A Spond alternative that gives the fee back
Spond is a good app and plenty of clubs are happy on it. Here is an honest comparison, including the transaction rate, where Spond is cheaper than we are.
The difference is what comes included
Both platforms let a club manage members, run events, message everyone and take payments online, and Spond does all of that well. The difference shows up in what sits outside the free tier. A Spond club website is a paid subscription. Facility hire, session passes and a proper club shop have no Spond equivalent at any price.
The second difference is what happens when money goes back. Spond keeps the transaction fee when you refund a member. ClubPal returns the whole fee, in proportion to the amount refunded, so a rained-off session that you refund in full costs your club nothing at all.
Spond is cheaper per transaction than ClubPal, and this page shows that plainly rather than hiding it. The argument here is what a club gets for what it pays across a season, not the rate on a single payment.
Worth saying plainly before any comparison. If these are the things your club needs most, Spond may well be the better fit.
The distinction is breadth and what you keep. Everything ClubPal builds is on every account, and a refunded payment returns the fee with it.
ClubPal and Spond, point by point
| ClubPal | Spond | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | None, at any club size | None for the app itself |
| Club website | Included, no extra cost | £19 + VAT a month, £273.60 a year |
| Per-transaction fee | 20p + 3.5% | 20p + 2.5% |
| Fee when you refund a member | Returned, in proportion to the amount refunded | Not returned, the club covers it |
| Facility and pitch hire | Built in, with availability rules and online booking | No equivalent |
| Session passes and bundles | Built in, with usage tracking and expiry | No equivalent |
| Club shop | Full store with stock control, orders and discount codes | Merchandise can be sold through payment requests |
| Session capacity and waiting lists | Per session, with automatic promotion | Available |
| Contract | None, and no notice period | None |
The numbers, including where we lose
The honest version, because a comparison page that only shows favourable numbers is not worth reading. Spond charges less per transaction than ClubPal does. These figures are annual, for a club taking £15,000 across 300 payments averaging £50.
| Scenario, per club per year | ClubPal | Spond |
|---|---|---|
| Fees only, no website, no refunds | £585 | £435 (cheaper) |
| Fees plus a club website | £585 (cheaper) | £708.60 |
| The same, with £1,500 refunded across the season | £526.50 (cheaper) | £708.60 |
Read the first row before the other two. On transaction fees alone Spond costs a club less, because 2.5% is a full percentage point below our 3.5%, and for a club that wants no website and never issues a refund that is the whole story. The picture changes once a club website is in the budget, since Spond bills £273.60 a year for one and ClubPal includes it, and it changes again once refunds are involved, because ClubPal returns the fee and Spond does not. The website figure assumes a club that cannot reclaim VAT, which is true of most unincorporated grassroots clubs.
Spond pricing checked against their published rates on 24 August 2026. Rates change, so verify before making a decision on cost alone.
What switching actually involves
More detail on the process is on the switching page, or talk to us about your club before you decide.
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