Homeschool Up vs. Google Sheets for homeschool planning

Homeschool Up vs. Google Sheets

Google Sheets is the spreadsheet many homeschool families reach for first, because it is in the browser, shareable with a co-parent, and available on a phone. It is a general tool; this page is about how it fits the specific job of a homeschool record.

In short

Google Sheets is a general spreadsheet that several people can edit at once; you build the homeschool system yourself. Homeschool Up is built for that one job: it hands out each child's next lesson, moves it when a day is missed, and turns the ticks into attendance, hours, grades, a transcript and a year-end packet without formulas.

What Google says Sheets is

On its own product page Google describes Sheets as "Collaborative, AI-powered spreadsheets" and says you can "View, edit, and collaborate in Sheets from your phone, tablet, or desktop." The same page says "Anyone with a Google Account can create in Sheets." (Checked October 27, 2026.)

What it does well for a homeschool family

Two parents can edit the same plan at the same time.
It opens on a phone, a tablet or a computer.
You can shape it exactly to your curriculum and your state's paperwork.

Where it gets hard

It is a blank grid: the lesson order, the counting formulas, the per-child tabs and the report layouts are yours to build and to repair when they break.
A missed day does not move anything. Shifting later lessons is manual.
Attendance, hours, grades and a transcript are separate sheets that have to be kept in agreement.
Photos of work and a portfolio live in a separate folder.

What Homeschool Up does instead

Lesson order and the days each subject meets are the plan; the next lesson is worked out each day.
One tick feeds attendance, hours, the report card and the year-end packet.
Grades with weighted categories and a credit-weighted GPA on the transcript, no formulas.
Another adult can join the family account on Family and Co-op, with a role that limits what they can change.

Homeschool Up is independent of Google and not affiliated with them. Quotes from Google's own website were checked on October 27, 2026.

Questions people ask

Can I bring my Google Sheets lesson list over?

Yes. Download the sheet as a CSV, or copy the column of lessons and paste it, one lesson per line, into a new sequence.

Can I get my data back into a spreadsheet?

Any sequence exports as a CSV from its own page, and Settings, Your data downloads everything as JSON.

How much does it cost?

Family is $9.99 a month or $59.99 a year for up to 5 children, and Co-op plans start at $19.99 a month for 10 children. Every plan starts with a 15-day free trial, and you can cancel any time from Plan and billing. Current prices are always on the pricing page.

Skip the formulas

Add your children and subjects; the counting is already done.

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