Sporty is a popular NZ website platform for sports clubs. But if your organisation needs a membership platform built for trail organisations, with live digital membership cards in a member app and purpose-built trail tools, the comparison changes quickly.
This guide compares Hivepass and Sporty across features, pricing, and what each platform is actually built for.
Sporty is a New Zealand-based platform that provides free website hosting and club management tools for sports organisations. It is widely used across NZ sports clubs as a low-cost way to establish an online presence and collect membership payments.
Sporty's free tier includes a club website, basic member registration, and team management tools. It sustains the free model by displaying a Sporty ad banner on your club website. The paid VIP tier removes the banner and unlocks additional features, but introduces annual pricing tiered by club size that rises quickly as your club grows.
Sporty is primarily designed around team sports such as football, netball, and cricket, and its features reflect this, with draws, grades, and team sheets as core functionality.
Hivepass is a membership management platform purpose-built for trail associations, mountain bike clubs, and bike parks. It is used by over 150 outdoor organisations across New Zealand, Australia, the US, Canada, and beyond.
Unlike generalist club platforms, Hivepass is built around the specific workflows of outdoor organisations: digital membership cards that double as trail access passes, links from trails to Trailforks maps, short-term day passes, digital waivers, and a native mobile app for members on iOS and Android.
Hivepass uses simple per-member pricing: costs scale with your club, with no extra platform fees on membership payments on top of standard Stripe processing (donations carry a 1% + $0.50 fee).
Not sure yet? Read our full buyers guide or see how other clubs use Hivepass.
Sporty is a freemium NZ sports club website platform with built-in registrations and member management. Hivepass is a dedicated membership platform built for trail associations and MTB clubs, with live digital membership cards included in its native mobile app and outdoor-specific tooling that Sporty doesn't offer.
Hivepass provides a purpose-built native iOS and Android app with offline support, digital membership cards, and trail-specific features. Sporty's app is built around team sports, and its digital ID cards are a paid PhotoCard add-on.
Hivepass members carry a live digital card, included as standard. Sporty offers digital ID cards only through its separately subscribed PhotoCard add-on.
150+ MTB clubs and trail associations run on Hivepass. Sporty is built for team sports.
A full feature breakdown of Hivepass vs Sporty Free and Sporty Paid. Feature information verified October 2026. Verify current features at sporty.co.nz.
| Hivepass | Sporty Free | Sporty Paid | |
| Cloud based member database | |||
| Member mobile app (iOS & Android) | |||
| Live digital membership card | Paid PhotoCard add-on | Paid PhotoCard add-on | |
| Offline capable (app works without data) | PhotoCard add-on ID works offline | PhotoCard add-on ID works offline | |
| Group & family memberships | |||
| Automatic membership renewals | Manual renewal via Magic Link | Manual renewal via Magic Link | |
| Short-term day passes | |||
| Push notifications to members | |||
| Partner deals for members in app | |||
| No ads shown to members | |||
| QR code for direct app download |
Sporty's Magic Links make annual re-registration quicker by pre-filling the member's details, but the member must still review and submit a new-season form and complete payment. With Hivepass, members can opt into automatic renewal: Hivepass processes the payment and extends their membership without another registration form. This helps reduce expired memberships, renewal delays, and follow-up administration.
Sporty also supports direct-debit payments through DebitSuccess, which offers recurring payment arrangements. This comparison concerns Sporty's documented standard membership renewal workflow, which requires re-registration.
| Hivepass | Sporty Free | Sporty Paid | |
| Club website | |||
| Automated email renewal reminders | |||
| Email campaign / newsletter tool | |||
| Number of admins | Unlimited | 2 | Unlimited |
| In-app chat support for admins | |||
| Phone support for admins | Online and email only | ||
| Customisable member fields | Up to 2 forms | ||
| Event management | |||
| Event registration and payment | Coming soon | ||
| Social media integration |
| Hivepass | Sporty Free | Sporty Paid | |
| Digital waivers | |||
| Trail management tools | |||
| Trailforks map links on trails | |||
| Downloadable trail signs & stickers | |||
| Purpose-built for MTB / trail organisations | |||
| Designed for team sports (draws, grades) |
All prices in NZD per year. Hivepass pricing scales per member with no extra platform fees on membership payments on top of Stripe (donations carry a 1% + $0.50 fee). Sporty Free costs $0 for NZ clubs within its fair use limits (two SuperCRM admins, two forms, Sporty ad banner). Sporty VIP uses annual tier pricing by club size (ex-GST, minimum 12 months): Small VIP up to 100 members, Medium VIP up to 500 members, Large VIP up to 1,000 members, Enterprise (POA) for national and regional bodies.
