Checked October 26, 2026. Prices were read on each vendor's own pricing page. Some tools (Zen Planner, in part Mindbody) give only "starting at" prices; Spark Membership and Kicksite do not label their features AI, and we say so. Prices change: re-check before you buy. Dooza Crew is our product and our top pick for small schools; we say why, and where the others fit better.
Best AI tools for martial arts studios: the short answer
Our top pick for a small martial arts school is Dooza Crew: AI employees that answer calls, chase trial-class leads and draft the follow-up emails nobody has time for, $49 a month for the whole organization, and they ask before they send anything. If you want AI inside your school software, check Zen Planner or PushPress first. For an AI receptionist, Replify. For a stand-alone phone line, Goodcall. Spark Membership and Kicksite are the martial arts-specific systems many schools already run on.
What to automate first in a martial arts school
We did not find a survey of martial arts school owners on AI, so we have no adoption number to quote and will not make one up. What we can say is where a small school loses students, because it is the same place every time: you are on the mat teaching when the phone rings, a trial student never hears back, a lapsed family never gets a message, and the evening goes to admin.
So start at the front desk, not the mat. The tools below cover missed calls, trial follow-up and member questions. Keep the parts that need a person with a person: billing disputes, contracts, waivers, injuries and anything about safety.
AI tools for martial arts studios compared
| Tool | What it does | Price (vendor page, Oct 26) | Free option |
| Dooza Crew (ours, top pick) | AI employees that answer calls, draft follow-ups, fill forms | $49/mo per organization, unlimited users and agents, AI usage included | 7 days free (card required) |
| Spark Membership | Martial arts CRM, payments and two-way SMS (not labeled AI) | $199/mo after trial | 8-week free trial |
| Kicksite | Martial arts software with automated prospect messaging (not labeled AI) | $49 to $199/mo by student count | First 30 days free |
| Zen Planner | AI-powered marketing automation and content | Studio from $99/mo; Engage from $249/mo | Demo only |
| PushPress | AI Assistant for questions about members and leads | Free $0; Pro $159/mo; Max $229/mo | $0 plan |
| Replify | AI receptionist and sales; outbound calls, texts, emails | Core $200/mo per location; Plus $400/mo | 14-day free trial |
| Mindbody | AI Concierge front desk for missed calls | "Starting at $99" per location (FAQ says $79); AI Concierge is an add-on | Not stated |
| Goodcall | AI phone answering | $79, $129 or $299 a month | Free demo agent |
| Fathom | AI notes for video calls | Premium from $16/user/mo | Free forever plan |
1. Dooza Crew (our product, top pick): AI employees for the front desk
Most small schools lose students in the gaps: a call you could not take while teaching a class, a trial student who never heard back, a lapsed family nobody emailed. Crew gives your company AI employees, each with its own computer and browser and its own job. They work around the clock, work with your team in one chat, and pass work to each other. Before one sends an email or clicks Send, Submit or Pay, it asks you to Approve, Edit or Reject.
Example jobs you could give it: you could give one agent the job of answering the phone and taking a message for every trial-class or membership enquiry; another the job of drafting a friendly follow-up to every trial student who has gone quiet, for you to approve; another the job of drafting a win-back email to students who stopped coming; another the job of filling a fillable PDF or Excel form you upload, such as a registration form or class roster sheet. Crew works in web-based tools you log in to with a browser, and you type passwords and 2FA codes yourself.
- Forms: it fills fillable PDF, Word and Excel files you upload. Scanned PDFs without form fields cannot be filled.
- Phones: Crew agents take phone calls too, included in the plan.
- Price: free for 7 days (card required), then $49 a month for the whole organization (unlimited users and agents), AI usage included with a hard spending cap. At the cap it pauses and tells you.
- Watch for: no martial arts software (such as Spark Membership, Kicksite or Zen Planner) is certified or integrated with it, so it does not sync with your school system; it works only in web tools you log in to. Billing, contracts and safety stay with you; it asks before it sends or submits.
Try Dooza Crew free for 7 days.
2. Spark Membership: martial arts software, not labeled AI
Spark is built for martial arts schools. Its pricing page says "Spark's CRM is purpose-built for martial arts schools, so it understands belt progressions and trial pipelines a generic CRM never will." It also says "Spark's two-way SMS sends instant replies to new leads, class reminders, and reschedule texts the moment something happens". That is automation, and the vendor does not call it AI on the pages we read.
- Price: "8-Week Free Trial, Then Just $199/Month" with free student data migration.
- Free trial: 8 weeks.
- Watch for: it is included because many schools already run on it, not because of AI; rules-based texts do not answer a phone call.
