CogNote vs Opus1

CogNote is an open-source studio management suite for private music teachers, combining lesson scheduling, attendance, family communication, student progress tracking, quizzes, and flashcards. Teachers can schedule recurring weekly lessons and record attendance with one tap; cancellation windows, banked credits, and credit expiry are configurable studio settings. Families can use a private link to see schedules, practice links, and notes without logging in, and teachers can email lesson notes. Progress views include skill radar charts, trend lines, attendance, and per-note quiz analytics. Students can start practice from a link without an account, using note and symbol quizzes with instant feedback or SM-2 spaced-repetition flashcards. Notation appears on a staff with clefs, key signatures, and more than 40 musical symbols. CogNote is MIT-licensed, supports data export, and can be self-hosted. Hosted Free has soft caps of five active students, five practice lessons, and five sheet music items; Hosted Pro costs $5 a month and includes a 30-day trial for new accounts. Self-hosting is free but requires running the stack, including Docker or Supabase, email, and backups.

Opus1 is an all-in-one management platform for music and dance schools, also serving performing arts programs. Families can self-book private and group lessons, while schools manage calendars, teacher availability, and rooms. Automated billing covers invoices, receipts, payment processing, and a self-service payment portal. Email, SMS, and voice messaging include reminders and notifications. The platform manages students and families, teacher payroll, classes, courses, learning, recitals, and performances. Reporting provides real-time KPIs, lead conversion, retention, and resource tracking. Opus1 runs on the web, Android, and iOS; phones can add it as a home-screen app tile with push notifications for incoming SMS. Integrations include Google Login and Mailchimp Sync. Opus1 Plus adds webhooks, Zapier, Google and Yelp review integrations, and prospect management. SMS includes 5,000 monthly messages in the United States and Canada.