Approach Taking You Nowhere? The best Approach alternative is Exercise.com.

Looking for the best Approach climbing gym software alternative? Compare Approach vs Exercise.com to see which platform offers the most complete gym management solution for climbing gym owners. If you’re ready to scale your gym with full booking, payments, point-of-sale, waivers, automations, and custom branded apps, then Exercise.com is the clear winner.

Approach is a sleek solution built specifically for climbing gyms—but when it comes to running your entire business from one platform, the best gym management software for climbing gyms is Exercise.com.

The best Approach climbing gym alternative is Exercise.com. Compare features, flexibility, and business tools side-by-side.

See how Exercise.com vs Approach stacks up for managing a growing climbing gym business, whether you’re offering climbing classes, memberships, pro shop sales, or events. Ready to get the best climbing gym software?

“The team at Exercise.com have been dedicated to our success from the beginning. Helping us manage rapid growth and providing solutions as we have scaled have been critical. The all-in-one platform combined with the business app, we have everything we need with Exercise.com.”

Brian Kula

Founder, Kula Sports Performance

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Why Exercise.com Is the Best Approach App Alternative for Climbing Gyms

Approach is purpose-built for climbing gyms with a focus on route setting, hold tracking, and staff operations. But while it’s great for managing your wall, it falls short when it comes to full gym business management—like selling memberships, running POS transactions, scheduling staff, delivering classes, or managing client relationships at scale.Exercise.com gives you everything you need to manage, grow, and scale your climbing gym—on your terms—with custom-branded apps and flexible software for your entire operation.

Approach Features

• Route Setting Management: Plan, assign, and track route setting tasks
• Hold Inventory System: Tag and categorize holds across walls and locations
• Mobile-Friendly Workflow: Setters use mobile checklists and updates in real time
• Analytics on Routes: Visual reports on rotation schedules and route density
• Staff Permissions: Control who can access different areas of the system

Approach is ideal for wall operations, but it doesn’t handle bookings, payments, classes, digital waivers, branded apps, CRM, or business automations—leaving climbing gyms to juggle multiple tools.

Exercise.com Pros and Cons

Pros

• All-in-One Platform: Memberships, POS, classes, events, waivers, scheduling, CRM
• Custom-Branded App: iOS and Android apps with your logo, your brand, and your features
• Automated Workflows: Waiver delivery, upsell campaigns, appointment reminders
• Advanced Reporting: View revenue, attendance, conversion rates, client engagement
• Flexible Integrations: Payment gateways, check-in tools, staff access, and more

Cons

• Initial Setup: Deep customization means onboarding takes time (but worth it!)

Exercise.com delivers more than just operational tools—it’s the foundation for growing your climbing gym into a thriving business with scalable systems and seamless client experiences.

Approach Pros and Cons

Pros

• Designed for Route Setters: Created with the climbing industry in mind
• Mobile-Optimized UI: Simple to use for busy setters and staff on the wall
• Detailed Route Reports: Evaluate turnover and performance at a glance

Cons

• No Member App: Clients don’t get a branded app or member portal
• No Booking or Scheduling: Can’t book classes, events, or appointments
• No Payment Support: No built-in POS or billing features
• Limited CRM Tools: No marketing automations, SMS/email drip sequences, or sales tracking

If you want a wall management tool, Approach works well. But if you want a full fitness business platform for your climbing gym, Exercise.com is the best Approach alternative.

Exercise.com vs Approach: Which Should You Choose?

For wall route management and operations, Approach is a solid niche tool. But if you want to run and grow your entire climbing gym with booking, payments, marketing, and branded mobile apps—then Exercise.com is your complete solution.Exercise.com is the best Approach app alternative for climbing gym owners who want more than route setting—they want to scale their brand, streamline operations, and engage their members like pros.

Exercise.com is simply the best. We were using three or four different apps or softwares to do what we can now do all in one with the Exercise.com platform.

Brandon Stroupe

Founder and President, APEC Sports Performance

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What is the Approach app?

Approach is a climbing gym management app focused on wall-side operations like route setting, hold tracking, and staff workflows. It’s widely used by setters and climbing gym staff to streamline route rotation and inventory, but does not include broader gym business management features.

Is Exercise.com better than Approach for climbing gyms?

Yes—if you’re looking for an all-in-one solution to run your climbing gym. Exercise.com includes memberships, POS, digital waivers, custom-branded apps, class scheduling, automations, analytics, and more. It’s built for fitness business owners who need more than wall management.

If you want to offer an elite service for the end user you need to get with the times and use elite level software that is intuitive, visually appealing, and effective. That is exactly what Exercise.com delivers to its clients.

Jimmy Myers

Owner/Trainer, Relentless Sports Performance

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