Next Play vs Venmo
Venmo moves money. It does not run your week.
Venmo is instant and every parent already has it. It is also a payment app, so the schedule still lives in your texts and Thursday's roster lives in your head. Next Play does the booking around the payment, and you keep your full rate.
The part most trainers miss
"personal accounts and Teen Accounts may not be used to conduct business, commercial or merchant transactions with other personal accounts or Teen Accounts, which includes paying or accepting payment from other personal accounts or Teen Accounts held by users you do not personally know for goods or services."
Venmo user agreement, checked July 2026.
Taking session payments on a personal account is outside those terms, and payments between personal accounts are not covered by Venmo's Purchase Protection. A business profile is the supported route, and it charges a fee.
What it costs, both ways
| On a $60 session | Venmo | Next Play |
|---|---|---|
| Family pays | $60.00 | $63.75 |
| You receive | $58.76 | $60.00 |
You keep $1.24 more per session. The family pays $3.75 more. That difference is what buys the schedule, the roster, the waiver and the door.
Venmo business profile at 1.9% plus $0.10, their published rate, checked July 2026.
What a payment app cannot do
- A schedule families can book
- There is nothing to browse and no time to pick. That conversation happens in your texts.
- A cap on how many show up
- Nothing stops a tenth athlete paying for a nine-spot session.
- A signed waiver on file
- Collected separately, if at all, and not tied to who booked.
- Check-in at the door
- You are counting heads and remembering who paid.
- A record at tax time
- A feed of payments mixed in with pizza and rent, not a ledger by session.
When Venmo is the right answer
If you train a handful of kids whose parents you have known for years, and the schedule lives in your head because it barely changes, Venmo is doing the job. The moment you are turning people away, chasing who paid, or explaining the time twice, the payment was never the hard part.
Questions trainers ask
Can I use my personal Venmo for training payments?+
Venmo's user agreement says personal accounts may not be used for business transactions with people you do not personally know. A business profile is the supported route, and it charges 1.9% plus $0.10 per payment.
Is Venmo cheaper than Next Play?+
For the family, yes: they pay your rate and nothing more. For you, no. A Venmo business profile takes 1.9% plus $0.10 out of what you receive, so a $60 session pays you $58.76. On Next Play you receive the full $60.
Do I have to stop using Venmo?+
No. Plenty of trainers keep it for the people they have known for years and use a booking link for everyone else.
Free for trainers. See the full pricing.