Adminished vs LoveAdmin (2026)
Quick take: Two UK club-admin platforms with different trade-offs: self-serve flat tiers and a 1% Stripe fee, or done-for-you setup with GoCardless Direct Debit.
What LoveAdmin is: LoveAdmin is a long-established UK (Brighton-based) membership, booking and payment-collection platform for sports clubs, class and course providers and membership organisations. It pairs a built-for-you setup with GoCardless Direct Debit and card payment collection.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Adminished | LoveAdmin |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Capacity-based subscription, every feature on every tier: Free up to 20 students, Essential £19/mo up to 75, Pro £49/mo up to 200. No setup or implementation fee. | Flat monthly service fee (roughly £20–£35/mo as of 2026) plus a one-off implementation/setup fee. No per-member limits. Enterprise is quote-based. |
| Platform fee on payments | Transparent 1% platform fee, on top of Stripe's own card/Direct Debit processing fees. Can be passed to parents at checkout. | GoCardless for UK Direct Debit (Direct Debit only — it doesn't process cards), so card and one-off payments run through a separate card or PayPal route. |
| Payment rails | Stripe — cards and Bacs/SEPA Direct Debit. Recurring monthly/termly, per-class billing frequencies, drop-in, and per-subject/per-student pricing. | GoCardless for Direct Debit and a card/PayPal route for card payments. Strong, established Direct Debit collection; reviews note card-payment and one-off-payment flows can be less smooth. |
| Onboarding / setup | Self-serve in minutes, plus free done-for-you migration that also carries saved card and Bacs/SEPA Direct Debit mandates across via Stripe with zero downtime. | Done-for-you setup, build and training included in the implementation fee — a hands-on, configured-for-you start rather than self-serve. |
| Safeguarding — DBS tracking | Built-in DBS status and expiry tracking for coaches. | Not a surfaced feature on their site as of 2026 — focused on membership, bookings and payments rather than coach DBS records. |
| Consent forms & e-signing | Waivers, codes of conduct and media consent signed per child at sign-up, stored as a legal audit trail (name, timestamp, IP, version hash) with CSV export for insurance and safeguarding audits. | Offers online forms and registration; a dedicated per-child e-signature audit trail isn't a documented feature as of 2026 — verify with their team if it matters to you. |
| Member / parent app | Parent and guardian portal (schedule, attendance, payment history, messages, signed documents) with multi-guardian shared care, plus iOS and Android apps and full web. | JoinIn member app for bookings, payments and member details, plus full web. A mature, established member-facing app. |
| Real-time group chat | No real-time in-app group chat. Comms are announcements/posts, scheduled email broadcasts, polls and a per-activity WhatsApp invite link. | Member communications and customisable emails; not positioned as a real-time chat tool either. |
| UK focus & support model | UK-built, UK GDPR, ICO-registered, public security page, data hosted in the UK/EU. Self-serve with online support. | UK-based (Brighton) with weekday UK phone support and a long track record; frequently praised in reviews for hands-on customer service. |
When LoveAdmin is the better choice
If you're a larger or more complex club that wants a vendor to build and configure the whole system for you and train your committee — and you specifically want GoCardless Direct Debit as your main rail with hands-on UK phone support — LoveAdmin's done-for-you onboarding is a genuine strength that a self-serve tool like Adminished doesn't try to match.
Pricing
As of 2026 LoveAdmin advertises flat monthly service fees from around £20/mo (sports clubs and membership orgs) up to about £35/mo (activity providers), plus a one-off implementation/setup fee and a platform transaction fee (their pricing page cites around 3% on standard plans) charged on top of the payment provider's own fees. Enterprise is quote-based. Always check their current pricing page — figures and the setup fee aren't always shown in full until you talk to their team. LoveAdmin also states it works best with organisations processing roughly £20,000+ a year and applies a monthly minimum spend — so it's aimed at larger clubs than Adminished's free tier serves.
Switch in a weekend — we do the heavy lifting
Already on another tool? We bring your members, their classes and their saved card & Direct Debit mandates across — so payments never miss a beat. Zero downtime, no asking your families to re-sign, and we never charge for it.
- Members, contacts, classes & schedules imported for you
- Saved cards & Bacs/SEPA Direct Debit mandates carried over via Stripe — no re-authorisation
- Live in about a weekend, with your fees collecting as normal
Frequently asked questions
Does Adminished use GoCardless like LoveAdmin?
No. Adminished runs payments through Stripe, which handles both cards and Bacs/SEPA Direct Debit. LoveAdmin's Direct Debit is collected through GoCardless. Both can take recurring Direct Debit; the difference is the provider, the fee structure and the migration path. Adminished's free migration can carry existing saved cards and Direct Debit mandates across via Stripe.
Which is cheaper, Adminished or LoveAdmin?
It depends on your size and payment volume. As of 2026 LoveAdmin charges a flat monthly service fee (around £20–£35/mo) plus a one-off implementation fee and a platform transaction fee their pricing page cites at around 3%. Adminished has no setup fee, a free tier up to 20 students, £19/mo up to 75 and £49/mo up to 200, and a 1% platform fee. For a small club the free tier and lower transaction fee usually work out cheaper; for a large organisation wanting full done-for-you setup, compare LoveAdmin's quote directly. Check both providers' current pricing before deciding.
Is LoveAdmin a good choice for my club?
Yes, for some clubs. If you want a vendor to build and configure the whole system for you, train your team, and lean on UK phone support with GoCardless Direct Debit as the backbone, LoveAdmin's done-for-you model is a real strength. Adminished is built for clubs and tutors who prefer to set things up themselves quickly and want a low, transparent 1% fee.
Does LoveAdmin track coach DBS checks?
DBS status and expiry tracking is not a feature LoveAdmin surfaces on its site as of 2026 — it's focused on membership, bookings and payment collection. Adminished includes built-in DBS status and expiry tracking for coaches, alongside per-child consent forms and e-signing with an audit trail for safeguarding and insurance.
Can both platforms pass payment fees to parents?
Yes. Both Adminished and LoveAdmin let you pass the platform fee on to members or parents at checkout, similar to a booking fee. The underlying rates differ — Adminished's platform fee is 1%, while LoveAdmin's pricing page cites around 3% on standard plans as of 2026, in each case on top of the payment provider's own processing fees.
The verdict
LoveAdmin is a credible, established UK choice — especially if you want a done-for-you build, training and weekday phone support, with GoCardless Direct Debit at the centre. Where Adminished differs is the commercial shape: no setup fee, a free tier, a transparent 1% platform fee, Stripe for cards and Bacs/SEPA Direct Debit, and built-in safeguarding (DBS tracking plus per-child consent e-signing with an audit trail). If you value hands-on setup and GoCardless, look hard at LoveAdmin; if you want to get going yourself today with lower fees and safeguarding baked in, Adminished is the better fit. Confirm LoveAdmin's current pricing, setup fee and feature list with their team before you decide.
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