Karate School Software 2026: Dojo Management Software Compared

Quick answer: The best karate school software for coaching is mmaGPT Academy. Students film a kata or a kumite exchange and get AI feedback with a timestamp and a drill, and you see every student's progress in one dashboard, for $17 per seat a month with a free 10-day pilot. For grading, attendance and payments, pair it with karate dojo management software: MatGoat from $40 a month, with kyu and dan structures for Shotokan, Goju-Ryu or Kyokushin, Kicksite from $49, or Gymdesk from $75.

A karate dojo runs on gradings. The office needs kyu and dan records, exam dates, licence and grading fees, and attendance split between kids, adults, kata and kumite classes. The mat needs something different: a way to see whether each student's stances, kime and timing are getting better. This guide puts mmaGPT Academy first for coaching and compares six karate school management systems.

Disclosure: mmaGPT publishes this comparison and mmaGPT Academy is our product.

Karate school software compared

Software	What it does	Starting price	Free plan or trial	Best for
1. mmaGPT Academy (our pick)	AI technique feedback on every student's clips, plus an instructor dashboard with each student's progress	$17 per seat/month, no minimum; 8 analyses per seat	Free 10-day pilot for you and up to 10 students	Technique coaching between classes
2. MatGoat	Kyu and dan structures by style, attendance by class type, kata and bunkai video library by grade	$40/month up to 50 students; Professional $60	30 days	Traditional dojos with gradings
3. Kicksite	School management with attendance, lead capture and failed-payment flags	$49/month up to 25 students	30 days	Small dojos
4. Gymdesk	Memberships, billing, attendance, belt ranks with promotion criteria, school website	$75/month up to 50 members with Gymdesk Payments ($100 without)	30 days	Simple all-in-one management
5. RhinoFit	Custom rank systems and rank testing, billing, kiosk attendance, waivers	From $57/month	30 days	Custom belt systems
6. Spark Membership	School management with marketing automation and a setup rep	$199/month	8 weeks	Lead follow-up and sales help

The tools

1. mmaGPT Academy

What it does: Students film a kata, a bunkai sequence or a kumite exchange on their phone. Each clip comes back with timestamped notes on stance depth, hip rotation, balance and distance, and a drill for the main mistake. Instructors get a roster dashboard with session counts, recent submissions, last-active dates and each student's score trend, plus every student's film history and recurring mistakes flagged across sessions. It runs in the phone browser, so there is nothing to install. It also covers taekwondo, judo, BJJ and kickboxing if your dojo teaches more than one style.

Pricing: $17 per seat a month, with no minimum; each seat includes 8 analyses per billing period. See Academy pricing.

Free pilot: 10 days for you and up to 10 students. No sales call.

Best for: dojos that want every student to practice correctly between classes and arrive at gradings ready.

Honest limitation: it does not do billing, scheduling or check-ins. Pair it with one of the systems below.

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2. MatGoat

What it does: Karate setup with configurable kyu and dan structures for styles such as Shotokan, Goju-Ryu and Kyokushin, exam dates and promotion history, kiosk check-in with attendance split by kids, adults, kata and kumite classes, a private kata and bunkai video library by grade, parent accounts and custom fields for federation licences.

Pricing: Basic is $40 a month for up to 50 students. Professional is $60 a month with no student cap and adds direct debit with no commission.

Free trial: 30 days.

Best for: traditional dojos that grade often and want kata videos by level.

3. Kicksite

What it does: Martial arts school management with attendance, lead capture and flags for failed payments.

Pricing: $49 a month for up to 25 active students, $99 for 26 to 50, $149 for 51 to 100 and $199 above 100.

Free trial: the first 30 days are free when you book a demo.

Best for: small dojos that want a low starting price.

4. Gymdesk

What it does: All-in-one school management: memberships, recurring billing, bookings, automatic attendance at check-in, belt ranks with promotion criteria and test-readiness alerts, and a school website.

Pricing: $75 a month for up to 50 active members with Gymdesk Payments ($100 without), $100 for 51 to 100, $150 for 101 to 150 and $200 for 151 to 250.

Free trial: 30 days.

Best for: dojos that want one simple system.

5. RhinoFit

What it does: Belt tracking with custom rank systems and rank testing, card and ACH billing, email and SMS, kiosk attendance and digital waivers.

Pricing: from $57 a month.

Free trial: 30 days.

Best for: dojos with their own grading syllabus.

6. Spark Membership

What it does: Martial arts school management built around marketing: lead tracking, recurring billing, booking, attendance, belt progression and email and SMS automation, set up by a dedicated rep.

Pricing: $199 a month, with free data migration.

Free trial: 8 weeks.

Best for: dojos that want help turning trial classes into members.

Karate grading software

Grading is where karate software earns its keep. MatGoat records kyu and dan exams by style, Gymdesk and Kicksite flag students who are ready to test, and RhinoFit runs a custom rank system. None of them shows whether a student's kata is actually ready. mmaGPT Academy does that part: a student films the kata they are grading in, and you see the notes before the exam.

How to choose

1. Start with coaching. Start the free 10-day mmaGPT Academy pilot with up to 10 students and ask them to film the kata they are working on.
2. Pick your management system. MatGoat for gradings and kata videos by level, Kicksite for a small dojo, Gymdesk for simple, RhinoFit for a custom syllabus, Spark for marketing help.
3. Check what students will use. mmaGPT runs in the phone browser on iPhone and Android, so there is nothing to install.

How we chose

mmaGPT Academy is first because it tracks each student's technique; the other systems handle grading records, attendance and payments. Prices come from each company's own pages: Gymdesk, RhinoFit and Spark checked November 1, 2026; MatGoat and Kicksite checked November 9, 2026. Prices can change, and payment processing fees are extra unless stated.

Frequently asked questions

What is the best karate school software?

mmaGPT Academy is our #1 karate school software for coaching: students film a kata or kumite exchange and get AI feedback with a timestamp and a drill, and you see every student's progress in one dashboard, from $17 per seat a month with a free 10-day pilot. For grading, attendance and payments, pair it with MatGoat, Kicksite or Gymdesk.

What is the best karate dojo management software?

MatGoat is built around karate gradings, with kyu and dan structures for Shotokan, Goju-Ryu or Kyokushin and kata videos by grade, from $40 a month. Kicksite starts at $49 for small dojos, and Gymdesk at $75 is the simplest all-in-one. Add mmaGPT Academy, our #1 pick, for technique feedback.

What software do karate instructors use?

Most karate instructors use two tools: dojo management software for gradings, attendance and fees, and a coaching tool for technique. mmaGPT Academy is built for instructors: students film kata and kumite, and you see each student's notes and recurring mistakes without rewatching every clip.

How much does karate school software cost?

As of November 2026, mmaGPT Academy is $17 per seat a month with no minimum. Karate dojo management software starts at $40 for MatGoat, $49 for Kicksite, $57 for RhinoFit, $75 for Gymdesk and $199 for Spark Membership.

Sources

• MatGoat karate software
• Kicksite pricing
• Gymdesk pricing
• RhinoFit
• Spark Membership

Related: martial arts software, boxing gym software, Muay Thai gym software and MMA software. For students: the best karate apps.

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