Hunting for the best modern online registration software? If you’re using Jackrabbit in Canada, you may already feel the friction: parents struggling on mobile, staff jumping between tools, growing concerns about where your data is stored, and whether it still meets Canadian privacy requirements.
As expectations rise and regulations such as PIPEDA and Quebec’s Law 25 tighten, many Canadian organizations are re-evaluating whether Jackrabbit still meets their needs.
That’s where Activity Messenger comes in: an online registration software built for Canadian dance studios, gymnastics clubs, swim schools, and recreation programs that tackles everything you need in one place.
In this article, we’ll compare Jackrabbit vs Activity Messenger from a Canadian perspective, highlighting key similarities, important differences, and why more class-based organizations are switching to a Canadian-built platform.
DISCLAIMER: Activity Messenger is our software. We built it after years of working with Canadian class-based organizations that struggled with U.S.-based registration and communication tools.
Jackrabbit was an early pioneer in class management software, and many modern platforms — including Activity Messenger — wouldn’t exist without it.
But for Canadian organizations, what once worked well can start to feel limiting as privacy requirements, parent expectations, and operational complexity increase.
That said, Canadian organizations often encounter limitations, including:
As expectations from parents rise and compliance requirements tighten, many Canadian organizations begin exploring local alternatives.
Many Canadian studios and clubs start looking for a Jackrabbit alternative when they realize managing classes, payments, and communications across multiple tools is draining staff time and frustrating families.
Organizations that often make the switch include:
When registration, communications, and forms live in separate systems, Jackrabbit can feel like it’s slowing you down rather than helping. Activity Messenger solves this by bringing everything under one roof: Canadian-hosted, mobile-friendly, set monthly prices, and built to streamline staff workflows while giving parents a seamless experience.
We’ll compare Jackrabbit Class and Activity Messenger as options for Canadian dance studios, swim schools, gymnastics clubs and more:
| Feature | Activity Messenger | Jackrabbit |
|---|---|---|
| Customer Service Location | Dedicated Canadian support team that understands the needs of local clubs and organizations. | Support team based in the U.S., which may be less familiar with Canadian regulations and context. |
| Data Storage | All data is stored securely in Canada, ensuring compliance with local privacy laws. | Data is stored in the U.S., which may raise privacy concerns for Canadian clients. |
| User Interface | Clean, mobile-optimized design with a modern, user-friendly registration experience. | Interface can feel outdated and cluttered, especially on mobile devices. |
| Branding and Visual Content | Integrates with Canva to help design professional visuals for emails, posters, and social media. | No built-in branding tools or integration for designing visual content. |
| Online Form Builder | Includes a drag-and-drop form builder that replaces Google Forms, Jotform, Smartwaiver, and SurveyMonkey. | Primarily focused on registration; lacks form-building capabilities for broader use cases. |
| Tool Replacement Capability | All-in-one platform that replaces multiple tools like Mailchimp, Eventbrite, and Smartwaiver. | Focused on class management; often requires additional tools to fill in the gaps. |
Activity Messenger streamlines online registration and payments just like Jackrabbit. Its customizable registration process and drag-and-drop forms allow for a more personalized registration process, making it much easier to register from a smartphone.
Activity Messenger and Jackrabbit Class provide a central hub for tracking member information and payments. You can automate billing, send customized reminders, and manage discounts.
Both class management software create attendance lists from registrations. Staff can easily monitor attendance and keep detailed records via smartphone.
Facility booking is easy with an intuitive calendar and booking system. This reduces the hassle of manual scheduling. Electronic contracts simplify the rental process, allowing for easy confirmation and payment via mobile devices.
With Jackrabbit, you’re stuck paying a set monthly fee on top of additional costs depending on the number of students you have at the end of each month. This can add up quickly, especially if you upgrade to Jackrabbit Plus. Unless you choose their Enterprise subscription, the monthly plus student fees can eat up your budget and add to your stress.
By choosing Activity Messenger, you don’t have to worry about scaling your business. Pricing is determined by your chosen tier and the organization’s needs—you won’t be stuck paying extra fees if you add additional students.
Activity Messenger is a Canadian class management software with dedicated customer service in Canada. We understand the specific needs of Canadian organizations. In contrast, Jackrabbit offers customer support in the US.
Jackrabbit only allows data storage in the US. Activity Messenger ensures that all data is stored in Canada and complies with federal privacy laws and regulations. Jackrabbit does not store data in Canada, which raises privacy and compliance concerns.
Activity Messenger was designed with today’s parents in mind. Its clean, guided registration flow makes it easier to find the right class quickly, especially on a smartphone.
Jackrabbit’s interface, while functional, can feel cluttered and harder to navigate on mobile devices, creating friction during registration.
Activity Messenger’s integration with Canva allows users to create marketing materials directly within the platform. This makes it easy to design forms and newsletters that are on brand.
With Jackrabbit, registrations are only part of the picture. For waivers, surveys, evaluations, and internal forms, many organizations still rely on paper or third-party tools.
Activity Messenger takes a different approach by including a drag-and-drop form builder in every subscription, replacing 99% of your paper documents.
Here are a few examples of the forms our customers have created for their participants and employees.
I’ve been where you are—jumping between apps, losing track of data, and wasting valuable time. That’s why we created Activity Messenger.
But we’re not just about replacing Mailchimp, SurveyMonkey, Eventbrite, Jotform, and Smartwaiver.
Jackrabbit also understands the importance of these other tools. In fact, they wrote a blog article about it. But they expect you to pay extra, learn another tool, and not have all your data in one place.
Administrative work adds up quickly: waiver collection, reminders, renewals, surveys, and follow-ups all take time. Activity Messenger helps automate these tasks, so your team can focus on delivering great programs.
With just a few clicks, you can:
It’s about eliminating the mundane and repetitive tasks while adding value to your customer’s experience through better communication. The result is less manual work for your team and a smoother experience for parents.
📌 Read More: 10 Best JackRabbit Alternatives
Canadian alternatives include Activity Messenger, Amilia, and Uplifter. They offer online registration, scheduling, and payment processing tailored to Canadian businesses.
Canadian platforms offer localized support, comply with Canadian privacy laws, and store all of your data in Canada.
Yes, a Canadian platform like Activity Messenger offers a bilingual interface and compliance with Canadian tax regulations.
Jackrabbit can be used in Canada, but it stores data on U.S. servers. Organizations that require Canadian data residency or must comply with stricter standards, such as Quebec’s Law 25, often choose a Canadian-hosted alternative, such as Activity Messenger.
Yes. Dance studios, gymnastics clubs, swim schools, and recreation programs across North America use Activity Messenger. It supports registrations, memberships, payments, attendance tracking, waivers, and automated communications in one platform.
Yes. Activity Messenger is fully bilingual (English and French), including registration forms, emails, SMS messages, and customer support at no additional cost.
💡 Want to learn more about Activity Messenger? Check out our YouTube channel for how-tos, past webinars, feature comparisons, and more.
Jackrabbit helped shape the class management space, but many Canadian organizations now need more flexibility, better mobile experiences, and stronger compliance guarantees.
Activity Messenger was built specifically for Canadian dance studios, gymnastics clubs, swim schools, and recreation programs that want modern registrations, automated communications, and 100% Canadian data hosting without juggling multiple tools.
💡 Ready to switch from Jackrabbit to a Canadian platform? Book a demo with Activity Messenger and see how your registrations, communications, and workflows can be simplified.
