Free Homeschool Record Keeping Software (First 5 Students Free)¶
It's 9:47 PM on a Tuesday. The kids are finally asleep. You're staring at three open Google Sheets tabs, a pile of handwritten assignment logs, and a folder labeled "2025-2026 Portfolio" that you promised yourself you'd organize weekly.
You know there's got to be a better way.
I know this because I lived it. Before building NavEd, I homeschooled my own children while managing co-op classes for a dozen other families. I spent hours each week maintaining spreadsheets that broke when I added a new subject, manually calculating GPAs for high school transcripts, and frantically searching for attendance records whenever someone asked about our "official documentation."
That's why we made a decision early on: the first 5 students on NavEd are completely free. Forever. On any tier.
What is NavEd? NavEd is a gradebook, attendance tracker, and report generator built for homeschools, co-ops, and microschools. Track grades, generate transcripts, share progress—all from one dashboard. Whether you're a parent wearing all the hats (admin, teacher, AND parent for your own kids) or a co-op coordinator managing multiple families, NavEd fits how you actually work.
What You'll Learn¶
- Why professional school management tools should be accessible to every homeschool family
- What "First 5 Students Free" actually means (no tricks, no trials that expire)
- Everything you get for free—from basic gradebook to advanced analytics
- How NavEd serves homeschoolers differently than traditional school software
The Hidden Cost Problem in Homeschool Software¶
When I started researching homeschool management tools in 2022, I discovered something frustrating: most "homeschool-friendly" software falls into one of two categories.
Category 1: Actually Free (But Limited)
Tools like Google Classroom are genuinely free, but they weren't designed for homeschools. You get assignment distribution but no gradebook. You can track some progress but can't generate transcripts. You have collaboration features built for 30-student classrooms when you're teaching three kids at your kitchen table.
One parent in our community told me: "I tried using Google Classroom for my kids. It felt like trying to dock a cruise ship in a bathtub. Way too much software for what I actually needed."
Category 2: "Free Trial" (Actually Paid)
Most dedicated homeschool tools offer free trials, then require payment:
- Homeschool Manager offers a 30-day trial, then charges $49/year
- Homeschool Tracker charges $65/year with monthly subscription options
- Modify gives you 30 days free, then $4.99/month ($60/year)
These aren't bad tools. But for a family teaching 2-3 children, spending $50-65 annually on record-keeping software feels like a lot—especially when you're already buying curriculum, managing a household budget, and probably working part-time to make homeschooling financially viable.
There's a third category that almost doesn't exist: truly free, full-featured homeschool management systems.
We decided to create it.
What "First 5 Students Free" Actually Means¶
Let me be extremely clear about what you get and what you don't get charged for.
You Get¶
100% of NavEd's features for families with 5 or fewer students.
This isn't a stripped-down version. This isn't "basic features only." If you're teaching 1-5 children, you can choose any subscription tier and pay exactly $0.
Choose any tier (Standard, Premium, or Enterprise). Your first 5 students on that tier cost $0/month.
Not sure which tier to choose? Start with Standard—it has everything most homeschool families need, and you can upgrade anytime.
Here's what that means in practice:
- Teaching 3 kids? $0/month on Standard, Premium, or Enterprise.
- Teaching 5 kids? $0/month on any tier.
- Teaching 6 kids? You'll pay for 1 student only ($2.50-$8/month depending on tier).
The "first 5 students free" pricing is permanent. There's no trial period that expires. There's no bait-and-switch after year one. As long as you're teaching 5 or fewer students, your cost is zero.
You Don't Get¶
Charged—unless you exceed 5 students.
You can start with just an email. We only ask for payment information if you choose to exceed 5 students. When you sign up, you can explore NavEd and add up to 5 students without providing a credit card.
If you decide to grow beyond 5 students, that's when we'll ask for payment details—and we'll never charge you for those first 5 students, even if you stay for 10 years.
