Alma SIS vs Skyward Student Management Suite

Gradelink

iGradePlus

Classe365

Gradelink is an easy-to-use student information system to help your private school save time, improve enrollment, and fulfill its mission.

Cloud-based School Management System for schools and districts and a free Online Gradebook for individual teachers.

Classe365 is a student management system for education institutions, combining student information system (SIS), CRM & learning management system (LMS) features

The customer service at Alma is wonderful and they will help you solve any issues quickly (from your customer service rep, to the chat support, etc.).

Education administration

The software is simple, effective, and helpful for managing school operations. Although we faced some challenges with customer support, the platform itself is reliable and easy to work with.

Alma SIS centralizes student data, grading, attendance, and communication in one secure platform. Built-in analytics, seamless integrations, and automated compliance reporting ensure efficiency. Designed for PreK-12 schools, it adapts to evolving needs while simplifying school operations.

Access Controls/Permissions

Activity Dashboard

Activity Management

Activity Tracking

Admissions Management

Alerts/Notifications

Application Management

Assignment Management

Attendance Management

Attendance Tracking

Attendee Tracking

Automated Scheduling

Billing & Invoicing

Blended Learning

Block Websites/Applications

Built-in LMS

Calendar Management

Candidate Management

Chat/Messaging

Class Registration

Classroom Management

Class Scheduling

Class Summary

Client Portal

Collaboration Tools

Commenting/Notes

Communication Management

Contact Database

Contact Management

Content Management

Course Authoring

Course Management

Credit Card Processing

Curriculum Management

Curve Scores

Customizable Branding

Customizable Forms

Customizable Reports

Data Import/Export

Data Storage Management

Discipline Management

Document Management

Document Storage

Drag & Drop

Electronic Payments

Email Management

Employee Management

Employee Portal

Enrollment Confirmation

Enrollments/Onboarding

Event Calendar

Event Scheduling

Faculty/Staff Management

Fee Collection

Fee Management

Financial Management

For Classroom

Forms Management

Gradebook

Grade Calculations

Group Registration

Independent/Private

Individualized Assessments

Invoice Management

K-12

Learning Management

Lesson Planning

Live Chat

Mobile Access

Mobile App

Multiple User Accounts

Online Calendar

Online Payments

Online Registration

Onsite Registration

Parent Portal

Parent/Student Portal

Payment Processing

Performance Metrics

Progress Reports

Progress Tracking

Real-Time Chat

Real-Time Data

Real-Time Monitoring

Real-Time Notifications

Real-Time Reporting

Records Management

Recurring/Subscription Billing

Registration Management

Reminders

Remote Access/Control

Report Cards

Reporting/Analytics

Reporting & Statistics

Role-Based Permissions

Scheduling

School District

Scoring

Search/Filter

By industry, Alma SIS reviewers are most commonly professionals in education management (86%). The most frequent use case for Alma SIS cited by reviewers is as a student information system (61% of reviewers).

Users and use cases

Alma SIS is a student information system program offering key features such as gradebook, report cards, student management, attendance tracking, and a parent/student portal, among others.

Alma SIS

Web-based

iPhone

iPad

Android

Windows

Linux

Chromebook

Skyward Student Management Suite

PowerSchool

FACTS

Schoology

PowerSchool SIS

MySchool

Classter

Corsizio

Basic

Alma pricing

Recurring glitches and downtime

Manager 

Additionally, it can be difficult to find specific tasks within a project or to quickly filter tasks.

65% of reviewers feel negative about Alma’s bugs and technical issues. Some users report experiencing glitches, occasional system outages, and slow fixes for ongoing problems. Reviewers say these issues disrupt their workflow, especially when the platform is unavailable during the workday. They indicate that certain tasks are hard to find or perform due to interface quirks, and some mention problems specific to their region or school type. Users express frustration when concerns are acknowledged but not resolved promptly, and they find that technical difficulties can hinder daily operations.

Limited and confusing reporting

Data Systems Administrator

The reports are not as in-depth as needed and we aren't able to save our filters/criteria that we use often.  

42% of reviewers feel negative about Alma’s reporting capabilities. Some users report that the reporting functions lack customization and flexibility, making it difficult to generate the specific reports they need. Reviewers indicate that built-in reports are often rudimentary, confusing to navigate, or poorly formatted. They say the inability to tweak or save report filters creates inefficiencies, and some find the report generator hard to use. Users mention frustration with compliance and state reporting, as well as challenges in accessing or interpreting data for their roles.

Flexible and evolving platform

Academic Dean

All of the new additions that you get charged for with other software are free updates with ALMA. If you do have a problem, ALMA *wants* to hear from you!  

