Harness vs Shinnpad
Harness
harnesscalendar.comShinnpad
shinnpad.comSide by side
| Figure | Harness | Shinnpad |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $15/mo | $8.99/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | Yes |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Android | — | Yes |
| Plans published | 2 | 4 |
| Spec score · Music Lesson Scheduling Software | 8.0 (#12) | 8.4 (#5) |
| Purpose | Harness is a calendar and studio management platform for private lesson instructors. | Shinnpad provides lesson management for independent music teachers, including scheduling, rosters, payments, a parent portal, and bookkeeping and tax tools. |
| Student records | Student profiles bring together student details, lesson history, and payment balance, with automatic status tracking and intake forms. | Students, families, and households can be managed together, including students associated with more than one household. |
| Support | The contact page lists technical support by email and says Harness aims to respond to all inquiries within 24 business hours. | Support is available through in-app Settings or by email; typical replies take 2–3 business days, while Studio Max includes priority support with a one-business-day reply aim. |
Plans
Shinnpad
- StudioFree
- Studio Pro$8.99 a month
- Studio Max$17.99 a month
- Studio Admin$19 a month
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.
Shinnpad
Shinnpad is web-based lesson-management software for independent music teachers. It combines scheduling, student rosters, payments, a parent portal, bookkeeping, and tax-report preparation. Teachers can create rotating A/B or red/green campus days, with schedules shifting around holidays, breaks, and days off. The free Studio plan is always free for up to 10 students and includes manual payment tracking, a read-only parent portal, a public studio site, and manual bookkeeping tools. Studio Pro costs $8.99/mo or $89.99/yr and adds unlimited students, Stripe card payments and autopay, automatic mileage, calendar sync, Schedule C export, and an email suite. Studio Max costs $17.99/mo or $169/yr and adds receipt scanning, an AI deduction finder, an AI year-end tax report, and priority support. Studio Admin costs $19/mo plus $7 for each additional studio. Shinnpad tracks mileage, expenses, and income, but does not file taxes or provide tax, accounting, or legal advice. Records can be exported to spreadsheets.