A PT Distinction alternative for online fitness coaches

What does PT Distinction cost compared with Helms?

PT Distinction lists its plans in US dollars on its pricing page, and I read them on 2026-10-20. Read the live page before you decide, because prices move.

They say extra clients are free for the first month, and there's a 1 month free trial with no minimum term. Pro and Master include your own branded iOS and Android apps. Basic includes iOS and Android apps without custom branding. On Helms your own branded app comes with any paid plan, and you need your own Apple developer account for it, which Apple charges $99 a year for. The currencies differ and I haven't converted them.

Helms prices are on the pricing page, in pounds. Every paid plan starts with a 14 day free trial.

What you can check

• Clients log sets, food, habit ticks, check-ins and messages offline. Each action carries a key made on the phone, so a reconnect can't log the same thing twice.
• Training history is kept as long as the account exists. Nothing is deleted for age.
• You get a message the morning after a client skips a session.
• You set a progression rule on the exercise once. The app reads the client's own last log and offers the next weight, with the reason beside it.
• Group and semi-private sessions have a real capacity, and the waitlist promotes the next person when someone cancels.
• On any paid plan your clients download an app with your name, icon and colours. On Free they get the Helms app with your business name inside it.
• Your clients pay you through your own Stripe or GoCardless. Helms reads the numbers and takes no cut.
• The AI drafts and proposes. It's blocked in code from writing a programme for you, and nothing reaches a client without your say-so.

The bigger the business got, the more of my week went on juggling apps and re-typing the same client into all of them. It felt like more admin than coaching. I wanted one place for the lot: the client work, the business numbers, the social side. So I built it.Logan Russo, who built Helms and still coaches clients on it. From usehelms.com/coaching

When to stay on PT Distinction

• Your clients need an Android app. PT Distinction lists one on every plan. Helms has no Android app for your clients and no Apple Watch app yet.
• You run a team. PT Distinction says you can add as many trainers as you like for free. Helms Team includes three coach seats and charges for each extra one.
• You're between 31 and 50 clients. Helms Coach stops at 30, so compare PT Distinction Master at $89.90 for 50 clients against Helms Studio at £119, in your own currency.

The rest is on who Helms is not for.

Getting your clients across

Moving your clients is free on any plan. Send me whatever you can get out of your current platform and I'll rebuild it in your Helms account: clients, plans, supplements and check-in history. There are self-serve importers too, for a client roster CSV, the full Helms template, and Cronometer or MyFitnessPal food diaries.

Their pricing page doesn't say whether you can export your client data, so ask them before you plan the move. You can export a client's whole record from their page on any plan, Free included: plans, every logged set, check-ins, progress photos, biomarkers, supplements and messages.

Quick answers

Can I move my clients from PT Distinction to Helms?

Moving your clients is free on any plan. Send me whatever you can get out of your current platform and I'll rebuild it in your Helms account: clients, plans, supplements and check-in history. There are self-serve importers too, for a client roster CSV, the full Helms template, and Cronometer or MyFitnessPal food diaries.

How much does PT Distinction cost?

PT Distinction lists three plans in US dollars on ptdistinction.com, checked on 2026-10-20: Basic at $19.90 a month for 3 clients, Pro at $59.90 for 25, and Master at $89.90 for 50, with a small per-client charge beyond the included number.

Can I get my data out of Helms if I leave?

You can export a client's whole record from their page on any plan, Free included: plans, every logged set, check-ins, progress photos, biomarkers, supplements and messages.