How Payment Works (Only When You Exceed 5 Students)¶
You might be wondering: "If it's free, when do I need to provide payment information?"
The answer is simple: only when you decide to exceed 5 students.
When you sign up, you can start with just an email address. Add your students, set up your gradebook, track attendance—no payment information required.
If your family or co-op grows beyond 5 students, that's when we'll ask for a credit card. Here's what happens:
Seamless Growth
If you add a 6th student, the system will prompt you to add payment information. Once you do, the system automatically calculates: "First 5 students? Still free. 6th student? Charge for 1."
No invoice emails, no payment interruptions, no administrative friction.
What We Promise
We'll never charge you for your first 5 students, even if you stay for 10 years. Your card (if you provide one) will only be charged for students beyond that threshold.
Everything You Get Free¶
Let's talk about what you're actually getting for $0/month. I'm going to break this down by tier because I want you to see exactly what's available.
Standard Tier (FREE for ≤5 Students)¶
The Standard tier includes everything most homeschool families need for daily operations:
Student & Family Management
- Add and manage student records with custom fields
- Create parent accounts so co-teaching spouses can both access records
- Import multiple students via CSV (great for co-ops)
- Searchable directory with privacy controls
Academic Tracking
- Gradebook: Record grades by subject, assignment type, and grading period
- Subject Management: Create subjects, assign them to students, track completion
- Assignment Tracking: Create assignments, track homework completion, set due dates
- Attendance Records: Daily attendance logs with excused/unexcused tracking
- Academic Year Management: Set up terms, semesters, quarters however your family structures the year
Reporting & Compliance
- Generate Academic Reports: Progress reports by student, subject, or time period
- Parent Portal: If you're co-teaching, your spouse can view student progress independently
- Export Capabilities: Download records for state compliance requirements
Communication
- School-wide announcements (useful for co-ops)
- Feedback system to submit feature requests to NavEd
This is the tier most homeschool families choose. It covers the fundamentals: tracking what you taught, what grades students earned, whether they attended consistently, and generating the documentation required for compliance.
Standard tier alone would cost you $150/year for a family with 5 students. You get it for $0.
Premium Tier (ALSO FREE for ≤5 Students)¶
If you upgrade to Premium (still $0 for 5 or fewer students), you get everything in Standard plus:
Advanced Academics
- Elective Courses: Track non-core subjects like art, music, woodworking
- Clubs & Activities: Document extracurriculars for college applications
- Advanced Reports: Detailed analytics on grade trends, subject performance, attendance patterns
- GPA Configuration: Sophisticated weighted GPA calculations for high school transcripts
Enhanced Tools
- Student Profile Hub: Unified view of each student's complete academic record
- Atlas AI Assistant: Ask questions like "What's Emma's attendance rate this semester?" or "Generate a transcript for college applications"
Premium is designed for families with high school students preparing for college, or co-ops managing complex scheduling across multiple families.
Premium would cost you $300/year for 5 students. You get it for $0.
Enterprise Tier (YES, ALSO FREE for ≤5 Students)¶
Enterprise is designed for micro schools and co-ops, but homeschool families with 5 or fewer students can access it for free:
Advanced Features
- Student Applications System: If you're running a small co-op, manage incoming applications
- Custom Branding: Replace NavEd logo with your own (for co-op websites)
- API Access: Integrate with other tools
- Single Sign-On (SSO): Advanced authentication options
- Custom Fields: Track any data point specific to your educational approach
- Bulk Operations: Make changes to multiple student records at once
- Priority Support: Get faster responses from our team
Enterprise would cost you $480/year for 5 students. You get it for $0.