3. Kicksite: martial arts software with prospect messaging
Kicksite is another martial arts system. Its pricing page says it includes "attendance and belt tracking tools catered specifically to Jiu-Jitsu, Taekwondo, Karate, and other martial arts programs." For prospects, you can "set up automated messaging flows for prospects." We found no mention of AI on the pages we read.
4. Zen Planner: AI-powered marketing automation for studios
Zen Planner is gym and studio software with belt and skill tracking. Its Engage module is described as "Automate marketing and follow-up, so prospects convert and members stay — without more work for you." It lists "AI-powered marketing automation", "Lead capture & follow-up workflows" and "AI content generation".
- Price: "Zen Planner Studio Starting at $99 /mo"; Engage "Starting at $249 /mo"; Ultimate starting at $348 a month. It says you pay only for active members, never staff or prospects.
- Free trial: not stated (Book a Demo).
- Watch for: the AI sits in the Engage tier, not the $99 base, and every price is "starting at".
5. PushPress: an AI Assistant and martial arts rank tracking
PushPress lists martial arts among its business types. Its AI Assistant is "Get instant answers about members, attendance, leads, revenue, retention, and more. No spreadsheets required." It also has "PushPress Rank Tracking gives Martial Arts academies an easy way to track student progress, manage promotions, and set custom ranking criteria—all within their Core platform."
- Price: "Free $0"; Pro $159 a month; Max $229 a month. Card-processing rates differ by plan: 4.99% + .30 on Free and 2.89% + .30 on Pro.
- Free trial: not stated, but there is a $0 plan.
- Watch for: the AI answers questions about your own data; it does not take calls. The free plan has the highest card-processing rate.
6. Replify: an AI receptionist for gyms and studios
Replify is built for fitness, and its home page lists martial arts studios under "ALSO BUILT FOR". Its menu describes AI Receptionist & Sales as "Answer calls, qualify leads, and sell 24/7." Its home page announces that ABC Fitness has acquired Replify.
- Price: "CORE $200 /month/location" (month to month, no set-up fees); Plus $400 a month per location. Core includes up to 375 calls a month, then $0.30 per extra call.
- Free trial: "Free trial 14 days".
- Watch for: martial arts is a secondary audience, and it is priced per location with call caps, well above a flat $49 tool for one small school.
7. Mindbody: an AI Concierge as an add-on
Mindbody is the big booking platform, and martial arts is on its business-type menu. Its AI Concierge is described as "Get a 24/7 front desk assistant to answer client questions, respond to missed calls, and drive sales."
- Price: "Starting at $99 USD/month per location" in the header, while its FAQ says the entry plan starts at $79 a month. The plan table shows AI Concierge as an add-on.
- Free trial: not stated.
- Watch for: two starting prices on one page, the AI costs extra, and it is not martial arts-specific.
8. Goodcall: AI phone answering with a free demo agent
Goodcall builds an AI agent for your business line. Its pricing page says "Start free with a demo agent. Add a number when you're ready."
9. Fathom: free AI notes for owner and staff calls
Fathom records and summarizes video calls. Its free plan has "Unlimited recordings, instant call summaries, integrations with LLMs & more." Useful for instructor meetings, vendor reviews and calls with other school owners held on video.
- Price: "Free forever." Premium shows $20 and $16 per user per month (the page does not label which is annual), so budget from $16.
- Free trial: paid plans have a free trial and a 90-day guarantee.
- Watch for: video calls only, not the front-desk phone line or talks on the mat.
Free AI tools and trials for martial arts studios
- School software: PushPress's $0 plan.
- Call notes: Fathom's free forever plan.
- AI phone line: Goodcall's free demo agent, until you connect a number.
- Trials: Spark Membership 8 weeks, Kicksite 30 days, Replify 14 days, Dooza Crew 7 days (card required).
How to choose an AI tool for your martial arts school
- Start with the leak. Missed calls during class, trial students who go quiet, lapsed families, or admin. Pick the one that costs you the most students.
- Check your school software first. If you already pay for Spark Membership, Kicksite or Zen Planner, ask what automation or AI is built in before buying a second tool. Dooza Crew and the phone tools do not integrate with them.
- Count locations, students and callers. Replify is priced per location, Kicksite by student count, Goodcall per unique caller; Dooza Crew is a flat monthly price for the whole organization.
- Keep sign-off human. Pick tools that ask before they send, and keep billing, contracts, waivers and safety with you.
- Test on one lead source for a couple of weeks before you route every call to a bot.
Comparing phone answering alone? See the best AI receptionists.
Try Dooza Crew
A lead AI agent plus helper agents that browse the web, write files and ask you before they send or pay. 7-day free trial (card required), then $49/month with AI usage included and a hard spending cap.