CircleUp Planner vs. Homeschool Planet
Homeschool Planet is the planner a lot of families already know, and it does more than plan lessons: it holds the whole household's schedule. CircleUp Planner does less of that and costs a good deal less.
Here is the side-by-side, including when we think Homeschool Planet is the better choice.
The short answer
Pick Homeschool Planet if…
- You want publishers' day-by-day lesson plans inside your planner.
- You plan work, appointments and shopping in the same place as school.
- You teach students outside your own family (they sell teacher plans for that).
Pick CircleUp Planner if…
- Your curriculum is in our catalog and you want it laid out from its real lesson counts.
- You want records, hours and a transcript to build as you check things off.
- Your co-op runs on CircleUp, so its days and breaks plan around themselves.
- Price matters: 54% less a year at list price.
What each costs one family
- Homeschool Planet, Single Family, yearly
- $84.95/yr
- CircleUp Planner, yearly
- $39/yr
- CircleUp Planner, founding price (yearly, by March 31, 2027)
- $29/yr
- Monthly: Homeschool Planet vs. CircleUp Planner
- $9.95 vs. $4.99
At list price that is 54% less a year and 50% less a month; at the founding price, 66% less a year. Homeschool Planet's yearly plan includes a free premium lesson plan each month and monthly live member meetings, which is part of what you pay for. Their other lesson plans are sold separately and are not priced on their pricing page.
Homeschool Planet figures are from homeschoolplanet.com, checked November 2026. Check their site before you decide.
Side by side
Where their site does not describe something, we say so rather than assume it is missing.
| CircleUp Planner | Homeschool Planet | |
|---|---|---|
| One family, yearly | $39 ($29 founding price) | $84.95 |
| One family, monthly | $4.99 | $9.95 |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | 30 days, no card |
| Every child on one plan | ||
| Curriculum lesson counts built in | Over 200 curricula and levels | Through paid lesson plans (4,000+ in their marketplace) |
| Day-by-day lesson content | In their marketplace lesson plans | |
| Reschedules when you miss a day | ||
| Grades, attendance and transcripts | Yes, with GPA and a college-readiness check | |
| Children check off their own day | Own login per child | Student views |
| Whole-household calendar, to-dos, shopping lists | ||
| State record checklists | 21 states | Not described on their site |
| Your co-op's classes and breaks in your plan | When the co-op uses CircleUp | Not described on their site |
| Phone app | iPhone app; any phone in the browser | App Store and Google Play |
The real difference: where the lessons come from
In Homeschool Planet, a curriculum's lessons arrive with a lesson plan, many of them bought from the publisher through the marketplace. In CircleUp Planner, you pick the curriculum and level, and the Planner already knows its shape: Saxon 5/4 is 120 lessons, 12 investigations and 23 tests; a Math-U-See level is about 30 mastery lessons; most levels of The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts are 120 lessons at four a week. It lays those out across your school days and moves them when a day goes sideways.
See it for Saxon Math, Math-U-See and The Good and the Beautiful Language Arts.
Questions families ask
Is CircleUp Planner cheaper than Homeschool Planet?
For one family, yes. Homeschool Planet's Single Family plan is $84.95 a year or $9.95 a month. CircleUp Planner is $39 a year (54% less) or $4.99 a month, and families who subscribe yearly by March 31, 2027 pay $29 a year for as long as they stay. Both cover every child in the family, and both start with a 30-day trial with no card.
Does CircleUp Planner have ready-made lesson plans like Homeschool Planet?
Not in the same way. Homeschool Planet sells lesson plans from curriculum publishers through its marketplace, with day-by-day content. CircleUp Planner knows how over 200 curricula and levels are structured (how many lessons, tests and chapters, in what order) and lays them out across your year; you still teach from the book. If you want someone else's daily lesson content inside your planner, Homeschool Planet's marketplace is the thing to look at.
Can I move from Homeschool Planet partway through the year?
Yes. Add each curriculum and tell the Planner which lesson you are on; it lays out the rest from there, around your remaining school days. Your Homeschool Planet records stay where they are, so export or print anything you need for your portfolio first.
We are in a co-op. Does that change anything?
If your co-op runs on CircleUp, its classes, breaks and homework flow into your plan, and you get 20% off the Planner when the co-op is on a paid plan. Homeschool Planet's co-op plans are for the co-op itself, priced by number of students.
Try it on this year's curriculum
Add what each child uses and see the year laid out. 30 days free, no card, and your records stay yours if you stop.