Is Float or Sawyer better?

Neither clearly leads. Float starts at $6/month and Sawyer at $189/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Float or Sawyer?

Float starts at $6/month and Sawyer at $189/month.

Does Float or Sawyer run on more platforms?

Float runs on Web, Ios, Android. Sawyer runs on Web, iOS, Android.

What is Float best used for?

Float is most often used for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management. Of those, scheduling and appointment booking are not what Sawyer is typically brought in for.

What can Float do that Sawyer cannot?

Float covers Resource scheduling, Capacity planning, Time tracking, Project planning. Sawyer covers Class and camp registration, Memberships and class packs, Consumer marketplace, Auto-billing.

Calendars · head to head

Float vs Sawyer

Float

Calendars

Resource management for agencies and teams

From: $6/month
Rated: -

Full review Website

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 review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Float web-only platform without native desktop applications; 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: Float covers Resource scheduling, 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 Float and Sawyer actually diverge.

Attributes where Float and Sawyer differ
Attribute	Float	Sawyer
Starting price	$6/month	$189/month
Pricing model	subscription	Per business per month, plus marketplace commission
Category	Calendars	Scheduling
Founded	2011	Unknown

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 Float

Resource scheduling
Capacity planning
Time tracking
Project planning
Reports
Asana
Jira
Teamwork

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.

Float

Schedulingnot Sawyer
Appointment bookingnot Sawyer
Time trackingnot Sawyer
Resource managementnot Sawyer
Team coordinationnot Sawyer

Sawyer

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

Where each one falls short

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

Float

Web-only platform without native desktop applications
No offline mode for resource planning
Limited reporting customization on lower-tier plans
No built-in payroll or invoicing features

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

Float

$6/month

Starter$6/month
- Resource scheduling
- Time off
- Basic reports
Pro$10/month
- Time tracking
- Budget tracking
- Advanced reports

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 Float if

You need resource scheduling.
You work on Web, Ios, Android.
You also want capacity planning.

Float 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 Float or Sawyer better?: Neither clearly leads. Float starts at $6/month and Sawyer at $189/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Float or Sawyer?: Float starts at $6/month and Sawyer at $189/month.
Does Float or Sawyer run on more platforms?: Float runs on Web, Ios, Android. Sawyer runs on Web, iOS, Android.
What is Float best used for?: Float is most often used for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management. Of those, scheduling and appointment booking are not what Sawyer is typically brought in for.
What can Float do that Sawyer cannot?: Float covers Resource scheduling, Capacity planning, Time tracking, Project planning. Sawyer covers Class and camp registration, Memberships and class packs, Consumer marketplace, Auto-billing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Float: What does Float pricing start at?

Float's Starter plan begins at $7 per user per month for basic resource scheduling and capacity management. The Pro plan costs $12 per user per month with advanced features like estimates and actuals tracking.

Source

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.

Float: Is Float independent or backed by investors?

Float is independent and self-funded. The company is a B Corp certified since 2024 and is profitable. It has never raised venture funding and operates with a fully remote team.

Source

Sawyer: Can I use Sawyer without the marketplace?

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

Float: What platforms does Float support?

Float is a web-based platform accessible through modern browsers. It provides visual resource management, scheduling, capacity planning, time tracking, and forecasting tools.

Source

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.

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.

Float vs Sawyer

Float

Sawyer

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Float

Only in Sawyer

What people use each for

Float

Sawyer

Where each one falls short

Float

Sawyer

Pricing, plan by plan

Float

Sawyer

Which should you pick?

Choose Float if

Choose Sawyer if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Float

More on Sawyer

Keep looking

Other head to heads