Comparison: NavEd vs. Other Homeschool Software¶
Here's how we stack up against other popular homeschool record-keeping tools:
| Feature | NavEd (≤5 students) | Homeschool Tracker | Homeschool Manager | Google Classroom |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | $0/year | $65/year | $49/year | $0/year |
| Gradebook | ✅ Full gradebook | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ (assignment tracking only) |
| Attendance Tracking | ✅ Daily logs | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Transcript Generation | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ | ❌ |
| Multi-Child Support | ✅ Up to 5 free | ✅ Unlimited ($65 total) | ✅ Unlimited ($49 total) | ✅ Unlimited |
| Parent Portal | ✅ | ❌ | ✅ | ✅ (but designed for schools) |
| Advanced Analytics | ✅ (Premium/Enterprise) | ✅ | Limited | ❌ |
| Mobile Access | ✅ Responsive web | ✅ | ✅ | ✅ App |
| Trial Period | No trial needed—it's free | No free trial | 30 days | N/A |
| What You Pay After | $0 (if ≤5 students) | $65/year | $49/year | $0 (but limited) |
The Verdict: NavEd is the only platform offering permanent free access to professional-grade features for families with 5 or fewer students. Google Classroom is free but lacks essential homeschool features. Paid tools cost $49-$65/year with no free tier.
How NavEd Serves Homeschoolers Differently¶
We didn't just build school management software and slap a "homeschool-friendly" label on it. We designed NavEd from the ground up to serve the unique needs of small, intentional learning communities—including homeschools.
Here's what that means in practice:
1. Flexible Academic Structures¶
Traditional schools operate on fixed schedules: 6-7 periods per day, 180-day school year, 4-quarter grading system.
Homeschools don't.
NavEd lets you:
- Create custom academic years of any length (year-round schooling, 4-day weeks, summer intensives)
- Define grading periods however you want (weekly, monthly, by unit completion)
- Track subjects that don't fit traditional categories (life skills, entrepreneurship, nature studies)
One family uses NavEd to track their "delight-directed learning" approach: when their 8-year-old became obsessed with Ancient Egypt, they created a multi-subject unit combining history, art, writing, and math—all tracked under a single custom subject.
2. Multi-Child Grade Management¶
If you're teaching a 1st grader, a 5th grader, and a 9th grader simultaneously (the reality for most homeschool families), you need software that handles multiple grade levels without making you switch accounts.
NavEd's dashboard shows all students at once. You can:
- Enter grades for multiple children in different subjects
- Generate individual progress reports for each child
- Track attendance across all grade levels in a single view
No more "which spreadsheet tab is this child in?"
3. State Compliance Made Simple¶
Depending on where you live, homeschool compliance requirements vary dramatically:
- Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts: Require detailed portfolios, attendance logs, annual evaluations
- Florida: Requires progress portfolios and annual evaluations
- Missouri: Requires plan books and 1,000 hours of instruction annually
- Texas, Idaho, Alaska: Minimal to no record-keeping requirements
NavEd doesn't force you into a one-size-fits-all compliance workflow. Instead:
- Generate attendance logs for states requiring hour tracking
- Export subject and grade reports for portfolio-based states
- Download complete academic records for transcript requests
- Customize what you track based on your state's specific requirements
One Pennsylvania homeschool parent told us: "I used to spend 10 hours at the end of each year compiling our evaluation portfolio. With NavEd, I click 'Generate Report,' customize the date range, and I'm done in 15 minutes."
4. High School Transcript Generation¶
If you have high school students planning for college, transcript generation is critical—and surprisingly complex.
You need to:
- Track courses with Carnegie unit credits
- Calculate weighted and unweighted GPAs
- Document course descriptions
- Organize by academic year and subject area
NavEd's transcript tools (available on all tiers, including free) let you generate professional transcripts that meet college admissions requirements. You can customize GPA scales, weight honors/AP courses, and export to PDF for applications.
5. Built for One Person Wearing All the Hats¶
Here's a meaningful difference: most school management systems assume you have separate administrators, teachers, and parents. They require different logins, different permission levels, different workflows.
That's not how homeschooling works.
You're the admin setting up the academic year. You're the teacher entering grades. You're the parent checking progress reports. You're all three at once.
