Jackrabbit is a class management software for dance studios, gymnastics clubs and swim schools across America.
Here are 10 Jackrabbit alternatives. We’ll discuss how well they address issues mentioned by Jackrabbit users share a few additional features each solution has to offer.
Legend:
| Software | Modern Interface | Customization | Marketing Automation | Mobile Optimization | Communication |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Activity Messenger | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| IClassPro | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ❌ | ✅ | ⚠️ |
| ClassJuggler | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ❌ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ |
| GloFox | ✅ | ⚠️ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Uplifter | ⚠️ | ✅ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ |
| Amilia | ✅ | ✅ | ⚠️ | ✅ | ⚠️ |
| Dance Studio Pro | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ❌ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ |
| The Studio Director | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ❌ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ |
| MindBody | ⚠️ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ |
| Akada | ⚠️ | ⚠️ | ❌ | ⚠️ | ⚠️ |
Most organizations choose Jackrabbit Class for two reasons:
However, teams using JackRabbit may eventually run into one of these problems:
Best Jackrabbit Class Alternatives.
DISCLAIMER: Activity Messenger is our product. We created it because we struggled for years as operators with the shortcomings of existing Tennis Club Software.
Author’s note: Olivier shares tips and tricks he’s learned over the past decade as the owner of a children’s activity center in Montreal. After working with several registration software, today, as the co-founder of Activity Messenger, he helps hundreds of people. dance studios, gymnastics clubs, swim schools and camps across Canada and the US.
Activity Messenger is a Jackrabbit alternative for activity centers across the United States and Canada.
Here’s how Activity Messenger addresses the main issues mentioned by Jackrabbit users:
One of the most common complaints about Jackrabbit is that the interface feels outdated and rigid.
Activity Messenger provides a sleek, easy-to-use platform with extensive customization options. It’s simpler to use than Google Forms, with all the features from Jackrabbit Class. Activity Messenger is built for mobile, so the smartphone user experience is the foundation of all our product designs.
Whether you want to customize the look and feel or add specific fields, you’re in complete control.
You can customize everything from colors and the order of questions to conditional logic, and embed these forms directly into your website.
Some organizations prefer to force account creation before users can view classes. Others want to show classes and skip account creation. The choice is yours.
Activity Messenger also allows you to automate the entire registration workflow, from waitlists to confirmation, to start of session reminders and surveys.
A key limitation of Jackrabbit is the lack of built-in marketing tools to help you grow your business.
Activity Messenger offers marketing automation that helps you convert more leads into paying clients, as well as the ability to re-engage past clients. Unlike Jackrabbit, there are no limits on the number of accounts or students.
Conversion tracking, drip campaigns and abandoned registration retargeting enable you to follow up with leads and families who started the registration process but didn’t finish.
You can segment email lists to send personalized messages that offer promotions, reminders or relevant updates to specific groups. These features help you improve engagement and grow your revenue without the hassle (and cost) of additional tools like Mailchimp and Eventbrite.
Activity Messenger makes it easy to track potential clients throughout their registration journey. If a parent starts signing up but doesn’t complete the process, the system automatically sends follow-up emails or SMS reminders.
These reminders can offer incentives to finish the registration, such as strategic discounts. The built-in analytics track the effectiveness of your efforts, allowing you to refine your campaigns over time.
You can also run advanced email marketing campaigns directly from the platform.
With list segmentation and automation tools, you can target specific groups, such as members who haven’t registered in the current season or parents who showed interest in a particular program.
You can create compelling, branded messages using customizable templates and set up automated sequences to nurture your leads without manual intervention.
Communicating with your members effectively is crucial for retention and growth, but Jackrabbit’s communication tools can be limited, according to many users.
Activity Messenger combines all communication channels (email, SMS, and newsletters) with list segmentation to help you better connect with clients.
From start-of-session reminders to automated post-event surveys, Activity Messenger helps you efficiently engage with your community. You can track communication metrics such as open and click-through rates. These metrics provide insight into what resonates with your audience, helping you refine your approach over time.
This allows you to reach the right people with personalized communications at the perfect time.
You can schedule important messages like session start reminders to ensure they reach members at the right time. For example, you can send automatic start-of-session text reminders to parents to reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Registration, email/SMS, payments, waivers, surveys in a single tool | • Requires initial setup time to fully benefit from automations |
| • Highly customizable, mobile-first design | • Adapts fully to your business rules which can feel overwhelming at fist |
| • No forced parent account creation | |
| • Ideal for camps, dance, swim, gymnastics, and federations |
Talk to us about setting up an Activity Messenger plan that fits your needs.
IClassPro can replace Jackrabbit by providing online registration, scheduling, and billing. It offers a robust software that covers most operational needs for managing classes.
It’s a reliable solution for managing day-to-day operations, although clubs looking for more modern features or streamlined marketing capabilities may find some limitations.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Trusted by gymnastics and cheer programs | • Aging interface design |
| • Robust attendance and scheduling tools | • Limited marketing and communication features |
| • Built-in staff management and flat-rate pricing | • Some friction in payment setup and reporting customization |
ClassJuggler ClassJuggler is designed for businesses that offer classes, such as dance schools, gyms, martial arts dojos, and more. It provides tools for class scheduling, student registration, and payment processing.
