Why Coaches Are Looking for a Truecoach Alternative
If you've ever used Truecoach, you know it gets the job done. It delivers workouts. Clients can log their numbers. You can send them videos. But here's the thing: for many coaches and clients, it still feels like coaching through a spreadsheet. Or as some put it, "a PDF on steroids." Functional? Yes. But also text heavy, clunky, and sometimes frustrating.
On Reddit, one client said the UI felt "a little awkward" and they couldn't even change their own workout dates without asking their trainer. And another coach put it bluntly: "Building workouts in Truecoach feels like admin work, not coaching." These aren't isolated complaints either. When you dig through the forums and review sites, a pattern emerges: coaches love the reliability, but they're increasingly frustrated by the experience.
That's why we made this comparison. At Gymkee, we work every day with thousands of online and hybrid coaches, and one of the questions we hear constantly is: "What's the real difference between Truecoach and Gymkee?" So we're going to break it down across five key areas: pricing, ease of use, features, client experience, and support. And we're not just listing specs. We're looking at real feedback from coaches and clients on Reddit, Trustpilot, Capterra, and G2.
Pricing and Philosophy
Truecoach uses a tiered model. About $30 a month for up to 5 clients, $60 for up to 20, and $120 for up to 50. Each tier adds a few extras like wearables integration or Zapier automations. But the core difference between tiers is simply how many clients you're allowed to coach. And that's the frustration coaches mention most often: as soon as you grow, you're pushed up a tier. Your workflow doesn't change, but your bill does.
Gymkee takes a different approach. The entry point is $49 a month for up to 25 active clients with everything you need already included. When your business evolves, you unlock extras only if you want them. Need unlimited clients? Add $20. Want nutrition coaching tools? Add $39. Want to sell on demand programs? Add $39 plus a small commission. Want your own branding in the client app? Add $20. No forced jumps, no paying for features you'll never use.
To put it in perspective: if you're starting with 3 to 5 clients, Truecoach's startup plan is slightly cheaper. But the moment you're coaching 10, 15, or 20 clients, Gymkee stays at $49 while Truecoach forces an upgrade. And if you want to scale even bigger, Gymkee's $69 unlimited clients plan gives you room to grow without the bill doubling.
The philosophy is simple: the value of your platform shouldn't be tied to a headcount. It should be tied to how much time it saves you and the experience it gives your clients. That's why coaches who switch to Gymkee say they finally feel like their software is helping them grow instead of holding them back.
Ease of Use and Interface
With Truecoach, most coaches agree it gets the job done. But the workout screen is basically a long text list. Programming feels like typing into a spreadsheet: sets, reps, notes, line after line. On Reddit, coaches describe it as "filling out paperwork, not coaching." Even clients have shared frustrations about the interface feeling awkward and limiting.
Gymkee was designed to feel different from the ground up. A drag and drop builder lets you program entire weeks in seconds. Supersets, circuits, AMRAPs, EMOMs, and Tabata are all built in with one click. Clear, distraction free visuals guide clients through workouts with 4K demo videos shot from two angles. On Trustpilot, coaches describe Gymkee as "very intuitive" and "super fast," saying it saves them hours every week building programs.
The difference in a nutshell: Truecoach is like a digital PDF, reliable but dry. Gymkee is like a modern app, fast, visual, and built to make both coaching and training actually enjoyable. Clients notice the difference immediately, and that matters because their experience directly impacts their consistency and your retention.
Features and Content
Truecoach checks a lot of boxes. Workout builder, habit checklists, progress tracking, messaging, payments, Zapier automations, wearable sync, and a huge library of more than 3,000 exercise videos. But at its core, it still feels like a PDF with features layered around it.
Nutrition is a good example. Truecoach doesn't have its own meal plan builder or recipes. Instead, it leans on a MyFitnessPal integration. Clients log food in a separate app and the data syncs back. It works, but your clients have to juggle multiple apps, and the experience never feels seamless.
Gymkee focuses on the features that actually matter for coaching. For trainers: a drag and drop builder that's fast, with supersets, circuits, AMRAPs, EMOMs, and Tabata all built in. For clients: a real app experience with 450 plus 4K videos filmed from two camera angles, male and female demos, multiple language support, and smooth workout flows. For nutrition: a built in module with a plan builder and recipe library, so everything stays in one place. And for scaling: an on demand module to sell programs and courses directly inside Gymkee.
On Trustpilot, one coach wrote: "Finally, a complete tool that covers both fitness and nutrition in one app. It saves me hours every week, and my clients actually follow the plans." The difference is clear: Truecoach is a digital PDF with add ons. Gymkee is a real coaching platform for trainers and a real app for clients. When everything lives under one roof, you spend less time switching between tools and more time actually coaching.
Client Experience
At the end of the day, your platform isn't just for you. It's the space where your clients spend their time. And this is where the gap between Truecoach and Gymkee really shows.
With Truecoach, clients open the app and mostly see text: exercise names, sets, reps, weights, line after line to scroll through. It's basically a digital PDF. Efficient but flat. Reviewers describe it as "useful for logging, but not engaging." And that matters. If the app feels dry or boring, clients are less excited to check in. When engagement drops, consistency drops, and results drop too.
Gymkee was built to make the client experience completely different. Instead of a text list, workouts flow smoothly from one exercise to the next. Every move has a 4K demo video filmed from two angles with both male and female models. The app works in five languages, so clients around the world can follow without friction. And workouts run offline, so there are no wifi issues and no excuses.
On Trustpilot, one coach said: "My clients love it. It's motivating, aesthetic, and easy to follow, even for beginners." When clients enjoy the app, they stay consistent. When they stay consistent, they get results. And when they get results, they tell their friends about you. That's the cycle that grows your business: a great client experience drives consistency, consistency drives results, and results drive referrals.
Support and Responsiveness
With Truecoach, most coaches say the support is solid. You email them, you get a professional response. But it's formal: you're opening a ticket and waiting for a reply. And support is really built for coaches, not for clients. If one of your clients runs into a technical issue, you're often the one playing tech support.
Gymkee takes a different approach. Support isn't an afterthought, it's part of the product. Both you and your clients get direct chat support inside the app. Real people answer quickly, and sometimes even the CEO jumps in to help. In an era where most companies replace humans with bots, Gymkee has gone the other way, putting more humans in support, not fewer.
On top of fixing bugs and answering questions, Gymkee publishes a new YouTube video every week with strategies and insights to help coaches grow their business. The difference is clear: Truecoach gives you formal support when you reach out. Gymkee gives you a team behind you and behind your clients, invested in your success every day.
The Big Takeaway
Truecoach has been around for years. It's reliable, it has a lot of features, and for many coaches it's been the standard. But as we've seen: pricing climbs quickly as you grow, the interface often feels like a PDF on steroids, nutrition features rely on third party apps, clients find the experience functional but flat, and support is professional but formal.
Gymkee takes a different path. A fair, transparent price of $49 for up to 25 clients with add ons only when you need them. A modern interface that saves you time. The right features from training to nutrition to on demand, built to be simple and engaging. A client app that feels motivating, visual, and easy to follow. And direct chat support for both you and your clients, backed by a team that's invested in your growth.
If you're ready to see the difference, start your free 14 day trial today. Use the code TC SWITCH to get your first month at 50% off. The link is in the description.
