The Best Shopify Countdown Timer Apps [Reviewed for 2020]

As an ecommerce store owner, you obviously want your business to be as successful as possible. A countdown timer can greatly improve your conversion and sales, making it an invaluable tool for any Shopify store.

To make sure you find the best countdown timer, I’ve reviewed a wide range of apps and looked at their features, highlights, and drawbacks.

What is Scarcity/FoMo and How Does It Boost Sales?

Robert Cialdini, a psychologist, is well-known among colleges, schools, and e-commerce coaching courses. He formulated the ‘six principles of persuasion’, the building blocks of any successful marketing strategy. These principles are commitment and consistency, reciprocity, liking, social proof, authority, and scarcity.

Scarcity, in particular, is important for boosting conversion and your overall sales. A sense of urgency in the form of a simple timer drives potential customers to purchase an item before it’s gone due to a fear of missing out (FoMo) on something important.

For example, many people constantly check and recheck their email or social media pages to make sure they’re not missing out on an interesting social engagement.

How Does a Countdown Introduce Scarcity to the Sale?

Most peoples’ reaction to scarcity is to act quickly, which is why a countdown clock can be an invaluable tool for your shopify store. It’s better than a piece of text like “limited time offer” strewn across your landing page as it looks more intimidating.

A lot of research studies show that FoMo is most effective among millennials (around 69%!). Strategy Online states that 60% of millennials make reactive purchases due to a fear of missing out.

Other data also shows that over half of people who use social media suffer from a fear of missing out. As you can see, FoMo is very useful and efficient for increasing your conversion rate and sales.

Selecting the Right Shopify Plugin for You

When you’re looking at plugins for your ecommerce store, there are many factors you need to take into account. Let’s take a look at some of the aspects you need to consider when you’re choosing an app.

Does the App Require Customer Coding?

If you’re not tech savvy, then a plugin that requires customer coding might not be the best option. Make sure you check the type of setup the app needs and whether you’ll need to input any code yourself.

Is It Mobile Responsive?

When you’re selecting a countdown clock, it’s a good idea to use one that’s mobile-friendly or mobile responsive. This allows visitors to view the timer even when they’re visiting your store on their smartphone.

Customization Options

The amount of customization options the plugin has is another important attribute. Obviously, you want your clock to match the theme of your store. Settings that let you change the font, color, background, etc., of the clock can be really helpful for ensuring the design suits your brand’s aesthetic.

What Are the Default Design Templates Like?

Take a look at the design templates of the app you’re thinking of using to make sure they’re well-made and of a high standard. If the design of the clock is subpar or poor, then this could affect your potential customers’ view of your store.

Alternatively, if you’d prefer to create your own design templates, then check whether the plugin enables this.

How Fast Does the App Load — Will It Slow Down Your Site?

No one likes landing on a site that’s slow and runs poorly, so neither will your potential visitors. Ideally, the app you use should run smoothly and efficiently to make sure your site’’s clients aren’t put off by long loading times or a jittery interface.

What Is the Pricing Structure?

While the majority of countdown clock apps are inexpensive, some can have rather costly price plans. These packages typically include additional features or support that aren’t accessible with lower-price plans.

If you’re looking for an affordable app, you might need to sacrifice some features that could otherwise be useful. For example, a lot of free apps have the developer’s badge or logo shown somewhere in the design.

How Is the App’s Customer Support?

Dealing with an unresponsive customer support advisor can be irritating, especially when the issue or query you have is important. If you run into a problem with the app, you don’t want to wait half a century to receive a reply or be ignored altogether.

Make sure you check the efficiency of the app’s customer support and their average response times to prevent any frustration in the future.

Countdown Timers for Shopify Reviews

Hurrify Countdown Timer Shopify App

Hurrify Countdown Timer App

Hurrify is a great asset to your ecommerce store as it’s simple to use and very effective. There’s a progress bar that shows a sold amount rather than custom text, which is a detail I really like.

This lets you display the number of units that have been sold in your sale. Fortunately, you don’t need to manually adjust the number as it does it automatically.

The clock features text above it, allowing you to clearly state what you’re counting down to. This text can be customized using its preset values or you can make your own.

The app comes in two designs, both of which are visually attractive. The developer has also confirmed that more designs will be available in the future.

If you’re looking for a free timer app to test on your store, then you’re in luck as Hurrify currently offers a two-day trial period. This lets you use all the features of the app to see if it’s the right match for you.

Without the trial activated, Hurrify costs $6.99 per month, so it’s very affordable.

Unfortunately, the app can have a couple of issues in terms of performance and functionality. On occasion, the app can fail to load or work properly once it has been installed.

Additionally, Hurrify’s customer support team can be unresponsive. The advisors often take a while to reply to support tickets but are helpful when they do.

Specs

• Price: $6.99
• Free Plan: No
• Mobile Responsive: Yes

Pros

• Easy to use
• Visually attractive designs
• Free trial
• Customizable text

Cons

• Can suffer from performance problems
• Customer support can be unresponsive

Countdown Timer Bar Shopify App

Countdown Timer Bar

Another solid choice is this clock app, which is easy to install. In fact, the initial setup can be done in less than a minute!

You can choose from a few different types of timers to make sure it fits your campaign. For example, there’s a daily countdown that is ideal for delivery times. You can also select timers for sales like when you’re advertising a new product or service.

The feature I like most about this app is its call-to-action buttons. This lets you divert customers directly to your desired pages, which can help you improve the sales funnel on your store.

You can also geo-target the timer based on the customer’s country. While not essential in a countdown clock app, it’s a nice touch nonetheless.

The app supports emojis in the text bars, allowing you to grab the attention of your target demographic. I think this feature would be particularly helpful for engaging millennials and younger audiences.

Two price plans are available with the app: Free and Premium. The latter offers more features and costs $9.99 per month. This is a little pricier than some other apps. However, there’s a free 7-day trial for the premium plan, so it’s definitely worth trying out.

The design of the timer is refined and polished, even in the free plan. More choices are available in the paid package.

For the most part, the app functions well, but it can sometimes be a little buggy. Customer support for the timer can also be a little poor as it can take a while for advisors to reply to queries.

Specs

• Price: $9.99
• Free Plan Included: Yes
• Mobile Responsive: Yes

Pros

• Call-to-action buttons
• Wide range of timers to choose from
• Can customize timer and message bar
• Easy to install

Cons

• Can be a bit glitchy
• Customer support can be unresponsive

Countdown Ultimate Shopify App

Countdown Ultimate

This countdown timer for sale is another good choice as it’s both simple to navigate and highly customizable. You can choose from 12 timer designs, all of which can be customized with various fonts and colors.

It works on mobile devices, so even customers using smartphones can view the clock. If you want to create a timer for flash sales, seasonal sales, daily deals, or limited timer promotions, this app is definitely worth considering. You could also use it to display delivery times.

There is a free plan of the app available, but it does show the developer badge on the timer’s design. If you want to remove the badge, you’ll need to upgrade to the paid package.

Fortunately, the paid plan is only $3.95 per month. There’s also a 3-day free trial available.

For the most part, the app runs well and is easy to set up. However, it can occasionally fail to work after you’ve installed it. On the plus side, customer support is very responsive and helpful if you do encounter any problems with the clock.

Specs

• Price: $3.95
• Free Plan Included: Yes
• Mobile Responsive: Yes

Pros

• Available in 12 different clock designs
• Ideal for many different types of sales
• Free plan available

Cons

• Can sometimes fail to install properly

Sales countdown Timer Bar Shopify App

Sales Countdown Timer Bar

Next up is the Sales Countdown Timer Bar, which offers a wide range of features and settings to boost your conversion rates. It isn’t too complicated to set up, so you should have it up and running in no time.

The clock comes in two types: scheduled and fixed-length. There’s an option to automatically restart the clock once it has ended, which is convenient. You can also place the clock in a few different positions, such as the header, footer, or as an embedded widget on a product page.

The countdown bar is fully customizable, allowing you to change the size, color, font, background, and buttons of it. It’s compatible with any theme, but if you run into a problem, the app’s tech support will happily assist you.

Customers using mobile or tablet devices can still view the clock as it’s completely mobile responsive, which is a bonus.

There are a few different price plans available: Free, Unlimited, and Priority Support. In the free package, you get access to individual timers and scheduled/fixed-length timers. However, you can only use a clock for one product or a specific page.

The Unlimited is priced at $8.95 per month and lets you make clocks for an unlimited amount of products/pages. The Priority Support plan costs $17.95 per month and comes with features like priority queue, assistance with setup, and a dedicated manager.

However, the app can make your store run a little slow, but this decreased speed isn’t too noticeable. It can also fail to work occasionally when you first install it.

Specs

• Price: $8.95/$17.95
• Free Plan Included: Yes
• Mobile Responsive: Yes

Pros

• Option to automatically restart clock after it’s ended
• Easy to install
• Highly customizable clock designs
• Free plan available

Cons

• Can make your store run a little slow
• Can sometimes fail to install properly

Ultimate Countdown Timer Shopify App

Ultimate Countdown Timer

If you need a good-quality free countdown clock for your Shopify business, then this one is a decent option. Unlike the other apps I’ve reviewed, this clock is completely free and doesn’t offer any paid plans.

Although you might think that the app is subpar or poorly made due to its no-cost price tag, this isn’t the case at all. The clock is a breeze to install and offers a few customizable options so you can match it to your store.

