Pearspark vs NavEd
For classical Christian schools and other small private schools. Pricing verified September 29, 2026. Written by the Pearspark team (how we compare).
The short answer
NavEd sells the way Pearspark does — self-serve signup, published pricing, no sales call — and its flat yearly plans cost less at every size either company publishes. The difference is scope. NavEd's materials describe no lending library, equipment booking, volunteer check-in, installable parent app or records import, and say nothing about what happens to student records if the school closes. Pearspark includes all of them.
Pearspark
One system for a school growing a grade a year: admissions, attendance, home days, report cards, transcripts with GPA, tuition and ESA billing, library, volunteers and the parent app.
Pricing: $50 a month including 20 students, then $2.50 a student a month, stepping down to $1.00 at volume. No setup fees, month to month, 30-day free trial.
Setup is self-serve: the importers preview every row before anything is written, and email support is free when you're stuck.
NavEd
A self-serve platform for microschools and co-ops, priced in flat yearly bands by school size.
Pricing: NavEd sells one flat price per year by school size, with no tiers to choose between: $99 up to 15 students, $299 to 40, $699 to 100, $2,499 to 250, $4,999 to 400, $7,499 to 700 and $9,499 to 1,000. Its pricing page states that every feature is included at every size. The first 5 students are free permanently rather than for a trial window, signup asks for no card, and moving up a plan mid-year is prorated for the rest of the year. No setup fee, no long-term contract, and no monthly option is published. Pearspark charges $50/month covering the first 20 students, then $2.50 each to 100, $2.00 to 300, $1.50 to 600 and $1.00 above that.
What each costs at small-school sizes
| Students | Pearspark | NavEd |
|---|---|---|
| 25 students | $62.50/mo | $299/year (~$24.92/mo) — the up-to-40 plan |
| 50 students | $125/mo | $699/year (~$58.25/mo) — the up-to-100 plan |
| 100 students | $250/mo | $699/year (~$58.25/mo) — the up-to-100 plan |
| What the price includes | Everything in one plan: records, attendance, gradebook, standards-based grading, report cards, transcripts, admissions, scheduling, tuition billing with family autopay, lending library, equipment booking, volunteer check-in, messaging, and an installable parent app with push notifications. No setup fee, month-to-month. No fundraising CRM, no subsidy billing, and no SMS broadcast — announcements reach families as push notifications and email instead. | Every feature at every size: gradebook with weighted categories, custom scales and standards-based grading, attendance with automatic absence notices to parents, transcripts and GPA, parent and student portals, family–teacher messaging, enrollment forms with electronic signatures, tuition and payment plans, service hours, school documents and an AI assistant. Teacher, staff, parent and administrator accounts are included at every tier. First 5 students free permanently. No setup fee. |
NavEd pricing from its published list rates as of September 29, 2026. Sources are below.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Pearspark | NavEd |
|---|---|---|
| Student records (SIS) | ||
| Attendance | ||
| Gradebook & report cards | ||
| Standards-based grading & mastery | Partial | |
| Records protected if the school closes | ||
| Transcripts & GPA | ||
| Missing-data reports & scheduled delivery | ||
| Admissions pipeline | Partial | |
| Class scheduling & rooms | ||
| Lending library & checkout | ||
| Equipment & room booking | ||
| Volunteer tracking & check-in | ||
| Parent & student portal | ||
| Messaging | ||
| Self-serve transcript & gradebook import | ||
| Tuition billing & payments | ||
| Published pricing (no sales call) | ||
| Fundraising & donor CRM | ||
| SMS / text broadcast to families | ||
| Subsidy & agency billing |
= not published, or varies by plan. Pearspark reaches families by push notification through the installable parent app, and by email, not by text. Underlined feature names open the Pearspark page for that capability.
What NavEd offers
- Costs less than Pearspark at every size either company publishes: $99 a year up to 15 students, $699 up to 100
- Every feature on every plan; the plans differ only in how many students they hold
- The first 5 students are free with no time limit, and signup asks for no card
- Self-serve: no sales call, no setup fee, no long-term contract
Where NavEd falls short
- Plans are capacity bands, so crossing a cap is a step rather than a slope — a 41st student moves a school from $299/year to $699
- Billing is annual only; no monthly plan is published
- Its features page names standards-based grading, but its gradebook documentation describes percentages, points, letter grades and weighted categories, not per-standard mastery
- Parent access is a mobile-friendly web portal — no native or installable app with push notifications is described
- A lending library, equipment and room booking, and volunteer tracking aren't described in its materials
- No self-serve transcript or gradebook import is described, so moving existing records in is an open question
- Nothing published describes what happens to student records if the school closes
Where NavEd fits
When Pearspark is the better choice
The parts this comparison turns on
Common questions
Is NavEd cheaper than Pearspark?
Does NavEd hold features back on its cheaper plans?
What happens when a school crosses one of NavEd's student caps?
What does Pearspark do that NavEd's materials don't describe?
Do both offer a free trial?
Sources
Last reviewed September 29, 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email us and we'll fix it.
NavEd in a wider comparison
See Pearspark for yourself
Every task has its own short video, and your first 30 days are free. No sales call.
Email support answered by a person comes with every plan, along with how-to videos and guides. There are no paid support tiers.