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Events · head to head

ACTIVE Network vs Activity Messenger

ACTIVE Network logo

ACTIVE Network

Events

Registration and payment software for parks departments, races and camps, owned by Global Payments

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Activity Messenger logo

Activity Messenger

Events

Registrations, payments and communications for sports and leisure

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: ACTIVE Network revenue comes from registration processing rather than licence fees, so the vendor is aligned with transaction volume and not with the quality of the administrative experience.; Activity Messenger entry pricing is 99 dollars a month, and online registration itself only appears on the 149 dollar Premium tier, so the cheapest plan is a communications tool rather than a registration one.
  • They diverge on capability: ACTIVE Network covers ACTIVENet, Activity Messenger covers Online registration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 15 September 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which ACTIVE Network and Activity Messenger actually diverge.

Attributes where ACTIVE Network and Activity Messenger differ
AttributeACTIVE NetworkActivity Messenger
Starting priceOn request$99/month
Pricing modelquotesubscription
PlatformsWeb, iOS, AndroidWeb
FoundedUnknown2019

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Events).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in ACTIVE Network

  • ACTIVENet
  • ACTIVEWorks Endurance
  • Camp and Class Manager
  • Participant-paid fees
  • Facility and league scheduling
  • ACTIVE.com listing

Only in Activity Messenger

  • Online registration
  • Digital waivers
  • Email and SMS automation
  • Memberships and ticketing
  • Staff management
  • Attendance tracking
  • Bulk certificates

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

ACTIVE Network

  • A city parks department taking swim lesson, camp and league registrations online with fees passed to residentsnot Activity Messenger
  • A race director who wants registration, bib assignment and a consumer listing from one vendornot Activity Messenger
  • A YMCA needing membership, childcare billing and facility booking in one systemnot Activity Messenger
  • An agency with no software budget that can fund registration through participant-paid processing feesnot Activity Messenger

Activity Messenger

  • Running seasonal camp and class registrationsnot ACTIVE Network
  • Collecting signed liability waivers digitallynot ACTIVE Network
  • Managing memberships and recurring programmesnot ACTIVE Network
  • Onboarding and timesheeting seasonal instructorsnot ACTIVE Network
  • Email and SMS campaigns to a registrant listnot ACTIVE Network

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

ACTIVE Network

  • Revenue comes from registration processing rather than licence fees, so the vendor is aligned with transaction volume and not with the quality of the administrative experience.
  • Passing the processing fee to participants is normal practice, which makes the cost invisible on the agency budget and visible to residents as a service charge at checkout.
  • The ACTIVENet codebase is long-lived and parts of the administrative interface remain dated, with upgrade cycles driven by the parent rather than by agency requests.
  • Support responsiveness is a persistent complaint among municipal customers, and escalation paths are slower than in a standalone software vendor.
  • Because Global Payments owns the merchant relationship, moving off ACTIVE means changing processor as well as software, which usually requires a procurement process rather than a simple switch.

Activity Messenger

  • Entry pricing is 99 dollars a month, and online registration itself only appears on the 149 dollar Premium tier, so the cheapest plan is a communications tool rather than a registration one.
  • Payment processing costs 2.9 percent plus 30 cents on cards with a 1 percent service fee on all methods, which is charged on top of the subscription.
  • Tiers are gated on email subscriber counts, so an organisation with a large mailing list and few registrations pays for the list.
  • Staff scheduling is listed as coming soon on the Pro tier rather than available.
  • The customer base and case studies are concentrated in North America, so a European organisation should check tax and payment handling before committing.