It’s ideal for a range of different sales, such as promotional offers and flash sales. You can schedule the start and end times/dates of the clock, which is handy for when you’re unavailable and can’t do it manually.

Unfortunately, the customization options for this clock are a little limited as you cannot change things like the font or background of the message bar. Additionally, the interface and design of the app are a little outdated.

Specs

• Price: Free
• Free Plan Included: Yes
• Mobile Responsive: Yes

Pros

• Completely free
• Simple to set up
• Can schedule start/end date of clock for when you’re unavailable

Cons

• Customization options are a bit limited
• Design and interface is a little outdated

Powr Countdown Timer Shopify App

Powr Countdown Timer

POWr’s countdown clock is a good choice for your Shopify as its interface is easy to navigate. It lets you showcase the number years, hours, minutes, and days that are left on an event or sale.

You can customize the text of the message bar and add a button that offers codes or points visitors to a specific page. You can also automatically repeat the clock when it has ended for when you’re unavailable to do it manually.

One feature I really like about this app is the ability to set up custom timers for visitors. For example, if you want to issue a discount for customers who checkout within a certain timeframe, there’s an option to make a specific clock for each individual visitor.

The app offersa range of price plans, including a free version. The Starter package costs $4.99 per month, the Pro package costs $11.99 per month, and the Business package costs $79.99 per month.

Each plan has varying levels of features, with the Business plan having the most. The free version is very limited and shows the developer’s logo on the clock.

Despites its positives, the app can suffer from a few technical issues and bugs. Furthermore, the design and functionality of the app could do with some minor improvements.

Specs

• Price: $4.99/$11.99/$79.99
• Free Plan Included: Yes
• Mobile Responsive: Yes

Pros

• Can make custom timers for individual visitors
• Lots of customization options
• Clock can be scheduled to automatically restart after end date

Cons

• Can suffer from technical issues
• Design and functionality is a little poor

Conclusion

After looking at a variety of apps, I think the best countdown clock for your Shopify business is Hurrify. It’s extremely straightforward to use and includes a progress bar that specifies the number of units you’ve sold, which helps create a sense of scarcity.

It comes with a wide range of customization options so you can match the clock to your theme. The designs of the clock are also visually appealing and high quality.

The app only costs $6.99 per month, so it’s very affordable. There’s a 2-day free trial so you can test the program before you buy it. The only downside of the app is its minor performance issues, which can sometimes prevent the program from working properly.

If Hurrify doesn’t seem like the right option for you, then I also recommend Event Promotion Bar and Ultimate Countdown Clock. The former boasts a wide range of features but is one of the more costly choices out of all the apps I’ve looked at.

The latter, on the other hand, is completely free. Unfortunately, it does lack a lot of features and customization options as a result.

This post first appeared on medium.com/best-software

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The Best Shopify Countdown Timer Apps [Reviewed for 2020] was originally published in Best Software on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

The Best Shopify Digital Downloads Apps [Reviewed for 2020]

Shopify is an excellent ecommerce platform for selling physical goods, but it can also be used for digital products like ebooks, digital art, photos, and music.

A Shopify app to assist you with the day-to-day tasks of selling digital products can make things a lot easier and quicker, so to ensure you find the best one, I’ve looked at a variety of plugins.

What Are Digital Products?

Digital products are intangible assets or goods that lack physical form. They exist solely in digital shape, typically as MP3 files, PDFs, videos, templates, and plugins. These types of goods can be sold over and over again without needing to restock them.

Can You Use Shopify to Sell Digital Products?

While Shopify is commonly used to sell physical goods, you can also use it to sell digital downloads and products. This is a lot easier than you might think and comes with the added benefits of no shipping costs and no need to replenish your inventory.

What Are Examples of Digital Products That Can Be Sold on Shopify?

The sky’s basically the limit with what digital products you can sell on Shopify, but popular options are ebooks, courses, licenses (like software licenses), music, digital art, digital photos, templates and tools, memberships, and packaged services (like coaching calls).

Can You Combine Digital and Physical Goods?

You can combine digital and physical goods on Shopify, so you don’t need to limit yourself to just one variant. Giving customers the option to purchase something either digitally or physically (if possible) could be a great way to boost your sales.

For example, books and digital photographs could be sold in both digital and physical form.

What to Look for in A Digital Download Shopify App

When you’re looking for a Shopify app to sell digital products, there are factors you need to keep in mind. Let’s take a look at some things you should consider before you install a digital products Shopify plugin.

Interface and Installation

No one wants to spend countless hours trying to install or figure out how to work an app, so it’s important to check the interface and setup process of a plugin to make sure it’s straightforward.

Features

A lot of features that come with apps for selling digital products can seem a little confusing or complicated. However, there are many that are crucial for making your business run smoother.

Aspects like integrations with popular platforms or payment systems, being able to add both physical and digital products, and the ability to display download links on the purchase confirmation page are some things you might want in an app.

Additionally, having extensive analytics and reporting features, the option to set an expiring download link, and the option to email the download link to buyers manually can also come in handy.

Uptime and Downtime

Uptime refers to the app’s reliability and when it is actively working and available. Downtime is when the plugin is unoperational. Obviously, you want a digital products app that has a relatively short downtime so you spend less time waiting for it to come back online.

It’s a good idea to check the average uptime and downtime of the plugin you’re thinking of using for your ecommerce store to make sure your productivity or business isn’t affected.

Pricing

Most apps for selling digital products on Shopify have different price plans, with each one granting you additional services or features. Higher priced packages tend to come with the most features, such as bigger file storage, higher bandwidth, and the ability to list more products.

If you own a large ecommerce store, then more advanced plans might suit your business’s needs better. In contrast, if you only want to sell a few products every now and again, then you might get away with a basic or free version.

Thoroughly evaluate the app’s price plans to see if they fit your budget and whether the features offered are integral to your Shopify store.

Customer Service

Poor customer service can be frustrating, especially when you have an urgent issue or query that needs addressing. As apps can develop bugs or go wrong during setup, you’ll probably need to get in touch with an advisor at some point.

To ensure your experience is as stress-free as possible, you should make sure the app you use values good customer service and has advisors that reply quickly and thoroughly.

Check recent feedback on the app to see if other users have run into any issues with customer support, such as long waiting times or no response altogether. This will save you a lot of headache in the future.

Integrations

Depending on what digital products you want to sell on your Shopify store, you might want to use an app that supports other platforms. For example, if you want to sell music related digital products, then an app that integrates with Apple Music, Spotify, Soundcloud, etc., might be helpful.

Regardless of the type of digital products you’re selling on Shopify, plugins that support popular payment systems like PayPal and Apple Pay are particularly beneficial.

Shopify Digital Downloads Apps Reviews

Shopify Digital Downloads App

Digital Downloads

Digital Downloads is a completely free app developed by Shopify that makes selling digital downloads quick and simple. It allows you to attach files or links to your products so your customers only need to click on them to retrieve their goods once they’ve checked out.

Whenever there’s an update to your store like new offers or versions to existing products, Digital Downloads automatically notifies your customers to save you some time.

The app has a variety of customization options that let you personalize your checkout parameters and email templates. You can sell files or downloads less than 5GB in size, which is plenty for most items. To put it into perspective, the file size of the average book is between 1MB and 3MB!

The app is easy to use and is quick to set up, so you don’t need to worry about losing countless hours trying to figure out its interface. It has a user-friendly dashboard that makes selling and managing digital products a breeze. There’s also an option to manually complete orders and send files if you prefer to be in control.

You can use it to sell both physical and digital goods, such as ebooks and physical books, too.

Unfortunately, the Shopify Digital Downloads plugin can suffer from a few technical issues, particularly involving its functionality. For example, the app can be a little unreliable and fail to send out download links or files to customers.

Specs

• Price: $0
• Free Plan Included: Yes
• Developer: Shopify

Pros

• Developed by Shopify
• Supports both physical and digital goods
• Easy to navigate
• Free

Cons

• Can fail to send out download links or files

SendOwn Shopify App

SendOwl

SendOwl is another solid choice due to its simple installation and interface. All you need to do to start selling digital goods is upload the files to the app’s server and select a product to associate it with. SendOwl will then take care of the rest!

You can use the app to sell things practically anywhere, so you don’t need to limit yourself to Shopify. Blogs or a page on a social media website are just two examples of where you can use the app.

SendOwl supports a wide range of languages, which is handy as you can sell to customers who don’t share your mother tongue. The app lets you schedule the release of digital items and deliver a digital product directly to customer accounts. Alternatively, you can send links via email or the order completion page.

The app offers built-in pre-checkout and post-payment upsells and discount codes, as well as integrations with payment systems such as Apple Pay, PayPal, and Bitcoin. It also provides you with extensive reports and analytics.

The plugin has a few different price plans, including a 30-day free trial. The Basic package is $9 per month and allows you to list 10 products, comes with customization and 1GB of storage. The standard version is priced at $15 each month and offers 30 products, customization, 3GB of storage, and PDF stamping.

The most expensive plans are the Premium and Business plans. The former costs $24 per month and provides you with 5GB of storage, 100 products, video streaming, and all features included in previous packages.

The latter costs $39 per month and gives you 250 products, 15GB of storage, multiple users with permissions, and all the features included in the previous plans.

