TrueCoach was acquired by Stripe in 2023, which gave them solid payment infrastructure — but they pass a 5% processing fee on every payment to you. They also don't offer a branded app at any tier. Your clients see TrueCoach in the App Store, no matter what you pay.
Under 100 clients? Cadence Coach is $99/mo flat with a real branded app. Trainerize Pro is $20-77/mo without a branded app — to get one you'd need their $250/mo Studio plan. Cadence ships in 24 hours; Trainerize's branded build takes 2-4 weeks.
TrueCoach's published price ignores the 5% processing markup on every payment you collect. We calculated the real cost.
Comparing TrueCoach (50-client tier with payments enabled) vs Cadence Coach, based on TrueCoach's published pricing as of May 2026.
| Feature | TrueCoach (50-client plan) | Cadence Coach |
|---|---|---|
| Branded app (your name in App Store) | ✗ Not available at any tier | ✓ Included from day 1 |
| Payment processing markup | 5% on every payment | $0 markup Stripe Connect, your account |
| AI plan generation | None native | ✓ Claude Haiku 4.5 |
| Exercise video library | 1,200+ videos | Library + custom uploads |
| Time to launch your branded app | Never (no branded option) | 24 hours |
| Per-client pricing scaling | $20 / $53 / $107 by tier | Flat $99/mo up to 100 clients |
| Setup fee | $0 | $299 one-time |
| Concierge brand call before build | No (self-serve) | ✓ 30-min call |
| 30-day money-back guarantee | No | ✓ |
Real reviews from G2, Capterra, and forum threads. Verbatim where possible.
"The 5% processing fee on payments is a huge cost. At $10K/month in client revenue I'm paying $500/month — half of which I never see again."
— TrueCoach coach, G2 review summary
"There's no branded app option. After 3 years on TrueCoach my clients still know me as a TrueCoach coach, not by my own brand."
— Long-time TrueCoach user
"No real AI plan generation. The exercise library is huge but I'm still building every plan from scratch."
— TrueCoach coach review
"Pricing scales aggressively. Going from 20 to 30 clients meant a tier jump that didn't feel justified."
— TrueCoach Capterra review
"Customer support is slow since the Stripe acquisition. Feels like we're a small fish in a big pond."
— TrueCoach forum complaint
"The platform feels stagnant — same UI for 5 years. Modern competitors have better UX."
— TrueCoach G2 review
TrueCoach has strengths. Honest read.
| If you need... | Pick |
|---|---|
| You need a deep stock exercise video library and don't want to build your own | TrueCoach (1,200+ videos) |
| You're a Stripe ecosystem heavy user and value the integration | TrueCoach |
| Cheapest entry tier for very small client roster (5 clients @ $20/mo) | TrueCoach Starter |
| You want a branded app for your coaching practice | Cadence |
| You collect more than $2K/mo in client revenue and want to skip the 5% tax | Cadence |
| You want AI-generated adaptive plans, not template swapping | Cadence |
Export your roster + programs from TrueCoach as CSV. Drop them into Cadence. Your branded app is live in 24 hours from your brand call. Existing client subscriptions migrate without a missed payment.