Pearspark vs QuickSchools
For small private schools & micro schools · pricing verified July 2026 · written by the Pearspark team (how we compare)
The short answer
QuickSchools publishes the lowest per-student rate here — $0.99 on its Gaia plan — and is a real K-12 SIS, not a lightweight tool. Two things qualify the headline. A 30-student minimum charge means a small school pays for 30 either way, and report cards, transcripts and the parent portal start on the $1.49 Apollo plan rather than Gaia. Even at Apollo it is cheaper than Pearspark at every size in this table.
Pearspark
All-in-one platform for small private schools — records, academics, admissions, library, volunteers, scheduling, portal.
Pricing: $50/mo including 20 students, then $2.50/student/mo stepping down to $1.00 at volume. No setup fees, no contract.
QuickSchools
A full K-12 SIS with the cheapest published per-student rate in this comparison — and a 30-student minimum underneath it.
Pricing: QuickSchools publishes three per-student plans: Gaia at $0.99, Apollo at $1.49 (marked most popular) and Athena at $2.99 per student per month, with custom pricing above 300 students. "A minimum charge for 30 students applies per school", so 30 is the floor whatever your enrollment. Report Card/Gradebook, Transcripts, the parent and student portals and parent messaging start at Apollo; automated scheduling, lesson plans and phone support are Athena. All plans carry a 30-day free trial (as of July 2026).
What each costs at small-school sizes
| Students | Pearspark | QuickSchools |
|---|---|---|
| 25 students | $62.50/mo | $29.70/mo Gaia · $44.70 Apollo (30-student minimum) |
| 50 students | $125/mo | $49.50/mo Gaia · $74.50 Apollo |
| 100 students | $250/mo | $99/mo Gaia · $149 Apollo |
QuickSchools pricing from its published list rates as of July 2026 — see sources below. Always confirm current pricing with the vendor.
Feature comparison
| Feature | Pearspark | QuickSchools |
|---|---|---|
| Student records (SIS) | ||
| Attendance | ||
| Gradebook & report cards | Paid add-on | |
| Standards-based grading & mastery | ||
| Records protected if the school closes | ||
| Transcripts & GPA | Paid add-on | |
| Admissions pipeline | ||
| Class scheduling & rooms | Paid add-on | |
| Lending library & checkout | ||
| Equipment & room booking | ||
| Volunteer tracking & check-in | ||
| Parent & student portal | Paid add-on | |
| Messaging | Paid add-on | |
| Self-serve transcript & gradebook import | ||
| Tuition billing & payments | Partial | |
| Published pricing (no sales call) |
= varies by plan or not published — check with the vendor. We mark unknowns as unknowns rather than counting them against QuickSchools. Underlined feature names open the Pearspark page for that capability, so you can check what our ✓ actually means.
Where QuickSchools shines
- The lowest published per-student rate in this comparison, and it's published plainly rather than quoted
- A genuine full SIS: student and teacher records, attendance, admissions, fee tracking, report cards, transcripts, discipline tracking and scheduling
- Cheaper than Pearspark at 25, 50 and 100 students on either the Gaia or the Apollo plan
- 30-day free trial on every plan, with no setup fee or contract named on the pricing page
- Athena modules can be bought individually onto the cheaper plans for a fixed monthly price, so you aren't forced up a whole tier for one feature
Worth knowing
- A minimum charge for 30 students applies per school — a 12-student micro school pays the 30-student price, which is $29.70 rather than $11.88 on Gaia
- Report cards, gradebook, transcripts, the parent portal and the student portal are not in the $0.99 Gaia plan; they start at $1.49 Apollo
- Text and voice messaging carry telco charges on top of the plan price
- Automated scheduling and lesson plans are Athena at $2.99, three times the headline rate
- Standards-based grading isn't named on the pricing page — ask directly before assuming it's there
When QuickSchools is the better choice
Choose QuickSchools if price per student is the deciding factor and you have more than about 30 students. It is cheaper than Pearspark at every size in this table — $44.70/month against our $62.50 at 25 students on the plan that actually includes report cards, and $149 against our $250 at 100 — and it is a conventional, complete SIS rather than a cut-down one. What you give up is the operation around the classroom: standards-based mastery tracking, a lending library, equipment and room booking, volunteer scheduling and check-in, and records escrow are ours and are not in their published feature list. If you don't need those, they cost less, and we'd rather say so.
When Pearspark is the better choice
Pearspark is built for small private schools — from a dozen students to several hundred: micro schools, classical schools, Montessori programs, hybrid academies, and homeschool co-ops. Everything is included at one published price: student records, a spreadsheet-style gradebook with built-in student analytics (trends, score distributions, missing-work tracking), report cards, printable transcripts with GPA, school-year attendance calendars, admissions, class scheduling, tuition billing with online payments, a lending library with barcode checkout, equipment booking, volunteer check-in, messaging, and a parent/student portal. Setup is self-serve, and built-in migration tools import your rosters, transcripts, and gradebooks from QuickSchools CSV exports with a dry-run preview.
The parts this comparison turns on
Common questions
Is QuickSchools cheaper than Pearspark?
Yes, at every size in this comparison, and we'd rather be straightforward about it. On the $1.49 Apollo plan — the one that includes report cards, transcripts and the parent portal — a 25-student school pays $44.70/month against Pearspark's $62.50, a 50-student school $74.50 against $125, and a 100-student school $149 against $250. On the $0.99 Gaia plan it's cheaper still. The trade is scope: standards-based grading, lending library, equipment booking, volunteer check-in and records escrow are included in Pearspark's price and aren't in QuickSchools' published feature list.
What is QuickSchools' 30-student minimum?
Its pricing page states that "a minimum charge for 30 students applies per school". So a school with 12 students pays for 30 — $29.70/month on Gaia or $44.70 on Apollo — rather than 12 students' worth. It isn't hidden, but it does mean the $0.99 headline rate isn't the rate a genuinely tiny school pays. Pearspark's equivalent is its $50 base, which includes the first 20 students.
Which QuickSchools plan do I actually need?
Probably Apollo at $1.49 rather than Gaia at $0.99, if you're running a school rather than a class. Gaia covers student and teacher records, attendance, admissions, fee tracking and reports. Report Card/Gradebook, Transcripts, the parent portal (which is where online payments live), the student portal, parent messaging, homework and discipline tracking all begin at Apollo. Athena at $2.99 adds automated scheduling, lesson plans and phone support — though individual Athena modules can be added to a cheaper plan for a fixed monthly fee.
Do both offer a free trial?
Yes, and QuickSchools' asks for less. It advertises a 30-day free trial on all three plans. Pearspark also gives 30 days free, but takes card details at signup — nothing is charged until day 31 and you can cancel before then, though it is a higher bar to clear than theirs.
See Pearspark for yourself
Poke around a real school — admin, teacher, and parent views — no sales call. Sample data resets daily.
Sources
Last reviewed July 2026. Spotted something out of date? Email us and we'll fix it.
QuickSchools in a wider comparison
These guides price QuickSchools alongside every other system in this list, at 25, 50 and 100 students.