Unfortunately, SendOwl’s customer support advisors are not very responsive, so it can take some time to get a reply to a query or issue.

Specs

• Price: $9-$39
• Developer: SendOwl
• Free Plan Included: No

Pros

• Integrations with payment systems like PayPal and Apple Pay
• Supports a wide range of languages
• User-friendly
• Provides extensive reports and analytics

Cons

• Customer support can be a bit unresponsive

Single Music Shopify App

Single Music

Single Music is a helpful app for selling digital items that is developed by Single, LLC. It’s particularly useful for music or audio digital downloads and offers an engaging interface that shows album templates and audio previews to attract more customers.

The app is very straightforward to install and navigate as it provides you with tools like multi-store management, developer mode, and open-source templates. It has in-depth reporting and analytics, too.

Single Music automatically fulfills orders on their release date and integrates with a huge range of platforms, such as Spotify, Apple Music, Soundcloud, Amazon Music, Twitch, Instagram, and Tik Tok.

The plugin has a few different price plans, including a free version. The Physical Reporting package is priced at $10 per month and grants you access to a variety of reporting and analytics features.

The Boost Links plan costs $15 per month and provides you with features like Social Promotion and Conversion Analytics.

However, Single Music can experience a few bugs, which can affect the functionality of the app. Additionally, the plugin’s customer support team can take some time to reply to concerns and enquiries.

Specs

• Price: $0-$15
• Developer: Single, LLC
• Free Plan Included: Yes

Pros

• Ideal for selling audio digital products on Shopify
• Straightforward setup
• Integrates with platforms like Spotify, Apple Music, and Twitch
• Offers a free plan

Cons

• Can have a few bugs
• Support team can be unresponsive

FetchApp Shopify App

FetchApp

Next up is FetchApp, a useful tool for selling digital products on Shopify. It enables you to have full management of your Shopify store like altering the amount of time before a download expires.

The app’s interface is a breeze to use for both you and your customers. The plugin is reliable and automatically sends downloads to customers once everything is paid for.

FetchApp can work with products that require more than one file, which is convenient if you’re selling bundles. In addition to this, you can split big files into smaller ones and sell one item in more than one part.

I really like the email builder of this app for digital products as it makes configuring email a smooth and swift process. The app also integrates with payment platforms like Paypal, Google Checkout, and FoxyCart.

Regarding price, FetchApp is very accommodating as it offers paid plans and a free version. All the plans are affordable and offer a variety of different features, from extra storage space to unlimited orders and bandwidth.

The paid packages start from $5 to $20 per month, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding one that fits your budget.

However, the app’s downtime can be a bit unpredictable, which isn’t ideal when you’re trying to run a successful Shopify store to sell digital products.

Specs

• Price: $0-$20
• Developer: FetchApp
• Free Plan Included: Yes

Pros

• Offers a lot of effective features for selling digital products on Shopify
• Integrates with a variety of payment platforms
• Straightforward interface
• Offers a free plan

Cons

• Can suffer from long downtimes

Sky Pilot

The last app I recommend for selling digital products on Shopify is Sky Pillot, a plugin that’s designed especially for the sale of downloadable items. It’s quick and simple to install, so you should have it set up in no time.

When a customer pays for a digital product on your Shopify store, they’re diverted to a page that allows them to view and download their items in just one click. This level of security is impressive and notifies you of access abuse alerts, among other things.

You can personalize the delivery page thanks to the app’s vast amount of customization options. Your Shopify store’s customers can see all their digital products on their account pages, too.

Sky Pilot integrates into your customer’s digital products order page, which grants them instant access to their goods without needing to wait for them in their email inboxes. The Shopify app also integrates with platforms like Charge Rabbit and Vimeo.

This plugin for selling digital products on Shopify has four price plans: Free, Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The free version comes with 2MB of file storage, while the Bronze package comes with 1GB of file storage, 20GB of monthly bandwidth, and integration with Vimeo. It costs $15 per month.

The Silver plan is $30 per month and has features like 5GB of file storage, 100GB of monthly bandwidth, and HTML emails. Lastly, the Gold plan is priced at $75 per month and includes 25GB of file storage and 250GB of monthly bandwidth.

It’s important to note that you’ll be charged an additional $0.25 per GB of bandwidth over your monthly allowance.

Specs

• Price: $0-$75
• Developer: Corknine Development
• Free Plan Included: Yes

Pros

• Excellent security features
• Fully customizable delivery page
• Easy to set up
• Includes a free plan

Cons

• Extra charges for going over your monthly allowance of bandwidth

Conclusion

After looking at a range of Shopify digital downloads apps, I think the best one to use to sell digital products is SendOwl. It has a swift and easy installation process, as well as a straightforward interface.

The app supports a variety of different languages, which broadens your customer base. It offers built-in pre-checkout and post-payment upsells and discount codes, alongside integrations with Paypal, Apple Pay, Bitcoin, and more. It also gives you in depth analytics and reports.

The Shopify digital products plugin has a few affordable price plans, including a free trial. This lets you choose a package that fits your budget.

The only downside of the app is its customer support, which can be a bit unresponsive.

If SendOwl doesn’t seem like the right fit for your ecommerce store, then I also recommend FetchApp and Digital Downloads. The former is extremely useful for selling digital products on Shopify as it has a wide range of management tools. It also has relatively inexpensive price plans.

Digital Downloads, which is developed by Shopify themselves, is a decent choice if you’re looking for a free plugin for selling digital products. However, it lacks a hefty amount of features that paid apps have.

This post first appeared on medium.com/best-software

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The Best Shopify Digital Downloads Apps [Reviewed for 2020] was originally published in Best Software on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Best File Hosting Sites

File hosting services are used for storing or creating backups of your personal files. If you want to keep certain documents safe or lack storage space on your computer, a file hosting site is definitely your best bet.

As these services are dealing with private files, it’s crucial that you choose one that is reliable, safe, and secure. There’s a lot of different file hosting services available, all of which have their highlights and drawbacks. To help you pick the right file hosting site for you, I’ve looked extensively at a variety of different services.

Review Summary

Best Allrounder

Out of all the filehost services I’ve reviewed, this one is my overall recommendation.

MEGA

MEGA ensures all of your files are protected due to its fantastic end-to-end encryption. It offers standard file storage, syncing, and sharing, but also has a few other great tools, like a chat function and Versioning. This lets you store multiple versions of the same file, which is then replaced with a previous version if it’s deleted.

Best on a Budget

This file hosting platform is ideal for users looking for an affordable option.

OneDrive is a good choice if you’re looking for an inexpensive file hosting platform. Like with the other services, you get the expected file sharing, storage, and syncing features. The best part about this hosting site is its great collaboration tools.

OneDrive

Editor’s Choice

The file hosting platform in this platform is my personal favorite as it has a lot of impressive features.

Despite being targeted for businesses, Box is a good for storing your files and sharing your files. It has great integrations tools and excellent customer service. It also offers one of the best free trials out of all the platforms I’ve reviewed. With this free version, you get 10GB files storage and a maximum of 250MB of files size.

What Are File Hosting Sites?

File hosting sites are pretty much how they sound. They’re an online hosting service that hosts user files. You upload files such as images, documents, and videos to the site after a username and password, or another type of authentication is provided.

File hosting sites are useful for personal storage or backup of files. You can share your files publicly or keep them password-protected so only you can access them.

Alternatively, file syncing/sharing services let you make folders on any one of your computers or mobile devices, which is then synchronized so it appears identical no matter which device is used to look at it. Any files put inside these folders can normally be accessed via a website or mobile app, which can then be shared with other users to look at.

For content providers who regularly run into bandwidth congestion, some file hosting services offer static or cached content. However, this isn’t normally necessary unless you have a large internet presence and require a higher bandwidth than usual.

Features

Depending on what you want to get out of a file hosting platform, some hosting services might be more beneficial to your specific needs.

As a standard, you want the platform to be safe and reliable with good security features. A lot of hosting platforms have different price plans that offer extra file storage and file size, as well as priority support, quicker upload speeds, etc.

Certain platforms offer a trial period with free file hosting when you create an account, which is handy for testing out the service to check it’s a good fit for you. While free file hosting isn’t a necessity, it does allow you to try out the platform’s features and interface before you purchase it.

If you need to upload a lot of files or those with a large file size, then you need to make sure the hosting platform you use is able to accommodate your requirements. Additionally, if you want integrations with other platforms, then file hosting services that offer them are essential.

Price

When choosing a file host platform, your budget obviously comes into play. The majority of cloud based services shouldn’t break the bank, but some more higher tiered plans that offer extra features can increase the overall cost of the platform.

These extra features might include unlimited file storage space, fast upload speeds, improved security, and the ability to have a bigger file size for each document. If you’re not too concerned about these aspects or don’t need to upload a lot of files, then a basic plan should be sufficient.

Some file hosting services let you create an account that’s completely free, which gives you the opportunity to test out the platform. However, a cloud storage free plan normally has limited features or very little file storage space.

Platforms

The platforms available to access the file hosting service is another factor you need to keep in mind. While you can use cloud storage services via your web browser, some might also offer desktop apps and mobile apps for more convenience.

You should also check whether the available apps are compatible with your computer or mobile device to make sure you can actually use the service properly!

