Method vs TrueCoach: a program-first coaching workspace against a personal trainer business platform

The short version of each app

TrueCoach calls itself the number one platform for personal trainers and is part of Xplor Technologies. You write workouts in a free-form builder on a monthly client calendar. Each exercise has an open text field for sets, reps, tempo, and rest. A program is a saved series of workouts you assign to clients or a group. Around the builder sit Stripe payments, habits, nutrition, wearables, public profiles, branding, and team accounts. Clients log on iOS, Android, or the web.

Method is a workout planner and tracker for structured strength and cardio training, with a Coach Workspace on the web. You build Coach Library programs with blocks, weeks, sessions, and per-set prescriptions. You publish to one client and review every change before it lands. The client follows it in the iPhone app. Completed sets, check-ins, form checks, and messages come back to the workspace. Method has no payments, nutrition, habits, or Android app. Coaching is one to one.

Side by side

TrueCoach facts come from its website, help center, and store listings on the date shown above. Method facts come from the shipped product.

Where Method is stronger

Prescriptions are structured per set. Each set holds a set type and reps as an exact number, a range, or AMRAP. Effort is RIR or RPE with half values, stored once as RIR and shown as either. Rest, tempo, and notes sit on the set too. Load can be written as a percentage of another set, such as 85% of the top set. The editor adds a spreadsheet view and bulk-edit rules with a preview. TrueCoach takes sets, reps, tempo, and rest in an open text field.

Publishing is a reviewed step. Editing a published program does nothing to the client until you publish again. Publish review lists every change the client will receive before it lands. If the structure or training days changed, Method offers Publish and reschedule. TrueCoach assigns workouts to a calendar with a sync toggle that locks while assigned.

Form checks come back annotated. Either side can start one. You pause the video, draw on the frame, leave a note at that timestamp, and send with a summary. The client sees the drawings and notes in the app and can return to them. A workspace allowance of unlimited, off, or a limit per week or month has a per-client override. TrueCoach's pages describe clients uploading video and the coach reviewing it in results.

Check-ins are built from your own questions. Question kinds include written answer, yes or no, choice, rating, number, pain or injury, measurement, and photo. A Check-in template runs weekly on chosen weekdays or every N days, and Method sends each one when due. A Client intake is asked once and can ride on the invitation. TrueCoach's help center suggests the workout builder for questionnaires. See what to ask in a check-in.

Planned sits beside completed. Every completed workout stores the prescription it started from, so you see partial sessions and deviations per set. Trends show estimated 1RM per exercise with the sessions behind each change. See planned vs completed.

Where TrueCoach is stronger

Payments. TrueCoach Payments runs on Stripe. It covers subscriptions, one-time payments, invoices, pause and prorate, discounts, tax, and refunds. It is available in the United States, United Kingdom, Canada, and Australia. There is no platform fee, but a flat 5% processing fee applies to each invoice total and to refunds. Method has no payments at all.

Platforms. Clients can use iOS, Android, or the web. The mobile app has a coach mode for messages, results review, and comments. Method's coach side is web only, and every client needs an iPhone on iOS 26 or later. If any client is on Android, TrueCoach is the practical choice.

Habits, nutrition, and wearables. Habit tracking runs daily, weekly, or monthly. Calorie and macro goals come through MyFitnessPal. Standard and above log calories, macros, weight, sleep, steps, and stress in the mobile app. Standard and Pro pull data from Garmin, Fitbit, Oura, Google Fit, Polar, Apple Health, and Whoop. Method reads Apple Health on the client's iPhone and nothing else.

Team accounts and groups. Coaches are unlimited at no additional cost, with billing on the cumulative client count. Client groups take program assignments and broadcasts. Group messages hold up to 20 people. Method charges $9.99 per month per further member and has no group chat or broadcast.

A front door for the business. Public Coach Profiles give you a shareable page with a lead application form. The custom-branded client web app carries your logo, a subdomain, and 8 themes. The pricing card lists Zapier under Standard, while the expanded list and the help center say Pro. Method has none of these, and its coaching is launching now against an app with 35,159 App Store ratings.

Pricing, read carefully

Method sells one plan, the Coach Workspace, at $19.99 per month in USD on the date checked. It includes 5 clients and 1 workspace member, the owner. Each further client is $2.00 per month and each further member is $9.99 per month. Annual billing charges 10 months for 12, so the base is $199.90 per year. The 14-day trial covers the workspace and program library. Client invitations and messaging start with the first payment. See the pricing page.

TrueCoach sells three tiers by active client count, all in USD. Starter is $29.98 per month for up to 5 active clients. Standard is $69.98 per month for up to 20. Pro is $164.98 per month for up to 50. Billed annually those become $26.34, $57.99, and $136.99 per month. Above 50 clients you email support. There is no free tier. Clients pay nothing. Payments adds a 5% processing fee on each transaction.

Now a worked example with one coach on monthly billing. Five clients cost $19.99 per month on Method and $29.98 on TrueCoach Starter. Fifteen clients cost $39.99 on Method and $69.98 on TrueCoach Standard. Thirty clients cost $69.99 on Method and $164.98 on TrueCoach Pro. Method rises in $2.00 steps. On TrueCoach the sixth client moves you from Starter to Standard.

Two things pull the other way. TrueCoach adds coaches for free, while Method adds $9.99 per month per member. And TrueCoach's price includes payments, habits, nutrition, wearables, and branding, which Method does not sell.

Who should pick which

Pick TrueCoach if you run a personal training business and want billing, habits, nutrition, wearables, and messaging in one place. Pick it if clients are on Android, you coach groups, or you want a team under one account.

Pick Method if your coaching is the program itself. Choose it for per-set prescriptions, a reviewed publish step, annotated form checks, and check-ins from your own questions. Read Method for coaches and the coaching docs before a trial. Also weighing Trainerize? See TrueCoach vs Trainerize.

What Method does not do

Method has no client payments, invoicing, packages, or client subscriptions. It has no habits, nutrition, meal plans, steps, or sleep tracking. It has no Android app, iPad app, or coach app on any phone. It has no custom-branded app, public profile, client booking, or waivers. Its integrations stop at Apple Health on the client's iPhone. It has no group programs, group chat, or broadcasts. It does not generate programs. There are no coach exports today.