Heights Platform vs SchoolMaker (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Heights Platform grades higher than SchoolMaker: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 17, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Heights Platform grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Heights Platform
Course, challenge and community platform with built-in AI tools
SchoolMaker
Course platform with milestones, community, coaching and AI coaches
Which one is for you
Pick Heights Platform if
- Fits if you're starting with one challenge or a small course
- Works for sellers who teach live lessons as well as recorded ones and want no platform fee
Look elsewhere if
- Not for you if your students want a phone app, as there isn't one
- Tight if you want your own domain, which needs Pro at $99 a month billed yearly
- Skip it if you need API access or custom student roles, which only come with Academy at $399 a month
- Too light for a community on Challenge, which allows 1 course and 100 students and has no community
Pick SchoolMaker if
- Fits if you coach in steps and want a community inside the same product
- Works for course makers who want AI coaches for their students
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you grow, because plans cap members from 100 to 5,000 and above that you contact the vendor
- Skip it if you want no badge on the cheapest plan, as Lite keeps a SchoolMaker badge
- Watch out: Lite is only open to new customers
- Watch out: extra member packs come only with Business, and the page offers annual billing but the monthly price is the one recorded here
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAHeights PlatformFair | 2.2GPASchoolMakerFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CChallenge is $19 a month billed yearly but covers 1 challenge course for 100 students. Basic, with unlimited courses and 5,000 students, is $39, and no plan takes a fee on sales, so $2,000 of sales costs $39 a month: the middle of this category. | CLite is $29 a month, inside the cheaper quarter, but it has a badge, 100 members and is for new customers only. Starter is $99, Pro $165 and Business $249. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 30-day trial with no card needed, as long as any in this category. | C14-day free trial. No free plan, and the listing does not say a card is needed. |
| Features | BCourses and challenges with quizzes, assignments, certificates and badges, community channels, meeting rooms and live streams, email to students, fee-free checkout and Heights AI. Nothing in the listing shows a gap in the job; a custom domain waits for Pro. | CSteps and milestones, community, live sessions, AI coaches, checkout, referrals, an API and webhooks. Members and courses are capped on every plan. |
| Ease of use | CNo App Store rating on record. Heights AI drafts courses, quizzes and pages, but you're still building a school before the first student signs up. | CNo store rating on record. You build the school and its steps yourself. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, plus Mac and Windows apps, with Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, Kit, ActiveCampaign, Google Analytics and Dropbox. No iPhone or Android app, which an A needs, and the API is only on Academy. | BWeb only, with 8 integrations and an API on record. |
| Best for | fee-free courses and challenges with live lessons | a coach selling a course with community and AI coaches |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Heights Platform and SchoolMaker. How we grade
Price against what you get
Heights Platform starts at $19 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. SchoolMaker starts at $29 a month and scores 2.3.
Heights Platform scores higher and starts $10 a month lower. Of the other course and community platforms on the chart, none scores higher than Heights Platform for less, and 2 score higher than SchoolMaker for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Heights Platform also covers video calls and email campaigns.
- SchoolMaker also covers webinars.
At a glance
| Heights Platform | SchoolMaker | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $19 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly) | $29 per month, billed monthly |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no credit card required | 14-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| Made by | Velora Studios, LLC | SchoolMaker |
| Price read from | heightsplatform.com | schoolmaker.com |
| Checked | Oct 17, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Heights Platform
- Challenge allows 1 course and 100 active students and has no community.
- A custom domain and removing Heights branding need Pro at $99 a month billed annually.
- API access and custom student roles are only in Academy.
- No iOS or Android app is listed: students use a mobile browser or the Mac and Windows desktop apps.
SchoolMaker
- Plans cap members (100 to 5,000) and courses; above 5,000 members the vendor asks you to contact it.
- The Lite plan keeps a SchoolMaker badge on and is only open to new customers.
- The page offers annual billing with a stated saving, but the monthly price is the one recorded here.
- Business is the only plan that includes extra member packs.
Key features
Heights Platform
- Courses and challenges
- A lesson builder with drip and unlockable lessons, assignments and quizzes, certificates, badges and points, and unlimited video hosting.
- Community channels
- Free or paid channels tied to courses, with student projects, member messaging, and free channels published as public, indexable pages.
- Meeting rooms and live streams
- Live lessons, group calls in meeting rooms from Basic, and live streams in community channels, with 5 to 30 video hours a month by plan.
- Payments without fees
- One-time, subscription and installment prices through your own Stripe or PayPal account, with coupons, order bumps and cart recovery.
- Heights AI
- Drafts courses, quizzes, emails and website pages, moderates the community, builds reports, and on Pro coaches you weekly.
SchoolMaker
- Steps and milestones
- Courses are built as step-by-step journeys with milestones that students work through.
- Built-in community
- A community space for students inside the school, on every plan.
- Live sessions and coaching
- Consultations, live sessions and coaching, with Zoom or Google Meet links.
- AI coaches
- AI coaches that answer from course content: 10 on Lite, up to 30 on Business.
- Checkout and referrals
- Native checkout through Stripe, with no transaction fee from SchoolMaker.
- API, MCP and webhooks
- API, MCP server and webhooks on every plan, plus Zapier and Make.
Plans
Heights Platform
Challenge$19
per month for up to 100 students, billed annually ($29 monthly)
1 challenge course, email to 1,000 contacts, live lessons, certificates, gamification and coupons. No community. No transaction fee.
Basic$39
per month for up to 5,000 students, billed annually ($49 monthly)
Unlimited courses and community channels, digital products, meeting rooms, affiliate program, Zapier, email to 5,000 contacts.
Pro$99
per month for up to 10,000 students, billed annually ($119 monthly)
Custom domain, web page builder, live streaming, no Heights branding, 2 admins, weekly AI coaching, email to 10,000 contacts.
Academy$399
per month for unlimited students, billed annually ($499 monthly)
Email to 100,000 contacts, 25 admins, custom student roles, API access, advanced reporting, a setup consultation and priority support.
SchoolMaker
Lite$29
per month for up to 100 members, billed monthly
1 course, 1 owner account, 100 GB storage and a SchoolMaker badge that stays on. Only for new customers.
Starter$99
per month for up to 500 members, billed monthly
15 courses, 5 team accounts, unlimited storage and free migration.
Pro$165
per month for up to 2,500 members, billed monthly
30 courses, 10 team accounts, priority support and free migration.
Business$249
per month for up to 5,000 members, billed monthly
Unlimited courses and team accounts, extra member packs, priority support and free migration.
Ways to pay less
Heights Platform
- Annual discount
Save 20% with annual plans
Heights Platform's pricing page lists 20% off for annual plans: Challenge $19 a month instead of $29, Basic $39 instead of $49, Pro $99 instead of $119.
SchoolMaker
- Annual discount
Annual billing saving
The page lists a saving with annual billing: $120 a year on Lite, $240 on Starter, $408 on Pro and $600 on Business.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Heights Platform or SchoolMaker?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Heights Platform is cheaper to start with: $19 a month, against $29 a month for SchoolMaker. Heights Platform starts at $19 per month, billed annually ($29 billed monthly), and SchoolMaker starts at $29 per month, billed monthly.
Which has a free plan, Heights Platform or SchoolMaker?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Heights Platform nor SchoolMaker has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Heights Platform and SchoolMaker run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Heights Platform lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.