Customer Support

A key component of any online file hosting platform is great customer service. When you encounter an issue or have a question about a product, you want a response or solution as quickly as possible. When companies fail on customer support, it can understandably be frustrating.

To make sure any problems that you potentially run into are resolved swiftly, make sure you use file hosting site services with high-quality customer support and quick response times.

Additionally, it’s a good idea to check what types of customer support the file hosting site offers. The majority provide email support, but some might also offer live chat and phone services.

Ease of Use

File hosting services with simple interfaces that are easy to use will save you time and frustration. It’s never fun when you’re faced with confusing and complicated menus, which can make file upload, file sharing, or accessing any other features difficult.

Additionally, you want the service to run quickly and smoothly so you don’t have to wait a long time to share and upload files. Any buggy or laggy file hosting services should be avoided, especially as the main role of the site is to make sure your files are saved and protected.

File Hosting Sites Reviews

Top Pick

MEGA

MEGA is an excellent end-to-end encrypted (private) file hosting platform that protects you and your personal files. This protection also extends to the people who are given access to your files, as the site makes sure only users you approve can view your documents.

Features

In addition to file sharing features and cloud storage, MEGA allows you to chat with users you’ve added on the site. This chat feature uses encryption to make sure your conversations are protected. While not a make-or-break factor when it comes to choosing a hosting site, it’s a nice touch.

A feature called Versioning allows you to store multiple versions of one file which is replaced with a previous one if you or someone else makes an error or accidentally deletes it, Additionally, if you sync or upload a file that has an identical name to a existing file in the same location, then a new version of it is made. These files can be identified by a clock symbol.

A nice feature about MEGA is that it lets you preview your images or videos. However, you are unable to do this with documents. Unfortunately, MEGA currently doesn’t provide integrations with G Suite and Microsoft Office.

With this in mind, MEGA isn’t the best when it comes to collaboration as it doesn’t have editing features or integrations. You can only access your documents through a web browser.

Price

MEGA offers a few different pricing plans, including an unlimited free trial version for those looking for free cloud storage. However, with the free file hosting plan, you’re limited to just 15GB of storage.

Excluding the free cloud storage option, the cheapest MEGA plan is Pro Lite. This version costs $5.69 per month and offers 200GB storage and 1TB file transfer.

MEGA states that their most popular plan is Pro I, which is priced at $11.38 each month. It offers 2TB file transfer and 1000GB storage.

The two most expensive plans are Pro II and Pro III The former costs $22.78 per month, while the latter costs $29.78 a month. Pro II offers 3TB file transfers and 4000GB storage, and Pro III provides 16TB file transfer and 8000GB storage.

Interface and Customer Support

MEGA’s desktop client is fairly easy to navigate and looks appealing. It has a sync folder and a system tray symbol that allows you to manage your sync and get into your settings. You can download it on Windows, Linux, and macOS.

The web interface for this file hosting platform is quick and simple to use. The cloud drive menu lets you search through files and folders either on the left hand side or through the ‘recents’ page. This menu also allows you to look at your contacts, open the chat feature, go back to your dashboard, and any uploaded files that have been shared with you.

MEGA has a strong customer support. It offers an FAQ and a message form which allows you contact an advisor. You can expect to receive a response very quickly, but Pro users are given priority support.

Pros

• Very secure
• Easy to use
• Impressive features like Chat and Versioning
• Offers a good free file hosting version

Cons

• Lacks collaboration tools
• Higher paid plans are a bit pricey

Best Value

OneDrive

Microsoft’s OneDrive offers cloud based storage and file syncing for PCs, Macs, Androids, iOS, and even Xbox consoles. It isn’t too expensive and offers a lot of app integrations, which includes Microsoft Office.

However, OneDrive has run into a bit of trouble regarding privacy in the past (they were once connected to the PRISM project!). Since then, they have improved their security, but it’s still not on par with some other file hosting sites.

Features

The highlight of OneDrive is its productivity and collaboration tools. Being a Microsoft product, it can connect to other Microsoft services like Outlook, Skype, and Office Online.

The web app for OneDrive has Skype embedded, which allows you to use it to chat and make calls.

You are able to view, edit, and share files from Office when using OneDrive, which is handy. The cloud storage service automatically stores images and videos on devices you upload to a computer that has OneDrive installed.

The photo preview options are quite extensive. You can add images to albums, put them in slideshow and play it, add effects, rotate them, view them in their original size, and more.

Price

OneDrive offers a few different price plans for home use, which includes a free storage option. With this version, you can create a free account and access 5GB of free storage. You don’t get any other features with the free plan, unfortunately.

Aside from the free account plan, the least expensive choice is the OneDrive 100GB. It only costs $1.99 per month but you’re limited to just 100GB of file storage, with no extra features.

At $6.99 per month or $69.99 per year, the Office 365 Personal plan gives you 1TB of file storage, as well as Office apps, productivity tools, advanced security options, and more.

Finally, the Office 365 Home plan is priced at $9.99 each month or $99.99 every year With this cloud storage plan, you get 6TB file storage online for up to 6 users. You also get all the features available on the Office 365 Personal plan.

Currently, OneDrive offers a free account trial for Office 365 Home, which is ideal if you want to test out the service. The free trial lasts 30 days, so you can upload documents, download files, share download links and use the service for a fairly long period of time to see if it’s the right cloud storage site for you.

Interface and Customer Support

The desktop client for this file host service is compatible on Windows and MacOS, but not Linux. It works fairly well, but looks a little outdated as the design is very basic and bland.

The web browser for this file hosting site, on the other hand, looks great. It’s a breeze to navigate through and doesn’t lag. You won’t lose countless hours figuring out how to use it due to its simple but effective design.

The file hosting service also offers a mobile app that you can download on iOS and Android for when you need to access your files on the go.

Customer service for OneDrive is a strong point. There’s a bunch of help topics that you can look through to learn more about the hosting service’s different features, as well as training pages and videos.

If you still need help, you can use the community forum to get assistance or contact a Microsoft advisor via email. On average, the response time for someone to get back to you shouldn’t take long too long.

Pros

• Great collaboration tools
• Easy to use
• 5GB of free file storage for 30 days
• Affordable

Cons

• Desktop client is a little outdated
• Not as secure as other services

Editor’s Choice

Box (Personal)

Box is more suited to businesses and companies, but it works pretty well for home use. It offers a lot of features, including the standard file storage, file sharing and syncing, etc.

File versioning is available in Box, but it’s limited to specific plans. In the free file version, you only get one version. The Pro plan, however, saves up to ten versions of the file you’re working on.

If you accidentally delete any of your files, you can recover them within 30 days. Although, if you wait longer than this, then they are deleted permanently. In the Business and Enterprise plans, moderators are able to change this.

Features

One of the best features of Box is that it has a lot of tool integrations, so you can use third-party apps with the service.

Box Sync is the desktop version of the platform, which you can download on Windows and macOs. It’s easy to use and essentially works as a virtual drive. Alternatively, you can download Box Drive which is a newer version of Box Sync.

In Box Drive, you don’t need to store files on your hard drive, which gives you more space. However, the program caches your files before it deletes them.

Interface

If you don’t want to download Box Sync or Box Drive, then you can also access the file hosting service via your web browser. There’s also a mobile app for iOS and Android users that you can download so you can access your uploaded files and share them via download links on the go.

Box doesn’t currently offer end-to-end encryption or client-side encryption, so it’s not as secure as some other file sharing services. However, it does provide two-factor verification.

Price

Box offers a few different price plans, including a starter edition that’s free. If you’re looking for a free file hosting platform, then Box might be worth looking at.

The Starter free plan gives your 10GB of file upload storage and caps your maximum file size to 250MB. Compared to some other platforms, this is a fair amount of features for a free version.

If you don’t need a lot of storage or don’t need a bigger file size, Box’s free storage option is great.

Box‘s Business Starter plan only costs $5 per month and is suitable for 3 to 10 users. It gives you 100GB storage, 2GB file upload size, and Microsoft Office 365 integrations. You also get mobile, sync, and share capabilities.

The Business plan is priced at $15 per month and is suitable for a minimum of 3 users. It comes with all the features of previous tiers, as well as unlimited storage, advanced security, more customization, 5GB file size, and much more.

Box Enterprise’s price is not currently specified and requires you to contact the company to find out more information. It is targeted for large businesses that require premium content management.

Customer Support

Another highlight of Box is their fantastic customer service and community. The community forum is very active and helpful, which is great for finding out information about the program.

If you require the assistance of an advisor, Box also offers live chat support. As long as you message someone during working hours, you can expect to receive a response to your query within minutes.

Pros

• Good integrations tools
• Excellent customer service
• Great free file hosting version

Cons

• Not as secure as other platforms
• More suited to businesses

Conclusion

After looking at a few different platforms for uploading and storing files, I think the clear winner is MEGA. It has fantastic end-to-end encryption that makes sure all of your files are protected.

It offers a good range of features, including a chat function and Versioning, which adds an extra layer of security to your files. If you accidentally make a mistake or delete a file, it’s replaced by a previous version.

However, MEGA doesn’t have the best editing features or integrations.

If MEGA doesn’t seem right for you, then either OneDrive or Box are two other good alternatives. OneDrive and Box both aren’t as secure as MEGA, but they do have integration tools.

OneDrive is very budget-friendly as it’s cheapest price plan is only $1.99 per month. It also has a free version you can download, but you’re limited to 5GB of storage for your files.

