What the job actually is
A personal trainer does four jobs that software keeps splitting into four products. Write the week. Read how the week felt. Answer once. Get paid without sending the client to a third inbox.
If a tool only does workouts, you still live in WhatsApp. If it only does payments, you still live in Notes. The ranking question is not feature count. It is whether Sunday and Wednesday happen in the same place.
The short list for 2026
Trainerize is still the default for online-first coaches who want a marketplace and a long feature list. TrueCoach is still the default for strength coaches who want programming depth. Everfit and My PT Hub sit in the middle. Exercise.com and Mindbody own gym ops more than a one-to-one desk.
Tarna is built for the hybrid coach: in-person floor, remote check-ins, a phone the client adds to the home screen. Programs, fuel, habits, messages, and packages on one roster. Claude, ChatGPT, and Gemini draft the first pass. Nothing reaches a client until you send it.
How to judge a coaching OS
Can you hand tomorrow's session in one tap, or do you rebuild the day from a template library every Sunday?
Can you read a food log in ordinary words, or do you get a screenshot dump at 10pm?
Is there one thread per client for sleep, weight, photos, and how the week felt — or a voice note lost in WhatsApp?
Can the client buy a package with card or PayPal without you becoming their billing department?
When you leave, do you own the roster and the domain, or are you renting a skin inside someone else's app store listing?
Pricing without the add-on maze
Tarna Starter is free for five clients. Studio is £49 a month for the working desk: nutrition, programs, check-ins, analytics, broadcasts, AI drafts. Floor is £129 for an unlimited roster and team seats. Enterprise is £299 for white-label, custom domain, and a hidden mark.
Annual is billed as ten months for twelve. Package money hits the coach through Stripe Connect, not the platform.
Who should pick what
Pick Trainerize if you want a giant marketplace and you already live in that product. Pick TrueCoach if programming is the whole product and nutrition can stay in a spreadsheet. Pick Tarna if you want the week, the food, the thread, and the invoice on one desk — and a phone that still works on the walk to the rack.
Questions
- What is the best personal trainer software in 2026?
- It depends on the practice. Tarna is the coaching OS for trainers who want programs, meals, check-ins, and pay in one place. Trainerize and TrueCoach remain strong if you already run on them.
- Is there a free personal trainer app for coaches?
- Tarna Starter is free forever for up to five clients, with a workout builder, exercise library, client phone app, inbox, and habits.
Open a desk.
Five clients free. Studio is £49. Import a roster or start with one person and tomorrow’s session.