Kahunas and Assistant Coach are both fitness coaching software for personal trainers and online coaches. They both help with core coaching work like plans, check-ins, and nutrition, but they make different bets. Kahunas puts more weight on built-in messaging, payments, and wearables, with per-client pricing that falls as your roster grows. Assistant Coach puts more weight on a calm coaching workspace: a coach-branded client app, check-ins, meal and workout planning, workout logging with video review, goals, daily habits, notes, lead capture, AI support, and data you can actually take with you.

So the useful question is not “which platform has more features?” It is: which platform fits the way you coach, at a price that still makes sense when your roster grows?

Here is what this guide breaks down:

  1. Kahunas vs Assistant Coach: The 2026 Summary
  2. What Kahunas Actually Costs in 2026
  3. Feature-by-Feature: Kahunas vs Assistant Coach
  4. Data Export: Where Kahunas and Assistant Coach Differ Most
  5. The AI Difference: Kahunas AI vs Coaching Workspace AI
  6. Which Fitness Coaching Software Should You Choose?
  7. Frequently Asked Questions
  8. Next Steps
  9. References

Kahunas vs Assistant Coach: The 2026 Summary

Platform Pricing Model Starts At Best For Watch Out For
Assistant Coach Flat tiers, unlimited clients on every paid plan Free for 5 clients (every core feature) / ~$22/mo for unlimited clients Solo coaches who want a coach-branded client app, structured check-ins, workout logging with video review, meal and workout plans, goals, daily habits, notes, lead capture, full data export, and AI help across review and planning Newer brand in public beta; payments and wearables are not built in yet
Kahunas Per client, with the per-client price and the features you get both changing with roster size $15/mo minimum (3 clients), then $5 per client per month up to 24 clients ($4 billed yearly) Coaches who want built-in messaging, nutrition tracking, habit forms, payments, and wearables in one place $5 a client at small rosters; automations and roadmaps start at 25 clients, Crew AI agents at 50, and your own logo and colours on the client app only at 200; no public self-serve full export found

What Kahunas Actually Costs in 2026

Kahunas relaunched as Kahunas 2.0 on October 28, 2026 and now charges per seat. A seat is each active client, plus any team member other than the owner, with a 3-seat minimum. As of November 11, 2026, its pricing page lists:

Roster Size Kahunas Pricing Assistant Coach Beta
5 clients $5 per client: $25/mo, or $20/mo billed yearly Free (every core feature)
10 clients $5 per client: $50/mo, or $40/mo billed yearly ~$22/mo for unlimited clients when billed annually
25 clients $2.50 per client: $62.50/mo, or $50/mo billed yearly ~$22/mo for unlimited clients when billed annually
50 clients $2 per client: $100/mo, or $80/mo billed yearly ~$22/mo for unlimited clients when billed annually
100 clients $1.50 per client: $150/mo, or $120/mo billed yearly ~$22/mo for unlimited clients when billed annually

Yearly billing takes 20% off. Kahunas also bills you for a bigger tier whenever that works out the same or cheaper, so anywhere from 13 to 25 clients costs $62.50 a month, and 40 to 50 clients costs $100. The core coaching tools are on every plan, but the extras wait for a bigger roster: recipes, automations, leads, and roadmaps start at 25 clients; Crew AI agents, team seats, and exercise analysis at 50; your own logo and colours on the client app at 200. On Assistant Coach, every core feature is included from the first client, and clients see your brand name in their app, even on the free plan.

Kahunas’ bill grows with your roster, and so does what you can use. A coach with 10 clients pays $50 a month, and at 50 clients it is $100. Automations wait until 25 clients and the AI agents until 50. Assistant Coach beta paid plans include unlimited clients at one flat price, so growing from 15 clients to 50 does not change the bill.

One fair point for Kahunas: its pricing page says client payments through your own Stripe or PayPal carry 0% Kahunas commission. If payments inside the coaching app matter to you, that is a real advantage over platforms that add their own platform fee. For the wider pricing landscape, see our real cost of fitness coaching software breakdown.

