Guide
Swim coaching software, explained by a coach
Most programs still run on a notebook, three spreadsheets and a camera roll. This page explains what swimming coaching software actually does, and what to check before you pay for any of it. Ours included.
The market
There are two kinds, and most confusion starts there
Almost everything sold as swimming software is one of two products. They look alike on a features page. They do completely different jobs.
Club operations platforms
Run the business
- Registration
- Billing & invoicing
- Meet hosting & billing
- Club website
TeamUnify · SportsEngine · SwimTopia · increasingly Commit Swimming
Performance platforms
Run the coaching
- Workouts & training load
- Race video
- Meet entries & results
- Athlete wellness
- Season analytics
MakoSwim lives here
The two do not compete. Plenty of clubs run one of each.
Both get sold as software for swimming, which is why the categories blur. The expensive mistake is buying an ops platform and expecting it to improve your coaching, or buying a coaching platform and expecting it to send invoices.
The checklist
What to check before you pay
01
Write a real set in the trial
Not the demo set. Yours, with your shorthand and your send-offs. If entering Tuesday’s 6x400 pull takes longer than writing it on the whiteboard, you will stop using the software by October.
02
Check the data connects
A race time means more next to the training block that produced it. If workouts, results, video and wellness live in four tabs that never meet, you bought four apps, not a platform.
03
Ask what athletes see
Swimmers who log their own wellness and test sets take ownership of them. If athlete accounts cost extra, add that in before you compare prices.
04
Look at the changelog
A platform that shipped something last month will ship something next month. One that has been quiet for two years is finished, whatever the sales page says.
05
Make sure you can leave
Your training history belongs to your program, not to a vendor. Check how your data comes out before you put it in.
06
Price it per athlete
Tier names hide more than they show. Divide the monthly price by the athlete cap and compare that number instead.
Connected
What connected looks like
Wellness you see before warm-up
Each athlete is measured against their own normal. The board sorts your morning before the session starts, not after the bad week.
Test sets become rankings on their own
Write the set, log the times, and the leaderboard and season trend already exist. No spreadsheet in between.
Straight answer
Where MakoSwim fits, and where it doesn't
MakoSwim is the performance platform: workouts written in your own shorthand with volume counted as you type, race video with frame-accurate splits, daily wellness beside training load, meet entries from lineup to Hy-Tek or LENEX file to imported results, season analytics built from the sets you already wrote, and an AI assistant that drafts in your club’s style while a coach approves every action.
It does not do billing, registration or club websites. On purpose. Keep your ops platform for that; MakoSwim sits beside it and runs the coaching.
Every plan starts with a 14-day free trial and athlete accounts are included. If you only need the workout side, the workouts-only plan is €25 a month. See pricing →
FAQ
Frequently asked
What is swim coaching software?
Software that replaces the notebook, the stopwatch spreadsheet and the camera roll: writing workouts, tracking attendance and training load, analyzing race video, and watching athlete wellness, in one place instead of five.
Does MakoSwim handle meet entries?
Yes, end to end. Build the lineup, check qualifying cuts and entry limits as you pick, export Hy-Tek or LENEX entry files for the host club, and import the results straight back when the meet is done.
Does MakoSwim handle club billing or registration?
No. Registration, billing and the club website stay on your club operations platform, and the two sit side by side.
Can athletes use it too?
Yes. Athletes get their own accounts on every plan: they see their sessions, log wellness and test sets, and follow their own progress.
How much does swim coaching software cost?
MakoSwim starts at €25 a month for the workouts-only plan and every plan begins with a 14-day free trial. Club operations platforms price differently, usually per family or per registration, because they solve a different problem.
What is the best swim software for coaches?
There is no single best swim software, because two different products share the name. Club-operations platforms handle registration, billing and meets; performance platforms handle workouts, race video, wellness and analytics. For coaching, pick a performance platform like MakoSwim, and keep an operations platform beside it for the club business.
Is swim software the same as swim team management software?
Not quite. Swim team management software usually means the operations side: registration, family billing, meet hosting and a team website. Swim software for coaching, like MakoSwim, runs the training side: workouts, race video, wellness and analytics. Most clubs use one of each.
See it working in 90 seconds
Or bring your own squad and try it for 14 days.