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Education · head to head

CampMinder vs Sawyer

CampMinder logo

CampMinder

Education

Camp management for residential summer camps, priced by camper rather than by seat

From
On request
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: CampMinder pricing is never published and scales with camper volume, so a camp that grows a session finds its renewal quote grows with it, without a published schedule to check the increase against.; 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: CampMinder covers Enrolment and waitlists, 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 CampMinder and Sawyer actually diverge.

Attributes where CampMinder and Sawyer differ
AttributeCampMinderSawyer
Starting priceOn request$189/month
Pricing modelquotePer business per month, plus marketplace commission
CategoryEducationScheduling

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

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 CampMinder

  • Enrolment and waitlists
  • Tuition billing
  • Health records
  • Staff management
  • Cabin and group assignment
  • Parent portal
  • Transport
  • Reporting

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.

CampMinder

  • An overnight camp of eight hundred campers whose nurse currently runs medication logs on paper and cannot produce records for an insurernot Sawyer
  • A camp hiring three hundred seasonal staff a year and losing candidates in an email-based application processnot Sawyer
  • A camp network wanting consistent enrolment and retention reporting across several sitesnot Sawyer
  • A camp whose parent communication during session is the main driver of re-enrolment and is currently ad hocnot Sawyer

Sawyer

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

Where each one falls short

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

CampMinder

  • Pricing is never published and scales with camper volume, so a camp that grows a session finds its renewal quote grows with it, without a published schedule to check the increase against.
  • Payment processing is charged separately from the licence and is negotiable, but many camps accept the default rate; on several million dollars of card tuition that decision costs more than the software.
  • It is built for the North American residential camp model, so camps in the UK, Europe or Australia find terminology, health record structure and transport tooling assume American practice.
  • The interface accumulated over two decades and is dense; new administrators need real training, which matters when camp offices turn over staff between seasons.
  • Off-season utilisation is poor: a camp pays for a full year of a platform it uses intensively for four months, which makes the per-camper cost feel high to a board reviewing annual spend.

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

CampMinder

On request
  • CampMinder$undefined/year
    • Registration, billing, health and staff modules
    • Parent portal with photos and messaging
    • Priced by camper volume, quoted annually

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 CampMinder if

  • You need enrolment and waitlists.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want tuition billing.
CampMinder 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 CampMinder or Sawyer better?
Neither clearly leads. CampMinder starts at On request and Sawyer at $189/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, CampMinder or Sawyer?
CampMinder starts at On request and Sawyer at $189/month.
Does CampMinder or Sawyer run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is CampMinder best used for?
CampMinder is most often used for an overnight camp of eight hundred campers whose nurse currently runs medication logs on paper and cannot produce records for an insurer, a camp hiring three hundred seasonal staff a year and losing candidates in an email-based application process, a camp network wanting consistent enrolment and retention reporting across several sites, a camp whose parent communication during session is the main driver of re-enrolment and is currently ad hoc. Of those, an overnight camp of eight hundred campers whose nurse currently runs medication logs on paper and cannot produce records for an insurer and a camp hiring three hundred seasonal staff a year and losing candidates in an email-based application process are not what Sawyer is typically brought in for.
What can CampMinder do that Sawyer cannot?
CampMinder covers Enrolment and waitlists, Tuition billing, Health records, Staff management. Sawyer covers Class and camp registration, Memberships and class packs, Consumer marketplace, Auto-billing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

CampMinder: What does CampMinder cost?

It is not published. Pricing is quoted annually against camper volume, plus separate implementation and payment processing costs. Ask for the volume bands in writing so next year's increase is predictable.

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.

CampMinder: Is payment processing negotiable?

Yes, and it is the largest cost most camps overlook. Compare the offered rate against an independent merchant quote before signing.

Sawyer: Can I use Sawyer without the marketplace?

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

CampMinder: Does it handle camper health records properly?

Yes. The health centre module with medication administration logs is one of the strongest reasons camps choose it over generic registration tools.

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.

CampMinder: Is it suitable for a day camp?

It can be, but much of what you pay for, such as bunking, transport and health centre operations, is built for overnight camps.

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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