Feature-by-Feature: Kahunas vs Assistant Coach

Feature Kahunas Assistant Coach
Workout programming Workout builder with a 1,700+ exercise library Spreadsheet-style session builder (supersets & circuits), every session side by side, with coverage analysis
Exercise demo videos (your own) Yes (upload or YouTube link) Yes (upload or YouTube link; clients tap "Watch demo")
Workout logging and video review Client workout logging Workout logger with inline video review of client lifts; set-linked clips, slow-motion playback, and voice cues on video comments
Nutrition Nutrition tracking with barcode scanning Meal plan builder with macros and alternate options for each meal, plus client meal-photo logging with an assistant estimate (plan-deviation read, macro estimates, per-ingredient breakdown) that you review and control; clients also log packaged food by barcode scan or label photo
Check-ins and forms Custom check-in and habit forms Structured check-ins, custom forms, reply drafts from your assistant, and trend analysis
Daily habits A daily check-in form with ticks, numbers and ratings A one-tap Today card at the top of the client app: numbers against a target, yes/no ticks and word scales, with each client's week laid out day by day for you
Coach website and lead capture Lead capture from 25 clients Built-in coach website + leads inbox
Full data export No self-serve full export publicly documented Core workspace export as a ZIP file
AI features AI insights and 250 AI credits a month on every plan; Crew AI agents from 50 clients Check-in analysis, draft replies, trend summaries, and workout coverage review from your assistant
Messaging Yes, on every plan Broadcasts to all or selected clients; voice notes and videos on check-in replies
Payments Stripe and PayPal payment plans; 0% Kahunas commission Not yet
Wearables Wearable device integration Not yet
Coach-branded client app Installable web app; your own logo and colours only from 200 clients Yes, clients see your coaching brand in an app they can add to their home screen, and a ready-made video you send to their app shows them how on iPhone or Android
Connect ChatGPT or Claude to coaching data No public option found Yes

Use the table as a sorting tool: Kahunas is strongest when you want built-in messaging, payments, and wearables in one place; Assistant Coach is strongest when the day-to-day coaching workspace, coach-branded client app, export, AI support, and flat pricing matter most.

Data Export: Where Kahunas and Assistant Coach Differ Most

Branding matters when clients first open the app. Data ownership matters when you need to leave.

Among what we could verify, Kahunas does not publicly document a self-serve export of a coach’s full workspace: clients, check-in history, meal plans, workout plans, and form submissions in a structured format. Our 10-platform data export audit found this is common across the industry. Common does not mean good.

If you coach on Kahunas, there is now a practical path out. We built an independent local Kahunas data export tool that runs on your own laptop, asks you to log into your own coach account, and saves your clients, forms, check-ins, macro meal plans, workout plans, and prescribed exercises. It is not made by or affiliated with Kahunas, and nothing is uploaded by the tool.

If you want to see the process before running it, watch the walkthrough below.

Prefer YouTube? Watch it on the channel here.

Assistant Coach takes the opposite stance by design. You can download your core coaching workspace as a ZIP file: coach profile, clients, goals, notes and todos, check-ins and responses, body measurements, meal plans, and workout plans. Most files are JSON, with a client CSV for quick spreadsheet review.

Whatever platform you choose, ask the export question before you commit years of client history.

The AI Difference: Kahunas AI vs Coaching Workspace AI

Kahunas includes AI insights and 250 AI credits a month on every plan, and adds Crew AI agents, assistants that each take one job such as triaging clients or drafting programs, from 50 clients. Its privacy policy says automated algorithms can analyze health data and generate numerical health scores. Its public marketing does not show enough detail to judge exactly how a coach reviews, edits, or acts on those scores, so ask for a walkthrough if that feature matters to your decision.

