Dance management software without per-student fees
"Without per-student fees" is a specific request, and studio owners usually make it after being billed for a good month. This is what the different pricing models do to your costs as you grow, and how to check which one you are actually on.
Three ways this software is priced
Per student: a small amount per active student per month. Honest about what it is, and the fastest-growing line item in a healthy studio. Tiered by student count: the common model. A flat monthly fee inside a band — 1–100, 101–200, and so on — that steps up when you cross a threshold. It reads as flat pricing and behaves as per-student pricing with jumps. Flat per studio: one price, any roster. Rare, because it earns less from exactly the customers who can afford to pay more. It is also the only one of the three where you can forecast next year's software cost today.
What the difference looks like on a budget line
Take the entry prices the 2026 comparisons quote — around $49 a month at the low tiers for Jackrabbit Dance and for Presently's Starter, with Presently's Enterprise plan at $149 and $9-a-month add-ons for event management, costume management and live chat. At a small roster the gap between models is noise. The gap opens as you grow: the tiered plan follows your enrolment upward while a flat plan does not move at all. That is the whole argument, and it is why the question to ask a salesperson is not "what does it cost" but "what does it cost at 400 students".
How to tell which model you are on
Your invoice usually will not say. Check three places: the plan name on your billing page (a number in the plan name is a headcount, not a version), the terms of service section on plan changes, and last year's invoices side by side. If the amount changed and nobody at your studio chose an upgrade, you are on a tiered or per-student plan. Worth doing before you renew, not after.
What flat pricing has to give up
An honest flat price has limits, and you should hear them before you believe it. It cannot include unlimited human support, it cannot include per-studio custom development, and it only works if the software is genuinely cheap to run per account. Semesterstart is built to those constraints on purpose: enrolment, classes, attendance and invoicing at 19 kr a month for the studio, with card and Vipps payments handled by Stripe and Vipps rather than by us. No per-student fee, no tier to cross, no add-on shelf. It is in build; the interest list is how you find out when studios can move in.
One price for the studio, whatever your roster does.
See your own numbersCommon questions
Do payment processing fees still apply?
Yes, and any platform that says otherwise is hiding them in the subscription. Card and Vipps fees are charged by the payment provider on the money your families pay you; they are separate from what the software costs.
Is flat pricing worth it for a 30-student studio?
At 19 kr a month, it is cheap in absolute terms rather than only in relative terms — but be honest with yourself: if a tiered plan's bottom tier fits and you do not intend to grow, the saving is small. Flat pricing pays off as the roster grows.
What happens if I stop paying?
You should be able to export your students, classes and balances at any time, on any platform. Ask before you migrate in — the answer tells you how the company thinks about you leaving.