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Scheduling · head to head

Amilia SmartRec vs Sawyer

Amilia SmartRec logo

Amilia SmartRec

Scheduling

Registration and activity management for community recreation, with a 1% fee on top of the subscription

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sawyer logo

Sawyer

Scheduling

Class and camp booking software for children activity businesses, with a marketplace that takes up to 30 percent

From
$189/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Amilia SmartRec the 1% fee on each new invoice item sits on top of both the subscription and card processing, so an organisation invoicing two million dollars pays around twenty thousand a year in a fee that never appears in a plan comparison.; Sawyer the Launch plan looks free but forces a marketplace listing at 30 percent commission, so a single high-value camp booking through the marketplace can cost more than a year of the Grow subscription would have.
  • They diverge on capability: Amilia SmartRec covers Activity registration, Sawyer covers Class and camp registration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Amilia SmartRec and Sawyer actually diverge.

Attributes where Amilia SmartRec and Sawyer differ
AttributeAmilia SmartRecSawyer
Starting price$99/month$189/month
Pricing modelPer month plus 1% of invoiced itemsPer business per month, plus marketplace commission

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Scheduling).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Amilia SmartRec

  • Activity registration
  • Family accounts
  • Memberships
  • Facility booking
  • Point of sale
  • Online store
  • Financial reporting
  • Bilingual interface

Only in Sawyer

  • Class and camp registration
  • Memberships and class packs
  • Consumer marketplace
  • Auto-billing
  • Waivers and e-signature
  • Multi-location

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Amilia SmartRec

  • A municipal recreation department replacing paper and phone registration for seasonal programmesnot Sawyer
  • A community centre that needs one family account covering several children across different activitiesnot Sawyer
  • A bilingual Canadian organisation required to serve residents in English and Frenchnot Sawyer
  • A sports club running leagues, camps and memberships that currently sit in three separate systemsnot Sawyer

Sawyer

  • A new kids activity studio with no mailing list that wants the marketplace to fill its first termsnot Amilia SmartRec
  • An established music school moving off spreadsheets that will run Sawyer as software only and never list on the marketplacenot Amilia SmartRec
  • A gym selling memberships, class packs and birthday parties that needs all three billed from one systemnot Amilia SmartRec
  • A provider running summer camps alongside term-time classes who wants a single parent account for bothnot Amilia SmartRec

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Amilia SmartRec

  • The 1% fee on each new invoice item sits on top of both the subscription and card processing, so an organisation invoicing two million dollars pays around twenty thousand a year in a fee that never appears in a plan comparison.
  • Implementation is charged separately, from $899 on Standard and $2,999 on Advanced, which for a small community organisation is several months of subscription before the system goes live.
  • Parks and facilities management is shallower than a dedicated municipal recreation platform, so departments managing complex field allocation and maintenance schedules will still need another system.
  • Reporting is oriented towards revenue rather than programme utilisation, so recreation managers analysing attendance patterns and capacity end up exporting to spreadsheets.
  • Its strength is in Canada, and US municipalities find fewer local references, fewer integrations with American finance systems and less familiarity with state-specific requirements.

Sawyer

  • The Launch plan looks free but forces a marketplace listing at 30 percent commission, so a single high-value camp booking through the marketplace can cost more than a year of the Grow subscription would have.
  • Marketplace commission applies to the order value, not the margin, so low-margin providers can lose money on a marketplace booking.
  • Payment processing fees are charged separately by Stripe on top of the subscription and any commission, which the plan comparison does not surface clearly.
  • The step from Grow to Scale doubles the monthly cost for account management and integrations rather than for capability most providers need, making the middle tier the only sensible choice for many.
  • It is built for consumer activity businesses, so providers who invoice schools, councils or corporate clients will find the billing model a poor fit.

Pricing, plan by plan

Amilia SmartRec

$99/month
  • Standard$99/month
    • Activity registration and online store
    • Family accounts
    • 1% fee on each new invoice item
  • Advanced$499/month
    • Memberships, facility booking and point of sale
    • Advanced reporting
    • 1% fee on each new invoice item
  • Custom$undefined/year
    • For YMCAs, JCCs and parks and recreation departments
    • Scoped and quoted individually
    • Fee structure negotiated

Sawyer

$189/month
  • Launch$undefined/month
    • No monthly subscription fee
    • 3 percent per transaction
    • Marketplace listing required, 30 percent commission on marketplace orders
  • Grow$189/month
    • 189 USD per month billed annually, 219 monthly
    • Marketplace listing optional, 20 percent commission if used
    • Advanced scheduling, waitlists, free trials
  • Scale$379/month
    • 379 USD per month billed annually, 399 monthly
    • Marketplace listing optional, 15 percent commission if used
    • Dedicated account manager and registration launch support
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing for large multi-site operators

Which should you pick?

Choose Amilia SmartRec if

  • You need activity registration.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want family accounts.
Amilia SmartRec review

Choose Sawyer if

  • You need class and camp registration.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want memberships and class packs.
Sawyer review

Questions people ask

Is Amilia SmartRec or Sawyer better?
Neither clearly leads. Amilia SmartRec starts at $99/month and Sawyer at $189/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Amilia SmartRec or Sawyer?
Amilia SmartRec starts at $99/month and Sawyer at $189/month.
Does Amilia SmartRec or Sawyer run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Amilia SmartRec best used for?
Amilia SmartRec is most often used for a municipal recreation department replacing paper and phone registration for seasonal programmes, a community centre that needs one family account covering several children across different activities, a bilingual canadian organisation required to serve residents in english and french, a sports club running leagues, camps and memberships that currently sit in three separate systems. Of those, a municipal recreation department replacing paper and phone registration for seasonal programmes and a community centre that needs one family account covering several children across different activities are not what Sawyer is typically brought in for.
What can Amilia SmartRec do that Sawyer cannot?
Amilia SmartRec covers Activity registration, Family accounts, Memberships, Facility booking. Sawyer covers Class and camp registration, Memberships and class packs, Consumer marketplace, Auto-billing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Amilia SmartRec: What is the real total cost?

Subscription from $99 or $499 a month, plus roughly 1% on each new invoice item, plus card processing around 2.85% plus $0.30, plus a one-off implementation fee. The percentage fees dominate at any real volume.

Sawyer: Is the Launch plan really free?

No. It has no monthly fee but charges 3 percent per transaction and requires a marketplace listing that takes 30 percent of marketplace orders.

Amilia SmartRec: Is the 1% negotiable?

On the Custom tier for larger organisations, the fee structure is part of the negotiation. On the published plans it is not.

Sawyer: Can I use Sawyer without the marketplace?

Yes, on Grow and Scale the listing is optional. On Launch it is required.

Amilia SmartRec: Does it work in French?

Yes, throughout. That is a practical requirement for Quebec and many bilingual Canadian public bodies and a genuine reason to choose it there.

Sawyer: What does the marketplace commission apply to?

The full order value of bookings originating on hisawyer.com, not to bookings from your own website.

Amilia SmartRec: Can it replace a municipal recreation system?

For registration and memberships, often yes. For parks asset and facility maintenance management, no.

Sawyer: Is there a contract?

Monthly plans are month to month with 30 days notice; annual billing saves roughly 5 to 14 percent depending on tier.

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