Spark Membership vs Kicksite
✔ Last verified 2026-10-25✔ Prices linked to vendor sources✔ Our methodologyAffiliate disclosure
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Spark Membership and Kicksite are both built for martial arts schools, and both list belt tracking, attendance and automated billing. They differ in three ways: Spark charges one flat price while Kicksite charges by active students, they handle payments differently, and Spark's terms lock you in for your full service term.
| Spark Membership | Kicksite | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $199/mo after 8-week trial | $49/mo (0-25 students) |
| Pricing basis | Full access to every feature; setup by account rep; free data migration | Priced by active students; all features at every tier |
| Free trial | 8 weeks | First 30 days free (pricing and switch pages) |
| Contract | Service term set in your Order Form; auto-renews for the same term or 1 year (whichever is shorter) unless you give 30 days' notice; no termination for convenience mid-term (Terms & Conditions 9.1-9.2) | Recurring charges until you cancel; annual plans auto-renew every 12 months and aren't refunded if cancelled early (terms of use); discounted annual pricing on request |
| Belt / rank tracking | Yes: rank history, per-rank requirements, test-eligibility from attendance, mass rank promote, certificates | Yes: attendance and belt tracking, promote with one click |
| Attendance | Yes: attendance trends | Yes: kiosk check-in by name, PIN or member-portal barcode; check-in restrictions for past-due balances (FAQ, attendance page) |
| Booking | Yes: members book and pay in the free Spark Member App (iOS/Android) | Yes: students register for classes and events in the Member Portal mobile web app (FAQ) |
| Payments / fees | Spark Payments (rates not published); supports automatic credit-card surcharging capped at your actual rate, or dual pricing, where legal | US: preferred partner Basys, flat rate $29/mo + 2.9% + $0.25 per card transaction (card + ACH option: $35 setup, $49/mo, 2.9% + $0.25 card, $0.30 ACH); international: Stripe (payment-processing page) |
| Rating | unknown | unknown |
| Source | vendor page vendor page vendor page vendor page vendor page | vendor page vendor page vendor page vendor page vendor page vendor page |
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Prices as published (monthly no-commitment / annual where shown). "unknown" = not published. Checked 2026-10-25.
Price at your headcount (published, USD/month)
| Active students | Spark Membership | Kicksite |
|---|---|---|
| 0-25 | $199 | $49 |
| 26-50 | $199 | $99 |
| 51-100 | $199 | $149 |
| 101+ | $199 | $199 |
Spark publishes one price: an 8-week free trial, then $199/mo with full access to every feature. Kicksite's published price is lower up to 100 active students, by $150/mo at 0-25, $100/mo at 26-50 and $50/mo at 51-100. From 101 students up, both list $199/mo. Neither publishes annual pricing. Kicksite offers a discounted annual price if you ask at a demo. Sources: sparkmembership.com/pricing and kicksite.com/pricing, checked 2026-10-24.
Payment processing
Kicksite publishes its US processing through preferred partner Basys: $29/mo plus 2.9% + $0.25 per card transaction, whatever the card type. Card + ACH costs a $35 setup fee and $49/mo, with 2.9% + $0.25 per card and $0.30 per ACH transaction. A third option adds a 3.75% service fee to each student charge. Outside the US, Kicksite uses Stripe (kicksite.com/payment-processing).
Spark runs billing through its built-in Spark Payments, which covers recurring billing, failed-payment retries, checkout pages and POS. Spark does not publish its processing rates. It does say it can pass card fees on to members through automatic surcharging (credit cards only, capped at your actual rate, turned off where surcharging isn't legal), or through dual pricing (sparkmembership.com/platform/spark-payments). Ask for Spark's rate in writing before you compare total costs. You can then plug both into the membership revenue calculator.
Contract and cancellation
This is the biggest difference on paper. Spark's Terms & Conditions say your service term is set in your Order Form. It renews automatically for the same term or one year, whichever is shorter, unless either side gives notice at least 30 days before it ends. Payment obligations are non-cancellable. You can't end the agreement early for convenience, only for an uncured material breach. After termination, Spark makes your data available for retrieval for 30 days if you ask, and help retrieving data during the term may cost extra (Terms & Conditions sections 6 and 9). Read your Order Form for the actual term length, because Spark doesn't publish it.
Kicksite's terms of use say it charges your payment method on a recurring basis until you cancel. An annual plan is a yearly contract that auto-renews every 12 months, with no refund or proration if you cancel early. You keep access until the paid term ends (kicksite.com/terms). One discrepancy: Kicksite's pricing, FAQ and switch pages say your first 30 days are free, but the same terms-of-use page mentions a 14-day free trial. Confirm which applies at your demo.
Belts, check-in and student app
Both track ranks. Spark keeps rank history on each student record and lets you set per-rank requirements. It counts attendance toward test eligibility, alerts instructor and student at milestones, and promotes a whole testing group in one pass with belt labels and certificates (sparkmembership.com/martial-arts-belt-tracking-software). Kicksite tracks attendance and belts and promotes with one click. Its kiosk takes check-ins by name, PIN or Member Portal barcode, and can block check-in for past-due balances.
For students, Spark includes the free Spark Member App for iPhone, iPad and Android. Members use it to book, pay and message the school (sparkmembership.com/app). Kicksite's Member Portal is a mobile web app where students register for classes and events, manage payment methods and track belt progress.
Texting and switching
Spark sells two-way SMS (Spark SMS) for lead replies, reminders and parent texts. Kicksite includes free unlimited one-way texting, plus emails and automated messaging. Both offer free data migration. Spark lists free student data migration and setup by a dedicated account rep. Kicksite's in-house data specialist imports your data, it says in 2 business days or less, and lists 60 days of onboarding with a dedicated specialist (kicksite.com/switch). See our software buying checklist for what to ask before you switch.
Which to choose
If you have under 100 active students, Kicksite's published price is $50-$150/mo lower, its card rate is published, and its default billing runs until you cancel. Spark costs the same $199/mo at any size, gives the longest free trial here (8 weeks) and includes a native member app and two-way SMS. Before you sign, get the Order Form term and the Spark Payments rate in writing. Visit Spark Membership Visit Kicksite
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FAQ
Is Spark Membership more expensive than Kicksite?
Up to 100 active students, yes. Spark lists $199/mo after its 8-week trial. Kicksite lists $49 (0-25 students), $99 (26-50) and $149 (51-100). At 101+ students both list $199/mo (sparkmembership.com/pricing, kicksite.com/pricing, checked 2026-10-24).
Does Spark Membership have a contract?
Spark's Terms & Conditions set the service term in your Order Form and auto-renew it for the same term or one year, whichever is shorter, unless you give 30 days' notice. Cancelling for convenience mid-term isn't permitted. The term length itself isn't published.
What are Spark Payments' processing fees?
Unknown. Spark doesn't publish its processing rates. It says it can pass card fees on to members through automatic surcharging, capped at your actual rate, or dual pricing where that's legal.
What are Kicksite's payment processing fees?
With US partner Basys, card-only processing is $29/mo plus 2.9% + $0.25 per transaction. Card + ACH is a $35 setup fee, $49/mo, 2.9% + $0.25 per card and $0.30 per ACH transaction (kicksite.com/payment-processing).
How long are the free trials?
Spark lists an 8-week free trial. Kicksite's pricing and switch pages say your first 30 days are free, though its terms of use mention a 14-day trial, so confirm at your demo.
Will either move my data from my current software?
Yes. Spark lists free student data migration with setup by an account rep. Kicksite says its in-house data specialist imports your data for free, usually in 2 business days or less (kicksite.com/switch).