The software also includes staff management, CRM tools, and comprehensive reporting. In addition, ClassJuggler offers a customer portal helping their clients improve the customer experience.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Budget-friendly for small and midsize clubs | • User interface may feel outdated |
| • Handles scheduling, billing, customer and staff management | • Lacks email/SMS automation features |
| • Supports multiple locations | • Not fully optimized for mobile |
GloFox is a fitness management software that helps fitness clubs increase revenue and improve member engagement. The platform provides tools for class scheduling, member management, and reporting. Glofox provides a custom-branded mobile app that allows members to book classes and engage with your studio.
It also includes automation for lead nurturing, email and SMS marketing to drive growth.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Modern UI with branded mobile apps | • Not ideal for seasonal or session-based programs |
| • Built-in marketing automation (email/SMS) | • Limited customization of forms and registration flow |
| • Good for membership-based fitness programs |
Uplifter is a club management software for sports organizations. It simplifies operations with class registration, automated payment and skill tracking.
Uplifter provides clubs with detailed insights into membership, revenue and athlete development. The platform also includes mobile tools for coaches to manage attendance and evaluate athletes in real-time. Trusted by major gymnastics associations in Canada, Uplifter offers a secure, dedicated cloud database to protect member privacy.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Tailored for sports like skating and gymnastics | • Dated interface experience |
| • Canadian-hosted, bilingual support | • Lacks robust email/SMS communication tools |
| • Tools for event registration and progression tracking | • Not optimized for parent mobile use |
Amilia is a recreation management software to help organizations streamline their operations. It provides tools for registration, membership management and payment to help you manage activities, events and classes.
Amilia also provides reporting, attendance tracking, and member communication, although limited. It caters to various sectors such as sports clubs, community centres, and rec programs.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Ideal for municipalities and community programs | • Longer onboarding/setup process |
| • Supports memberships, e-commerce, online store, POS | • Limited built-in marketing features |
| • Regular feature updates and responsive support | • Mobile experience could be smoother |
Dance Studio Pro is designed to help studio owners manage and grow their dance studio. It offers class scheduling, student registration, attendance tracking, and payment.
The software also features a parent portal, enabling parents to manage their schedules, make payments, and receive updates. Dan It’s scalable, making it suitable for studios of all sizes, from small operations to multi-location businesses.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Built specifically for dance studios | • User interface feels outdated compared to modern tools |
| • Easy to set up for small to midsize studios | • Reporting and customization options are limited |
| • Class management, attendance tracking, billing | • Limited marketing and automation tools |
| • Unlimited Students |
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Studio Director provides online registration, automated billing and class scheduling. Students and families can easily register for classes, pay fees and manage their accounts through the customer portal.
The platform supports costume management for performances and detailed reporting.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Comprehensive registration, billing, and scheduling features | • Dated interface that may feel clunky to new users |
| • Strong customer support and onboarding assistance | • Lacks modern tools for SMS, email marketing, or automation |
| • Flexible tuition and payment plans | • Limited mobile experience for both parents and admins |
| • Trusted by dance and performing arts schools for over a decade | • Requires more manual processes compared to newer platforms |
MindBody is a leading wellness and fitness management software. The platform offers a wide range of features, including online booking, payment processing, scheduling and marketing tools. Businesses can manage staff, track performance and automate tasks such as client communications and recurring payments.
Mindbody provides insight through data-driven reports and offers branded mobile apps.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Industry leader in fitness and wellness software | • Not tailored for dance or youth-focused programs |
| • Branded mobile apps, POS, and scheduling included | • Expensive compared to alternatives, especially for small studios |
| • Strong marketplace visibility via Mindbody consumer app | • Complex setup and steep learning curve |
| • Built-in marketing tools, client management, and reports | • Charges additional fees for premium features (e.g., branded apps, marketing suite) |
Akada is a dance studio management software for online registration, scheduling, and payment processing. Studio owners can automate tasks like billing, track staff hours, and manage performances and recitals.
The platform provides over 200 reports for finances, enrollment, and attendance to help studios to maintain a clear view of their operations. Akada also offers a mobile app, Akada Express, to track attendance on the go.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| • Designed specifically for dance studios | • Interface feels outdated and less intuitive than newer platforms |
| • Reliable tools for class scheduling, billing, and recital planning | • No built-in marketing features (email/SMS campaigns require external tools) |
| • Affordable and well-suited for small to midsize studios | • Limited automation and customization |
| • Long-standing reputation and loyal customer base | • Desktop-based; limited cloud/mobile functionality |
Activity Messenger is a jackrabbit alternative that was designed to overcome the limitations of older class management platforms.
Unlike software with rigid interfaces, Activity Messenger has a sleek, modern look and feel. It provides a user-friendly experience that can be fully customized. Activity Messenger helps your organization stand out while simplifying and automating most administrative tasks.
The platform consolidates reminder emails, text messages, event ticketing, and email marketing.
Activity Messenger even helps you grow by providing advanced marketing tools like conversion rate tracking, abandoned cart retargeting, and email list segmentation.
With built-in automation, you can focus on delivering high-quality experiences while the platform handles your marketing efforts and helps you increase revenue.