OneDrive is available to download as a mobile app and desktop client, but the latter has a plain and outdated design.

Box is more suited to businesses, but it has a good range of features for home use. You can download a few different apps of Box, including a mobile app. It has a lot of integration tools and has great customer support. Aside from a free version, the cheapest price plan for Box is $5 per month.

This post first appeared on medium.com/best-software

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Best File Hosting Sites was originally published in Best Software on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Best Craigslist Automatic Posting Software

Posting ads on Craigslist is often a tedious and dull chore that can take up a lot of your time. Auto posting software can be a tremendous timesaver as it posts your ads for you, so you don’t have to do any of the hard work. This makes posting ads a lot more manageable and less daunting.

Craigslist Logo

Finding a good Craigslist auto poster tool can seem a little complicated and confusing, especially if you don’t know what features to look out for. To make your search a little easier, I’ve compiled a list of the best Craigslist ad posting tools and taken a look at each of their highlights and drawbacks.

Review Summary

Best Allrounder

Out of all the Craigslist posting tools I’ve reviewed, this one is my overall recommendation.

CL Ad Blaster

The CL Ad Blaster is a good option for the majority of Craigslist users who want to post ads quickly and effectively. It comes with a range of features, including one that allows you to post multiple ads within a 75-mile radius of your location. Its Basic package plan is priced at $99.99, making it one of the less costly options on this list.

Best on a Budget

This Craigslist posting software is a great match for those on a budget due to its affordability.

CL Auto Posting Tool

At only $9.99 per month, the CL Tool is a cheap but effective program that should make posting ads on Craigslist simple. Additional features cost an extra $5.99 per month. Some of the features the software includes are automatic captcha bypass, ad scheduling, and easy campaign management.

Editor’s Choice

This Craigslist tool is my personal favorite to use to post ads in a quick and timely manner. It’s a little more pricey than the other products but comes with a plethora of features.

Hot Ad Poster

The Hot Ad Poster makes scheduling and post ads quick and worry-free. It can post and renew up to 100 ads a day. The Starter (monthly) is priced at $99.99 and is a good entry point to the software. Although pricey at $299.99 monthly, I really like that the Premium addon provides you with a dedicated account manager to assist you.

What to Look for in a Craigslist Auto Posting Tool

Here are a few factors you should consider to help you choose the right Craigslist auto posting software for you.

Price

A lot of Craigslist posting programs come with a price tag, unfortunately. Although there are some free tools available, the majority of them are ineffective and don’t have a wide range of features. As the main purpose of a Craigslist poster is to make posting ads a lot less time-consuming, this isn’t ideal.

Additionally, auto posters that advertise as ‘free’ seldom are. There’s usually a catch, such as a basic version with very limited features that requires you to purchase the premium version to access them.

‘Free’ auto posters normally offer a short free trial period so you can try out the software. However, you’ll usually have to pay to use the program once the demo has ended.

Auto posting programs have varying prices. Some are relatively inexpensive and only cost around $10 per month, while others can cost hundreds of dollars each month. The amount you’re willing to spend on the software depends on your budget, the features you require, and how much you value your time.

Features

The features included with a Craigslist posting software is important, as you want it to be able to fulfil its purpose properly. Most of these types of programs offer auto-scheduling, Captcha auto bypass, Ads auto-tracking, and the ability to repost expired ads. These are the basic functions you need to look for in this sort of program as they’ll make everything run a lot smoother.

If you need the program to run on multiple computers, then it might be worthwhile checking whether the software offers additional licenses at a discount price.

Customer Support

A great customer service department is always a noteworthy feature for any company, and Craigslist posting programs are no different. If you need to get in touch with someone with any questions or concerns regarding the auto poster, then obviously you want a stress-free and positive experience.

Choosing a posting software with reliable and trustworthy customer support is a good idea, as it’ll make things easier in the long-run. You should take a look at the type of customer support the tool offers, as some might offer only email or phone support. Obviously, if you prefer contacting through email, then a Craigslist ad poster that only offers phone support isn’t ideal.

Furthermore, a few auto posters only provide customer support for individuals on higher price plans. Make sure you investigate all of the program’s paid packages to check for these types of limitations.

Ease of Use

To help make you post ads more quickly and efficiently, the program should have a simple interface that’s easy to navigate. When the sole purpose of the software is to save you time, you don’t want to spend countless hours figuring out how to use it.

Top Craigslist Ad Posting Tools

Top Pick

CL Ad Blaster

The CL Ad Blaster is another great option to help you manage your Craigslist ads. It includes an abundance of features, one of which automatically renews your expired ads every 48 hours. You don’t even need to log into your account for this feature to work.

The software also lists your single ad in multiple cities within a 75-mile radius of your location. This is really useful for making sure as many people see your ad as possible, which should result in a quicker successful outcome.

There is a small catch with the CL Ad Blaster. It only lets you post a maximum of 150 ads per day. For most marketers, this should be a huge issue. Besides, posting more than 150 ads in a day is considered spamming, which could get your account suspended and your ads taken down.

This auto posting software works on Windows 10, Windows 8/8.1, Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP. The interface for the tool is smooth and fairly simple to navigate, which makes managing your ads easy.

This Craigslist auto poster is a paid service, unfortunately, and a pricey one at that. There are a few different packages available: Basic, Pro, and Platinum.

The Basic plan costs $99.99 per month. It provides you with the software, site access, and 1 posting area. You don’t get any customer support or LogMeIn support with this package.

The Pro plan is priced at $199.99 per month. It comes with all the features included in the Basic tier, but you get access to email customer support and 2 posting areas.

Lastly, the Platinum plan costs $299.99 per month. All of the features included in the previous tiers are included, as well as email and phone customer support. You get access to 3 posting areas and LogMeIn support.

This Craigslist ads poster does have quite expensive packages, but the Basic plan isn’t too costly, at least compared to the other tools I’ve reviewed. There is a 3-day free demo available for the software so you can try out its features to see if it’s a good match for you.

Pros

• Simple interface
• Can list your ad in multiple cities within a 75-mile radius of your location
• Free demo

Cons

• A little pricey
• No customer service available for Basic plans

Best Value

CL Auto Posting Tool

The CL Posting tool is a trustworthy and reliable software to make posting ads on Craigslist quick and simple. It provides features like Backpage compatibility, Proxy IP Rotator, Auto Posting Scheduler, and more. Some of these features are locked behind addons, however, so you’ll need to purchase them before you can access them.

The interface for the tool is easy to get to grips with, allowing you to manage all your ads within the software, such as editing, deleting, and posting. The only downside of it is its outdated appearance.

The CL poster also comes with automated email verification, automatic captcha bypass, and easy campaign management. The latter allows you to post multiple ads in multiple categories, which saves you a lot of time and effort.

This software works on all Windows systems, including Windows 10: 32-bit and 64-bit. The software is a paid service, unfortunately. It costs $9.99 per month, with addons costing an additional $5.99. Some of these addons are an Additional License, a Cache Cleaner, and Image Changer.

You can download a 7-day free trial for the CL Posting tool so you can try out the software before you purchase it. However, the demo only lets you post 25 ads, and a lot of the features included with the full edition are not included. To use all of the features of this Craigslist posting software, you’ll need to purchase the full version.

If you have any queries or concerns regarding the CL Posting tool, you can submit a support ticket through the ‘Contact’ page on the company’s website. Here, you can give details about your enquiry and check the status of your ticket. It’s not clear how long it takes for an advisor to respond to you.

Pros

• Comes with a wide range of features
• Simple interface
• Affordable
• Free demo

Cons

• Looks a little outdated
• Addons cost extra, which can drive up the overall cost

Editor’s Choice

Hot Ad Poster

This software provides an easy solution to the boring and dull chore of posting ads. It sets up your campaigns, accounts, and schedule for you to save you time and effort.

It posts and renews an ad once every 12 minutes to make sure your post is never short of attention. It can post up to 100 ads a day. If this seems like a potential issue, then it’s important to remember that posting an excessive amount of ads per day is considered spamming.

The service has a modern, simple interface and works on most Windows operating systems. It has a few different price plans. The Starter (monthly) pack costs $99.99 per month and provides 1 Craigslist account and a basic setup of up to 9 campaigns.

The Starter (annual) pack costs $799.99 per year and comes with a full setup and up 9 Craigslist accounts. Both Starter packs are entirely self-managed. If you want assistance with your ads, then you can purchase the Premium (addon) pack.

This addon costs $299.99 each month and requires one of the Starter packages to work. You get a dedicated account manager that automatically posts your ads to other classified sites like OfferUp, LetGo, and Facebook Marketplace.

This service also helps you solve issues with ad removals, phone verification, and making new accounts.

If you’re interested in testing out Hot Ad Poster, you can download a 3-day demo of it through the product’s website. There’s a dedicated email and phone number you can use if you have any queries about the software.

Pros

• Modern interface
• Premium package includes an account manager for convenience
• Free demo

Cons

• Quite expensive

CLAD Genius Software

Whether you need to advertise real estate, job opportunities, or items for sale, the CLAD Genius posting software is worth taking a closer look at. It turns the tedious, monotonous of posting ads on Craigslist into a much quicker job.

