Coach Catalyst vs Trainerize

Coach Catalyst is extremely easy to use. You have all the tools you need to coach effectively, laid out on a dashboard that is clear, uncluttered, and intuitive to use.

Creating client programs is also very simple. Using the calendar grid or list view, just click on the day you want to add content to and choose from a combination of lessons, habits, messages, or workouts. From the drop-down menu, you can either select from your own content, done-for-you content, or create new content. 

In our experience, Trainerize is clunky and complicated. Trying to find the important information I need as a coach is time consuming and simple tasks take far too long to complete.  

In a side by side comparison to complete the following four tasks...

1. Build a workout
2. Assign a repeating habit
3. Assign a lesson
4. Assign an automated message

...Coach Catalyst was 3 times as fast as Trainerize in completing these tasks and Trainerize was unable to assign a lesson.  

Trainerize introduced habits eighteen months ago. There is a list of nineteen ready-to-prescribe habits and you can also create your own. You can bulk assign a habit to multiple clients but you can only assign one habit at a time. Once assigned, however, habits can't be edited or changed in bulk, they can only be amended from within a client dashboard.

Habits and accountability are at the very core of Coach Catalyst. You can create programs with single habits, multiple habits, or sequences of habits. Assigning a habit program is easy and Coach Catalyst allows you to make bulk edits at any time. You can also assign bespoke habits to an individual client through their dashboard (journey) or amend content.  

The Trainerize habit builder feels like an afterthought. Albeit sufficient for one off habits, if you want to run a 6-week habit course or transformation challenge combining habits and education Coach Catalyst is a superior choice. 

Being able to coach and educate clients was one of the reasons Coach Catalyst was first created. Giving clients habits is one way to facilitate behavior change, but being able to teach them why they should make those changes is extremely powerful. When they know how to embed habits into their lifestyle and learn how to make those changes sustainable, that is when client see results.

Lessons in Coach Catalyst can contain any information you want - from text and hyperlinks to images and videos. You can use them to share research, blog posts, tips, recipes, motivational quotes...the possibilities are endless. As with all program elements, you can even repeat lessons if you want to help your client to build a specific routine. 

Both platforms have a workout builder to deliver custom workouts to your clients. Both have large libraries of pre-built exercises and the facility to embed your own videos. You can add notes and descriptions to each exercise and you can also build templates on both that you can copy from client to client. When a client completes their workout, they can share feedback and add notes.

An advantage of the Coach Catalyst library is that the provided videos are animations highlighting the muscle groups being used, which is brand-neutral (rather than videos of another coach). The Coach Catalyst workout builder is more flexible and much quicker to use.

Both platforms have real-time messaging and the functionality to send emojis, file attachments, and images. Each has a client app that notifies clients if they have a message to read or need to check-in, and each has a coach app that sends notifications and allows you to reply on the go. Bulk messaging with name fields is also available on both platforms.

In Coach Catalyst, you can also send audio or video messages, which allows you to give better feedback, and you can add gifs to messages directly within the app. To keep your inbox organized, you can highlight messages that need to be followed up, or mark messages as done. You can schedule messages ahead of time on specific dates on an individual client journey or at specific points within a program.