Overview

CoachVana is a coaching platform for personal trainers, online coaches, gyms and coaching brands who want training, nutrition and client administration in one place. Its strongest fit is a coach serving a small roster who wants to start free and expand as clients grow. The trade-off is that the fourth client triggers a trial, and extra clients require a paid plan to avoid being paused.

Key features

Training and nutrition

The program builder combines drag-and-drop blocks, supersets, 13 templates and a coach’s own exercise library. That gives coaches useful starting points without forcing them into a fixed program format. Coaches can also import programs and meal plans from spreadsheets, PDFs, Word documents or photos, and import client lists from CSV or Excel; exporting everything built as one file is a practical safeguard against being locked into the service.

Clients can log food against calorie and macro targets using a database of 404,162 foods. Meal planning, food tracking, goals and progress tracking make CoachVana a better fit for coaches who incorporate nutrition into ongoing client work than for someone seeking only a standalone food diary.

Client operations and connections

Client management, check-ins, messaging and payments complement the coaching tools, with a mobile app for clients. Payments run through the coach’s own Stripe account, and CoachVana says it takes no commission, including for marketplace clients. Optional connections include Apple Health, Health Connect, WHOOP, Garmin and Google Calendar; Typeform and Jotform responses can feed leads, applications or check-ins. These connections are useful for coaches already using those services, though they are not a substitute for a workflow outside the listed connections.

CoachVana says data is encrypted in transit and at rest, database access uses row-level security, and progress photos and documents are kept in private storage with short-lived signed links. It says it does not sell user data or use it for advertising; content sent to Anthropic for optional AI features is not used to train its models. The service is offered to US residents, processes data in the United States and requires users to be at least 18. Support is by email at support@coachvana.com, and the support page says a real person reads each message.

Pricing

The free plan is free, forever, and includes every coaching feature for the first three active clients. That is a meaningful way for a solo coach to run a small practice, not merely a short preview. At the fourth client, a coach can start a 14-day trial without a card on file. If the trial ends without a paid plan, clients beyond the first three are paused until payment is set up.

The Coach plan costs $29.00 USD per month for up to five clients, then adds $8/mo for every five more, capped at $149/mo per coach at 76 or more active clients. It suits coaches growing beyond the free tier, but the expanding client bands make costs rise with roster size. The AI action pack is $29.00 USD per month for 100 more AI actions a month; it is an add-on for coaches who need that capacity, not a replacement for the Coach plan.

For organizations, Gym or studio costs $99.00 USD per month per location for trainers, members, classes and a front desk, with per-trainer client bands also applying. Company or brand is $99.00 USD per month for a team of coaches under one brand, with per-coach client bands also applying. Both target multi-coach operations rather than an individual practice, and their client-band charges matter when budgeting.

Marketplace promotion is optional: Featured coach placement costs $49.00 USD per month for a listing in the featured band, while Featured brand placement costs $199.00 USD per month for a featured gym or company listing and every coach in it. A White-label app costs $199.00 USD per month plus $499 setup; CoachVana builds and submits the app under the customer’s brand for review. Custom branded app is $199.00 USD per once for the app name, colors and startup screen in the CoachVana phone app. These are branding or visibility purchases, not substitutes for the core coaching plans.

Platforms

CoachVana runs on Android, iOS and the web. That mix suits coaches managing work from a browser and clients using phones, while the service’s US-only availability and US data processing rule it out for users outside its stated market.

Who it's for

Choose CoachVana if you coach clients directly and want programs, food tracking, check-ins, messaging and payments together, especially if three active clients are enough to begin. It also has organization-specific options for studios and brands. It is less suited to a solo user who only wants nutrition tracking, or to a coach unwilling to manage the jump from the free cap to paid service.

Pros and cons

Pros: The free plan includes all coaching features for three active clients, so a small practice can use the full workflow without a subscription.
Pros: Program and meal-plan imports plus a one-file export ease migration and improve portability.
Pros: Coaches receive payments through their own Stripe account, with no CoachVana commission, including marketplace clients.
Cons: Clients beyond the first three are paused when the 14-day trial ends without a paid plan, so a coach cannot simply retain a larger free roster.
Cons: Per-coach or per-trainer client bands add cost to the organization plans as rosters expand.
Cons: Users outside the US are not served, and all data is processed in the United States.

Alternatives

For a broader browse, see Fitness Nutrition Software. Choose Practice Better instead if you want a freemium coaching option whose free Sprout plan allows three active clients, 100 MB storage and one practitioner license. Cronometer is a better match for individual nutrition tracking: its free Basic plan tracks up to 84 nutrients and compounds, with reports and charts limited to a seven-day window, while Gold is $10.99 USD per month.

Foodzilla suits a coach prioritizing meal-planning software with a paid entry plan: Starter is $37.00 USD per month with five clients included and a five-client minimum. Consider Well&Co if its Starter plan’s day plan builder, nutrition and activity tracking, in-app messaging and basic analytics fit your workflow; it costs 29.00 EUR per month for up to five clients. Healthie is an alternative for practices seeking scheduling, payment processing, charting and telehealth: Core with annual billing is $18.00 USD per month for 10 active clients.

Nutrium is another paid option for nutrition professionals, while Tyzra offers a freemium alternative with a five-client free plan. Promealplan is worth considering for meal planning, with a free tier that allows three meal plans total, one team seat and three branded client apps.

Verdict

CoachVana is a strong choice for coaches who want nutrition and training workflows alongside client management and payments, particularly those who can begin with three active clients or justify $29.00 USD per month as they grow. The full-featured free tier and import/export options are compelling; look elsewhere if you need a free roster beyond three, serve users outside the US, or want nutrition tracking without the coaching platform.

	CoachVana	Foodzilla
Free plan	Yes	No
Free trial	Yes	Yes
Paid from	$29/mo	$37/mo
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Android, api, iOS, Web
Free plan	Yes	No
Paid from	29 /mo
Meal planning	Yes	Yes
Food tracking	Yes	Yes
Client goals	Yes	Yes
Progress tracking	Yes	Yes
Client mobile app	Yes	Yes
Client limit	5 clients	5 clients

CoachVana vs Foodzilla

CoachVana

Foodzilla