| Hivepass | Sporty Free | Sporty VIP | |
| 100 members | $360 | $0 | $669 +GST (≤100) |
| 300 members | $600 | $0 | $2,159 +GST (≤500) |
| 1,000 members | $1,440 | $0 | $2,949 +GST (≤1,000) |
| 2,000 members | $2,240 | $0 | Enterprise (POA) |
| Setup fee | $0 | $0 | $0 |
| Payment fees | Stripe card fees; no platform fee on memberships; 1% + $0.50 on donations | Sport$pay: cards 2.55%, POLi 1% + GST (capped at $1 + GST for not-for-profits) | Sport$pay: cards 2.55%, POLi 1% + GST (capped at $1 + GST for not-for-profits) |
For a full breakdown of Hivepass pricing, visit pricing.hivepass.app. For Sporty pricing, visit sporty.co.nz/v2/pricing.
Sporty: Sporty is relatively straightforward for setting up a basic club website and enabling member registrations. Because it serves a broad range of NZ clubs there is strong community knowledge, plus 0800 phone support on VIP plans.
Hivepass: Hivepass is designed for rapid onboarding. The Hivepass team provides hands-on support via in-app chat and guides your committee through every step of configuration. Because the platform is built around the way outdoor clubs actually operate, the workflows feel immediately familiar.
There is no setup fee for Hivepass (importing your existing members is an optional one-off add-on). Your members download the app via a unique QR code that takes them directly to your club in the App Store or Google Play.
Independent reviews are one of the most reliable ways to evaluate software. Below are current ratings for both platforms.
4.9 / 5: verified reviews from trail associations and MTB clubs
Sporty is not listed on major software review platforms like Capterra. We encourage you to speak with other NZ club administrators who have used both platforms before deciding.
Sporty is a reasonable choice if:
If you are a trail association, MTB club, or bike park, Sporty's team-sport focus means several features you need, such as day passes and trail tools, aren't available, and digital ID cards are a paid PhotoCard add-on.
Purpose-built for trail associations and MTB clubs
Hivepass is trusted by over 150 trail associations and mountain bike clubs across New Zealand, Australia, the US, Canada, and beyond. This isn't a generic membership platform adapted for cycling: it has been built from the ground up around the specific needs of outdoor organisations.
That depth of experience matters. Hivepass understands trail access management, the difference between a day pass and an annual membership, how clubs use digital cards as trail access credentials, and the administrative reality of a committee-run volunteer organisation. Every feature in the platform has been shaped by feedback from real clubs just like yours.
When Hivepass is the right call
See how real trail associations and MTB clubs use Hivepass →
Sporty offers a free tier for NZ sports clubs, but it displays a Sporty ad banner on your club website and limits SuperCRM to two admins. The VIP paid tier removes the banner and bundles more features at annual pricing tiered by club size: Small VIP $669 +GST for up to 100 members, Medium VIP $2,159 +GST for up to 500, Large VIP $2,949 +GST for up to 1,000 members.
Sporty does offer a mobile app, but digital ID cards need its paid PhotoCard add-on and the app has no trail-specific features. Hivepass provides a purpose-built iOS and Android app for outdoor organisations, complete with digital membership cards included, offline capability, push notifications, and partner deals for members.
Yes. Hivepass can import your existing member data during onboarding as an optional one-off add-on.
Hivepass is purpose-built for trail associations, MTB clubs, and bike parks, but any outdoor or recreational organisation can benefit from the platform. If your members spend time outdoors and you want to provide a first-class membership experience, Hivepass is designed for that.
Hivepass uses per-member NZD pricing ($360 for 100 members, $600 for 300, $1,440 for 1,000) with no extra platform fees on membership payments on top of Stripe; donations carry a 1% + $0.50 fee. Sporty Free costs $0 a year within fair use limits. Sporty VIP switches to annual tier pricing by club size (ex-GST): $669 for up to 100 members, $2,159 for up to 500, and $2,949 for up to 1,000, making Hivepass significantly more affordable than Sporty VIP as your club grows. Payment processing fees apply on both platforms.
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