Overview

Teachers can organize classes, lessons, units, schedules, and school events, then track attendance, grades, performance, and standards achievement through student accounts. Planbook also serves administrators and district administrators, with school accounts adding shared school items and oversight. Teachers can collaborate on plans without that setup, making it useful to colleagues who want to share work but do not need central administration.

Rod Hall and his brother Jeff launched Planbook in August 2010. Its mix of planning and assessment suits established classroom and school workflows better than educators primarily looking for lesson generation.

Key features

Planning and assessment

A calendar view helps teachers place lessons and events into schedules, while standards alignment ties planning to achievement goals. Student accounts let teachers track attendance, grades, performance, and standards achievement; those accounts are free. This makes Planbook a practical fit for teachers who want records alongside their plans, rather than only a place to draft lessons.

Collaboration and connections

Teachers can share plans without a school account, while school accounts add shared school items and administrator oversight. Google Classroom connections and syncing for selected Google Calendars and classes link planning to those services. Single sign-on is supported through Apple, ClassLink, Clever, Google, and Microsoft.

Files can be attached from Google Drive or Planbook Resources, with a 500 MB cap per file and no stated total storage limit. The iOS and Android companion apps use existing Planbook credentials. Export options include PDF, Microsoft Word, Google Calendar, and Google Docs, giving users several ways to carry plans into other formats.

Support and privacy

Support includes a help center, video tutorials, free training webinars, and email and phone assistance. Planbook’s privacy policy describes physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards, regular security reviews, electronic backups, and systems designed in accordance with FERPA.

Pricing

Planbook has a free plan and a 90-day trial. Student accounts are free, and manager accounts are also free for schools and districts. The paid options separate individual-teacher access from school and district licensing; school pricing is per license and varies by account count.

Individual Teacher — 3 Years: 16.00 USD per year, billed per year for 3 years. This is the lowest annual individual-teacher price, suited to teachers willing to commit to the longer term.
Individual Teacher — 2 Years: 18.00 USD per year, billed per year for 2 years. It costs more annually than the three-year option but requires a shorter commitment.
Individual Teacher — 1 Year: 20.00 USD per year, billed per year for 1 year. It is the highest-priced individual option, but avoids a multi-year term.
School & District — 250+ accounts: 14.00 USD per year per license. The largest account tier has the lowest per-license annual price.
School & District — 50–249 accounts: 16.00 USD per year per license. This tier fits mid-sized deployments.
School & District — 1–49 accounts: 18.00 USD per year per license. Smaller deployments pay the highest school-license rate.

The school tiers make the per-license price depend on account count, so schools should match the license tier to the size of their rollout. Individual teachers trade a higher annual rate for shorter terms. The free plan and trial offer ways to start, while multi-year individual terms and school licenses suit buyers prepared to commit to their respective billing structures.

Platforms

Planbook runs on the web and has companion apps for iOS and Android. The mobile apps use existing account credentials, extending access beyond the browser.

Who it's for

Planbook is a strong fit for teachers who want lesson organization, standards alignment, and student records together, and for schools that need shared items and administrator oversight. It is less compelling for an educator seeking a lesson-generation-centered tool or a school that does not need its account-based collaboration structure.

Pros and cons

Pro: Planning and assessment sit in the same workflow, including attendance, grades, performance, and standards achievement.
Pro: Teachers can collaborate without a school account, while school accounts add shared items and administrator oversight.
Pro: Free student accounts, a free plan, and a 90-day trial provide multiple ways to begin.
Con: School licensing is priced per license across account-count tiers, so the applicable rate depends on deployment size.
Con: Individual-teacher pricing is tied to one-, two-, or three-year terms; the lower annual prices require longer commitments.

Alternatives

For a broader set of lesson-planning options, browse Lesson Planning Software.

LessonApp may suit teachers who want a free basic license with teaching methods, a limited number of draft lessons, printing, and access to other users’ plans. PlanbookEdu is worth considering for its free plan with unlimited weekly plans, rotation schedules, word-processor editing, and iPad and phone support. Common Planner offers a free teacher plan with an AI-powered lesson assistant and the ability to post 50 lessons to Google Classroom.

Planboard is another free digital lesson-planning option for teachers. SchEDU may appeal to teachers who want automated term planning, though its free plan caps lifetime lesson plans at two and subjects at two; its Pro plan costs 4.99 USD per month. TeacherHero is another freemium option for web users.

Daytical is a paid alternative at 12.00 USD per year, billed $144 once a year, with unlimited courses, students, and plans and every feature included. Lesson Maker Pro may suit users seeking generated lessons and materials, with a free monthly allowance and a Pro plan at 7.99 USD per month, billed annually.

Verdict

Choose Planbook if you want lesson planning connected to assessment and need collaboration that can extend from individual teachers to school oversight. Free student accounts, multiple export options, and web and mobile access strengthen that case. Look elsewhere if lesson generation is your priority, or if the school-license tiers and individual multi-year terms do not suit your purchasing needs.

	OnCourse Lesson Planner	Planbook
Free trial		Yes
Paid from		$1.17/mo
Platforms	Android, iOS, Web	Android, iOS, Web
Free plan	No	Yes
Standards alignment	Yes	Yes
Plan collaboration	Yes	Yes
Mobile access	ios_android	ios_android
Calendar view		Yes
Export formats		PDF, Microsoft Word, Google Calendar, Google Docs

OnCourse Lesson Planner vs Planbook

OnCourse Lesson Planner

Planbook