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How Much Does Venue Management Software Cost?

Subscriptions, card fees, platform fees and the extras nobody lists first: what running a sports business on software really costs, with a worked example.

On this page
  1. The five parts of the bill
  2. A worked example
  3. What will your software cost you in year one?
  4. What PLAI costs
  5. Questions to ask every vendor
  6. FAQ
  7. Sources
€57 to €279a month: the published subscriptions we read, excluding taxThree vendors, read 4 and 5 November 2026
1.5% + €0.25Stripe's card processing on each standard European card in FranceStripe pricing for France, read 4 November 2026
€0PLAI subscription and setup, with no contractplai.live/business

The short answer: for a padel or tennis business, the subscriptions published on 4 November 2026 ran from €57 to €279 a month excluding tax. On top of that you pay card processing on every online payment (for Stripe in France, from 1.5% + €0.25 per standard European card), and often extras: a branded app, SMS, integrations, hardware. PLAI charges no subscription, and its card fees are about three times lower than Stripe's standard rate.

This article is published by PLAI. Facts about other companies come from their own public pages, linked with the date we read them.

The five parts of the bill

1The subscription

Most tools charge a fixed monthly fee, cheaper when paid a year ahead, often in tiers by number of courts or by feature. Published examples on 4 November 2026:

Published subscriptions, read 4 November 2026. Prices exclude tax.
SoftwarePublished priceNotesSource
Gestion SportsFrom €57 a month for associations, from €197 for private businessesExcluding VATGestion Sports pricing, read 4 November 2026
Playtomic Manager€59, €89, €139 or €279 a monthExcluding VATPlaytomic pricing, read 5 November 2026
DoinsportFrom €179 a month for a private business€161 on an annual planDoinsport pricing, read 4 November 2026
PLAI€0 a monthNo setup fee, no contractplai.live/business

Ask whether the price you are quoted is monthly or annual, with or without tax, and how many courts or locations it covers.

2Card processing

Whatever the software, someone pays the card network and the payment provider on each online payment.

Many booking tools take card payments through Stripe Connect, which links your business to the software's own Stripe platform. Doinsport, for one, says it sets up your Stripe account for you (source: Doinsport online payments, read 4 November 2026). How that link is set up decides who sets your card rate. Stripe now calls these Standard, Express and Custom accounts its legacy account types (source: Stripe Connect account types, read 4 November 2026).

Stripe Connect: who sets your card rate, read 4 November 2026.
AccountYour card rateWhat the software pays StripeSource
StandardStripe's published rate, from 1.5% + €0.25Nothing extraStripe Connect pricing for France, read 4 November 2026
Express or CustomSet by the software€2 per active account a month, plus 0.25% and a fixed fee on each payoutStripe Connect pricing for France, read 4 November 2026

Ask which account you get. With Express or Custom, the rate you pay is the one the software sets, not Stripe's published rate.

Published card rates:

Card processing per online payment, read 4 November 2026.
Provider and cardRateSource
Stripe, France: standard European cards1.5% + €0.25Stripe pricing for France, read 4 November 2026
Stripe, France: premium European cards2.8% + €0.25Stripe pricing for France, read 4 November 2026
Stripe, France: UK cards2.5% + €0.25Stripe pricing for France, read 4 November 2026
PLAIAbout three times lower than Stripe's standard rate aboveplai.live/business

The fixed part matters: on a €6 drink it is a larger share than on a €40 court.

3Platform fees

Some tools add their own fee per online payment, either instead of a subscription or on top of it. Ask how much it is, and whether it comes back on a refund.

4Extras

The common ones, each with a published example:

Extras with a published price, read 4 November 2026.
ExtraPublished exampleSource
HardwareDoor access and lighting can be on quote, as at DoinsportDoinsport pricing, read 4 November 2026

5Your time

Setup, staff training, moving your customers across, and the hours your desk spends on bookings and payments each week. Cheap software that costs your staff an hour a day is not cheap.

A worked example

Take a business with six courts that takes €10,000 a month online in 400 payments of €25, all on standard European cards.

Card processing at Stripe's standard French rate: 1.5% of €10,000 plus 400 × €0.25 = €250 a month, or €3,000 a year.

With a subscription of €200 a month and Stripe: you pay €200 + €250 = €450 a month, or €5,400 a year. The €200 is due whether you take €10,000 or €2,000.

With PLAI: no subscription, and card fees about three times lower than that €250 at Stripe's standard rate.

With a €200 subscription€450a month: €200 subscription + €250 card processing. €5,400 a year.
With PLAI€0a month in subscription, with no setup fee or contract. Card fees about three times lower than Stripe's standard rate.
The difference€2,400a year of subscription alone, before the lower card fees, in this example.

Your numbers will differ. Put in your own volume, your own card mix and the quote you actually receive.

Try it with your numbers

What will your software cost you in year one?

Example values: the starting numbers are this article's worked example, not customer data. Card rates are Stripe's published rates for France, read 4 November 2026. Hardware and your time are not counted.

Your players' and members' cards, at Stripe
Your quote, year one€5,400€2,400 subscription + €3,000 card processing
PLAI, year one, before card fees€0No subscription, setup or extras. Card fees about three times lower than Stripe's standard rate.

Before card fees, PLAI saves you €2,400 in year one. At Stripe's standard rate, your card processing would cost €3,000 a year; PLAI's card fees are about three times lower than Stripe's standard rate.

SubscriptionExtrasSetupCard processing

What PLAI costs

PLAI's line is "Pay nothing. Get everything." Concretely:

  • €0 subscription, €0 setup, no contract.
  • Card fees about three times lower than Stripe's standard rate in France of 1.5% + €0.25 per standard European card (source: Stripe pricing for France, read 4 November 2026).

Everything is included: booking, packs and memberships, privileges, split bills, tournaments, the till, messages and the app for players and members. See plai.live/business.

Questions to ask every vendor

  1. Is the price monthly or annual, with or without VAT, and for how many courts or sites?
  2. What is the card rate, and who is the payment provider?
  3. If it is Stripe, is your account Standard, at Stripe's own rate, or Express, at a rate the software sets?
  4. Is there a platform fee per payment, and does it come back on a refund?
  5. What is extra: app, SMS, integrations, hardware, onboarding?
  6. How long is the contract, and what does leaving cost?

For the other side of the question, read Free venue software: where is the catch? and Best padel club booking software in 2026.

FAQ

Is a subscription or a percentage cheaper?

It depends on your online volume and the percentage. Add up a full year of each: subscription, card processing, platform fee and extras.

Does PLAI charge a subscription?

No. PLAI has no subscription, no setup fee and no contract (source: plai.live/business). Its card fees are about three times lower than Stripe's standard rate in France of 1.5% + €0.25 per standard European card (source: Stripe pricing for France, read 4 November 2026).

Do card fees come back when I refund a booking?

Not with Stripe: its processing fee is not refunded (source: Stripe pricing for France, read 4 November 2026). Ask your vendor about its own fee too.

What is the difference between a Stripe Standard and an Express account?

With a Standard account, Stripe bills you its published rate and the software pays Stripe nothing extra. With an Express account, the software sets your card rate and pays Stripe €2 per active account a month, plus 0.25% and a fixed fee on each payout (source: Stripe Connect pricing for France, read 4 November 2026).

What about VAT?

Most published prices exclude VAT or sales tax. Check before you compare.

Sources

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