ClassJuggler covers many activities. Presently focuses on yours.
I'm James, half-owner of a dance studio. ClassJuggler is a general class-business platform that serves dance, gymnastics, swim, tutoring, and more. Presently is built specifically for dance and music studios. That's a real architectural difference — let me show you what it means.
If ClassJuggler has been serving you well, this isn't a "switch immediately" pitch. It's a real comparison.
What ClassJuggler gets right
What ClassJuggler does well.
Genuine breadth.
ClassJuggler covers dance, gymnastics, swim, art, tutoring, and other class-based businesses. If your business spans multiple activities, that flexibility has value.
Solid billing engine.
ClassJuggler's recurring billing and family ledger have been refined over years. It handles the operational basics reliably.
Reliable support.
ClassJuggler has a real support team and a long track record of running studios reliably.
Where Presently is genuinely different
The trade-off of a multi-vertical platform is that nothing is built for a specific vertical's quirks. Here's where Presently's dance/music focus shows up:
1. Recital lineup is built for dance, not adapted.
ClassJuggler has event tracking, but recital-specific tools like back-to-back conflict warnings, multi-show events, intermission management, and PDF/Excel exports per show aren't a focus area. They can't be — those needs are specific to dance/music studios with year-end performances.
Presently's recital lineup editor is one of our headline features because it's one of the most stressful operational moments in a studio's year.
2. Costume management built in.
Costume worksheets, vendor tracking, measurement collection from instructors, family commitments, costume books — these matter for dance, music recital, and theatre studios. ClassJuggler's general approach means these have to be approximated with generic tools. Presently has dedicated, full-featured costume workflow (as a $9/mo add-on).
3. No payment markup.
ClassJuggler processes payments through a payment partner that adds fees on top of standard Stripe rates. Presently uses Stripe Connect directly — you pay Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢, we take nothing on top. Over a $10K month of family payments, that difference adds up.
4. Modern interface, modern signup flow, month-to-month.
ClassJuggler's interface, like many long-standing tools, is functional but visibly dated. Presently was built web-first in 2024-2026. Parents can browse the public schedule without an account and enroll directly from a class card with a one-click email sign-in link — no password required. Month-to-month subscription, no annual contracts.
Side-by-side
Not a checkmark table. Real differences, in prose.
Focus
Multi-vertical class business platform. Dance, gym, swim, tutoring, etc.
Dance and music studios specifically. Features designed around recital season, costumes, term-based tuition.
Pricing
Tiered by student count, roughly $39–139/month. Payment processing fees on top.
$49, $99, or $149/month based on student count. No payment markup. Month-to-month.
Recital/event tools
Basic event tracking. Not optimized for recital lineup management.
Drag-to-reorder lineup, back-to-back warnings, multi-show events, PDF/Excel exports, missing-classes audit. (Event Management add-on, $9/mo.)
What switching actually looks like
Migrating studio software is real work. Here's how we'd handle it:
A 30-minute call.
Not a sales demo. What's working in ClassJuggler, what's broken, what scares you about switching.
Migration during a quiet stretch.
Not during recital, not during enrollment. Usually late summer or mid-winter. I run the data import personally.
Parallel run before cutover.
Keep ClassJuggler available read-only for 30 days while Presently is primary. We fix anything missing before the full switch.
Extended trial if you need it.
Standard trial is 30 days. I'll extend it on a case-by-case basis. Nobody should be racing a clock.
Questions worth asking
Should I stay on ClassJuggler?
If you run multiple activities (dance + gymnastics + tutoring under one business), ClassJuggler's breadth genuinely fits. If you're a dance or music studio specifically, Presently's focus will probably feel better.
Can you import my ClassJuggler data?
Yes. Families, students, classes, enrollments, ledger history. I clean up the CSV and run the import personally.
How small is your company?
Small. My wife and I run a dance studio; I'm the developer. Real, mature product. Eyes-open trade-off vs a larger company.
What if it doesn't work out?
Month-to-month, cancel anytime. Clean data export.
Want to talk it through?
The best next step isn't signing up — it's a 30-minute call with me to see if Presently actually fits. Two studio owners comparing notes.