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Scheduling · head to head

Sawyer vs UltraCamp

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
UltraCamp logo

UltraCamp

Education

Camp registration priced per reservation, with the fee schedule published in full

From
$4/reservation
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: 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.; UltraCamp per-reservation pricing scales linearly with growth, so a large camp pays substantially more than it would under a flat licence and has little leverage until it passes 2,000 reservations and enters quoted territory.
  • They diverge on capability: Sawyer covers Class and camp registration, UltraCamp covers Per-reservation registration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Sawyer and UltraCamp actually diverge.

Attributes where Sawyer and UltraCamp differ
AttributeSawyerUltraCamp
Starting price$189/month$4/reservation
Pricing modelPer business per month, plus marketplace commissionPer reservation
CategorySchedulingEducation

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 Sawyer

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

Only in UltraCamp

  • Per-reservation registration
  • Billing and payment plans
  • Facility and retreat rentals
  • Point of sale
  • Photo gallery
  • Custom reporting
  • Unlimited staff users
  • Online store

What people use each for

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

Sawyer

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

UltraCamp

  • A camp that wants to know its software cost per registration before the season rather than negotiate an annual licencenot Sawyer
  • A conference or retreat centre that rents facilities off-season and needs booking as well as camper registrationnot Sawyer
  • A small camp whose volume would make a flat enterprise licence poor valuenot Sawyer
  • A camp switching vendors that wants a named price for data migration rather than an open-ended services quotenot Sawyer

Where each one falls short

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

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.

UltraCamp

  • Per-reservation pricing scales linearly with growth, so a large camp pays substantially more than it would under a flat licence and has little leverage until it passes 2,000 reservations and enters quoted territory.
  • UltraCamp retains 30% of photo gallery sales, a revenue share far above the 3% it takes on merchandise, which turns a parent-facing nicety into a meaningful cost of doing business.
  • Health and medical record handling is thinner than CampMinder's, so camps with a staffed health centre and daily medication rounds often find it insufficient.
  • The interface and reporting are functional rather than modern, and building the unlimited custom reports on offer takes administrator time the camp has to fund itself.
  • The $1,200 annual minimum means very small camps pay for reservations they never make, so the effective per-reservation cost for a camp of two hundred is closer to $6.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

UltraCamp

$4/reservation
  • Reservations 0 to 999$4/reservation
    • $4.00 per reservation
    • $1,200 annual minimum in reservation fees
    • Unlimited staff users and custom reports
  • Reservations 1,000 to 1,999$3.75/reservation
    • $3.75 per reservation
    • Above 2,000 reservations priced by quote
    • Card processing about 2.5% plus $0.35 and roughly $20 a month in gateway fees
  • Optional modules$600/year
    • Point of sale $600 a year
    • Facility rental and retreat management $700 a year
    • Photo gallery with 30% of sales retained by UltraCamp

Which should you pick?

Choose Sawyer if

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

Choose UltraCamp if

  • You need per-reservation registration.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want billing and payment plans.
UltraCamp review

Questions people ask

Is Sawyer or UltraCamp better?
Neither clearly leads. Sawyer starts at $189/month and UltraCamp at $4/reservation, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Sawyer or UltraCamp?
Sawyer starts at $189/month and UltraCamp at $4/reservation.
Does Sawyer or UltraCamp run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
What is Sawyer best used for?
Sawyer is most often used for a new kids activity studio with no mailing list that wants the marketplace to fill its first terms, an established music school moving off spreadsheets that will run sawyer as software only and never list on the marketplace, a gym selling memberships, class packs and birthday parties that needs all three billed from one system, a provider running summer camps alongside term-time classes who wants a single parent account for both. Of those, a new kids activity studio with no mailing list that wants the marketplace to fill its first terms and an established music school moving off spreadsheets that will run sawyer as software only and never list on the marketplace are not what UltraCamp is typically brought in for.
What can Sawyer do that UltraCamp cannot?
Sawyer covers Class and camp registration, Memberships and class packs, Consumer marketplace, Auto-billing. UltraCamp covers Per-reservation registration, Billing and payment plans, Facility and retreat rentals, Point of sale.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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.

UltraCamp: What will it actually cost us?

Take your reservation count times $4.00, or $3.75 above a thousand, subject to a $1,200 annual minimum, plus $299 setup and any data import. Then add card processing at roughly 2.5% plus $0.35 on tuition.

Sawyer: Can I use Sawyer without the marketplace?

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

UltraCamp: Is there a contract?

No. UltraCamp sells without a term contract, which is unusual in this market and materially reduces switching risk.

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.

UltraCamp: What does the photo gallery cost?

UltraCamp keeps 30% of photo sales. If parents spend heavily on photos, price that before enabling the module.

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.

UltraCamp: How does it compare to CampMinder on health records?

CampMinder is stronger. If you run a health centre with a nurse and medication logs, test that area carefully before choosing UltraCamp.

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