Comparison
BJJ Notes vs Kicksite
Which one should run your academy?
Updated October 4, 2026
We make BJJ Notes. This page compares our academy product with Kicksite as both exist today, using Kicksite's own pricing page, FAQ, terms, and knowledge base. Where we do not know something about Kicksite, we say so instead of guessing.
The short answer
Kicksite is school-management software. It has billed martial arts schools since 2007, mostly in the United States, and its strongest work is the business side: card drafts, past-due lists, lead pipelines, texting, and a kiosk that can refuse a student who owes money. BJJ Notes for Gyms does a good part of that and is academy software that grew out of a training journal used by Jiu-Jitsu students. It has expanded to other martial arts and manages the whole student roster, scholarships, waivers, front desk, tuition, and promotions, and it adds something no other school system has: the coach sees what the student actually trained. That means detailed technical follow-up of each student, because students use the BJJ Notes app to log their sessions in remarkable detail.
The two products start from different places. Kicksite starts at the cash register and the lead board, and adds attendance and belts on top. BJJ Notes for Gyms starts on the mat: who trained, who is drifting, who has met the criteria for the next stripe, and it collects tuition in the academy's own account, in Brazil, Latin America, Europe, or the US, without a second contract. The rest of this page lays out where each one goes further, with Kicksite's own pages as the source.
What Kicksite is built around
- Recurring card drafts in US dollars through Basys, with ACH on a higher tier.
- A kiosk that can refuse check-in for a past-due balance or an unsigned waiver.
- Belt tests run as paid events with judges and RSVPs.
- Any martial art, from taekwondo and karate to BJJ, with large kids programs.
- Landing pages, a prospect board, and unlimited one-way texting.
- US phone support in Central Time and a 60-day onboarding with a named specialist.
What BJJ Notes for Gyms is built for
- Jiu-Jitsu academies first, with Muay Thai, boxing, MMA, or wrestling on the same schedule.
- Knowing who needs attention by that person's own rhythm, not a fixed quota.
- Promotions tied to classes and months per belt and stripe, kids' belts and Muay Thai armbands included.
- Tuition in the academy's own account: recurring card or bank debit through Stripe in the US and Europe, PIX, boleto, and card in Brazil.
- Product, support, and student app in English, Portuguese, and Spanish.
- A student app that is a training journal kept for life, not a membership card. It records the student's real journey in the martial art.
Side by side
Software as shipped on October 4, 2026. Kicksite details from kicksite.com on the same date.
- Yes
- With limits
- No
- In development
| Feature | BJJ Notes for Gyms | Kicksite |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Jiu-Jitsu academies, with Muay Thai, boxing, MMA, wrestling | Martial arts schools, any style |
| Software price | $49 up to 50 students, $97 up to 200, $197 unlimited | $49 up to 25, $99 up to 50, $149 up to 100, $199 above |
| Tuition processing | Yes Into the academy's own account. US and Europe: recurring card or bank debit (Stripe). Brazil: PIX, boleto, and card (Asaas) | Yes Basys card and ACH in the US; Stripe abroad. Separate processing account |
| Student check-in | Yes QR poster, search by name at the front desk (kiosk check-in), app self check-in | Yes Kiosk with PIN, name, or barcode; mass check-in |
| Block at the door | In development | Yes Past due, no membership, or no waiver |
| Promotions | Yes Ceremony with classes and months per belt and stripe, kids' belts, armbands | Yes Days and classes at rank, bulk promote, belt tests as paid events |
| Training journal | Yes In the student app, visible to the coach | No |
| Who needs attention | Yes Active, Attention, Inactive by the student's own rhythm, based on attendance and their own journal entries | With limits Attendance counts and reports |
| Leads | Yes Public academy page, trial-class booking, follow-up email, one-tap WhatsApp. No SMS | Yes Landing pages, pipeline, SMS, automations, Zapier |
| Student app | Yes Native iOS and Android | With limits Mobile web (PWA) |
| Family and contracts | With limits Guardian per student, waiver as PDF | Yes Family profiles, e-signed agreements, class limits |
| Languages | Yes English, Portuguese, Spanish | With limits English only |
| Free trial | Yes 14 days, no card | With limits 14 days with auto-charge in the terms; 30 days on other pages |
| Cancellation | Yes In the portal, any time, non-refundable | With limits 30 days' written notice, non-refundable |
What the student app is for
Kicksite's member portal is a phone website. The student sees the schedule, pays, shows a barcode at the desk, and watches videos the school unlocked for their belt. It is a good membership card. It does not know what happened on the mat.
The BJJ Notes app is a training journal. After class the student logs the session: gi or no-gi, rolls, submissions, sweeps, passes, takedowns, intensity, how they felt, a photo, an injury that needs a week. They keep techniques in focus, build a game plan, and get an AI-written weekly recap with improvement tips and a detailed analysis of their sessions. The academy sees that in the student's file next to attendance and belt. The coach can assign a focus technique, answer a question the student posts on a class, and see the group ranking.
The engagement screen uses attendance and app activity to mark who is Active, who needs attention after 8 to 14 days away, and who has been gone 15 days or more. An injured student gets a badge instead of being counted as someone who quit. The training data belongs to the student. If they move to another academy, the journal goes with them.
The front desk
Kicksite's kiosk is stricter. A student checks in by PIN, name, or barcode. The school can block check-in for a past-due balance, a missing membership, or a missing waiver, with a custom message on screen. Staff can check in a whole class at once, including for a past date.
