School management system pricing
Most school management vendors price on request, which makes comparing two of them a scheduling exercise. Classbell publishes its packages, its limits and what each one includes, so you can work out what it costs before you speak to anybody.
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What drives the price of school management software?
Size, almost always, expressed as some combination of campuses, pupils and staff — and which of those three a vendor meters matters more than the headline rate. A system priced per pupil punishes growth in a way a system priced per campus does not, and a group adding a fourth branch is affected very differently by the two. Classbell's packages are sized on all three together: active campuses, pupils and staff.
- Packages sized on active campuses, pupils and staff
- Archived campuses are retained but do not count against the limit
- Monthly billing, with a discounted longer term on every package
- The limits are published beside the price, not disclosed on a call
Why publish prices at all?
Because the alternative is asking a school to book a call to find out whether the product is even in their range, and most schools evaluating software are doing it around the job they already have. Publishing the packages also constrains us: a published price is one we cannot quietly quote differently to two schools the same size.
Is there a free trial?
No, and it is worth being plain about it because it is the first thing a buyer wants to know. You can sign up and complete your school's setup — identity, currency, campuses, grade lists — without paying anything, and see the system with your own structure in it. Paying is what turns it on: you can configure before you pay, but you cannot operate. Nothing is charged during setup and there is no card taken up front.
- Sign up and complete setup without paying
- No card is taken before you choose a package
- Paying is what unlocks the portal for day-to-day use
- Payment is handled by a licensed provider — we never see card details
What happens to our price when the packages change?
Nothing, unless you move. A price change publishes a new version of a package; schools already on the previous version stay on it until they choose to switch. This is the same discipline the product applies to fee structures, and for the same reason — a price you agreed to should not change underneath you because somebody edited a row.
- Repricing publishes a new package version
- Existing subscribers stay on the version they bought
- A package that no longer fits your size is refused at purchase, with the reason
- Turning a module off retains its data rather than deleting it
What is included, and what is an add-on?
Student records, staff, classes and subjects, attendance and communication are in every package. Timetabling, exams, report cards and assignments are in every package. The finance core — fees, invoices, receipts — is in every package, with collections and bank reconciliation from the middle package upward. Admissions, transport, library and boarding are add-on modules. Module access is enforced at the interface and at the application programming interface, so a module outside your package is genuinely unavailable rather than merely hidden from a menu.
- Seventeen modules across core, academics, finance and add-ons
- Module access enforced at the API, not only in the navigation
- Add-ons: admissions, transport, library and boarding
- Disabling a module keeps its data, and it returns intact
Can we pay by invoice or purchase order?
Self-serve checkout is by card. If your school has to pay against a purchase order, talk to us — it is handled as a conversation rather than a button, and we would rather say that than imply a process that does not exist.
Common questions
How much does Classbell cost?
The current packages, their limits and their monthly and discounted-term prices are published on the pricing section of the home page. They are not repeated here so that this page cannot go stale against them.
Is pricing per pupil?
No. Each package carries limits on active campuses, pupils and staff together, so the price is a package rather than a headcount multiplier.
What happens if we outgrow our package mid-year?
Creating a campus, pupil or staff record beyond your package's limit is refused with the limit named, rather than being accepted and billed for afterwards. You move up a package when you are ready to.
Do you charge for setup or implementation?
No. Setup is self-serve — you complete it yourself before paying, and there is no implementation fee.
Can we cancel?
Yes. Subscriptions run monthly or on a discounted longer term, and cancelling stops the renewal — it does not cut short a period you have already paid for.