Trainerize vs Kahunas: the honest comparison.
Trainerize (also branded ABC Trainerize) is one of the most established workout-first coaching platforms, with a deep exercise library and a tiered plan that scales by client count. Kahunas is an app-led coaching platform that bills per seat, unlocks a branded web app (your logo and colour on your own kahunas.app address) at 200 seats and states that it takes no commission on your sales. Both are real, capable tools, and the right pick comes down to fit, not winners and losers. This is a fair, fact-checked side-by-side, and the short version with the full table is right below.
By Markus Evers · Updated November 2026
How this comparison is made: we check every competitor's pricing and features against their live websites and re-verify them on a recurring basis. We build Coachway, so we flag it wherever it appears, we credit real competitor strengths, and we say who each platform fits better than us. Browse all platform comparisons.
the short version
Pick Trainerize if your coaching is workout-first, your clients are English-speaking and largely in North America, and you want a long-established exercise library, with a free entry tier and a 30-day no-card trial to test it. Its tiered pricing scales by client count, and Stripe, the branded app, and advanced nutrition are separate add-ons. Pick Kahunas if you want per-seat pricing where each client costs less as you grow (USD 5 a seat below 25 seats down to USD 1 from 200 and USD 0.50 from 1,000), payments via Stripe or PayPal with no commission taken, and a branded web app included once you reach 200 seats. Trainerize suits coaches who put a long-established exercise library and a low starting price first, and it offers a branded app on smaller rosters (USD 169 one-time on Pro); Kahunas suits coaches who want volume pricing and commission-free payments. The full side-by-side is below.
Trainerize states that 400K+ personal trainers and coaches power their coaching on it; Kahunas states 15,000+ coaches and 1,000,000+ users (both figures self-reported by each vendor: Trainerize as of August 2026, Kahunas checked 11 November 2026). On payments, Kahunas states "0% commission on your sales" (kahunas.io/pricing, checked 11 November 2026).
If neither fits: Coachway is the option for coaches who sell nutrition and training together and want a client app in each client's own language (English, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, German, Dutch or Spanish), meal plans built from 1,100+ ready recipes, and payments through their own Stripe account. Trainerize states its app is English only, and Kahunas's site and help center are in English. It has no custom-branded app and no session booking, so it is not the pick if either of those decides it. If you are leaving Kahunas, see the Coachway offer for Kahunas coaches: one month free and a free migration by our team. We build Coachway, so read this as our pitch, not part of the verdict above. One plan with every feature, EUR 69/month incl. 5 clients + EUR 9 per extra (USD 79 + 10, GBP 59 + 8); built-in payments cost 2.4 % per transaction. See the switch offer.
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Trainerize vs Kahunas, side by side.
| Trainerize | Kahunas | Coachway (our product) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Best for | Workout-led coaches in North America who want a deep training library | Kahunas: coaches who want commission-free payments and a per-seat price that falls as they grow | Coaches who sell nutrition and training together, with clients in several languages |
| Pricing model | Trainerize is tiered by client count: Grow USD 10/mo, Pro 5-200 from USD 25/mo, Studio Plus USD 275/mo and Studio Max USD 380/mo per location | Kahunas charges per seat: USD 5 / 2.50 / 2 / 1.50 / 1 / 0.50 per seat a month as you grow (yearly 20% off) | One plan, every feature: EUR 69/month incl. 5 clients + EUR 9 per extra (USD 79 + 10, GBP 59 + 8) |
| Entry / free option | Trainerize: free Basic tier (1 client); 30-day trial, no credit card | Kahunas: no free tier (3-seat minimum, USD 15/mo); 14-day free trial | No free tier; 14-day free trial, card required, cancel anytime |
| Branded client app | Trainerize: USD 169 one-time add-on on Pro; included on Studio | Kahunas' branded app unlocks at 200 seats (USD 1.00 per seat, so at least USD 200/mo): your logo and colour on its web app, installed from your link, no App Store or Google Play listing (Kahunas, checked 11 November 2026) | No custom-branded app; one Coachway app carrying your own programs, meal plans, check-ins and prices |