Pricing, plan by plan

ACTIVE Network

On request
  • ACTIVENet$undefined/year
    • Registration, facility and membership modules
    • Revenue derived primarily from registration processing fees
    • Fee can be absorbed by the agency or passed to the participant
  • Camp and Class Manager$undefined/year
    • Flat rate or per registration fee model
    • Rates quoted per account, not published
  • ACTIVEWorks Endurance$undefined/year
    • Race registration priced on a per registration fee
    • ACTIVE.com listing included

Activity Messenger

$99/month
  • Light$99/month
    • Email marketing with Canva integration
    • Digital waivers and signatures
    • Surveys and forms
  • Premium$149/month
    • Online registration and camps and activities management
    • Staff management
    • Memberships and automations
  • Pro$229/month
    • Private lessons and bookings
    • Unlimited users
    • Fully white label
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing
    • Unlimited data storage
    • Fundraising for athletes

Which should you pick?

Choose ACTIVE Network if

  • You need activenet.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want activeworks endurance.
ACTIVE Network review

Choose Activity Messenger if

  • You need online registration.
  • You also want digital waivers.
Activity Messenger review

Questions people ask

Is ACTIVE Network or Activity Messenger better?
Neither clearly leads. ACTIVE Network starts at On request and Activity Messenger at $99/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, ACTIVE Network or Activity Messenger?
ACTIVE Network starts at On request and Activity Messenger at $99/month.
Does ACTIVE Network or Activity Messenger run on more platforms?
ACTIVE Network runs on Web, iOS, Android. Activity Messenger runs on Web.
What is ACTIVE Network best used for?
ACTIVE Network is most often used for a city parks department taking swim lesson, camp and league registrations online with fees passed to residents, a race director who wants registration, bib assignment and a consumer listing from one vendor, a ymca needing membership, childcare billing and facility booking in one system, an agency with no software budget that can fund registration through participant-paid processing fees. Of those, a city parks department taking swim lesson, camp and league registrations online with fees passed to residents and a race director who wants registration, bib assignment and a consumer listing from one vendor are not what Activity Messenger is typically brought in for.
What can ACTIVE Network do that Activity Messenger cannot?
ACTIVE Network covers ACTIVENet, ACTIVEWorks Endurance, Camp and Class Manager, Participant-paid fees. Activity Messenger covers Online registration, Digital waivers, Email and SMS automation, Memberships and ticketing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

ACTIVE Network: Who owns ACTIVE Network?

Global Payments, which acquired it in 2017 for around 1.2 billion US dollars. It sits in the merchant solutions business.

Activity Messenger: What does Activity Messenger cost?

Light is $99 a month, Premium $149, Pro $229, and Enterprise is custom priced. A $10 pause plan is available for seasonal businesses for up to six months.

Source
ACTIVE Network: How does ACTIVE make money?

Primarily from registration processing fees, charged as a percentage plus a fixed amount per registration.

Activity Messenger: Are there transaction fees on top?

Yes. Credit card payments are 2.9 percent plus $0.30 per transaction, Interac and bank transfers are 1 percent plus $0.40, and a 1 percent service fee applies across all payment methods.

Source
ACTIVE Network: Can we absorb the fee instead of charging residents?

Yes, the agency chooses. Most pass it to the participant, which is why registrants see a service fee.

Activity Messenger: Which tier includes online registration?

Premium at $149 a month. The $99 Light tier covers email marketing, digital waivers, surveys and forms, but registration, camps and activities management, memberships and ticketing start at Premium.

Source
ACTIVE Network: Is pricing published?

No. Both licence and processing rates are quoted per account.

Activity Messenger: Who is it built for?

Sports and leisure organisations: classes and camps, schools, federations, dance studios, gymnastics clubs, swim schools, soccer academies, tennis clubs, parks and recreation departments and sports associations.

Source
Activity Messenger: Who built it?

Founded in Montreal in 2019 by Martin Drapeau, Olivier Rousseau and Michael Shpigelman. Drapeau was previously CTO of Amilia, where he spent six years growing the company from 15 to 110 people.

Source
Activity Messenger: What does it integrate with?

Stripe for payments, Zoom for online sessions on the Premium tier and above, and Canva for email design.

Source
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