TrueCoach's New 5% Transaction Fee in 2026 (And What It Costs You)

TrueCoach introduced a 5% transaction fee on client payments in January 2026, on top of its existing $26–$137/month subscription. For a coach taking $5,000/month in payments, that's an extra $250/month — $3,000/year — on top of the Stripe fees you were already paying. This post explains the change, runs the real-cost math at different revenue levels, and lists the TrueCoach alternatives that don't markup payments.

Updated January 2026. If you're a TrueCoach customer who only just noticed an extra line item on your payouts, this is what changed, why, and what your options look like.

What changed and when

In late 2025, TrueCoach quietly updated its pricing terms to add a 5% platform fee on every client transaction processed through TrueCoach Payments. The change took effect for new customers in November 2025 and was rolled out to existing customers on a staggered basis through January 2026.

The mechanics:

• The 5% is charged on top of Stripe's standard processing fees (2.9% + $0.30 per US card transaction, 1.5% + 20p for UK domestic cards).
• It applies to one-off payments, packages, and recurring subscriptions taken through TrueCoach.
• It does not replace the monthly subscription. You still pay $26–$137/month depending on your client count.
• TrueCoach's previous "no transaction fees" positioning was removed from marketing pages in the same window.

For comparison, when TrueCoach launched Stripe-powered payments in 2021, the headline feature was that there were no platform fees — just Stripe's processing cost. That positioning is gone.

Why TrueCoach made the change

TrueCoach was acquired by Xplor Technologies in 2021 and has been progressively monetised since. The transaction fee is industry-standard for platforms owned by larger payments groups — Mindbody, Wellness Living, and several gym-management platforms all take a cut. From the company's perspective, payment processing is the highest-margin revenue stream available without raising the headline subscription price.

That's not nefarious. It is, however, a cost that didn't exist 12 months ago and that compounds with every successful client payment.

What it actually costs you

Here's the maths at typical coaching revenue levels. Numbers assume you're already paying Stripe's standard rate and the 5% is fully passed through (TrueCoach absorbs none of it).

Monthly client payments	5% TrueCoach fee	Annual extra cost
$1,000	$50/month	$600/year
$5,000	$250/month	$3,000/year
$10,000	$500/month	$6,000/year
$25,000	$1,250/month	$15,000/year
$50,000	$2,500/month	$30,000/year

For context: a coach billing $10,000/month is paying an extra $6,000/year purely for the privilege of processing payments through TrueCoach instead of through Stripe directly. That's enough to cover three years of an alternative all-in-one platform.

The compounding effect matters too. Coaches with TrueCoach reviews on Capterra frequently mention raising prices to absorb platform costs — which means clients ultimately pay, and competitive trainers without the fee can undercut on rate.

Who's affected most

The fee disproportionately hits two groups:

1. Online coaches running paid programs. If most of your revenue moves through the platform (memberships, packages, challenges), the fee scales linearly with success.
2. Coaches with higher-ticket clients. A $300/month client costs you $15/month in platform fees alone. Over a 12-month retention period that's $180 per client.

It hits less if you only use TrueCoach for programming and take payment elsewhere — but at that point you're paying $26+/month for what's effectively a workout builder.

TrueCoach alternatives that don't markup payments

These are the realistic alternatives a coach evaluating the move would shortlist in 2026. All connect directly to Stripe with no platform-side transaction fee on top of Stripe's standard processing.

Platform	Monthly cost	Transaction fee	What it covers
PT Suite	£19/mo flat	Stripe standard only	Booking site, scheduling, payments, programs, client mgmt
Trainerize (Stripe Integrated plan)	$25–$250/mo	Stripe standard only	Programming, messaging, payments
My PT Hub	$7–$95/mo	Stripe standard only	Programming, nutrition, payments, basic scheduling
TrueCoach (current)	$26–$137/mo	+5% platform fee	Programming, messaging, payments
Mindbody	$129–$695/mo	Variable / negotiated	Studio-scale class & booking management

For a deeper feature-level breakdown see the PT Suite vs TrueCoach comparison and the Trainerize alternative guide. If you're a studio rather than a solo PT, the Mindbody alternative comparison covers larger setups.

A note on Trainerize: it has more in-app programming depth than PT Suite if your business is 100% online coaching with no in-person sessions. PT Suite is the better fit if you take in-person bookings, run a hybrid model, or want a public booking site that prospects can find and book without you having to manually invite them.

