Power Planner vs School Assistant
We give Power Planner a 3.8 GPA and School Assistant a 3.4, out of 4.0. Power Planner grades higher on features and platforms. School Assistant grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Power Planner
Homework planner with class schedules and GPA calculation
Free plan · from $4.99 one-time
School Assistant
Free school planner for iPhone, iPad, Mac and Apple Watch
Free
How we grade them
| 3.8GPAPower PlannerExcellent | 3.4GPASchool AssistantVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | APremium is $4.99, once, for life. Buy it on one device and your account unlocks it on all the others. The typical planner charges about $8 every month. | AIt costs nothing. The developer calls it 100% free, with no subscriptions, paywalls, premium features or ads. The only in-app purchases are tips from $0.99 to $4.99, and they unlock nothing extra. |
| Free plan and trial | BFree with no ads, and sync, reminders and widgets are all in. But it stops at 1 semester and 5 grades per class. Come the second term, you'll need Premium. | AThe whole app is the free plan: every feature on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, iCloud sync included. There's nothing to upgrade to, so nothing is held back. |
| Features | AAssignments and exams with checklists, a weekly class schedule with Week A and Week B, weighted grades, GPA across semesters and a What If? mode for future scores. That's the whole student job. Fully custom rotations aren't supported. | BAssignments and tests with due dates, subtasks and reminders, a class schedule that can rotate through up to ten weeks, and a page per class for the teacher, room and links. Solid for school. But there's no calendar view in the app. You see schoolwork in Apple Calendar instead. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 1,700 App Store ratings. The day-before and day-of reminders are switched on from the start, so it nudges you without any setup. | A4.8 from about 4,700 App Store ratings. Each class gets an icon and a colour that carry over to its homework, and on newer devices you can paste in text and have it turned into entries. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWindows, Mac, iPhone, iPad, Android and a web version, kept in step by a free account, with classes and homework showing in Google Calendar. The web version is still labelled a beta. | CiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro, with iCloud sync, Siri, Shortcuts and Apple Calendar. All Apple, though. No Android, Windows or web version is listed. |
| Best for | students who want homework and grades together | a free school planner on Apple devices |
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: Power Planner and School Assistant. How we grade
Where they differ
- Power Planner starts at $4.99 one-time purchase (Premium, unlocks every platform). School Assistant is free.
- Only Power Planner lists a web app.
- Only Power Planner lists Windows and Android apps.
- Power Planner can be bought with a one-time purchase.
- Power Planner also covers calendar.
In commonFree planmacOSiOSTasks
At a glance
| Power Planner | School Assistant | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free |
| Starts at | $4.99 one-time purchase (Premium, unlocks every platform) | Free |
| Free plan | Free without ads, including online sync, reminders and widgets. Limited to 1 semester, 5 grades per class, 1 repeating bulk entry of a task or event and 1 photo attachment per item. | The whole app is free: the listing says there are no subscriptions, paywalls, premium features or ads. A tip jar offers optional in-app tips from $0.99 to $4.99. |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | BareBones Dev, LLC | Sun Apps, LLC |
| Price read from | support.powerplanner.net | apps.apple.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
Power Planner
- Students who want grades and GPA worked out next to their homework list
- Students who switch between a Windows or Mac computer and a phone
- Anyone who would rather pay once than subscribe to a school planner
School Assistant
- Students on Apple devices who want a planner at no cost
- Class schedules that alternate between A and B weeks
- Checking assignments and the next class from an Apple Watch
Worth knowing
Power Planner
- The free version is limited to 1 semester and 5 grades per class, so tracking a second term needs the $4.99 Premium purchase.
- The vendor's own comparison page says there is no Canvas or Blackboard integration.
- Class schedules can be standard or alternate between Week A and Week B. The vendor says fully custom rotations are not supported.
- The web version is labelled a beta on the vendor's platforms page.
School Assistant
- Apple devices only: iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro. No Android, Windows or web version is listed.
- There is no calendar view inside the app. The developer chose to show schoolwork in Apple Calendar through Sync to Calendar.
- The Siri AI integration is limited to supported devices, and Smart Create depends on Apple Intelligence.
- Sun Apps is run by a single developer, according to its About page.
Key features
Power Planner
- Assignments and exams
- Homework and exams are added with due dates, and each task or event can carry a checklist of sub-items on iOS, Android and Windows.
- Class schedule
- Classes are entered with times and room locations and shown as a weekly schedule. Alternating Week A and Week B schedules are supported.
- Grades and GPA
- Grades are tracked per class with weighted categories, GPA is calculated across semesters, and a What If? mode shows how a future score would change a grade.
- Automatic reminders
- A day-before reminder lists what is due tomorrow and a day-of reminder arrives an hour before an item is due. Both are on by default and can be turned off.
- Online sync
- A free online account keeps the planner in step across desktop, phone, tablet and browser. A local account that keeps all data on the device is also offered.
- Widgets and Google Calendar
- Home screen widgets on Android and iOS show upcoming assignments and classes, and classes and homework can be viewed in Google Calendar.
School Assistant
- Schoolwork
- Assignments and tests carry a class, due date, links, notes, subtasks and reminders, can be sorted several ways, and move to an archive when completed.
- Schedule
- Classes are listed for each day with teacher and room, or a link for online classes. The schedule can switch automatically between two weeks or manually between up to ten.
- Classes
- Each class has its own page for the teacher's name and email, a class code, links and notes, with an icon and a color that carry over to schoolwork.
- Apple Watch app and widgets
- The Watch app shows schoolwork, the schedule for any day, and the current and next class with time left. Home Screen widgets show assignment counts and the current and next class.
- Siri AI, Shortcuts and Smart Create
- Version 5 lets Siri AI on supported devices answer questions about schoolwork and create it, adds Shortcuts actions, and turns pasted text into entries with Apple Intelligence.
- iCloud sync and Sync to Calendar
- Data syncs automatically across devices over iCloud, and schoolwork can be shown in Apple Calendar through the Sync to Calendar feature.
Plans
Power Planner
Free$0
Assignments, exams, class schedule, reminders, grades and online sync, with 1 semester and 5 grades per class.
Premium$4.99
one-time purchase
Lifts the free limits on semesters, grades per class, repeating bulk entries and photo attachments. Bought once and synced to the account on every platform.
School Assistant
Free$0
Every feature on iPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch and Apple Vision Pro. Tips of $0.99 to $4.99 are optional and unlock nothing extra.
Ways to pay less
Power Planner
- Lifetime license
Premium is a one-time lifetime purchase
The support site prices Premium at $4.99 USD as a one-time, lifetime purchase that syncs with the account, so buying on one platform unlocks it on the others.
School Assistant
No public discounts listed.
