FitBUILDER vs SugarWOD: Which Platform Is Right for You?
Last Updated on 3 October, 2025
FitBUILDER and SugarWOD are two platforms that help you share and create WODs, track client performance and leaderboards, and encourage social interaction.
To help you decide which platform is right for you, we dug into the nitty-gritty details. In this guide, we’ll compare them side by side for key features and differences so you can be sure you’re getting the best value for your money.
What’s in this guide:
The main difference between FitBUILDER and SugarWOD
While both FitBUILDER and SugarWOD provide powerful tools for delivering workouts and engaging members, they differ significantly in scope and functionality. SugarWOD is a well-established solution focused almost entirely on programming and community interaction, while FitBUILDER is part of the larger WellnessLiving ecosystem.
That means FitBUILDER not only helps you build, organize, and deliver workouts, but also integrates seamlessly with scheduling, billing, staff management, marketing, and reporting tools. In practice, this makes FitBUILDER more of a comprehensive business solution, whereas SugarWOD is best suited for gyms that already have other systems in place to handle their operations.
Quick comparison
| Feature | FitBUILDER (WellnessLiving) | SugarWOD |
|---|---|---|
| Scope | Fully integrated into a complete business management platform (scheduling, billing, POS, staff, marketing). | Standalone workout programming and community app; requires separate systems for operations. |
| Workout tools | Advanced options: exercise/workout tagging, duplication, filtering, routines, reordering, and automated whiteboard timers. | Core programming and logging features; lacks some more in-depth features and customisation. |
| Member experience | In-app, SMS, and email notifications when WODs are published; embeddable leaderboards/whiteboards on websites. | Publishing to app, website, BoxTV, and RSS feeds, but fewer notification and embedding options. |
| Staff controls | Granular permissions and roles for programming and management. | Basic coach/owner roles; fewer fine-tuned permission settings. |
| Scalability | Supports multi-location businesses via WellnessLiving’s enterprise tools. | Primarily designed for single-location gyms or boxes. |
FitBUILDER vs SugarWOD: Workout management features
Let’s dive into the most important features and compare them side by side.
Exercise management
Both FitBUILDER and SugarWOD include exercise creation and management features so you can add new exercises, complete with descriptions, images, videos, and categories. You can review your library of exercises and search for specific ones.
Workout management
With both platforms, you can effortlessly add exercises and circuits to create a WOD and add it to your calendar. If you have multiple gym locations, you can use the same WOD for all locations or create a unique WOD for each one.
Both solutions make it easy to define the number of sets for each exercise and circuit, set up scoring metrics for each workout, and add the coach’s notes. But WellnessLiving’s FitBUILDER provides some helpful functionality that SugarWOD lacks. With FitBUILDER, you can duplicate workouts to easily adjust them and fill your calendar.
Whiteboard
With FitBUILDER and SugarWOD, you’ll get a whiteboard feature that allows you to display content on your smart TV. You can showcase workout videos and details, as well as a leaderboard of your top-performing clients.
The feature is very similar across both platforms, but SugarWOD lacks an automated timer. With FitBUILDER, you can include an automated countdown and timer for the entire workout so that trainers can focus on demonstrating exercises and engaging clients.
Did you know that 50% of gym memberships get cancelled within 6 months? Creating fitness challenges, encouraging clients to complete the workout of the day (WOD), and fostering a real sense of community can all have a major impact on retention.
FitBUILDER vs SugarWOD: Business management features
Of course, there’s more to running a good gym than creating a good workout schedule. So how do these platforms stack up when it comes to helping reduce your admin load?
Mobile apps
Both FitBUILDER and SugarWOD offer no-code mobile apps for clients, meaning you can use these platforms to easily launch your own app without hiring a development team. The apps make it easy for clients to view the day’s workout, log their workout results, view their entire logbook, and comment on friends’ results.
Both platforms also offer staff mobile apps so your staff can access the day’s workout as well.
Sales and marketing
Here’s where WellnessLiving’s FitBUILDER and SugarWOD really split apart. SugarWOD doesn’t offer back-end operations features. But WellnessLiving is one of the most robust, customizable gym software available.
Here are some key features you’ll find in WellnessLiving:
- Membership sales
- Automated monthly billing
- In-person point-of-sale
- Product inventory management
- Email marketing
- SMS marketing
- Client segments
- Behavior-based triggers
- Push notifications (for the client app)
Payroll and staff management
By the same token, SugarWOD also doesn’t include features for managing your staff. However, if you use FitBUILDER alongside WellnessLiving, you’ll unlock all the payment features you need.
All of these important features can be found inside WellnessLiving:
- Staff clock-ins (only when on-site, using the staff app)
- Staff schedules
- Payroll processing
- Task management
- Staff-wide announcements
FitBUILDER vs SugarWOD: Customer reviews
FitBUILDER is an add-on for WellnessLiving, which has 4.3 stars on Capterra out of 472 reviews. WellnessLiving is rated 4.6 stars on G2 out of 188 reviews.
SugarWOD is rated 4.5 on G2, but it only has 3 reviews as of publishing. They also have 4.2 stars on Capterra out of only 5 reviews. As you can see, there’s not as much data available, so WellnessLiving wins out in terms of the volume and quality of online reviews.
FitBUILDER vs SugarWOD: Pricing
SugarWOD’s pricing is based on the number of athletes that you have at your gym. While this may make sense for especially small gyms that are just starting out, it’s less economical at larger scales.
SugarWOD Pricing Scale | More success = larger bill
| Active Clients | Active Clients | Active Clients | Active Clients |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0-5 $4.97/mo | 31-45 $67 | 76-100 $104/mo | 151-175 $171/mo |
| 6-15 $36/mo | 46-60 $81/mo | 101-125 $139/mo | 176-200 $187/mo |
| 16-30 $49/mo | 61-75 $93/mo | 126-150 $157 | 201-250 $207/mo |
Additional plans are available if your member base doesn’t fit within those tiers.
FitBUILDER’s flat rate pricing | $49/month
For WellnessLiving’s FitBUILDER add-on, you’ll pay a flat rate of $49 per month regardless of how many athletes you have training at your functional fitness gym. WellnessLiving has a variety of base plans to fit any business need, so you’ll never overpay for your back-end software.
Bottom line: Any gym or fitness studio with over 100 active client accounts would pay per month more for SugarWOD’s exercise programming than for WellnessLiving’s entire suite of buisiness management tools.
WellnessLiving can help you and your clients succeed
All in all, both platforms are great for improving the workout experience, but if you don’t want to hassle with tech stack integrations, WellnessLiving and the FitBUILDER add-on are a better choice.
Reach out today for a free demo to see how FitBUILDER can help you boost your fitness studio’s client retention or streamline your gym’s programming.
