By Vishal, founder of Synrgetic. Yes, I run a competing platform – so check every number in this post yourself. They’re all from public pricing pages, checked November 2026.
Third-party reports say TrueCoach introduced a 5% fee on client payments processed through its platform in January 2026. Its pricing page lists free automated payments and no extra fees, so check with TrueCoach what applies to your account. Five percent sounds small. It isn’t – because unlike your subscription, it scales with your income, not your client count.
The maths nobody does
Your subscription is a fixed cost. A payment fee is a tax on growth. If the fee applies to you, here’s what 5% looks like at different income levels, on top of the $164.98/month (Pro, 50 clients) subscription:
| Monthly client payments | 5% fee/month | Fee per year | Fee + subscription per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| $1,500 | $75 | $900 | $2,880 |
| $3,000 | $150 | $1,800 | $3,780 |
| $5,000 | $250 | $3,000 | $4,980 |
| $8,000 | $400 | $4,800 | $6,780 |
Read that last column again. A coach with a healthy $5,000/month roster is paying nearly $5,000 a year for software. That’s a month of your own revenue, every year, gone to your platform.
And here’s the part that stings: the fee rewards you for growing less. Raise your prices, sign a bigger client, sell a transformation package – the fee grows with every win, while the product you receive stays exactly the same.
“But every platform charges processing fees, right?”
Payment processors charge fees – Stripe, PayPal, your card terminal all take their cut, typically around 3%. That’s unavoidable; it’s the cost of moving money.
A platform fee is different. A 5% platform fee like the one reported for TrueCoach is charged by your coaching software, layered on top of whatever the payment processor takes. It’s not covering the cost of moving money – it’s a revenue share on your coaching business.
Your options
1. Absorb it. If your roster is premium-priced and TrueCoach’s workflow is deeply embedded in your business, $150–400/month might genuinely be worth it. Some businesses reach that point. Be honest about whether yours has.
2. Collect payments outside the platform. Invoice directly, use a standalone payment link, and keep TrueCoach for programming only. Workable – but now you’re running two systems and paying $164.98/month for half a platform.
3. Reconsider the whole bill. If you’re re-evaluating anyway, compare the full picture, not just the fee. A 50-client roster runs $39.99/month on Synrgetic with training, nutrition coaching, bookings, packages and business analytics included on every paid plan, with no paid add-ons. Clients can also pay you by card through your own Stripe account, and Synrgetic currently adds no platform fee on top of Stripe’s. The full head-to-head is here: Synrgetic vs TrueCoach.
If you decide to move
Don’t rage-quit mid-billing-cycle – a bad switch costs more than a bad fee. Export your data first (TrueCoach lets you export your client list as CSV, and workout history per client), pick a switch date at the start of a program block, and pilot with two or three clients before moving everyone.
We wrote the whole process up as a free, step-by-step Switching Kit – including exactly where the export buttons are, what transfers and what honestly doesn’t (no platform imports another’s workout history – anyone who claims otherwise, test it first), and a ready-to-send announcement message for your clients.
Prices and fees referenced are published rates checked November 2026 – always confirm against TrueCoach’s pricing page before making decisions.