It also works on Backpage and eBay Classifieds (with higher paid package), which is a plus. You get a plethora of features with the software, including auto-scheduling, changing your ads’ content and titles automatically, and automatic account creation on Craigslist. It also offers Captcha auto bypass, Proxy support, and Ads auto-tracking, which are features you’d expect any good-quality ad poster to have.

To raise more attention to your ads, the CLAD Genius software allows you to pick the cities and countries you want them to appear in. This is a handy feature and helps bring in a wider audience to your posts.

The interface isn’t too complicated to use. The program runs on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2016, Windows 10, and higher.

Like with all the Craigslist auto posting programs on this list, CLAD Genius is a paid service. It has a couple of different packages with varying levels of features. There is a free trial available so you can test the software before you purchase it.

The CLAD Genius: Lite tier costs $499.99 (one-off fee) and comes with features like auto reposter, IP rotator, and auto scheduler.

The CLAD: Pro tier is priced at a hefty $899.99 (one-off fee) and includes all of the features that come with Lite plan, as well as some additional ones. Some of the additional features are Backpage poster, thesaurus modifier, Proxy spider, and Hotmail creator.

Customer support and software updates are available for both of the plans at an extra cost each month. Support is priced at $24.95 monthly for the Lite plan, and $49.95 monthly for the Pro plan. The latter gives you access to priority support, which means your queries and questions receive a faster response than Lite users. At the moment, only email support is available.

CLAD Genius states that monthly support is necessary for the program to work properly and to get access to new product features. Without it, the tool will not be able to download updates to make it function more efficiently.

As the software has an initial cost of $499.95 or $899.95, the virtually mandatory fees each month are a bit frustrating. WIthout paying the monthly charges on the program, you’re unable to contact support or obtain important software updates. This seems a little unfair when you’ve already spent a good chunk of money on the tool.

Pros

• Can pick which cities and countries to show your ads in
• Fairly basic interface
• Free demo

Cons

• Pricey compared to other tools
• Customer support and software updates require a monthly fee
• No phone support

Conclusion

Overall, I think the CL Ad Blaster is the best Craigslist posting tool. It takes over the business side of posting ads so you don’t have to.

You get an abundance of features with it, including one that allows you to post a single ad in multiple cities within a 75-mile radius of your location. This makes sure your ad is seen by as many people as possible. It has a simple interface to make it easy to use.

The software has a few different price plans, with the cheapest costing $99.99 per month. A 3-day free demo is available so you can try out the program before you jump into purchasing it.

If CL Ad Blaster doesn’t seem like a good fit for you, then either the CL Posting Tool or Hot Ad Poster might be a better match. The former is very affordable at only $9.99 per month and comes with basic features you’d expect an auto poster to include, such as ad scheduling and automatic captcha bypass.

Unfortunately, some features needed to be purchased separately at an additional $5.99 per month. The interface for the program is also outdated.

Hot Ad Poster, on the other hand, costs $99.99 for the monthly Starter pack. It has a modern interface and can post or renew up to 100 ads per day. You get access to 9 campaigns and 1 Craigslist account.

I really like the Premium addon for the software as it comes with extra features like a dedicated account manager and help with issues for phone verification and ads removal. The only downside is that the package costs $299.99 per month, in addition to the $99.99 fee for the Starter (monthly) tier.

Both of these two tools have a free trial you can download before you purchase the paid version.

This post first appeared on medium.com/best-software

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Best Craigslist Automatic Posting Software was originally published in Best Software on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Best School Scheduling Software

Good management is vital in any educational institution. There are tools available to help you with various dull tasks for running a successful school, such as creating timetables for students and organizing appointments. School scheduling software is designed to assist you with these duties and can save you a lot of time and work.

However, these types of programs can look a bit complicated, especially if you’re not sure what to look for. To help you choose the best scheduling program for you, I’ve taken a look at an array of programs and analyzed their key features. I’ve also provided a few specific recommendations for large, medium, and small institutions.

SuperSaas Software Devices

Review Summary

Best for Large Institutions and Colleges

SuperSaas

SuperSaas is a fantastic school management program that allows you to create timetables with little effort. Its best attribute, however, is its online booking system. This lets you control appointments for your institutions with ease. The program has a bit of an outdated interface, but it’s very affordable, especially when you consider the huge number of tools it provides.

Best for High Schools and Middle Schools

Lantiv Timetabling Turbo 2020

This software is a good choice for medium-sized institutions as it boasts a wide range of helpful tools to help you build timetables. It has great customer service as all queries are responded to within one business day. The price of the program is relatively cheap, too.

Best for Elementary Schools, Preschools, and Kindergartens

Prime Timetable

Prime Timetable is a worthwhile investment for small institutions. It has a lot of different qualities that make creating timetables, whether it’s a master schedule or student-specific schedule. The interface is a little confusing at first, but it’s easy to navigate once you get the hang of it. However, the cost of this program is a little pricey.

Price

The majority of scheduling programs come with a price tag. Some tools can be relatively inexpensive, while others can be quite costly. Most require a monthly subscription to the service to allow you to keep on using the software’s tools.

Certain companies offer a trial of their program. For example, SuperSaas offers an entirely free edition of their software. The version has limited tools, but lets you test out the program to see if it’s suitable for you and your school.

Obviously, the amount you’re willing to spend on scheduling software depends on your school’s budget and the tools you require.

Features

The features the software is capable of performing is important to ensure it’s a good match for you and your school. Some scheduling programs only have quite simple aspects that merely allow you to create and design timetables for your students.

If you require extra management options, such as analytics or an online booking system, then you’ll need to make sure the program is able to perform these duties.

Customer Support

A scheduling program with great customer service is ideal for making sure your enquiries are responded to in a prompt, thorough manner.

Choosing a program with high-quality and reliable customer support is key for making things run more smoothly in the long-run. The last thing you want is an unhelpful and unfriendly advisor, or even an ignored response altogether.

It’s also a good idea to check what type of customer service the program offers. Most can be contacted through email or an online form, but if you prefer speaking to someone on the phone, then make sure you check the tool provides this service.

Ease of Use

To make creating a master schedule or individual schedule for students a breeze, the interface for the school management software needs to be easy to use. You don’t want to lose countless hours learning how to navigate the program.

Top Scheduling Software for Schools

SuperSaas

SuperSaas is fantastic cloud-based scheduling software, particularly for medium-sized institutions. Its interface is a little outdated and lacks some options available on other scheduling programs. This can make it a bit fiddly for teachers, parents, and students to use.

It can be used for creating lesson timetables for students, as well for online bookings. The program offers a range of tools to make scheduling appointments a breeze. You have complete customization of your appointment schedule, such as layout and format. You can also choose from 33 currencies, 26 countries, and all timezones.

The program is compatible with Windows and Mac computers, as well as smartphones.

There’s an option to send email and SMS reminders to make sure parents and students don’t forget their appointment. The program can be used with external calendars like Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook for convenience.

This scheduling system provides in-depth reports on your booking activity. The information can then be exported to Excel and other programs. It’s also available in a printable format.

SuperSaas is extremely reliable and trustworthy. Safety measures are put in place to make sure your data is safe. You can encrypt your connection with https, control your schedule by IP address, email address, and more to give you peace of mind.

If you need any help using the software or have any questions, then you can contact a SuperSaas advisor via email or through an online form. On average, you can expect to hear from someone within one business day.

There are various different price plans for SuperSaas, including a free version. The free package limits you to just 50 registered users and 50 upcoming appointments. It only stores data for 500 past appointments.

Additionally, the free plan is not ad-free and doesn’t allow you to sync your schedule with online external calendars. However, for simply testing out the program, it’s a great choice.

Package A costs roughly $6 per month and grants you access to an unlimited number of registered users and 100 upcoming appointments. It’s ad-free, compatible with iCalendars, and can store data for up to 1,000 past appointments.

Package B is priced at around $13 per month. It comes with all the qualities included with Package A, but provides a maximum of 300 upcoming appointments and stores data for up to 3,000 past appointments.

Packages C to J are priced according to the amount of appointments they can store for future and past appointments. Package J is the largest and most expensive plan at around $122 per month. It can schedule up to 15,000 upcoming appointments and store data for a maximum of 150,000 past appointments.

Pros

• Provides in-depth reporting
• Includes a detailed online booking system
• Affordable
• Trial version available

Cons

• Interface is a bit outdated

Lantiv Timetabling Turbo 2020

This scheduling program is available in two varieties: Timetabling Turbo and Scheduling Studio. The former is aimed for high schools and middle schools, while the latter is targeted for higher education institutions.

The interface for the Timetabling Turbo 2020 is quite basic. It’s not as modern or flashy looking as some other school schedule programs, but it gets the job done. It can take some time to figure out how to use the interface as there are a lot of different menus.

The program is a cloud-based service and can be used on Windows and Mac/Linux computers. It comes with a single paid plan. It costs $49 per month for 3 concurrent users. For each additional user, the price per month goes up by $4.90. You can cancel your subscription at any time, which is useful if you decide the program isn’t right for you.

Unlike SuperSaas, this program is simply meant for organizing schedules or timetables for students. There isn’t an option to use it for booking online appointments.

For the most part, the school schedule program runs quite well. It has a lot of attributes to make creating timetables less time-consuming and daunting. To help you with any queries regarding the product, you can contact a customer advisor via email or through a form on the Timetabling Turbo 2020 website.

