Harness vs Nova Music
Harness
harnesscalendar.com
Nova Music
trynovamusic.comSide by side
| Figure | Harness | Nova Music |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $15/mo | $8.33/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 5 |
| Spec score · Music Lesson Scheduling Software | 8.0 (#12) | 8.5 (#4) |
| Billing | Instructors can customize rates, billing schedules, and payers. | Billing supports invoice creation, payment-status history, multiple payment methods and configurable tax rates and late fees; Stripe and automated invoicing require Pro. |
| Payment data | Harness says Stripe directly collects and stores full payment card details, while Harness may receive limited card information for records. | Nova says it does not receive or store full card numbers, full bank account numbers, or security codes; online lesson payments are handled through Stripe or another teacher-selected method. |
| Scheduling | Students can use shared scheduling or rescheduling links to choose available times. | Scheduling includes recurring patterns, month/week/day/agenda views, conflict detection, availability management, locations and categories. |
| Security | The privacy policy says each instructor's data is isolated at the database level and cannot be viewed by other platform users. | The pricing page states that data uses industry-standard encryption and row-level security policies. |
| Student portal | Families can view lessons, notes, and invoices in a student portal. | The portal uses PIN-based login and lets students view lessons, submit assignments, track progress, access resources and message teachers. |
| Support | The contact page lists technical support by email and says Harness aims to respond to all inquiries within 24 business hours. | Nova's help center lists 33 articles across seven categories and offers support by email at [email protected]. |
Plans
Nova Music
- FreeFree
- Pro$10 a month
- Pro$100 a year
- Pro annual$100 a year
- StudioPriced on request
In their own words
Harness
Harness is a web-based calendar and studio management platform for private lesson instructors. Students can use shared scheduling or rescheduling links to choose available times, while families can view lessons, notes and invoices through a student portal. Instructors can customize rates, billing schedules and payers. Calendar tools include attendance and payment tracking, lesson events with assigned rates, drag-and-drop scheduling and availability annotations. Student profiles combine details, lesson history and payment balances, with automatic status tracking and intake forms. Finance features include income and expense tracking, invoices, Stripe-powered payments, profit and loss statements and Schedule C compliant exports. The free Hobby plan supports up to five students. Professional costs $15 a month and lists unlimited students, automated monthly billing, payment reminders, self-serve scheduling links and priority email support. A 30-day trial is available. The documentation says Harness is in active development.
Nova Music
Nova Music is a studio management platform for music teachers, combining lesson scheduling, student records, billing, family messaging, and practice tracking. Teachers can schedule recurring lessons, view multiple calendars, detect conflicts, and manage availability; Pro adds makeup credit tracking. A PIN-based student portal lets students see upcoming lessons, submit assignments, track progress, access shared resources, and message their teacher. Practice tools include daily logs, streaks, goals, points, levels, and achievement milestones. The Free plan supports up to 10 students and includes scheduling, group lessons, basic attendance, direct messaging, a student portal, and 100 MB of file storage. Pro costs $10 a month, supports unlimited students, and includes invoicing, Stripe payments, calendar sync, and 5 GB of storage. The features page also lists cash, check, card, and Venmo as payment methods. Nova is available on iOS and the web; the iPhone app requires iOS 17.0 or later. The maker describes it as built for piano teachers, guitar instructors, voice coaches, and private studios.