Assistant Coach’s built-in AI assistant maps to the decisions coaches make across check-ins, plans, goals, notes, workouts, and follow-up. The platform handles the coaching records; your assistant sits on top of that context:

  • Check-in reply drafts: write a response from the client’s submitted check-in
  • Trend analysis: summarize months of check-ins and measurements so you spot stalls faster
  • Workout coverage review: check a saved workout plan for body-region balance, redundancy, and gaps
  • AI data access: connect ChatGPT or Claude to your coaching data instead of copying client context into a chat window

The bigger AI difference is data access. Assistant Coach can securely link ChatGPT or Claude to approved coaching records, so ChatGPT or Claude can see real client history. We found no public Kahunas option for connecting your own AI tools to your coaching workspace.

Neither approach replaces your judgment. The question is which kind of help you want: Kahunas’ AI insights and agents, or an assistant that helps you decide what to review, write, and change next.

Which Fitness Coaching Software Should You Choose?

If your main pain is organizing coaching delivery, reviewing check-ins and workouts, planning nutrition and training, keeping count of in-person clients’ session packs and logging their sessions from your phone in the gym, capturing leads, using AI on coaching records, owning your data, and keeping software costs predictable as your roster grows, start with Assistant Coach.

Cost is part of that choice. Assistant Coach is free forever for up to 5 clients with every core feature included, then about $22/month for unlimited clients on beta annual pricing, 50% off standard and locked in for life. Kahunas charges $5 a client a month up to 24 clients, so 10 clients is $50 a month, 25 clients $62.50, and 50 clients $100, with 20% off yearly. Kahunas’ bill keeps climbing as your roster does, even as the per-client price falls. Assistant Coach charges one flat price for unlimited clients, so past the free plan the software cost stops moving entirely.

Neither answer is universal. But the trade-off is now much clearer.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between Kahunas and Assistant Coach?

Kahunas puts more weight on the client-facing app stack: messaging, payments, wearables, habits, and nutrition tracking, priced per client. Assistant Coach puts more weight on the coach’s workspace: a coach-branded client app, check-ins, planning, workout review, goals, daily habits, notes, leads, AI support, and data export.

How much does Kahunas cost?

Since its Kahunas 2.0 relaunch on October 28, 2026, Kahunas charges per client: $5 a client a month for up to 24 clients, with a 3-client minimum ($15/month), then $2.50 from 25 clients, $2 from 50, $1.50 from 100, $1 from 200, and $0.50 from 1,000. Yearly billing is 20% off. If a bigger tier costs the same or less, Kahunas bills that tier, so 13 to 25 clients all cost $62.50 a month.

Does Kahunas offer a branded app?

Not in the app stores any more. Since Kahunas 2.0 (October 28, 2026), clients install a web app from your link instead of downloading a native iOS or Android app. Adding your own logo and colours to it is included from 200 clients.

Can I export my data from Kahunas?

Kahunas does not publicly document a self-serve full workspace export. An independent local Kahunas exporter can help a coach save core records from their own coach account to their own laptop.

Is Assistant Coach cheaper than Kahunas?

Yes, at every roster size on beta pricing. Assistant Coach beta paid plans start around $22/month on annual billing with unlimited clients, and the free plan covers 5 clients with every core feature included, free forever. Kahunas charges $5 a client a month up to 24 clients ($4 billed yearly, 3-client minimum), so 10 clients costs $50 a month and 50 clients costs $100.

Is Assistant Coach a good Kahunas alternative for personal trainers?

Yes, if you want the coaching workspace, a coach-branded client app, AI support, flat pricing, and exportable records. Kahunas is stronger if built-in messaging, payments, and wearables are must-haves today.

Next Steps

If the trade-off now feels clear, review the features you actually use with clients day to day, then choose the platform that removes the most friction from your coaching business.

Want fitness coaching software where your data stays yours from day one? Try Assistant Coach free

References

Related Posts

A coach's desk with a data export checklist for clients, check-ins, meal plans, workout plans, and forms Kahunas Data Export for Fitness Coaches The independent local exporter that helps Kahunas coaches save their own coaching data. Fitness coaching software pricing comparison notes The Real Cost of Fitness Coaching Software Compare common coaching platform costs at real roster sizes, including add-ons and hidden fees.