FET vs TimetableMaster

FET creates timetables for schools, high schools, and universities, with automatic, semi-automatic, and manual allocation modes. Its time and room constraints can account for teacher and student availability, preferred times and rooms, gaps, working hours, and changes between rooms or buildings. It accepts flexible XML input and imports CSV; completed schedules can be exported as HTML, XML, or CSV. The maker states algorithm limits of 500,000 activities, 30,000 student subgroups, 30,000 rooms, and 30,000 buildings. FET runs on Linux, macOS, and Windows and is free software under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3, with no stated usage limits. The maker provides a forum and documentation, including manuals, instructions, tips, and frequently asked questions. Listed third-party tools convert FET XML results to Microsoft Excel or bring FET-compatible timetables into RosarioSIS. The maker also says it may help institutions with custom variants for changes that are not too difficult, or advise on how to implement them. Stated generation times range from under five minutes for simpler schedules to hours for extremely difficult ones.

TimetableMaster generates school timetables and handles substitutions, staff leave, calendars and student course choices. Its generator places lessons around teacher availability, room capacity, building transitions and workload limits, with a drag-and-drop editor for changes. When staff are absent, it ranks possible cover teachers using subject familiarity, availability and existing cover workload; it can assign and notify a substitute in one click. Staff can request full or half days off, and approved leave feeds into cover planning. Calendars include holidays, exams, events and activities. The student-choice module gathers course preferences, creates sections, assigns faculty and rooms, and produces conflict-free schedules for individual students. Integrations include Veracross, PowerSchool, ManageBac and SchoolBase; other systems can exchange CSV or Excel files. TimetableMaster generates an import file for a school's SIS importer rather than writing directly into the SIS. A Pro trial runs for 10 days without a credit card, but PDF and Excel timetable downloads require a paid plan. The desktop app requires an internet connection; offline mode is described as coming soon.