| Payments | Trainerize: Stripe add-on USD 10/mo on Grow and Pro; included on Studio | Kahunas: Stripe or PayPal; states no commission on your sales | Through your own Stripe account; built-in payments cost 2.4 % per transaction |
| Nutrition | Trainerize: basic included; advanced nutrition is a USD 20-45/mo Trainerize add-on | Kahunas: 1.5 million+ foods with barcode scanning and macro and micro tracking (kahunas.io, checked 11 November 2026) | Meal planner with 1,100+ recipes and 3,900+ ingredients; food logging against a 3.7 million item database with barcode scanning |
| Language | Trainerize: English; Trainerize states its app is available only in English | Kahunas: site and help center in English (checked 11 November 2026); ask Kahunas which languages its client app offers | Client app and coach dashboard in 8 languages: English, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, German, Dutch, Spanish |
| Origin | North American (Vancouver, Canada) | Kahunas FZE, registered in the UAE (kahunas.io/trust, checked 11 November 2026) | Coachway ApS, Copenhagen, Denmark |
Pricing and features change. Verify the current plan structure and add-on costs on each vendor's own pricing page before you commit. The Coachway column is our own product, added for coaches neither tool fits; the Trainerize and Kahunas columns are the comparison. For a deeper look at each tool on its own, see our full Trainerize review, the Trainerize pricing breakdown, our Kahunas review, and the Kahunas pricing breakdown. If you are ruling one of them out, our guides to the strongest Trainerize replacements and platforms to consider instead of Kahunas list what else fits. If you want a specific Kahunas alternative, here is our Kahunas alternative guide; if you have already decided, how to switch from Kahunas covers the steps, and our note on the Kahunas 2.0 update explains what Kahunas changed. For the wider field beyond these two, see our ranked list of the best online coaching platforms for fitness coaches.
A deep workout-first platform vs an app-led, commission-free one.
It is worth being honest from the start: both of these are genuinely capable tools, and this is not a teardown of either. Trainerize is one of the most established names in the category, with a large exercise library. Kahunas puts two things up front on its own pages: a branded app under your own name and address (from 200 seats, as a web app rather than a store listing), and payments with no commission on your sales. On the core checklist they overlap more than they look at first glance: both have a workout builder, a client mobile app, nutrition tracking, check-ins, in-app messaging, and payments. The real difference is how each one packages those pieces and who it is built for.
Trainerize prices by client count and treats Stripe, the branded app, and advanced nutrition as add-ons you layer on as you grow, which keeps the entry point low (a free tier and a USD 10/mo Grow plan) but means the white-label app and payments cost extra until you reach the top Studio tier. Kahunas bills per seat, with the seat price falling at 25, 50, 100, 200 and 1,000 seats, folds the branded web app into the seat price from 200 seats, and takes no commission on payments through Stripe or PayPal. So the trade tends to be: Trainerize for its long-established training tooling and the cheapest way in, Kahunas for commission-free billing and a per-client price that keeps falling as you grow. For the full feature checklist behind these criteria, our online coaching platform guide walks through the entire stack. And if your current platform takes a cut of what your clients pay, see platforms that charge a subscription instead of a revenue cut.
where trainerize wins
Trainerize
Trainerize has real, concrete strengths, and there are coaches for whom it is the obvious choice. Its biggest asset is the workout library: the exercise library and program builder are mature and developed over many years. The entry point is genuinely low, with a free Basic tier for a single client and a Grow plan at USD 10/mo for up to 2 clients, so a coach can test the workflow before paying much at all, and there is a 30-day free trial with no credit card required. The North American ecosystem around it is established, with a Zapier integration and a familiar presence for coaches and clients in that market. Stripe payments (a USD 10/mo add-on on Grow and Pro) and the custom branded app (a USD 169 one-time fee on Pro, included on Studio) give a clear upgrade path. If you are a workout-led coach with English-speaking clients, it is a strong fit on the training side.
