Observation Partner vs Trellis
Observation Partner
observationpartner.comTrellis
gettrellis.appSide by side
| Figure | Observation Partner | Trellis |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | $7.50/mo | $20.75/mo |
| Free plan | Yes | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 2 |
| Spec score · Teacher Evaluation Software | 7.9 (#7) | 7.4 (#13) |
| Compliance | The maker says the service is designed to support FERPA and similar state student privacy laws. | Trellis is designed to support FERPA obligations and offers data processing agreements; it says its infrastructure vendors hold certifications, while Trellis itself has not completed a SOC 2 audit. |
| Purpose | Observation Partner connects classroom evidence capture, editable rubric-aligned feedback, and observation tracking for K-12 school leaders. | Trellis helps K–12 school leaders turn classroom walkthrough notes into personalized teacher feedback and coaching conversations. |
| Security | The privacy policy describes encryption in transit and at rest, secure authentication, access controls, and monitoring for unusual activity. | Trellis says data is encrypted in transit with TLS and at rest with AES-256, and access is scoped to each school's workspace. |
| Support | The maker offers AI chat help and email support for account review, billing, custom rubric, and accessibility questions. | Trellis says it will provide a written response to questions within one business day. |
Plans
Observation Partner
- FreeFree
- Individual Monthly$9.99 a month
- Individual Annual$89.99 a year
- School Setup$149 a year
In their own words
Observation Partner
Observation Partner is a web-based tool for K-12 school leaders to capture classroom evidence, draft rubric-aligned feedback, and track observation work. It turns observation notes into editable drafts using Danielson Style, Marzano Style, or a district rubric. Administrators can use templates, focus areas, tone controls, revision history, and Word export to prepare write-ups. Individual workspaces show teacher observation requirements and outstanding observations; guided school setup adds shared rosters, evaluator assignments, and building-level completion visibility. The service is for drafting and tracking, while the district-approved evaluation system remains the official record. It works in modern browsers on laptops, Chromebooks, tablets, and smartphones, and requires internet access to generate drafts and save changes. Evidence can be uploaded as PDF or Word DOCX files. The Free plan includes 1,250 lifetime starter AI credits. Individual Monthly costs $9.99 per month and Individual Annual costs $89.99 per year; both include a 7-day trial. School Setup costs $149.00 per administrator per year. Multi-building district rollups are not currently available.