Their customer service is excellent due to their dedicated and helpful staff. All messages are responded to in a quick and thorough manner. This is definitely one of Timetabling Turbo 2020’s best qualities.

Pros

• Works well for its intended purpose
• Fantastic customer service
• Makes creating student timetables easy

Cons

• Outdated and fiddly interface
• Bit pricey

Prime Timetable

Prime Timetable is simple and effective for designing timetables for students. It allows you to schedule multiple weeks at flexible times, divide classes into groups, import data using copy/paste, and more.

The interface on the tool can look a little overwhelming initially, but it gets easier to navigate over time. Fortunately, there are over 10 video tutorials on the product’s website to help you get the hang of how to use Prime Timetable.

The program is a cloud-based service and can be accessed on Windows, Mac, and Linux computers, as well as smartphones and tablets.

There are a few different price plans available, including a 30-day trial that doesn’t cost you any money. The basic package costs around $325 per month and can be accessed by up to 40 teachers. The Premium edition costs around $545 per month and can be accessed by up to 100 teachers.

If your school has over 100 teachers, then you can contact Prime Timetable for more information about what they can offer you.

Getting in touch with a Prime Timetable customer support advisor can be done via a contact form. At the moment, the company doesn’t offer phone support.

Pros

• Good range of tools for building schedules
• Trial available
• Can access program on all devices

Cons

• Confusing interface
• Bit pricey

aSc Timetables

This scheduling program is a great option for small institutions. It has a wealth of tools to make creating timetables and schedules quick and simple.

It’s available on all devices, including mobiles for convenience. There are a lot of customization options to choose to tweak schedules to your liking. You can opt for an automatic generation when it comes to schedules to let the program do all the hard work for you.

You can even use the timetable to start the electronic class register in your institution, which is handy.

Unlike some of the other programs on this list, the aSc Timetable has a one-off fee. There are a few different price plans to choose from.

The cheapest option is called ‘Primary schools’ and is targeted for elementary schools. It costs $399 and comes with an automatic generator, two years of support/upgrades, multi-license for all school computers, and aScSubstitutions.

The Standard edition has a one-off payment of $499 and includes all the attributes of the previous plan, as well as premium help and unlimited school scheduling.

The Premium tier is priced at $955 and has the same benefits as all the previous tiers, but with more assistance from the aSc team. Their advisors can help you plan and create your timetables.

Lastly, the PRO plan costs $3,995 and allows you to generate individual, student-specific schedules. It includes the same aspects as all the other plans.

It’s important to note that after 2 years of using the program, you need to pay a one-off fee of $79 for each tier to keep on getting program updates. As the price of the tools are already quite costly, I think this is a little unfair and should be included indefinitely.

Despite only having to pay once for the program, it’s still pricey compared to the other scheduling programs.

Conclusion

Overall, I think the best institution scheduling program is SuperSaas. It makes creating timetables very easy, whether it’s a master schedule or student-specific schedule. The best part about this program is its in-depth online booking system. This allows you to manage appointments within your institution efficiently.

The program has a lot of different price plans, all of which are very affordable. It even has a trial version so you can test out the program before you buy it. The cheapest option is only around $6 per month, making it the least expensive choice out of all the products. This tier is quite limited, however, so it might be worth considering the higher priced packages.

I recommend Package J for large institutions and colleges as it can accommodate up to 15,000 upcoming appointments and store data for a maximum of 150,000 past appointments.

The interface for the program is a bit outdated, but it’s simple enough to navigate. Customer assistance for the tool is available via email or a contact form. Typically, you can expect to receive a response within one business day.

If SuperSaas doesn’t look like the right program for you, then I also recommend Lantiv Timetabling Turbo 2020 and Prime Timetable. The former is a decent choice for medium-sized institutions, while the former is more suited for small institutions.

Lantiv Timetabling Turbo has a lot of useful aspects that make creating student schedules effortless. It might not have the most modern interface, but it’s effective and not too confusing to navigate.

It has one payment plan at $49 per month for 3 concurrent users, which isn’t overly expensive. For each additional user, an extra $4.90 each month is added.

The program provides excellent customer services thanks to helpful and friendly teams. You can access an advisor via a contact form. Responses are normally very prompt. The company also owns a similar scheduling program for larger educational institutions called Scheduling Studio, which might be worth checking out if you need a tool for a bigger school.

Lastly, Prime Timetable is a pricey but good option for small institutions. It has a wide variety of schedule options to finetune your student timetables. Its interface is a bit confusing at first, but there are a lot of useful tutorials available on the program website to help you in the right direction.

It offers three packages, including a 30-day test period that allows you to test the program without spending any money. The Basic package ($325 p/m) is suitable for up to 40 teachers, while the Premium package ($545 p/m) is adequate for up to 100 teachers. If you require the tool for over 100 teachers, then the company advises you to get in touch.

You can contact Prime Timetable via a contact form on their website for queries regarding their program or to enquire about payment plans.

This post first appeared on medium.com/best-software

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Best School Scheduling Software was originally published in Best Software on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone

Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone are two popular learning courses for teaching foreign languages. They each offer a wide range of languages through a series of lessons at varying levels.

However, Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone have a few differences, primarily in their course style and methods. The former is solely audio lessons, vs the latter focuses on visual learning through pictures and interactive lessons.

So, Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone, which is the better option for learning a language? To help you select the right course for you, I’ve covered everything you need to know about each course, including their learning style, enjoyability, cost and how effective they can be.

Pimsleur Range of Languages Available

Pimsleur provides an impressive amount of language lessons, even more niche ones.

Here’s a full list of what Pimsleur courses are currently available at the time of writing:

• Albanian
• Arabic (Eastern)
• Arabic (Egyptian)
• Arabic (Modern Standard)
• Armenian (Eastern)
• Armenian (Western)
• Chinese (Cantonese)
• Chinese (Mandarin)
• Croatian
• Czech
• Danish
• Dari Persian
• Dutch
• Farsi Persian
• Finnish
• French
• German
• Greek
• Haitian Creole
• Hebrew
• Hindi
• Hungarian
• Icelandic
• Indonesian
• Irish
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Lithuanian
• Norwegian
• Ojibwe
• Pashto
• Polish
• Portuguese (Brazilian)
• Portuguese (European)
• Punjabi
• Romanian
• Russian
• Spanish (Latin American)
• Spanish (Castilian)
• Swahili
• Swedish
• Swiss German
• Tagalog
• Thai
• Turkish
• Twi
• Ukrainian
• Urdu
• Vietnamese
• English (ESL)

Rosetta Stone Range of Language Lessons Available

Rosetta Stone offers a hefty amount of languages, but not nearly as much as Pimsleur currently do:

• Arabic
• Chinese (Mandarin)
• English (American)
• English (British)
• Dutch
• Filipino (Tagalog)
• French
• German
• Greek
• Hebrew
• Hindi
• Irish
• Italian
• Japanese
• Korean
• Persian (Farsi)
• Polish
• Portuguese (Brazil)
• Russian
• Spanish (Latin America)
• Spanish (Spain)
• Swedish
• Turkish

Pimsleur Range of Learning Levels Available

A typical Pimsleur course comes in various learning levels. For example, Spanish 1 and Spanish 2. The lower learning levels are targeted for beginners while the higher levels are designed for more advanced language learners.

All Pimsleur courses contain 30 lessons and each one is around 30 minutes long. This means it’ll take you around 15 hours to complete each learning level. If you’re a beginner to a new language, then the most effective approach using Pimsleur would be starting with the first level and progressing onto the higher learning levels once you’re ready.

Each language has varying numbers of learning levels, but the more popular ones like Spanish have around 4 to 5 levels of lessons. Less popular languages like Irish and Haitian Creole usually only have one level of lessons, so if you’re considering Pimsleur check the length of the language you are considering — you may find its one of the short ones and might not be worth the money.

Rosetta Stone Range of Proficiency Levels Available to Learn

Rosetta Stone’s language learning courses are split into 3 to 5 learning levels. Similar to Pimsleur, beginners to a language start at the first level lessons and progress onto later levels as they learn.

Each one of the lessons in a course can take anywhere from 5 minutes to 30 minutes to complete, depending on the type of activity included. I like this approach much more vs a fixed lesson lengths as it helps keep things varied and enjoyable to learn. The number of lessons in each learning level is different for each language course, but on average, it would take between 40 to 50 hours to complete a level.

Most of the popular languages like French have 4 or 5 levels, whereas the less popular languages like Turkish only have 3. Unlike Pimsleur, all of Rosetta’s Stones language learning courses offer a minimum of 3 different learning levels, even for less popular languages. This makes a big difference in how effective it can be to use Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone for these less popular courses. But, as always, you get what you put into it.

Pimsleur use of Lesson Structure, Length, and Teaching Style

The Pimsleur approach is audio-based. They use words or phrases in the language you want to learn, and then repeat them in your mother tongue so you can translate them into your target language.

Each course comes in 30 different half-hour lessons, or in 10 different half-hour lessons. Some languages come in shorter lengths, like Hungarian, which is only 15 hours long.

As the system is mostly audio based, very little of the course involves reading or writing. Some language learning courses include reading material, but this is mostly for you to look at when you’re listening to the audio.

This type of teaching style is much more effective at encouraging you to learn the spoken language through audio, which is helpful for ensuring correct pronunciation. However, if you learn best through visual methods, then this might not be effective for you.

