DynoClass Manager vs Dyno
The Class Manager alternative with a native member app and in-app community, not just a parent portal.
What is Dyno?
Dyno gives class schools the same registers, waiting lists and Direct Debit billing, and adds a native iOS and Android app with a community feed, chat, ticketed events and progression tracking, so families stay engaged with the school between term-time classes.
What is Class Manager?
Class Manager is UK class-management software for dance, gymnastics, swimming and cheer schools, covering registers, class scheduling, waiting lists and Direct Debit billing through a parent portal. It is a capable admin system for children’s activity classes, but the family-facing side is a web portal rather than a native community app.
Class Manager vs Dyno: feature by feature
Class Manager details are based on publicly available information and last reviewed July 2026; they may have changed, check Class Manager’s website for their current features and pricing.
Why schools go looking for a Class Manager alternative
Class Manager does the unglamorous work of running a dance or gymnastics school well: registers, term-based billing, waiting lists and Direct Debit collection through a parent portal. For a principal who mainly needs the admin done and the fees collected on time, that covers a lot. The gap schools describe to us is on the parent’s side of the screen, where a web portal has to compete with the polished apps families use every day.
The other pattern we hear is that everything beyond registers and billing lives somewhere else. Show tickets go through a separate site, class photos and notices land in a Facebook group, and the sense of belonging that keeps a family enrolled term after term is spread across tools the school does not control. For a business built on retention and word of mouth, that is a lot of engagement leaking out of the system that holds the money.
How Dyno approaches the same job
The admin schools rely on is all present: class registers and attendance, waiting lists, and recurring billing by Direct Debit or card through Stripe, settled into your own bank account. Term structures, class packs and family accounts mean one parent can manage and pay for several children in a single place, which is the normal shape of a dance or gymnastics school.
On top of that, parents get a native iOS and Android app carrying the school’s feed, chat, timetable and bookings, so notices and photos come home to a space you own. Shows, exams and gradings run as ticketed events with capacity and pricing, and progression tracking records grades, levels and badges with promotion history, so the achievement side that motivates young students is part of the software rather than a wall chart.
What switching from Class Manager actually involves
Our team migrates your students, classes, family relationships and billing records across, and most schools run a short overlap through a term boundary rather than a hard cut-over mid-term. Recurring payments are the one part that needs care: when you change platform, members’ card and Direct Debit authorisations have to be re-established with the new payment provider. Dyno collects these through Stripe as members activate their account in the app, and the dashboard shows you exactly who has moved across and who still needs a nudge, so nothing falls through the cracks mid-switch.
Dig into the details
Switching from Class Manager: common questions
- Does Dyno handle registers and term billing like Class Manager?
- Yes. Class registers, attendance and waiting lists are built in, and recurring fees collect by Direct Debit or card through Stripe on the schedule you set, including term-based structures. Family accounts let one parent pay for several children at once.
- Class Manager uses a parent portal. What do parents get with Dyno?
- Parents get a native iOS and Android app rather than a web portal: the school’s feed, chat, timetable, bookings, event tickets and their children’s progression, all in one place. It is the difference between a portal families log into when they have to and an app they actually keep on their phone.
- Can Dyno handle shows, exams and gradings?
- Yes. Shows, exams, gradings and socials run as ticketed events with capacity, member and non-member pricing, and payment in the same checkout, so you are not sending families to a separate ticketing site alongside their class fees.
- Does Dyno track grades, levels and badges?
- Progression tracking is built in and free on every plan: grades, levels and badges with full promotion history, which suits gymnastics stages, dance grades and swim levels. Students and parents can see progress in the app, and staff record promotions as they happen.
- Can you migrate our students and Direct Debits from Class Manager?
- Yes. We move students, classes, family relationships and key records for you, usually around a term boundary. Direct Debit mandates cannot be transferred between providers, so they are re-authorised through Stripe as families activate, and the dashboard shows who has completed the move.
Switch from Class Manager to Dyno
A quick, personalised walkthrough, no slides, no commitment. Tell us a little about your club and we’ll be in touch.