A ClassForKids alternative for clubs that want to grow
ClassForKids is a solid booking system. If you want your own app, your own website and ads that bring new families in, here’s how Kanvas One compares.
Kane Foster, founder of Kanvas One and owner of Kanvas Academy in Newcastle
5 min read · Updated 19 October 2026
Lots of kids’ clubs in the UK use ClassForKids, and for good reason. It’s a solid booking and membership system, it’s been around a long time, and thousands of clubs rely on it every week.
If you want a booking system you can set up yourself, it does that job well. This page is for clubs who want more than that: their own app, their own website, new families coming in every month, and someone helping them grow.
What both do
Both handle the everyday running of a club:
- class bookings and monthly memberships, paid by card
- failed payments retried automatically
- registers, waiting lists and online trial bookings
- emergency contacts, medical notes and consent collected at booking
- sibling discounts
If that’s all you need, either will do it.
Where Kanvas One is different
| ClassForKids | Kanvas One | |
|---|---|---|
| How you get started | You set it up yourself, with help guides | We build it for you around how your club runs |
| Your app | Parents book through ClassForKids | Your own app in the App Store and Google Play, with your club’s name and logo, for parents and coaches |
| Your website | Booking pages you can brand | Your own website on your own web address, built around your timetable |
| New families | Up to you | Facebook and Instagram ads run for you, 3 months on us, with the 10-Trial Promise |
| Google and AI search | Up to you | Done for you, worked on every month |
| Selling extras | Classes, terms and camps | Plus uniform, kit, show tickets and event fees |
| Talking to parents | Email and texts | Push notifications, live chat, a community feed, email, and £5 of texts and calls a month included |
| Something missing | Use what’s there | Tell me what your club needs and I’ll do my best to build it, at no extra cost |
| Price | From £34.99 a month, plus a fee on each payment (from 2.5% including card fees) | £250 a month, flat. We take 0% of your payments |
ClassForKids details from their own website, checked October 2026. Prices and features change, so check theirs for the latest.
Which costs more?
For a small club, ClassForKids will usually cost less each month. That’s worth saying plainly.
The difference is that our price doesn’t grow as you do. With a fee on every payment, the more members you have, the more you pay. At 2.5%, a club taking £5,000 a month pays about £125 a month in payment fees on top of the subscription, and that fee includes the card processing.
With Kanvas One, members pay into your own Stripe account, you pay Stripe’s own card fees directly, and we add nothing on top. Card fees grow with your takings whichever system you use. Our £250 doesn’t.
And what you’re paying for is different. Kanvas One is your app, your website and your ads, with someone running them for you. It’s built to bring new families in, not just to look after the ones you have.
Who should stay with ClassForKids
- Clubs that are happy with their size and just need bookings and payments handled.
- Clubs who like to set everything up and run it themselves.
- Very small clubs where the monthly cost matters most.
Who Kanvas One is for
- Clubs with empty spaces they want filled.
- Owners who want their own app and website, with their own name on it.
- Owners who’d rather coach than spend evenings on admin and marketing.
- Clubs that charge their own way and want a system shaped around them.
Switching over
We move your members, memberships and timetable across for you. Between terms is the easiest time, and your parents get one message with the link to your new app.
Questions
Is Kanvas One cheaper than ClassForKids?
Not for a small club. ClassForKids starts lower each month. Kanvas One is a flat £250 a month with no cut of your payments, and it includes your own app, website and ads run for you, so it suits clubs that want to grow.
Can I move from ClassForKids to Kanvas One?
Yes. We move your members, memberships and timetable across for you. Between terms is easiest, and your parents get one message with the link to your new app.
Does Kanvas One take a percentage of my payments?
No. Members pay into your own Stripe account at Stripe’s own card rates, and we take 0%.