Course software compared: spreadsheet, platform or software?

The options

Five ways to manage courses

None of them is right for everyone. What matters is the size of your programme, your course formats and how much manual work you are willing to put in.

Spreadsheet, form and email

Registrations arrive by email or through an online form, you keep the list in a spreadsheet and write invoices in a word processor.

costs almost nothing and is ready immediately
every registration copied by hand, place limits and the waiting list in your head, incoming payments ticked off one by one

Fits as long as there are few courses and only one person keeps the list. When switching is worth it

Booking platform or marketplace

Your courses appear on a portal where participants search, book and often pay as well.

quickly set up, with extra reach through the portal
often commission or a fee per booking; your courses sit right next to those of other providers; depending on the provider, portals cover invoicing, direct debit and accounting only partly

Fits if your main aim is to win new customers through the portal. Fixed price or commission – a worked example

Studio and membership software

Built for fitness and yoga studios with memberships: check-in at the door, punch cards or class passes, often with an app of their own.

strong on memberships, passes and open timetables
course series with fixed dates, family bookings or invoices to companies and funding bodies are not always the focus

Fits if your business is built on memberships and check-in.

Seminar software for large organisations

Extensive systems for adult education centres, academies and training providers with many departments.

a very large range of features, many interfaces
usually with an implementation project, training and a longer contract – often more than small and mid-sized providers need

Fits if you run a large organisation with its own IT support.

Course management at a fixed price – the Kursimple way

Registration, participants, invoices, SEPA direct debit and the course website in one system, at a fixed monthly price from €19 without commission. The customer data stays with you and hosting is in Germany. New participants find you through your own website and your own channels – Kursimple does not run a marketplace.

Fits course providers with 1 to 50 courses a week: art and music schools, studios, clubs, training providers. To the self-check

Checklist

Ten questions for any course management system

Ask them of every provider you look at – including us. Our answers are right beside them.

Question	What to look out for	How Kursimple does it
1. Do my course formats fit?	Series, ongoing groups, single sessions, workshops – not every system can do everything.	Five types of offer: course with dates, subscription course, free choice of dates, course without a date and products. Subscriptions and free choice of dates from Plus.
2. What does it really cost?	Base fee, commission, fee per participant, add-on modules, set-up – and what happens as you grow.	Start €19, Plus €49, Pro €89 per month (plus VAT). 0 % commission, no fee per participant, €0 set-up.
3. What happens when a course is full?	Place limits, the waiting list and moving people up should work without manual effort.	A place limit per date; further registrations go onto the waiting list, and you move people up with a click.
4. How does the money come in?	Invoice, direct debit, online payment, reminders – and where the money goes.	Invoice, cash and PayPal in every plan; SEPA direct debit with a bank file and reminders at one click from Plus. The money comes straight to you.
5. Where is the data stored?	Server location, data processing agreement, deletion periods.	Servers in Germany, a daily backup, a data processing agreement, deletion periods for customers, participants and instructors.
6. Who in the team may do what?	Individual logins instead of a shared password, roles for the office, management and course leaders.	1, 5 or unlimited users depending on the plan, five roles, instructor login from Plus.
7. How do customers see my programme?	Your own course page, integration into your website, your own domain.	A course website at yourname.kursimple.de included; your own domain, CMS and REST API in the Pro plan.
8. Can I take my data with me?	An export of the customer data, no multi-year lock-in.	CSV export of customers, DATEV export from Plus; cancellable monthly with four weeks' notice to the end of the month.
9. Who helps when something goes wrong?	Availability, language, real people to talk to.	Support from Meppen: email in every plan, phone from Plus, a named contact in Pro.
10. How much work is the switch?	Trial period, data migration, getting started.	A free 30-day trial, and the trial account becomes the live system. Data migration included in the Pro plan, on request in Plus.

Swipe the table sideways

To be honest

When Kursimple is not the right choice

Punch cards or class passes are not supported by Kursimple – course series and subscription courses are the usual route.
SMS, messengers or an app of your own do not exist: Kursimple communicates by email and booking happens in the browser.
Credit card payment is not offered by Kursimple; what is possible is invoice, SEPA direct debit, PayPal and cash.
Studios with member check-in at the door are better served by dedicated studio software.
Reach through a marketplace is not part of Kursimple – your course website belongs to you, and making it known is up to you.

Not sure? The self-check tells you in two minutes whether Kursimple suits you and in which plan.

Rather see it than read about it?

In 30 minutes we will show you Kursimple with your own course programme. Or set up your own test system in 30 seconds – both free and without obligation.

Order Kursimple now Try free for 30 days Book a personal demo

Questions? +49 5931 990 99 10 · Mon–Thu 8:30–17:30, Fri 8:00–14:00 (CET)

Spreadsheet, platform or course management? The routes compared.