97% of reviewers feel positive about Alma’s flexibility and ongoing development. Some users say Alma frequently adds new features and updates at no extra cost, which helps them keep up with changing needs. Reviewers appreciate that the platform accommodates standards-based grading and offers tools for both teachers and administrators. Some users report that Alma’s customer service is responsive to feedback, and they value the system’s adaptability for various school requirements. They find the parent and student portals useful for communication and record-keeping, and many feel Alma is easy to learn and implement in their schools.

Streamlined communication tools

Principal

Accessibility, relative ease to setup, number of features, especially for price, email and messaging system was fantastic.

93% of reviewers feel positive about Alma’s messaging features. Some users report that built-in messaging and chat tools simplify communication with students, families, and staff, saving them time and keeping all correspondence in one place. Reviewers appreciate the ability to send group messages, post announcements, and receive timely responses from support. They indicate that these features help improve collaboration and workflow within their organizations. Some users say the messaging system is modern and effective, making it easier to keep stakeholders informed and engaged throughout the school year.

Intuitive and modern design

The interface is clean and intuitive, making it very easy to use.

96% of reviewers feel positive about Alma’s user interface. Reviewers indicate that the interface is clean, intuitive, and easy to navigate, which helps both novice and experienced users quickly find the information they need. Some users say the design is modern and visually appealing, making daily tasks more efficient. They appreciate that the interface keeps everything organized and accessible, reducing the learning curve for new users. Many feel that the user-friendly layout improves their workflow and allows them to manage school data with minimal training or technical expertise.

Instructional Assistant

Dashboard: Can include lessons and assignments; shows a weekly calendar (helpful to note upcoming quizzes, tests, etc.)

School Nurse

Also, I like that the school nurse is able to upload individualized health care plans to Alma, making it simple to pass along pertinent health information for those who need to know this.

By creating a critical health alert, teachers and other school staff are easily made aware of certain high risk students.

The feature that I like most about Alma is the ability to flag students with medical issues.

Administrator

The software supports daily school operations in a practical way and helps reduce manual work.

Speech Language Pathologist

I love how accessible and user-friendly the platform is—it gives me quick access to the student data I need, from attendance and grades to IEP documentation.

Chief of Police

It offers a wide range of functionalities such as grade management, attendance tracking, communication tools, and scheduling, which makes it a comprehensive solution for educational institutions.

Directory - in alphabetical order which could include photo of staff and students 

Coordinator of Schools Operations

The system is genuinely tailorable, which allowed us to set things up in a way that supported our workflows instead of forcing us to change them.

I like that you can hover over a student's picture to enlarge it.

Physical Education Teacher

The he details on students we are able to put in and scan documents and up load them to the students file is so time saving.

Separate section for each teacher's class entitled "My Classes" which includes:

Teacher

The documents disappear  so i will start to rewrite what i had written before.

One challenge I’ve encountered with Alma SIS as a service provider is the inability to create my own classrooms or groups.

Announcements - teachers can send out an email to parents through Team

Assistant Principal

I love that I can do report cards, incident reports, attendance and keep files on record for each child.

Office Manager

Personally, the connection with our State reporting system and how easy it made it was the winning factor for me.

I wish there was a "copy all" button for grading things, so you could enter the same grade for all students when it comes to participation points.

It helps keep the school process more organized and efficient.

Registrar

It has streamlined many of our daily processes and created a stronger connection between school and families.

I can easily check if a student is absent for the day, what classes were missed, and if they're missing assignments.

Worst part for the tech crew:  The people running the system can't impersonate another user, which makes it hard to see what the user is seeing when you're trying to help someone.

As a small school, we needed an SIS that was powerful yet flexible enough to meet our unique needs, which Alma delivered on.

MS Social Studies Teacher

I wish that there was color coding in the gradebook for passing and failing grades so it visually was easier to keep track of students progress.

Operations Manager

I dont like how the enrollment data is tranferred onto the student profile . If a parent lists a child has asthma , allergies etc it should be reflected on the student profile .

office manager

Alma SIS is user-friendly and provides a streamlined way to manage student information, attendance, and scheduling.

It’s a helpful tool for organizing student data, managing grades, and streamlining communication.

Our main challenge with Alma SIS is managing costs in a non-dollar economy as a nonprofit.

Family and Consumer Science Teacher

We also store our important student need information and health concerns in the program to be accessed by staff members.

I have been able to create assignments, keep track of attendance and have all parents/guardian contacts together.

Calendar - school academic calendar for the year 

The only thing I would say I least liked was that it was not compariable to the system that was use for reporting to our district office.

Dean of Students

I wish we could import grades directly from our Google classroom to help with report cards instead of doing them in both places.

The user-friendly interface makes it easy to track student data, manage grading, and streamline communication.

Academic Director

As Academic Director, our teachers appreciated the ease-of-use when creating assignments and inputing grades.

Alma SIS vs Skyward Student Management Suite Comparison (2026)

Alma SIS

Skyward Student Management Suite

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives