Virgin Active SA vs Bankmed Balance
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Virgin Active SA
This app rewards you for achieving personal wellness goals with exclusive partner offers. Access on-demand classes, book club sessions up to 8 days ahead, and use your digital card for club entry. It's designed to support your progress with guidance and tangible benefits.
- Real rewards from partners
- Book club classes up to 8 days in advance
- Digital access card for club entry
- On-demand classes for anytime training
- Personalized wellness guidance
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Welcome to Virgin Active’s new wellness app that gives you real rewards for hitting your personal wellness goals. • Real rewards: Instant fist-bumps from iconic partners • Real endorphins: Book all your fave club classes up to 8 days in advance • Scan the app to enter the club with your digital access card • Real support: Train anywhere, anytime, with on-demand classes • Designed to support real progress with real rewards and guidance, this isn’t an app… It’s your personal, free smoothie-giving, endorphin unleashing, goal crushing, wellness weapon.
Bankmed Balance
Access your medical aid information, track claims, and view health records. Earn rewards for fitness activities by linking to health apps.
- View plan benefits and savings
- Track 12 months of claims history
- Search for healthcare professionals
- Access Electronic Health Record (EHR)
- Earn fitness points and rewards
- Integrates with Apple Health
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The Balance application is simple to use and provides a convenient way to access your Balance information - anytime, anywhere. Application features: Balance: Access your Active Rewards Active Rewards for Balance members encourages and rewards you for getting active. Achieve your Active rewards weekly exercise goals, earn fitness points and get rewarded with a play on the gameboard to reveal Miles – the rewards currency that you can redeem for a range of exciting rewards in the rewards mall. User notes: The application is available for all Balance members. To access your personalised Active Rewards exercise goals, you need to activate the Active Rewards benefit in the Balance app. To find out more about your Balance benefits, you can visit the Balance website on https://www.balancesa.co.za/portal/. This App reads / writes data from Apple’s Health App with your permission. Earn Miles for your workouts tracked via the Balance App.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Virgin Active SA at 4.8 against Bankmed Balance's 3.6. Virgin Active SA also leads on ratings volume (746 vs 8) and monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, review sentiment, update cadence and ads there is nothing between them.
Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Virgin Active SA holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 3.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Virgin Active SA has 746 ratings behind it against 8, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 6% of Virgin Active SA's written reviews are positive against 11% of Bankmed Balance's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.
Virgin Active SA ships an update every 3 weeks, Bankmed Balance monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Virgin Active SA | Bankmed Balance |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.8 (746 ratings) — better | 3.6 (8 ratings) |
| Positive reviews | 5.8% of reviews | 10.7% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 746 — better | 8 |
| Update frequency | Every 3 weeks — better | Monthly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 16.0 | 16.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 352 MB | 296 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Virgin Active South Africa | Bankmed |
Customer experience
Virgin Active SA
Bankmed Balance
Bugs and requests
Virgin Active SA
Reported bugs
15 issues- Login error messages with no resolution
- Password reset emails delayed or not received
- App freezes during booking attempts
- Gym attendance not logged for rewards
- Rewards expiring before being credited
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- Inconsistent reward tracking between users
- Internet connection errors despite valid connection
- Session timeout and forced re-login
- Account creation errors during registration
- Class cancellation not reflected in app
- Timetables fail to load
- App crashes on password reset screen
- Add-to-calendar button non-functional on iPhone
- Rewards goals resetting incorrectly
- Club entry button disappeared after update
Requested features
8 requests- Apple Wallet integration for digital card
- Apple Watch device support
- Graphical display of visit statistics per month
- Bike assignment visibility for spinning bookings
- Club entry button on home page
Show 3 moreShow fewer
- Instructor rating/comments functionality
- Class calendar add-to-calendar functionality
- Cross-club timetable access for weekend bookings
Bankmed Balance
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Virgin Active SA
No in-app purchases
Bankmed Balance
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Virgin Active SA free?
Is Bankmed Balance free?
Which has better reviews, Virgin Active SA or Bankmed Balance?
Do Virgin Active SA or Bankmed Balance have ads?
Which is updated more often, Virgin Active SA or Bankmed Balance?
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