Kihon vs Kozaru
Kihon
kihonhq.comKozaru
kozaru.netSide by side
| Figure | Kihon | Kozaru |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $1/mo | A$9/mo |
| Free plan | — | Yes |
| Free trial | — | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 2 | 8 |
| Spec score · Martial Arts Software | 7.4 (#16) | 8.4 (#4) |
| Spec score · Martial Arts School Software | 7.5 (#28) | 8.6 (#6) |
| Data export | Schools can export member, agreement, billing, and attendance data at any time with no exit fee. | Students, payments, analytics and instructor hours export as spreadsheets, timetables export as calendar feeds, and students export their own journals. |
| Headquarters | Austin, Texas, United States | Australia |
| Messaging | The FAQ says two-way texting and in-app chat are built in; texts are billed at published prices. | App notifications are free, while text messages cost 10c each and honor STOP replies. |
| Payments | The school remains the merchant of record and Kihon says it does not hold the school’s funds; the site lists a 0.5% Kihon Payments fee for founding schools, in addition to processor fees. | Member payments run through the school's own Stripe account, and Kozaru says it does not hold those funds or take a percentage of fees. |
| Security | The privacy policy says Kihon uses technical and organizational measures to protect information but does not guarantee absolute security. | Kozaru says each school's private records are encrypted with a school-specific key and database rules prevent one school from accessing another's records. |
Plans
Kozaru
- FreeFree
- FreeFree
- Text messagesA$0.10, paid once
- AI helper add-onA$9 a month
- KozaruA$11 a month
- SubscriptionA$11 a month
- Federation consoleA$50 a month
- Federation / head office consoleA$5,010 a month
In their own words
Kozaru
Kozaru is web-based management software for martial arts schools, covering students, attendance, gradings, bookings, and fees. Schools can create belt ranks and grading rules, with readiness based on attendance and time at a rank. Attendance insights compare visits with each student’s usual pattern and flag possible changes. The system supports class bookings, waitlists, and tablet-based kiosk check-in. Parents and students can use a school-branded web app installed from a link, without an app store download. Member payments run through the school’s own Stripe account; Kozaru says it neither holds those funds nor takes a percentage of fees. Timetable and instructor pages can be embedded in Wix, Squarespace, and WordPress sites, and Google sign-in is supported. App notifications are free; text messages cost 10c each and honor STOP replies. Kozaru says school records are encrypted with a school-specific key, its servers are in Melbourne, and encrypted backups are kept in three tiers for up to a year. The free plan follows a 30-day trial and supports up to 20 active students. Its paid Kozaru plan costs A$11 a month for the first 20 active students, then $1 per student from the 21st.