A SportMember alternative with no per-member fee
If your governing body pointed you at SportMember, you are still free to pick your own software. Here is an honest comparison, including where SportMember comes out ahead.
The difference is how you get charged
Both platforms let a club manage members, run sessions, and take payments. The meaningful difference is the pricing model. SportMember offers a free Basic tier and a paid PRO tier charged per member per month. ClubPal has one tier, every feature included, and charges nothing at all unless money moves through the platform.
That matters most for the thing a club is usually trying to do, which is grow. On a per-member subscription, a successful beginners intake raises your software bill. On ClubPal it does not, because there is no per-member charge at any club size.
The rest of this page is the detail, including a worked cost comparison and the case where SportMember is the cheaper option.
Worth saying plainly before any comparison. If these are the things your club needs most, SportMember may well be the better fit.
The distinction is the charging model rather than the feature list. ClubPal has one tier and no per-member cost, so what you pay tracks activity instead of headcount.
ClubPal and SportMember, point by point
| ClubPal | SportMember | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | None, at any club size | Free tier, or £0.15 per member per month for PRO |
| Feature tiers | One tier, everything included | Basic and PRO, with features split between them |
| Per-transaction fee | 20p + 3.5% | 35p + 1% |
| Cost of growing | Unchanged, no per-member charge | Rises with member count on PRO |
| Cost if you take no payments | Free | Free on Basic, subscription still applies on PRO |
| Session capacity and waiting lists | Per session, with automatic promotion | Available |
| Contract | None, and no notice period | No commitment on PRO |
The numbers, including where we lose
The honest version, because a comparison page that only shows favourable numbers is not worth reading. Figures are per member per year and include the PRO subscription where it applies.
| Scenario, per member per year | ClubPal | SportMember PRO |
|---|---|---|
| Membership only, £30 a year | £1.25 (cheaper) | £2.45 |
| Membership only, £50 a year | £1.95 (cheaper) | £2.65 |
| Membership only, £100 a year | £3.70 | £3.15 (cheaper) |
| £40 sub plus 30 sessions at £5 | £12.85 (cheaper) | £14.55 |
| £20 sub plus 40 sessions at £3 | £13.10 (cheaper) | £17.55 |
The pattern behind those numbers: ClubPal has the lower fixed fee per transaction and the higher percentage, so it wins on small, frequent payments and loses on large, infrequent ones. Session-based clubs sit firmly in the first group. A club taking one annual payment above roughly £78 and nothing else all year is better off on SportMember PRO, and it would be dishonest to pretend otherwise.
SportMember pricing checked against their published rates on 15 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.
Ready to simplify your club management?
Try ClubPal free today. No card required, no time limit, no catch.
- All features included
- Unlimited members
- No card required
- One flat fee, nothing else
- Apple Pay & Google Pay
- No subscription, no hidden fees
No contract. Export your data any time. Cancel whenever you like.
See what your club would actually pay
Set up a free ClubPal site and run the numbers against your own membership. No card required, and nothing to cancel.