Choose Trainerize if: your coaching is primarily training programming, your clients are English-speaking, you want a long-established exercise library, the lowest cost to start, and you are comfortable adding Stripe, the branded app, and advanced nutrition as separate Trainerize line items as you scale. Kahunas is built for a different set of needs, covered next.
where kahunas wins
Kahunas
Kahunas leans into the two things that often push a coach to upgrade, and bundles them in rather than charging them as add-ons. The headline for large rosters is the branded app: it unlocks at 200 seats (USD 1.00 per seat a month, so at least USD 200 a month), included in the seat price rather than billed separately. Per Kahunas's own pages it is your logo and brand colour on its web app, with your own yourname.kahunas.app address, email domain and menu, installed from your link with no App Store or Google Play listing (checked 11 November 2026). Payments are the other strength: Kahunas supports both Stripe and PayPal and states it takes no commission on your sales, so the billing relationship stays yours. Its pricing is per seat and easy to reason about: USD 5.00 a seat a month for 3 to 24 seats, USD 2.50 from 25, USD 2.00 from 50, USD 1.50 from 100, USD 1.00 from 200 and USD 0.50 from 1,000, with yearly billing 20 percent off. Kahunas bills the bigger tier when it costs the same or less, so 20 clients cost USD 62.50, 50 clients USD 100 and 100 clients USD 150 a month, and the average price per client falls as the roster grows. On the product side it states 1.5 million+ foods with barcode scanning, macro and micronutrient tracking and 1,700+ exercise videos (kahunas.io, checked 11 November 2026), plus check-ins, progress photos, content drip, and in-app messaging, and there is a 14-day free trial to test it.
Choose Kahunas if: you want payments through Stripe or PayPal with no commission taken by Kahunas, a per-seat price that falls as your roster grows, and, at 200 seats or more, a branded web app under your own name and address included in Kahunas' price. If your need is a long-established workout library or the lowest possible entry price, Trainerize may suit you better.
Which should you choose?
The decision really comes down to four questions: is training programming the heart of the job, how many clients will you carry, do you want a branded app included at volume or as a one-time add-on, and how do you want to be paid? Here is the fair way to land it.
- Your coaching is primarily training programming and the exercise library is your top priority. Trainerize. Its exercise library and program builder are among the most mature in the category, and the free tier plus 30-day no-card trial make it easy to test.
- You want the lowest cost to start. Trainerize. A free Basic tier (1 client) and a USD 10/mo Grow plan give the cheapest way in; Kahunas starts at USD 15/mo for its 3-seat minimum (USD 25 at 5 clients) with no free tier.
- You want a branded client app without a separate fee. Kahunas, on a large roster: its branded web app (no store listing) is included in the seat price from 200 seats (at least USD 200/mo), which Kahunas bills from about 134 clients. On a smaller roster, Trainerize is the cheaper route, with a USD 169 one-time add-on on Pro, included on Studio.
- You want commission-free payments and a choice of Stripe or PayPal. Kahunas. It supports both and states it takes no commission; on Trainerize, integrated Stripe is a USD 10/mo add-on on Grow and Pro.
- You expect a large client base. Kahunas bills per seat too, but the seat price falls as you grow: 50 clients cost USD 100 a month and 100 clients USD 150. Trainerize Pro scales by client count up to 200 before Studio, so run your own number through both pricing pages.
- Advanced nutrition coaching tools matter to your offer. Either can work, but check the packaging: Trainerize gates advanced nutrition behind a USD 20-45/mo add-on, while Kahunas states 1.5 million+ foods with barcode scanning within its plans. Confirm the exact feature set for your needs with each provider.
If neither feels like the perfect fit, it is worth shortlisting a third option. Coaches who want training, nutrition, and weekly check-ins in one focused workflow, with their own Stripe included and the client app in eight languages on every plan, often look at Coachway against Trainerize and Coachway against Kahunas. Coachway uses predictable per-client pricing and a client-facing UI in eight languages, with the Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and German versions reviewed by native-speaking coaches, which matters most for Nordic and DACH client bases. Our walkthrough on choosing an online coaching platform turns all of this into a step-by-step shortlist.
Frequently asked.
Is Trainerize or Kahunas better for online fitness coaches?
It depends on your business. Pick Trainerize if your coaching is workout-first, your clients are in North America and English-speaking, and you want a long-established exercise library with a low entry tier. Pick Kahunas if you want per-seat pricing that gets cheaper per client as you grow, payments via Stripe or PayPal with no commission, and, once you reach 200 seats, a branded web app (your logo and brand colour on your own kahunas.app address) included in the seat price.
How does Trainerize pricing compare to Kahunas pricing?
