Exercise.com vs ABC Glofox comparison: 2026

When comparing Exercise.com vs ABC Glofox, the key difference is the types of fitness businesses they’re built for. Exercise.com focuses on deep programming, progress tracking, and coaching tools for personal trainers and training businesses. ABC Glofox focuses on class scheduling, recurring billing, and a polished member app for boutique studios that value simplicity. Exercise.com offers more depth and included features, but costs more and takes longer to learn. Glofox is simpler, but uses quarterly billing and paid add-ons for full CRM functionality.

Exercise.com vs ABC Glofox 2026

The pricing difference

Neither platform publishes a full, transparent pricing sheet; both Exercise.com and ABC Glofox push you toward a sales call, but here’s what real gym owners report paying.

Exercise.com
Pricing
Quote-based
Basic plan (pricing reference)
$239/month (Capterra)
Free trial
No
Video hosting and branding:
Add-ons
ABC Glofox
Pricing
Quote-based
Pricing reference
$190–$250/month for Pro/Silver
Billing
Quarterly with annual contracts
ABC XLerate CRM
Add-on

Glofox looks cheaper at first glance, but the quarterly-only billing, per-transaction fees, and paid CRM add-on mean the real gap between the two narrows fast once a studio scales past the entry tier.

Pick the right gym software: Exercise.com vs ABC Glofox

The real question is not which platform has more features, but which fits your business model. Exercise.com is built around individualized coaching, helping businesses sell programs, sessions, and remote coaching while tracking each client’s progress.

Glofox is built around selling access through memberships and class passes. Its focus is filling classes, managing capacity, bookings, waitlists, and simplifying the front-desk experience rather than individual training plans.

That difference here is significant. A class-based studio using Exercise.com may pay for programming tools it doesn’t need, while a coach selling structured programs through ABC Glofox will quickly hit limitations, as there is no way to attach or track a workout plan. Booking a spot and following a program are two different jobs, and Glofox is primarily built around the first.

Exercise.com vs ABC Glofox: feature comparison

Exercise.com vs ABC Glofox serve different fitness business types. But there are some common operational features that ABC Glofox and Exercise.com provide for day-to-day gym operations. Here’s the comparison on those common grounds.

Feature Exercise.com ABC Glofox
Class scheduling & booking
Membership & billing management
Branded member app
Native CRM
Multi-location support
Native payroll processing
Digital waivers/e-sign included by default
Native on-demand video hosting
Employee Benefit

Who runs your payroll?

Exercise.com does not provide a native payroll engine comparable to a payroll processor. It can calculate trainer commissions, but actual payroll requires exporting those figures to QuickBooks or another payroll service. Glofox offers native payroll & pay rate management, supporting hourly, salaried, and commission-based structures. It connects calculations to logged classes and sessions, keeping pay-rate management within the platform. However, Glofox is not a full payroll-tax filing service, so tax processing still happens elsewhere.

Data Leak

Whose waivers actually hold up?

Both platforms support e-signatures, but Exercise.com offers broader coverage, including parent/guardian waiver workflows for minors. But Glofox’s e-agreements require a paid add-on and cover standard waivers and Terms & Conditions. Parental and drop-in waivers are not supported within that scope. That makes Exercise.com the more complete option for businesses serving youth or handling frequent drop-ins, while Glofox may require separate processes for those forms.

Who hosts your video content?

Exercise.com includes native on-demand video hosting within its online suite, alongside livestreaming and other digital training tools. Glofox doesn’t offer native video hosting. Videos must be uploaded to YouTube and embedded through links to community posts, with access managed manually per post. It also does not support direct Vimeo or Zoom embeds. For businesses building a searchable, structured on-demand video library, Exercise.com’s native approach is considerably more capable.

Usability and value: Exercise.com vs ABC Glofox

Exercise.com’s functional strength is depth in programming, tracking, and a genuinely comprehensive app, but that depth comes with real onboarding friction and a price tag that scales fast. Glofox takes the opposite approach: it is faster to learn and launch, with a member-facing app that feels polished out of the box.

Customer service
4.9
4.4
Ease of use
4.5
4.4
Value for money
4.6
4.2

The biggest difference is how that experience plays out. Exercise.com offers stronger customer service and value scores, but reviewers indicate that getting comfortable with the platform can take time. Glofox is easier to learn, but its lower value score suggests that the experience becomes less attractive as ongoing costs and add-ons accumulate.

