What is the best software for managing a UK dance school?

It depends on your studio's size and priorities. ActivityOS is built specifically for independent UK activity schools and offers flat-rate pricing with no per-transaction commission, a parent portal included as standard, automated staff DBS renewal tracking, two-factor authentication, and built-in competition and festival management, alongside term billing via GoCardless and Stripe.

Does ActivityOS charge transaction fees on parent payments?

No. ActivityOS charges one flat subscription, monthly or annually, with no per-student or per-transaction commission on top. Standard payment gateway fees from Stripe or GoCardless still apply, as they do with any provider.

Comparison

ActivityOS vs Class Manager, membermeister & DanceBiz

If you're choosing management software for a UK dance, gymnastics, or activity school, you've probably come across all four of these. Here's how ActivityOS compares on pricing model, parent experience, and the features that matter most to independent schools — safeguarding, competitions, and getting paid without losing a cut of every invoice.

We built ActivityOS, so treat this as an interested party's comparison, not a neutral third-party review. Every ActivityOS detail below reflects what's actually live today. Figures for other platforms are described generally — worth confirming directly with them, since pricing and features change.

Pricing model

How the costs actually differ

	ActivityOS	Class Manager	membermeister	DanceBiz
Pricing structure	Flat rate	Free tier + revenue share	Tiered by student count	Tiered by student count
Starting price	£19/mo or £190/yr	£0/mo	From a low monthly tier	From a low monthly tier
Transaction fees on payments	£0 — flat price only	Percentage-based	Gateway fees only	Gateway fees only
Cost as your school grows	Fixed	Scales with revenue	Scales with student count	Scales with student count

ActivityOS pricing reflects current plans, including the annual option at checkout. Competitor figures are general — check their current sites for exact numbers before comparing costs directly.

What's included

Features that matter to activity schools specifically

Parent portal included on every plan — timetables, invoices, competition results, push notifications
Term, monthly, or automated billing with sibling and multi-class discounts, via Stripe and GoCardless Direct Debit
Built-in competition and festival tracking — entries, categories, results shared straight to the parent portal
Staff DBS expiry tracking with automated 60/30/7-day reminders
Two-factor authentication for staff accounts
Multi-guardian logins, so separated families can each see and pay their own share
One-click CSV export formatted for Sage and Xero
No per-student or per-transaction fees on top of the flat price

At a glance

Which one fits your school

ActivityOS

Best for independent UK schools wanting predictable costs and modern features

Purpose-built for dance, gymnastics, and activity schools — competition tracking, DBS safeguarding, 2FA, and a real parent portal, all under one flat price with no commission on payments.

Class Manager

Best for brand-new or very small studios minimising upfront cost

A free-to-start option that can suit a studio just getting off the ground.

Worth checking how the revenue-share pricing scales as your student numbers grow.

membermeister

Best for simple, traditional term billing

A clean, straightforward interface for schools that mainly need registers and recurring invoicing.

Lighter on niche studio features like competition management or uniform ordering.

DanceBiz

Best for large, established production-focused schools

A deep, mature feature set including costume and show management for bigger operations.

More complex to learn, and priced accordingly for that depth.

See it on your own school

Free for a full term, no card needed. Import your students and try the parent portal before you decide anything.

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