ClassForKids is one of the UK's most trusted activity platforms. SwimsCool is built exclusively for swim schools. The question is whether swim-specific features — Swim England and STA award frameworks, structured level progression, register workflows — are worth switching to a dedicated platform.
Disclosure: This comparison is written by SwimsCool. We've tried to represent ClassForKids fairly based on their publicly available information, but you should read their own site and trial both platforms before making a decision.
ClassForKids is a well-established, ISO-certified platform that handles bookings, payments, and safeguarding across many types of children's activities. It's the natural choice if you run a swim school alongside gymnastics, dance, or other classes — one platform covers everything. The free tier also makes it a low-risk starting point for new schools.
The gap shows up in swim-specific workflows. ClassForKids has no native Swim England or STA award framework — skill tracking is generic rather than award-based. Most UK swim schools are built around structured level progressions, and replicating that in ClassForKids requires manual workarounds that a dedicated platform handles natively.
If swimming is your only (or primary) activity, SwimsCool's purpose-built features and flat-rate pricing are likely to serve you better at any meaningful scale. If you run multiple activity types and swimming is one part of a wider programme, ClassForKids' breadth is a genuine advantage.
ClassForKids' free plan charges a per-booking commission fee instead of a monthly subscription. Their paid plans reduce or remove the commission in exchange for a monthly fee. SwimsCool charges a flat monthly rate with no commission on any transaction.
ClassForKids pricing is not publicly listed at plan level — the above reflects publicly available information about their tier structure. SwimsCool has no booking commission on any plan.
| Feature | SwimsCool | ClassForKids |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing & Plans | ||
| Free tier | 14-day free trial, no card | ✓ Ongoing free plan CFK advantage |
| Monthly subscription | From £29/mo flat rate No commission | From ~£40/mo + possible commission |
| Booking commission | — None on any plan Yes | Yes on free tier; reduced on paid plans |
| Contract | ✓ None | ✓ None |
| Swim-Specific Features | ||
| Swim England framework | ✓ Native Yes | — Not available |
| STA framework | ✓ Native Yes | — Not available |
| Award-based skill tracking | ✓ Achieved / Working / Not yet Yes | Generic skill/progress tracking only |
| Custom skill frameworks | ✓ | Generic customisation |
| Swim-specific register workflow | ✓ Built for poolside | Generic class register |
| Scheduling & Bookings | ||
| Class scheduling | ✓ | ✓ |
| Online booking for parents | ✓ | ✓ |
| Waiting lists | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multi-venue support | ✓ | ✓ |
| Multiple activity types | Swim only | ✓ Any activity CFK advantage |
| Payments | ||
| GoCardless Direct Debit | ✓ | ✓ |
| Stripe card payments | ✓ | ✓ |
| Commission-free transactions | ✓ All plans Yes | Paid plans only |
| Automated invoicing | ✓ | ✓ |
| Portals & Communication | ||
| Owner / admin portal | ✓ | ✓ |
| Teacher / staff portal | ✓ | ✓ |
| Parent portal | ✓ | ✓ |
| In-app messaging | ✓ | ✓ |
| Progress reports to parents | ✓ | Generic progress only |
| Staff Management | ||
| Staff management | ✓ | ✓ |
| Qualification tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Safeguarding tools | ✓ | ✓ Strong feature Notable |
| Platform & Security | ||
| Multi-factor authentication (MFA) | ✓ All accounts Yes | Not advertised |
| ISO certified | Not listed | ✓ ISO certified Notable |
| UK-built platform | ✓ | ✓ |
| Years in operation | New entrant | 10+ years CFK advantage |
This is the core reason swim-specific platforms exist. ClassForKids offers generic skill tracking — you can record that a child has achieved something, but there's no native understanding of Swim England's Duckling levels, ASA awards, or STA's Learn to Swim framework. For most UK swim schools, structured level progression is central to the product parents are paying for.
With SwimsCool, teachers log skills during or after a session against the exact framework your school uses. Parents see award progress, teachers see which skills are holding a pupil back, and the system knows when a child is ready to move up. ClassForKids would require you to build this manually on top of their generic tools.
ClassForKids' free plan is a genuine advantage for a brand-new school with very few pupils and no budget for software. You pay nothing until you grow. The trade-off is per-booking commission fees — every time a parent books a class, ClassForKids takes a cut. At low volumes that's manageable. As your school grows, the commission adds up, and most schools eventually move to a paid plan to reduce it.
SwimsCool's 14-day trial gives you time to set up and validate the platform, but there's no permanent free tier. If you're pre-launch with zero revenue, ClassForKids' free plan may suit the early months better.
If you run a swim school alongside gymnastics, holiday camps, or dance classes, ClassForKids' breadth is a meaningful advantage — parents book everything in one place, you manage everything from one dashboard. SwimsCool is swim-only. Running both platforms side-by-side would create the fragmentation ClassForKids solves.
Once you're on a paid ClassForKids plan, the monthly subscription is comparable to SwimsCool's flat rate. The difference is whether commission applies on top. SwimsCool charges no commission on any plan — GoCardless and Stripe payment processing fees still apply (those are charged by the payment providers, not SwimsCool), but there's no additional cut taken per booking.
ClassForKids has been running for over 10 years, is ISO certified, and is trusted by a large number of UK activity providers. That track record has value — fewer surprises, more stability, a large support community. SwimsCool is newer but was built specifically for swim school workflows, not adapted from a generic template.
The practical test: Open your current class register. Does it have a column for each Swim England or STA award level? Do teachers log individual skills per session? If yes — that's the workflow gap you'd be filling with workarounds in ClassForKids. If you just want a register and payment processor, ClassForKids handles both well.
SwimsCool has Swim England and STA frameworks built in. Set up takes an afternoon, and we can help migrate your class and swimmer data.