So, beyond features, Exercise.com has the stronger overall service and value perception, while Glofox has a small edge in simplicity. The choice comes down to whether you value stronger long-term support and value or a quicker, easier start.

Which software should you choose: Exercise.com or ABC Glofox?

Choose Exercise.com if
Choose ABC Glofox if

Reviews, side by side

These reviews about ABC Glofox and Exercise.com are picked from Capterra, G2.com and Trustpilot after careful consideration:

What people say about Exercise.com

"It's overly customizable, which, from the sales call, seems great, but once you're in it and you have to do ALL the work because they won't build it, they will just show you the buttons to push. It's not worth the money. I was spending over $500 to have an app that did not function the way I was requesting."
Willie L.
"Building workouts is cumbersome, as you can’t edit sets and reps for each week and exercise at the same time. Least favorite is that video hosting now costs money, and the framework changed."
Nick L.
"The Dashboard never produced correct information, a red flag from day one. Payroll reporting, a feature promised over a year ago, still hasn’t materialized, another red flag."
Meghan U.

What people say about ABC Glofox

"No direct links to my business on glofox. Too many steps for clients to get to the app unless you pay for your own app with them, which is expensive."
Natasha B.
"As the business grows, the limitations in reporting and customization depth become more noticeable. Extracting detailed financial insights and check-in data is challenging."
Natalie B.
"The most impactful negative has been the experience of a 70% increase in pricing with no added value or ample notice to find a replacement solution and cancel."
Jaclyn A.
Highly rated by customers
milestone-g2
capterra
software-advice
getApp
Grid-Leader

Where Wellyx comes in

After closely comparing Exercise.com vs ABC Glofox, you’ll realize that both Exercise.com and Glofox leave gaps gym owners have to work around. Exercise.com requires a separate system for payroll, while Glofox charges extra for e-signed waivers and doesn’t natively host video. Those gaps can mean more tools, workarounds, and ongoing costs.

One software that takes a more complete approach, particularly in the areas where these platforms leave gaps is Wellyx. Payroll, digital waivers, and VOD are built into the platform, alongside scheduling, billing, and core gym operations. You also get straightforward pricing with no hidden charges, free data migration, and 24/7 multichannel human support to help you get started without losing important member data. If you’re weighing Exercise.com and Glofox, it’s worth comparing what each platform includes from day one, and whether Wellyx can cover those same needs without the extra tools or add-ons. A closer look at Wellyx can help you make that comparison before deciding.

Frequently asked questions

Got questions? Quick answers about Exercise.com vs ABC Glofox below, and a human on live chat 24/7 if you’d rather ask directly.

Exercise.com is a good fit for personal training because it has native workout programming, progress tracking, and habit coaching built in. Glofox is built around class scheduling and requires a separate ABC Trainerize integration for real coaching delivery. However, Wellyx covers a lot of the same ground by bringing core gym management features along with marketing, VOD, staff and client management without needing a second integrated product.

Glofox does not publicly advertise any free trial. However, its pricing and trial availability are handled through a sales conversation.

Glofox’s standard contract structure in most regions is quarterly billing with an annual commitment. This is one of the most commonly flagged complaints in recent reviews, since it removes the flexibility of a month-to-month plan. Wellyx, by comparison, avoids locking gyms into quarterly or annual cycles.

Not natively. Exercise.com tracks trainer commissions inside the platform but full payroll processing happens through a third-party integration like QuickBooks. This is one of the areas where Wellyx’s native payroll engine covers more ground out of the box.

Only in a limited way. Glofox lets you embed external YouTube links into the member app’s community feed. It doesn’t host video directly, and doesn’t support direct Vimeo or Zoom embeds. Wellyx’s video-on-demand feature, by contrast, lets trainers upload and host video natively, with access restricted to specific members if needed.

Generally, yes. Wellyx starts at $99/month, while Exercise.com and Glofox use quote-based pricing alongside the third-party pricing references discussed above. Final costs depend on the plan, contract, and add-ons. 

No, this is the core gap Wellyx closes. Where Exercise.com needs a QuickBooks handoff for payroll and Glofox needs a paid add-on for full e-signature coverage, Wellyx includes native payroll, digital waivers, and video-on-demand in the same platform you’re already using for scheduling and billing.