiz and Trainerize territory, compared in best personal trainer apps and Harbiz vs Trainerize.

Verdict by facility type

• Box or class-driven studio: Resawod; its booking-plus-community flow is exactly your business.
• Boutique studio selling packages: Timp.
• 300+ member gym or a chain: Virtuagym, with the white-label app as a retention weapon.
• Personal trainer or PT studio without a facility: Harbiz.
• Everyone: configure two things in week one, whatever you buy: billing retries with member-friendly notifications (the sequence) and inactivity alerts (the churn system). They are the two highest-ROI switches in the category, and the two most often left off.

Frequently asked questions

How much does gym management software cost? Between €50 and €200/month by size and modules. Practical rule: if it costs more than 2-3 monthly memberships, make the demo prove how it recovers failed payments and rescues at-risk members.

Which handles failed payments best? All three run billing with retries; the differentiator is the member-facing communication flow around the retry. Ask it explicitly in the demo, and reinforce it with Make.com if needed.

Do I need a branded app? Under ~300 members, the provider’s standard app is plenty. Virtuagym’s white label earns its premium when the brand is the business (chains, franchises).

Can I migrate members and their payment mandates? Member records yes (CSV); recurring payment mandates need a careful process (member notice, sometimes re-authorization). Get the new vendor’s migration protocol in writing first.

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🔎 This article contains affiliate links to Virtuagym, Resawod, Timp and Harbiz. Read our affiliate policy.