Rosetta Stone Review of Lesson Structure, Length, and Teaching Style

Rosetta Stone’s teaching style focuses on pictures and audio. For the most part, you’ll be shown a collection of pictures with one or more words or sentences spoken by a native speaker in your chosen language. This method to learning a language is called Dynamic Immersion.

It’s designed this way so you can associate words with a picture to help you understand their meaning, similar to how you learned your native language. It’s surprisingly effective for such a simple method, I really liked this approach and I found myself getting 10 mins in on the bus or waiting in line.

All Rosetta Stone lessons are taught in the language you want to learn, which allows you to quickly understand the written and spoken side of it. They use various activities and tasks in each lesson like speaking and writing exercises for correct pronunciation and spelling of words, and you even get a mode to recreate the natural pacing of a real-life conversation in your target language.

The length of a course varies for each language and how quickly you progress, but one level doesn’t take much longer than 40 to 50 hours to finish. Single lessons would take anywhere from 5 to 30 minutes to complete.

Rosetta Stone also offers paid live tutoring lessons. The tutoring lessons are run by an experienced tutor of your target language in a small group setting. You only speak and listen in your target language to help you develop your skills and build your confidence with words. The only downside is that the slots for the tutoring sessions can be at inconvenient hours for certain time zones and one might not get the schedule one want.

Pimsleur Gamification (How Enjoyable is It?)

The Pimsleur approach to language learning can be boring, especially as the software is entirely audio-based. This means there isn’t much variety in the program’s teaching style or lesson content.

For the most part, you’ll be listening to words and phrases in your target language and mother tongue, and then repeating them. It’s the same for all the lessons at all levels.

Over time, this can be incredibly tedious and could impact how effective the course can be to use. When it comes to keeping me engages, the Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone grudge match falls in Rosetta Stone’s favor this time.

Rosetta Stone Gamification (How Enjoyable is It?)

Rosetta Stone features audio and visual teaching lessons, which are split into different activities, such as reading and writing activities. This adds variety to the lesson content and structure as you won’t just be doing the same task over again.

Additionally, Rosetta Stone also offers different games to help you learn your target language. These typically come in the form of bingo and guessing games. You can also play multiplayer games live with another learner of your target language, or even someone learning your mother tongue. Rosetta Stone offers much more variety in terms of lessons vs Pimsleur.

As someone who is a visual learner, I really like how Rosetta Stone’s course (unlike Pimsleur courses) prioritizes visual learning through pictures and written words. Using games to help individuals learn a language is also a great feature, particularly for younger audiences who might not want to sit down and ‘study’ a new language. This makes Rosetta Stone’s courses a much more enjoyable and light-hearted experience vs Pimsleur.

Pimsleur Pricing

There are two subscription tiers for Pimsleur. The basic version costs $14.95 per month and gives you access to all levels of one language, as well as extra features like a Driving Mode and the ability to install the software on up to 4 devices.

The premium version costs $19.95 and comes with all the features in the basic tier, as well as some extra ones. These include Flash Cards, Speed Round, Speak Easy, Lightbulb Moments, and Quick Match lessons.

Rosetta Stone Pricing

A lot of Rosetta Stone reviews forget to mention that it offers a subscription service with the option to include a tutor. This is a nice addition vs Pimsleur that is a much more independent course. The length of time you subscribe for and whether you choose to use a tutor alters the cost of the software. The minimum amount of time you can subscribe to Rosetta Stone is 3 months (though you’ll likely want a longer subscription to get good at a language).

Without the tutor, Rosetta Stone costs roughly $21 per month if you subscribe for 3 months, $19 per month for 6 months, $17 per month for 12 months, and $13 per month for 24 months.

If you decide to use one, then the cost of the software drives up considerably. Again, if you want to subscribe for longer it does reduce the price each month.

With a tutor, Rosetta Stone would cost around $43 per month for 3 months, $41 per month for 6 months, $32 per month for 12 months, and $21 per month for 24 months.

Unless you subscribe to Rosetta Stone for 24 months, its a lot cheaper each month to go with Pimsleur vs Rosetta stone. You also only have to commit to the software for one month, which is ideal if you later decide it’s not the one you want.

The minimum amount of time you can subscribe to Rosetta Stone is 3 months, which would cost you around $63 without a tutor and $129 with one. The more budget-friendly option between Rosetta Stone vs Pimsleur would be Pimsleur by a landslide.

Pimsleur Platforms Available

You can access all of your Pimsleur audio lessons via the Pimsleur Language Learning app on desktop or mobile. The mobile version can be downloaded for free on iOS and Android devices.

The Pimsleur app is compatible with most Mac and PC computers, as well as most smartphones (iOS 11 or greater, and Android 7 or greater with a least a 1280 x 720 screen). You can also play the audio courses through an Amazon Echo device.

Rosetta Stone Platforms Available

Rosetta Stone audio courses can be accessed through a free desktop and mobile app called Rosetta Stone — Learn Languages, provided you have an active subscription. You can also use the app on Kindle Fire and Amazon Echo devices. However, the offered languages on Amazon Echo devices are limited, which would get Pimsleur another point in the Rosetta Stone vs Pimsleur slug match if you’re an Alexa geek like me!

The Rosetta Stone: Learn Languages app is compatible with Android 5 or greater, Fire OS 5 or greater, and iOS 12 or greater.

There’s not much between Rosetta Stone vs Pimsleur when it comes to learning platforms. You get desktop and mobile apps with both, which is ideal for learning languages on the go. You also get audio lessons for the two, which can be accessed through Amazon Echo devices.

However, Rosetta Stone can be used on the Kindle Fire, which Pimsleur doesn’t appear to be compatible with. If you want to use a Kindle Fire to play language lessons on, then Rosetta Stone is the clear winner.

Pimsleur — How Natural is the Language Taught?

A select few of the languages taught by Pimsleur can sound artificial, particularly for the more niche ones. The voice actors in some of the Pimsleur recordings don’t always sound like native speakers in their language. This can cause issues with correct pronunciation of words and trying to get the dialect right in your new language.

Rosetta Stone — How Natural is the Language Taught?

Similarly to Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone has a few problems with how some of its languages are taught, namely Korean and Japanese which use honorific words and vocabulary based on who you are and who you are speaking to.

For example, a young child talking to their friends would use a different style of speech than they would if they were talking to their grandparents. Rosetta Stone doesn’t fully explain this, which would make some of the content in its lessons incorrect and feel unnatural. This can be a bit embarrassing in practice but generally won’t get you into trouble. Most honorific cultures understand that new language learners will get this wrong. This is another reason why choosing between Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone is very dependent on the language you want to learn.

Pimsleur — How is Customer Service?

You can get in touch with a Pimsleur customer support advisor via telephone or email. Their phone lines are open 24/7, which is really helpful if you require an immediate response.

To get in contact with Plimsluer via email is simple as you can simply fill in the form on their ‘Contact Us’ page. However, it’s not clear how long it takes for an advisor to respond to your query.

Rosetta Stone — How is Customer Service?

Like Pimsleur, Rosetta Stone’s customer service can be accessed via phone and email. For US customers with a Personal or Homeschool account, their phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 9am to 10pm EST, and Saturday/Sunday from 11am to 8pm EST.

If you require Spanish support, their phone lines are open Monday to Friday from 10am to 11pm, and 11am to 8pm on Saturday/Sunday.

Emailing Rosetta Stone involves filling out a form on their ‘Support’ page. They promise to reply to your enquiry quickly, but an exact time frame isn’t specified.

If you need a swift reply to your query, then Rosetta Stone also offers live chat support so you can talk to one of their agents in real-time. The live chat is available 24/7 and has an average wait time of just 3 minutes.

Although Pimsleur has phone lines that are open 24/7, when you look at Rosetta Stone vs Pimsleur customer support I think Rosetta’s Stone is slightly better due to their live chat feature. The wait time for the service is around 3 minutes, so it’s a much quicker and more convenient way to contact an advisor than email or phone.

So what’s the verdict on Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone?

Overall, when weighing up the choice between Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone, both are effective learning courses for foreign languages. However, I think the Pimsleur approach is a slightly better option due to its affordability and the number of languages it offers.

Pimsleur provides courses in an extensive range of languages, all of which are split into 30 half-hour lessons. The price of the basic version of the software is only $14.95, making it a very budget-friendly choice in vs Rosetta Stone.

The teaching style of the Pimsleur course is completely audio-based, so it isn’t ideal for individuals who learn better visually. This can also make the lessons a bit dull as there isn’t a lot of variety in their structure.

I prefer Rosetta Stone’s teaching style for this reason, which focuses on a visual teaching method. I also like how Rosetta Stone features gamified lessons and an online tutoring service to add some diversity in how you learn.

Both Pimsleur and Rosetta Stone have similar customer services and can be reached through phone or email. Pimsleur offers a 24/7 phone line, vs Rosetta Stone offering a 24/7 live chat. They’re also available on apps for desktop and mobile devices.

Rosetta Stone has some problems with some of their language courses, particularly Japanese and Korean lessons, which don’t fully explain honorific words and vocabulary. It is also very pricey and requires at least a 3-month subscription to the service, which is why I think Pimsleur is a better choice for foreign language learning.

This post first appeared on medium.com/best-software

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Pimsleur vs Rosetta Stone was originally published in Best Software on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.