What happens to client experience if you switch

The honest answer is: clients won't notice the move, but they will notice the price.

• Payment flow is identical from the client's side — they enter a card, you get paid. Stripe is Stripe regardless of which platform sits on top.
• Program access does change. If your clients are used to opening the TrueCoach app, you'll need to migrate the workouts and re-onboard them to a new portal. Plan for 2–4 hours per active client on the migration.
• Recurring billing continuity matters. Most platforms support importing existing Stripe customers and subscriptions, but you should verify the subscription handoff specifically before switching — not all platforms can take over an existing Stripe subscription mid-cycle.

Migration considerations

Before you switch, run through this checklist:

1. Export your client list from TrueCoach (CSV with names, emails, billing status).
2. Export your programs and workout templates. TrueCoach allows program export per client; bulk export may require contacting support.
3. Check Stripe subscription portability. Log into Stripe directly — you own the customer records, not TrueCoach. Most platforms can pick up where TrueCoach left off without re-billing clients.
4. Plan the announcement. A short "we're moving to a new platform on [date], here's the new login link" email pre-empts confusion. Frame it as an upgrade, not a forced migration.
5. Run both in parallel for two weeks if you can. Cancel TrueCoach only once new payments and program delivery are working cleanly.

The biggest risk in switching isn't technical — it's churn during the transition. Coaches who treat the switch as an opportunity to refresh their onboarding (new welcome email, new program structure) tend to retain better than coaches who just swap the back-end and hope clients don't notice.

Is the 5% fee a dealbreaker?

Not automatically. If TrueCoach's programming features are central to how you deliver — its workout builder is genuinely strong — and your monthly client payment volume is under $1,500, you're paying $75/month in extra fees. That may be cheaper than the time-cost of switching platforms.

The dealbreaker test is this: calculate your current annual TrueCoach cost (subscription + 5% × annual client payments) and compare it to a flat-fee alternative. At $3,000/year in coaching revenue moving through the platform, you're approximately break-even. Above that, the math favours switching.

Frequently asked questions

Does the TrueCoach 5% fee apply to existing customers?

Yes. The fee was rolled out to existing customers on a staggered basis through January 2026. If you're a long-standing customer, check your most recent payout statements — the line item appears as "TrueCoach platform fee" alongside Stripe's processing fee.

Can I avoid the fee by taking payments outside TrueCoach?

Yes, but you lose the integrated invoice-to-program connection that TrueCoach charges for. Some coaches now take payment via direct Stripe links and use TrueCoach purely for programming, which side-steps the 5% but means the platform is functionally a $26/month workout builder. At that price, dedicated programming tools or all-in-one platforms tend to win on value.

How does the 5% TrueCoach fee compare to Mindbody and Trainerize?

Trainerize on its Stripe Integrated plan charges only Stripe's standard fees with no platform markup, making it cheaper per transaction than TrueCoach for most coaches. Mindbody's fees are typically negotiated per contract and vary by volume — but the headline subscription is significantly higher ($129–$695/month), so it only makes sense for studios with multiple staff. PT Suite and My PT Hub both take only Stripe's standard processing fee.

Will TrueCoach reverse the 5% fee if there's enough pushback?

Unlikely. Platforms rarely roll back monetisation changes once implemented — Mindbody, ClassPass, and several gym-management platforms have all added transaction fees over the past five years and none have removed them. Plan as if the fee is permanent.

How long does it take to migrate from TrueCoach to PT Suite?

A solo coach with 20–50 clients can migrate in 1–2 days of focused work: a few hours to export and reformat client data, a few hours to rebuild the most-used program templates, and an evening to send the announcement email. Larger client books (100+) typically take a week of part-time work. The Stripe customer records port automatically — you're rebuilding workflows, not re-acquiring clients.

Is there a coaching platform with zero monthly fee that doesn't charge transaction fees?

No — and be suspicious of any platform that claims this. Every platform has to make money somewhere. The trade-off is either subscription, transaction fee, or both. The clearest pricing model is a flat monthly subscription with Stripe-only processing fees (no markup), which is what PT Suite, Trainerize Stripe Integrated, and My PT Hub all offer. See PT Suite pricing for the full breakdown.