BJJ Notes checks people in three ways: a QR poster on the wall that opens a search on the student's phone, a front-desk screen in full-screen mode that searches by name and signs up walk-ins as student, trial, or visitor, and the app, where the student self-checks into a scheduled session and the coach approves. The coach reviews each day's sessions, marks present or absent, and approves pending check-ins. There is no PIN per student and no barcode. A late student still trains, and the billing page shows the academy who is late. Blocking check-in for overdue tuition is in development.
Tuition and where you are
Kicksite's software fee is one bill. Card processing is a second bill with Basys: $29 a month plus 2.9% and $0.25 per card transaction on the plan they publish, with ACH on a higher tier. Stripe is available outside the US. The system handles recurring memberships, one-time charges, discounts, inventory, a scheduled freeze, and reports on collected revenue, tax, and projected revenue.
BJJ Notes charges tuition on the academy's own Stripe account, or through Asaas in Brazil with PIX, boleto, and card. Plans can be weekly, every two weeks, monthly, quarterly, half-yearly, yearly, or one-time. The academy sends a pay link by email, in bulk if it wants, marks cash payments, flags scholarships, cancels now or at period end, and sees the month's charged, fees, net, and overdue totals with the fee for each payment method. There is no second contract with a processor. There is no coupon, no inventory, no scheduled freeze, and no tax report.
How you graduate
Both systems count classes at rank. Kicksite shows days and classes at rank on an Eligible to Promote list, promotes in one click or in bulk, and runs belt tests as events with a fee, judges, reminders, and printable forms.
BJJ Notes runs a ceremony. You set the minimum classes and months for each belt and stripe, adult and kids, and for each Muay Thai armband. The ceremony list shows each student's presences and months toward the next rank, with credit for training done before the academy joined. You approve, promote, and the new rank is written to the roster with a history of that day. The academy gets an email when students become eligible. There is no test fee and no judge sheet.
Leads and messages
Kicksite is a CRM here: landing pages with forms and waivers, a drag-and-drop prospect board with stages, hot/warm/cold labels, tasks, appointments, automated message flows, unlimited one-way texting, and two-way texting in a separate feature. Zapier, added in July 2026, can create a prospect from Facebook or TikTok lead ads. It does not sync students, billing, or attendance.
BJJ Notes gives every academy a public page with its schedule, a trial-class booking form that asks where the person heard about you, WhatsApp, Instagram, and a map link. When the trial student attends, they get an email asking how it went. That is the whole funnel. There is no pipeline, no SMS product, and no campaign email. WhatsApp is a tap from any student row.
Price at your size
Software only, per month. Both charge payment processing separately.
| Active students | BJJ Notes for Gyms | Kicksite |
|---|---|---|
| 25 | $49 | $49 |
| 40 | $49 | $99 |
| 80 | $97 | $149 |
| 150 | $97 | $199 |
| 250 | $197 | $199 |
We bill in your academy's currency: R$ in Brazil, € in Europe, US$ everywhere else. Kicksite sells in US dollars only.
- BJJ Notes: 14-day trial, no card, cancel in the portal. Every feature on every plan.
- Kicksite: the terms say 14 days with an automatic charge at the end; the demo and switching pages say 30 days free. Cancellation is 30 days' written notice, purchases are non-refundable, and the card processor is canceled separately. A frozen student still counts toward your tier.
What we do that Kicksite does not
- A training journal the coach can read
- Engagement by the student's own rhythm, with injury kept separate from quitting
- Focus techniques assigned by the coach, game plans, and a weekly recap
- Student questions posted on a class, answered by the coach
- Group ranking
- A curriculum built from classes and techniques
- Ceremonies with rules per belt and stripe, kids and armbands included
- PIX and boleto
- Tuition paid into the academy's own account, no second contract
- A native iOS and Android app
- Two-factor login for the academy
- Support over WhatsApp
- English, Portuguese, and Spanish
- Student data that stays with the student
What Kicksite does that we do not
- Check-in blocks for balance, membership, or waiver
- PIN and barcode check-in
- Family profiles
- Memberships with class limits and e-signed agreements
- Belt tests as paid events
- A prospect pipeline with stages and tasks
- A landing-page builder
- Email and SMS campaigns
- Coupons, inventory, and merchandise sales
- Scheduled membership freeze
- Tax and projected-revenue reports
- Media unlocked by rank
- Zapier
- Website design and Google Business services
- Phone support
None of that is hidden behind a tier on their side, and none of it is on our side today.
Switching
Kicksite's migration imports student records from a spreadsheet but, by their own documentation, not attendance history, promotion history, financial history, or signed agreements. BJJ Notes sets up the academy with you: students, plans, groups, and schedules, at no extra charge. We help you import your students and attendance history. Coaches who already use the app import their groups in one step. Neither system migrates card data; students re-enter their recurring billing details.
Questions
Is BJJ Notes a Kicksite alternative?
For a Jiu-Jitsu academy that needs roster, check-in, tuition, promotions, and a clear view of who is drifting, yes. We do not have a CRM, SMS campaigns, inventory, or door blocks today; the side-by-side table above lists every gap.
Do students need the app?
No. Everything the academy runs works without it. The journal is the extra that gives coaches even more information and a deeper technical read on what each student needs.
Where does the tuition go?
Into the academy's own Stripe or Asaas account; Stripe or Asaas charges its own processing fee. Kicksite's software fee is also separate from processing, which runs through Basys or Stripe.
Sources
Kicksite pages checked on October 4, 2026.
Try it free in your academy
14 days free, no card. Roster, check-in, attendance, tuition, and promotions organized from day one.