They use different models. Trainerize is tiered by client count: Basic (free, 1 client), Grow at USD 10/mo (up to 2 clients), Pro from USD 25/mo (5 to 200 clients), and Studio Plus at USD 275/mo per location (up to 500 clients; Studio Max is USD 380/mo for up to 1,000), with Stripe (USD 10/mo), the branded app (USD 169 one-time), and advanced nutrition (USD 20-45/mo) as separate add-ons. Kahunas bills per seat (an active client or a team member), with a 3-seat minimum: USD 5.00 per seat a month for 3 to 24 seats, 2.50 for 25 to 49, 2.00 for 50 to 99, 1.50 for 100 to 199, 1.00 for 200 to 999 and 0.50 from 1,000, with yearly billing 20 percent off. It bills the bigger tier when that costs the same or less, so 5 clients cost USD 25, 20 clients USD 62.50, 50 clients USD 100 and 100 clients USD 150 a month. Confirm current figures with each provider before you commit.
Which one includes a branded client app?
On Kahunas, white label unlocks at 200 seats (USD 1.00 per seat a month, so at least USD 200 a month); below that, clients use the standard Kahunas-branded web app. Kahunas describes its branded app as your logo and brand colour on its web app, with your own yourname.kahunas.app address, email domain and menu; it installs from your link and has no App Store or Google Play listing (Kahunas, checked 11 November 2026). On Trainerize, the custom branded app is a USD 169 one-time fee on Pro and is included on Studio. So if a branded app on the client home screen is a priority on a smaller roster, the Trainerize one-time fee is the cheaper route; Kahunas includes its branded web app in the seat price once you are billed for 200 seats, which happens from about 134 clients, because 200 seats at USD 1.00 cost less than 134 at USD 1.50 (150 clients cost USD 200 a month).
How do payments and fees differ between Trainerize and Kahunas?
Both let coaches collect client payments, but the packaging differs. Kahunas supports Stripe and PayPal and states it takes no commission on your sales. On Trainerize, integrated Stripe payments are a USD 10/mo add-on on Grow and Pro and are included on Studio. Coaches connect their own processor in both cases. Verify the current fee structure with each provider, since payment terms change.
What about nutrition and language support?
Trainerize includes basic nutrition on all plans, with advanced nutrition coaching as a USD 20-45/mo add-on, and the vendor states the app is available only in English. Kahunas states 1.5 million+ foods with barcode scanning (kahunas.io, checked 11 November 2026) alongside macro and micronutrient tracking; its marketing site and help center are in English, so ask Kahunas which languages its client app offers.
I am on Kahunas and thinking of leaving. What does Coachway offer?
If you are leaving Kahunas, our team does the migration for you in one day, free. Sign up on coachway.io/kahunas/. The checkout there shows 30 days free and your price after it. Then tell us what to move, with the short form there or the chat in the app. A person on our team replies the same day on weekdays and plans the move. Before anything changes we tell you what we can move and what we cannot. Client payment subscriptions are never moved: they are set up again on your own Stripe account. Kahunas tells existing coaches they keep their current plan and price until they choose a seat plan themselves (kahunas.io/pricing, checked 11 November 2026), so there is no rush.
Is there a third option worth considering alongside Trainerize and Kahunas?
Yes. If you want training, nutrition, and weekly check-ins in one focused workflow with your own Stripe included and the client app in eight languages on every plan, Coachway is an honest third option to shortlist. It uses predictable per-client pricing (EUR 69/mo for up to 5 active clients plus EUR 9 each additional) and ships a client-facing UI in eight languages, with the Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish and German versions reviewed by native-speaking coaches, which matters more for Nordic and DACH client bases than for an English-speaking North American one.
Features are not the deciding factor. The workflow is.
A longer feature list is easy to compare in a table. What can matter more is how fast you can run the actual work, week after week: following up a client, sending video feedback, and reviewing a weekly check-in. Coachway is built from working hands-on with online fitness coaches scaling past 1,000 clients, where shaving minutes off every client interaction is the whole game.
The entire product is tuned for one outcome: handle more clients, at a higher satisfaction rate, in less time. A smoother workflow is not just cheaper for you, it is a better experience for the client, and that is what keeps clients paying for longer.
check-ins
Review a weekly check-in in 3 to 5 minutes, with notes, data, photos, and exercise history in one view.
follow-up
Messages, video feedback, and plan tweaks happen from one tab.
automation
Automatic reminders run the cadence, and smart send holds a message back if the client has an unread message, so the experience stays personal.
Keep reading
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