NavEd was designed for this reality. One of our recent families—a dad homeschooling 2 kids—told us it was a "game changer" because he could finally stop context-switching between different tools and mindsets. He's the admin creating subjects, the teacher grading assignments, and the parent generating reports for his records—all from one dashboard, one login, one workflow.
When you log into NavEd, you see:
- Your 2-5 students
- Today's assignments across all children
- Upcoming due dates
- Recent grades
No enterprise complexity. Just everything a one-person homeschool needs, in one place.
Getting Started: A Simple Guide¶
If you're ready to try NavEd, here's exactly how to get started:
Step 1: Sign Up (5 Minutes)¶
- Go to nav.education and click "Sign Up Free"
- Choose your school type: "Homeschool" (this ensures you see homeschool-specific features)
- Enter your email and basic information (no payment required to start)
- Select your tier: Standard, Premium, or Enterprise (all free for ≤5 students)
Access everything from any device—NavEd works on phones, tablets, and desktops with a responsive web interface. No app download required.
Step 2: Set Up Your Academic Year (5 Minutes)¶
- Define your academic year dates (e.g., September 2025 - June 2026)
- Create grading periods (quarters, semesters, or custom periods)
- Set up your grading scale (letter grades, percentages, standards-based, or custom)
Step 3: Add Your Students (2 Minutes Per Student)¶
- Click "Add Student"
- Enter basic information: name, grade level, birthdate
- Assign them to the current academic year
If you're adding multiple children, use the CSV import feature (under "Bulk Student Import") to add them all at once.
Step 4: Create Subjects (10 Minutes)¶
- Click "Subject Management"
- Add subjects for each child (Math, Language Arts, Science, History, etc.)
- Assign subjects to students
- Set credit hours if tracking high school transcripts
Step 5: Start Recording (Ongoing)¶
From here, your daily workflow is simple:
- Track attendance: Click "Attendance" and mark present/absent for each student
- Enter grades: Go to "Gradebook," select a student and subject, add assignment grades
- Create assignments: Use "Assignments & Homework" to create upcoming work
- Generate reports: Click "Basic Reports" (or "Advanced Reports" on Premium/Enterprise) to see progress
That's it. You're up and running.
Frequently Asked Questions¶
1. What happens if I start with 3 students and later add a 6th?¶
You'll only pay for the 6th student. Your first 5 remain free.
For example, if you're on the Standard tier ($2.50/student/month) and add a 6th student, you'll pay $2.50/month. Your first 5 students continue to cost $0.
2. Can I switch tiers after signing up?¶
Yes. You can upgrade or downgrade at any time.
If you start on Standard (free for your 4 students) and later want Premium features, just upgrade in your account settings. Still $0/month for 4 students.
3. What states does NavEd support for compliance?¶
All of them. NavEd is designed to accommodate state-specific homeschool requirements from highly regulated states like Pennsylvania and New York to minimal-regulation states like Texas and Idaho.
You control what you track. If your state requires attendance logs, use our attendance tracker. If your state requires portfolios, use our report generation tools to compile documentation.
4. Can my spouse and I both access the account?¶
Yes. You can create parent accounts so multiple adults have access to student records. This is especially useful for co-teaching families or situations where one parent handles certain subjects.
5. Is my children's data private and secure?¶
Absolutely. NavEd is FERPA-compliant (the same privacy standard required for public schools). Your student data is:
- Encrypted in transit and at rest
- Never sold to third parties
- Never used for advertising
- Accessible only by accounts you create
You can read our full privacy policy at nav.education/privacy.
6. Can I export my data if I decide to leave NavEd?¶
Yes. Your data is YOURS. You can export grades, attendance, transcripts, and student records anytime—even after canceling. We'll never hold your data hostage.
You can download everything in CSV or PDF format. We designed NavEd with the assumption that families might switch tools as their needs evolve. We never lock you in.
