Overview

More than 70 modules share a single database, with real-time collaboration around student data and integrations for admissions, fees, library and hostel systems. That breadth can reduce the need to connect separate institutional tools, though institutions will need to choose which modules their operations actually require.

The Community Edition has no time limit and no course, assignment or learner cap; practical capacity depends on the hardware running it. It is licensed under LGPL-3.0, with public source code on GitHub. Institutions own their data, and self-hosting carries no student limit or license call-home. OpenEduCat offers cloud and on-premise deployment, giving institutions control over where the system runs at the cost of taking on hosting decisions.

OpenEduCat says it was founded in 2014, is headquartered in India, and serves more than 3 million users in over 90 countries.

Key features

Learning and assessment: Assessment and certificate support, with modular features including Assignment, Classroom and Exam, give institutions tools for academic workflows.
Campus operations: Native connections to admissions, fees, library and hostel systems tie those functions to student information in the same platform.
Standards and sign-in: Community Edition supports SCORM, xAPI and LTI 1.3, as well as SAML, Shibboleth, OAuth2, Azure AD and Google Workspace SSO. API access adds another route for connecting systems.
Security and data control: OpenEduCat describes FERPA-aligned handling, audit trails and enterprise-grade security. Data ownership and self-hosting without license call-home will appeal to institutions prioritizing control; those claims do not remove the need to manage deployment responsibly.
Mobile access: Android and iOS apps are offered, and mobile apps are listed as products.

Pricing

OpenEduCat uses modular pricing and says it charges no per-student fees. The free Community Edition costs 0.00 USD per free, has no learner cap and no time limit; its capacity depends on hardware. That makes it a meaningful option for institutions prepared to run it themselves, rather than a short trial with a seat ceiling.

Paid deployments require OpenEduCat Core. The one-year Core plan costs 489.00 USD per year, billed annually. Modules & Apps cost 79.00 USD per year, billed annually, for modular education features such as Assignment, Classroom, Exam and SSO. The 25 Users Cloud Pack costs 29.00 USD per year and is limited to 25 users on cloud. These add-ons let institutions select capabilities, but the cloud pack's user limit makes it a narrower fit than the uncapped self-hosted edition.

Two-year terms cost 978.00 USD per year for Core, 158.00 USD per year for Modules & Apps and 58.00 USD per year for the 25 Users Cloud Pack; each says buy two years, get the third year free. The cloud pack remains cloud-only and limited to 25 users. For on-premise licensing, the one-time Core price is 1319.00 USD per month and the one-time Modules & Apps price is 208.00 USD per once. Core is still required for every deployment.

A 15-day trial requires no credit card. OpenEduCat states a No Refund Policy, so buyers should settle their deployment and module needs before committing to paid plans.

Platforms

OpenEduCat supports Android, iOS, Linux, API access and self-hosting. Self-hosting uses Linux, Python 3.10+ and PostgreSQL 14+. Cloud hosting and on-premise deployment provide alternatives for institutions that do not want the same hosting arrangement.

Who it's for

OpenEduCat is best suited to schools and other institutions seeking a broad system for student information, learning and campus operations, particularly when data ownership, standards support and deployment choice matter. Its free edition favors institutions with the hardware and technical capacity to self-host. Buyers wanting a paid deployment should budget for Core before adding modules; those who need only a small scheduling tool may find the platform broader than necessary.

Pros and cons

Pro: Uncapped free edition. There is no course, assignment or learner cap or time limit, although hardware determines capacity.
Pro: Deployment and data control. Cloud and on-premise options, data ownership and self-hosting without license call-home suit institutions seeking control over their environment.
Pro: Broad institutional scope. More than 70 modules, real-time student-data collaboration and connections to core campus systems can bring many workflows together.
Con: Core is a paid-deployment prerequisite. The paid route starts with 489.00 USD per year for Core before modular features are added.
Con: Cloud pack has a small seat ceiling. The 25 Users Cloud Pack is limited to 25 users, unlike the free edition's learner terms.
Con: No refunds. The stated policy leaves little room to reverse a paid purchase.

Alternatives

For institutions focused on scheduling rather than a broad education platform, aSc Timetables has an unlimited free trial with no purchase required until after generating a schedule, though export is unavailable during the trial. UniTime is a free open-source option with commercial support available for a fee. Wise Timetable is a paid alternative with a published licence price of 90.00 EUR per month.

Untis is another paid option with a free trial and sales-request pricing. Skoolia offers a paid AI Timetable plan at 39.00 USD per month for one school, 10 active timetable projects, up to 150 active staff and up to 100 active classes. Cloudilya Examination Management ERP uses custom institutional pricing, with fees depending on modules and institution size and payment typically due annually in advance.

FET is a free scheduling alternative with no stated usage limits. EMS Academic Scheduling is a paid alternative with pricing provided by request.

Verdict

Choose OpenEduCat if your institution wants academic and campus systems in one modular platform and values data ownership, standards support and deployment choice. The uncapped Community Edition is a strong starting point for teams able to self-host; the main reason to look elsewhere is the required Core cost for paid use, compounded by a no-refund policy.

	Astra Schedule	OpenEduCat
Free plan	No	Yes
Free trial	No	No
Paid from	—	$2.42/mo
Open source	No	No
Platforms	Web	Android, api, iOS, Linux, self-hosted
Automatic timetabling	Yes	—
Room constraints	Yes	—
Student conflict rules	Yes	—
Free plan	—	Yes

Astra Schedule vs OpenEduCat

Astra Schedule

OpenEduCat