Free, Pro and Studio
Every tier includes every feature. What changes is how big your roster can grow — plus priority support on Studio. We're onboarding founding studios personally right now at a rate below the public one, and a founding studio keeps that rate for as long as its subscription stays active.
$29/mo
$19/mo founding-studio rate
- 10 teachers
- 150 active students
$99/mo
$59/mo founding-studio rate
- Unlimited teachers
- Unlimited active students
- Priority support
No free trial, because you don't need one: the Free tier is the real product with a smaller roster, for as long as you want it.
Everything. On every tier.
There is no comparison grid because there is nothing to compare — the checklist on the right is the whole product, and the Free tier gets all of it. Tiers only decide how big your roster can grow. You'll never find a locked button mid-lesson.
Your studio connects its own Stripe account, and Stripe's processing fees are billed to you by Stripe. The subscription above is what you pay Cadence — we take no percentage of lesson payments, and family payments never pass through our accounts.
- Scheduling, attendance & conflict detection
- Automatic monthly invoicing
- Online payments via Stripe (0% platform fee)
- Cancellation policies and makeup credits
- Parent self-serve rescheduling & lesson swaps
- Per-student messaging & studio broadcasts
- Leads and CRM intake
- CSV/XLSX mass import
- Student portal with PIN sign-in, portal links & QR codes
- Practice timer, plans & recordings
- Chromatic tuner & metronome
- Repertoire library & curriculum tools
- Gamification — XP, badges, streaks, challenges
- Rewards store & leaderboards
- Sheet-music distribution
- Google Calendar sync
- Events & recitals with program builder
- Teacher payroll runs
- Expense and mileage ledger
- Instrument lending tracker
- Reminders by email, push and text
- Family enrolment invitations
- Family calendar feeds (Apple, Google, Outlook)
The things owners actually ask
Which features are behind the paywall?
None. Every feature ships on every tier, including Free — the tiers only set how big your roster can grow, and Studio adds priority support. We'd rather you outgrow your plan than find a locked button in the middle of a lesson.
Is there a free trial?
No, and you don't need one. The Free tier isn't a countdown — it's the entire product with a 15-student roster, for as long as it suits you. If you outgrow it, that's when a paid tier starts making sense.
How does founding-studio pricing work?
We're onboarding founding studios personally during early access, at $19/mo for Pro and $59/mo for Studio. A founding studio keeps that rate for as long as its subscription stays active — it doesn't step up on a renewal date or expire on a schedule. If the subscription lapses, the founding rate goes with it.
How do I get access?
By asking. Sign-up is invitation-led right now: write to us through the section below and we'll reply personally, walk through Cadence SM on your real schedule, and set your studio up with you. There's no instant account and no demo call to sit through.
How do I get my existing student data in?
A CSV or spreadsheet import with a dry-run preview: every row is classified — will create, will skip, has an error — before anything is written. Parent accounts and student PINs are generated for handout. During early access we run the import with you rather than handing you a template and wishing you luck.
How do families and students get in?
Your staff send an enrolment invitation and the parent fills in their own details and children, or you create the account yourself. Students sign in with a PIN, or with a portal link or QR code you hand out — which can be added to a phone’s home screen. Families never sign themselves up from the public internet.
Do teachers cost extra?
No. Teacher accounts are counted by the tier — one on Free, ten on Pro, unlimited on Studio — but they're not a per-seat charge on top. Teachers get their own day view, attendance, lesson notes, their review queue and their own pay and rate history.
What about payment processing fees?
Your studio connects its own Stripe account and pays Stripe's standard processing fees directly to Stripe. Cadence adds no percentage on top, and family payments never pass through our accounts. Families can pay by card, bank transfer (ACH) or Link — and bank transfer costs a fraction of card on a tuition-sized invoice.
What happens if I want to leave?
You export. Invoices, payments, payroll and expenses come out as CSV, and a family can request erasure of their child’s data directly. Nothing about the product is designed around making your roster hard to get back.
Request early access
A sentence or two about your studio is plenty: what you teach, roughly how many students, and what you're juggling today. A human reads it and replies. No mailing list, no drip campaign.
Request early access
Early access is invitation-led, so this starts as an email to a person rather than a sign-up form. Tell us about your studio and we'll reply — usually within a day or two.
Email us about early access