Alternatives
PTBoard alternatives: nine PTO platforms compared on published pricing
PTBoard is hard to beat on subscription price: its nonprofit plans run $64.99 to $129.99 a year and cover announcements, calendars, payments, forms, fundraising, signups, a directory and auctions. The reasons boards look elsewhere are usually the 5% fee on fundraising campaigns, the lack of built-in bookkeeping, or a website that feels dated to parents. Here is the field, with each vendor's own numbers.
The short answer
The main alternatives to PTBoard are Membership Toolkit and Givebacks (fuller platforms at a higher subscription), Konstella (communication first), Cheddar Up and SignUpGenius (single-purpose tools that many boards stack together), RunPTO (a cheaper PTO website), and PTO Homeroom (a newer all-in-one with no subscription and a 3% checkout fee covered by the payer). Which one is right depends on whether your pain is price, fundraising fees, bookkeeping or the parent experience.
Rates below are each vendor's own published figures, last checked 9 September 2026. Anything unpublished is marked as such rather than estimated.
Every option, side by side
| Platform | Best for | Subscription | Fee on payments | Fee on fundraisers | Card processing | Fee can be passed to payer |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PTBoardthe one you have | Boards that want the most features for the least subscription and are comfortable with a 5% fee on fundraising campaigns. | $64.99 – $399.99 / year | 0.7% + 20¢ | 5% | Your own PayPal or Stripe | Yes — three documented options, including purchaser-covers-all |
| Membership Toolkit | Larger PTAs that want a polished public website, deep membership tooling and are willing to pay a subscription of several hundred dollars a year. | $550 – $1,150 / year | 0% on dues and store payments | 3% of each donation, up to $50,000 | LumaPay 2.89% + 30¢ (as published Aug 2026; the PaySimple partner card now lists interchange-plus pricing) | Not published |
| Givebacks | State-PTA-affiliated units that need PTA dues remittance built in, and boards that want a store, website and fundraising in one paid platform. | $499 – $599 / year | 1.05% + 65¢ | 7.5% | Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ | Yes — absorb, pass on to the donor, or split |
| Konstella | Schools where parent-to-parent communication and classroom groups matter more than payments or the treasurer's books. | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published | Not published |
| PTO Homeroomthis site | Boards that want the roster, dues, fundraisers, signups, announcements and the treasurer's books in one place, free, with no parent logins. | $0 | 3% | 3% | Stripe 2.9% + 30¢ | Yes — shown at checkout and covered by the payer by default |
| Cheddar Up | Groups that mainly need to collect money — dues, spirit wear, tickets — with no parent accounts, and are happy to keep communication elsewhere. | $0 – $420 / year | Blended into the card rate | Blended into the card rate | 3.95% + 95¢ free · 3.59% + 59¢ paid | Yes — and it is the default |
| SignUpGenius | Anyone whose real need is a volunteer slot sheet; it is the easiest signup tool there is and free for organizers on its basic plan. | $0 – $539.89 / year | 5% + 50¢ on collected payments | 5% + 50¢ (no fundraiser product; payments on sign-ups) | Included in the 5% + 50¢ | Yes — the organizer chooses whether the buyer or the seller pays the fee |
| RunPTO | Boards that want a low-cost, PTO-specific website and membership tool and can live with unpublished payment rates. | $299 / year | None — RunPTO never touches the money | None | Your own Stripe or PayPal | N/A — there is no platform fee to pass on |
| Get Movin' | PTOs running a fun run themselves that want a proven pledge platform and don't mind the surcharge families see at checkout. | $0 | Not published | Not published — a donor “credit” covers it; they cite ~4% average after credits | Braintree; rate not published | Yes — a “donor credit” option at checkout |
| Boosterthon | Schools that want a run company to show up in person and run the fun run for them, and accept the fee that pays for that staff. | $0 tech-only · $2,000 base cost for full service | 15% (MyBooster) | 15% – 50% | Included in the 15%; your own Stripe account | Yes — “Donor's Choice” lets donors cover the fee |
Each vendor name links to the head-to-head page with sources. Homeroom's own row is on the same terms as everyone else's.
What PTBoard costs, all in
The subscription is $64.99 a year for up to 250 users and $129.99 for unlimited users (nonprofit rates), billed annually with a three-month free trial. Online payments through the built-in store and forms cost 0.7% + 20¢; fundraising campaigns such as read-a-thons and color runs cost 5%. Neither rate appears on the pricing page; both come from PTBoard's terms and its training site. You connect your own PayPal or Stripe, so the money is never held by PTBoard.
If the problem is the fundraising fee
A $20,000 fun run on PTBoard costs the PTO about $1,000 in campaign fees before card processing. On Homeroom the same run carries a 3% line shown to each family at checkout and covered by the payer, so the PTO banks the full $20,000; on Get Movin' the family sees a surcharge around 15%; Boosterthon's fee pays for staff who run the event in person. Cheddar Up charges the payer or the group a per-payment fee and has no pledge tracking.
If the problem is the books
PTBoard, Membership Toolkit and Givebacks report on money collected through them but do not keep the treasurer's ledger, so most boards run QuickBooks or a spreadsheet alongside. Homeroom is the only platform in this list with budget-vs-actual, reimbursements and an audit packet built in. If your treasurer's real complaint is the month-end close, that difference matters more than the subscription.
If the problem is the parent experience
Konstella is the strongest at parent-to-parent communication and classroom groups. SignUpGenius and Cheddar Up win on the single act of signing up or paying without an account. Homeroom is built the same way, no parent logins for anything, and adds the roster, announcements and payments behind that one link. Membership Toolkit and Givebacks require parent accounts.
Where PTBoard still wins
Thirteen years in market, a three-month trial with no card, silent auctions with Buy Now, bring-your-own payment processor, and the lowest subscription of any full platform. A board that is happy with it and runs few online fundraisers has little reason to move.
Questions boards ask
Is PTBoard free?
No. PTBoard's nonprofit plans are $64.99 a year (up to 250 users) or $129.99 a year (unlimited), billed annually, after a three-month free trial. Online payments add 0.7% + 20¢ and fundraising campaigns add 5%.
What is the cheapest PTBoard alternative?
On subscription alone, PTO Homeroom and Cheddar Up's basic plan are $0 for the group; SignUpGenius is free for organizers. On total cost for a board that fundraises online, compare the per-transaction fees: Homeroom's 3% is paid by the payer, PTBoard's 5% on campaigns is deducted from what the PTO receives.
Which alternative is closest to PTBoard feature for feature?
Membership Toolkit and Givebacks cover the same ground (website, directory, membership, store, communications, fundraising) at a higher subscription. PTO Homeroom covers most of it plus bookkeeping, but does not yet offer silent auctions or text messaging.
Can we keep PTBoard for the website and use something else for money?
Yes, and many boards do: PTBoard or a Google Site for the public page, with Cheddar Up or Homeroom for payments and fundraisers. The cost is that families end up with two places to look.
See Homeroom in two minutes, or set it up in about the same
Free, no card, no call. If it isn't the right fit, the comparison pages above will say so.
- Free for the PTO, no subscription
- 3% at checkout, paid by the payer
- No parent logins, ever
PTBoard sources: Pricing Terms of service Fee explainer (PTBoard's training site)