7. What if I'm running a small co-op with 12 students from 6 families?¶
Great question. Here's how pricing would work:
If you're tracking 12 students on the Standard tier ($2.50/student/month):
- First 5 students: $0
- Remaining 7 students: $2.50 × 7 = $17.50/month
Total: $17.50/month ($210/year) for 12 students
Compare that to other platforms charging per family or flat annual fees, and NavEd remains the most affordable option for small co-ops.
8. Do you offer support if I get stuck?¶
Yes. All tiers (including free accounts) get access to:
- Email support (response within 24-48 hours)
- Help documentation at nav.education/docs
- Video tutorials for common tasks
Enterprise tier customers get priority support with faster response times.
9. Can I use NavEd for record-keeping even if I use a different curriculum?¶
Absolutely. NavEd is curriculum-agnostic. Whether you're using Abeka, Classical Conversations, Charlotte Mason, unschooling, or a mix of multiple approaches, NavEd simply tracks what you're teaching and how students are performing.
Think of us as your record-keeping layer—compatible with any educational philosophy or curriculum choice.
10. What if I temporarily exceed 5 students (like a nephew visiting for a semester)?¶
You'll only be charged for the months you exceed 5 students. If your nephew is enrolled for 4 months and then leaves, you'll only pay for those 4 months. When you're back to 5 students, billing stops automatically.
We charge monthly, so temporary students only cost you during the time they're actually enrolled.
11. What happens if I forget to pay after exceeding 5 students?¶
Your card on file will be automatically charged on the 1st of each month for any students beyond 5. You'll receive an email receipt.
If your payment fails, we'll send reminders before restricting account access. We never want administrative issues to interrupt your teaching.
Why We Made This Free¶
I'll close with the real reason we offer the first 5 students free.
NavEd started in 2019 when I was homeschooling my own children and coordinating a co-op with 14 families. I was frustrated by the lack of affordable, professional tools designed for small learning communities.
I spent countless hours in spreadsheets. I manually calculated GPAs. I emailed grade reports as PDF attachments. I maintained separate attendance logs in a paper binder because no software could handle our non-traditional schedule.
I knew there had to be a better way—but every solution was either too expensive, too complex, or built for 500-student schools.
So we built NavEd.
As we grew, we faced a decision: Should we charge every user from day one to maximize revenue, or should we make the platform accessible to families like mine who couldn't justify $50-100/year for record-keeping software?
We chose accessibility.
We come from the homeschool community. We understand the financial sacrifices families make to teach their children at home—lost income, curriculum costs, extracurricular expenses. Charging for a tool that should be a commodity felt wrong.
So we made a commitment: if you're teaching 5 or fewer students, NavEd is free. Period.
We can do this because our platform serves multiple communities. Larger micro schools, private schools, and co-ops pay for seats beyond 5 students. That revenue sustains the platform and subsidizes free access for small homeschool families.
It's a model that works—and it aligns with why we built NavEd in the first place.
Your Next Step¶
If you're tired of spreadsheet chaos, if you're worried about compliance documentation, if you want a better way to track your children's learning—try NavEd.
You don't need a trial. You don't need to "see if it's worth it." For families with 5 or fewer students, there's no cost to find out.
Sign up free at nav.education →
No expiration date. No hidden fees. No bait-and-switch.
Just professional school management tools built by homeschoolers, for homeschoolers.
About NavEd: NavEd is a multi-tenant student information system designed for K-12 micro schools, homeschools, co-ops, and small private schools. Founded in 2019 by former homeschool educators, NavEd serves hundreds of learning communities across 38 states. The first 5 students are free on any tier—Standard, Premium, or Enterprise.
Sources¶
- Homeschool Manager - Homeschool planning and record keeping software
- Homeschool Tracker Pricing - Subscription-based homeschool record keeping
- My Homeschool Records - State-by-state compliance requirements
- TSH Anywhere: State Homeschool Laws - 2025 guide to homeschool requirements
- Modify Homeschool App - Digital homeschool planning tool