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Education · head to head

Flip vs Skyward

F

Flip

Education

Empower student voice with video discussions

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Skyward logo

Skyward

Education

Student information and school ERP for K-12 districts and municipalities

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Flip has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Flip the Internet Archive's capture of Flip's homepage on 28 June 2022 stated 'Flip is a free video discussion app', confirming the Microsoft-owned product (rebranded from Flipgrid) carries no subscription fee.; Skyward no pricing is published anywhere, so the only way to learn what a district of your size pays is to enter a sales cycle, and comparative quotes across vendors are hard to obtain before a board meeting deadline.
  • They diverge on capability: Flip covers Video responses, Skyward covers Qmlativ SIS.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Flip and Skyward actually diverge.

Attributes where Flip and Skyward differ
AttributeFlipSkyward
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelfreequote
Free tierYesNo
Founded1975Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web, IOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Education).

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 Flip

  • Video responses
  • Topics
  • Camera effects
  • Stickers
  • Text responses
  • Moderation
  • Mixtapes
  • AR camera

Only in Skyward

  • Qmlativ SIS
  • School Business Suite
  • Position control
  • Family and student access
  • State reporting packs
  • Municipality edition
  • Data mining and reporting
  • Employee access

What people use each for

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

Flip

  • Video discussionsnot Skyward
  • Student portfoliosnot Skyward
  • Book talksnot Skyward
  • Language practicenot Skyward

Skyward

  • A district of 8,000 students that wants payroll, position budgeting and the SIS on one vendor contract instead of paying an integrator to reconcile employee records nightlynot Flip
  • A Wisconsin or Texas district where state submission deadlines are the dominant compliance burden and prebuilt state packs remove weeks of extract worknot Flip
  • A district still on the older PaC client-server product deciding whether to migrate to Qmlativ or replace the SIS outrightnot Flip
  • A county government buying the finance and HR half on its own, separate from any school usenot Flip

Where each one falls short

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

Flip

  • The Internet Archive's capture of Flip's homepage on 28 June 2022 stated 'Flip is a free video discussion app', confirming the Microsoft-owned product (rebranded from Flipgrid) carries no subscription fee.

Skyward

  • No pricing is published anywhere, so the only way to learn what a district of your size pays is to enter a sales cycle, and comparative quotes across vendors are hard to obtain before a board meeting deadline.
  • State reporting depth is uneven: the packs are excellent in the states where Skyward has a large installed base and thin elsewhere, so a district in a low-penetration state inherits reporting work the vendor absorbs for others.
  • The third-party integration ecosystem is much smaller than PowerSchool's, so an edtech tool your teachers want may support the market leader first and Skyward months later or not at all.
  • Two product generations are still live and the migration from PaC to Qmlativ is a project in its own right, meaning a district can be paying for a modernisation programme rather than new capability.
  • Buying SIS and ERP from one vendor concentrates risk: a pricing increase, an ownership change or a product direction you dislike affects enrolment, payroll and the general ledger simultaneously, and unpicking that is a multi-year replacement rather than swapping one system.

Pricing, plan by plan

Flip

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited groups
    • Unlimited topics
    • Video responses

Skyward

On request
  • Student Management Suite$undefined/year
    • Enrolment, scheduling, attendance and grading
    • State reporting
    • Family and student portals
  • School Business Suite$undefined/year
    • Finance, payroll and HR
    • Position control
    • Usually quoted alongside the SIS as a bundle
  • Municipality Edition$undefined/year
    • Finance and HR for local government
    • Quoted per organisation

Which should you pick?

Choose Flip if

  • You need video responses.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, IOS, Android.
  • You also want topics.
Flip review

Choose Skyward if

  • You need qmlativ sis.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want school business suite.
Skyward review

Questions people ask

Is Flip or Skyward better?
Neither clearly leads. Flip starts at Free and Skyward at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Flip or Skyward?
Flip has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Flip and On request for Skyward.
Does Flip or Skyward run on more platforms?
Flip runs on Web, IOS, Android. Skyward runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Flip for free?
Yes. Flip has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Skyward starts at On request.
What is Flip best used for?
Flip is most often used for video discussions, student portfolios, book talks, language practice. Of those, video discussions and student portfolios are not what Skyward is typically brought in for.
What can Flip do that Skyward cannot?
Flip covers Video responses, Topics, Camera effects, Stickers. Skyward covers Qmlativ SIS, School Business Suite, Position control, Family and student access.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Skyward: Was Skyward bought by PowerSchool?

No. Skyward remains an independent company based in Stevens Point, Wisconsin, and competes directly with PowerSchool in the K-12 SIS market. It is one of the few SIS vendors of scale not owned by a private equity roll-up.

Skyward: Is pricing per student?

Yes, the student system is generally quoted per student per year with the finance suite priced separately, but no rate card is published and discounts vary heavily by district size and term length.

Skyward: Can we buy just the finance and HR suite?

Yes. School Business Suite is sold on its own, and there is a municipality edition for city and county government with no school component.

Skyward: What is the difference between Qmlativ and PaC?

PaC is the older client-server generation and Qmlativ is the current browser-based product. New districts buy Qmlativ; existing PaC districts are being migrated.

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