Nova Music

Overview

Nova combines teacher-facing scheduling and billing with a PIN-based student portal. Students can check upcoming lessons, submit assignments, follow progress, open shared resources and message their teacher, while practice logs, goals and milestones provide a structure for work between lessons.

That breadth is the main appeal: teachers can coordinate lessons and student activity in one platform rather than relying on separate calendars, payment tools and messaging apps. The trade-off is that the Free plan stops at 10 students, so it is a starting point rather than a long-term option for a larger roster.

Key features

Scheduling and studio records

Recurring lessons, multiple calendar views, conflict detection and availability management cover the routine work of arranging a teaching schedule. Attendance tracking and student records help keep lesson administration alongside that schedule. Makeup credit tracking is reserved for Pro, making the paid plan more relevant to teachers who regularly need to manage missed or rescheduled lessons.

Student portal and practice

The student portal gives learners and families a direct place to check lessons, submit assignments, view progress, access shared resources and contact the teacher. Practice tracking adds daily logs, streaks, goals, points, levels and achievement milestones. These tools suit teachers who want practice to be visible and structured; they are less consequential for studios that only need scheduling and billing.

Payments, calendars and privacy

Pro adds Stripe online payments, automated invoicing and iCal and Google Calendar sync. Nova's features also include cash, check, card and Venmo as supported payment methods. Nova says full card numbers, bank account numbers and security codes are not received or stored by the service; lesson payments are handled through Stripe or another teacher-selected method.

Nova says it uses access controls, encrypted network connections, restricted service credentials and security monitoring. It also says it does not sell personal information for money and relies on service providers for hosting, payments, analytics, reliability and support. Its help center has 33 articles across seven categories, with email support at [email protected].

Pricing

Nova uses a freemium model, with paid plans from $10/mo. The Free plan costs 0.00 USD per free and includes up to 10 students, scheduling and calendar tools, group lessons, basic attendance, direct messaging, a student portal and 100 MB of file storage. It is a credible fit for a small studio, but the roster cap and modest storage limit leave little room for growth or a large resource library.

Pro costs 10.00 USD per month, billed $10 / per month. It removes the student cap and adds calendar sync, makeup credits, invoicing and Stripe payments, auto-invoicing and 5 GB of file storage. For teachers who need online payment collection, automated billing or room to grow, this is the practical tier. Smaller studios that do not need those tools can stay on Free, provided they remain within its student and storage limits.

Studio has custom pricing; its billing is marked Coming Soon. It is intended for multi-teacher studios and includes multiple teacher accounts, a shared calendar, custom portal branding, unlimited file storage and priority support. Those capabilities address team administration, but the plan is not a priced option for studios comparing current monthly costs.

Platforms

Nova is available on iOS and the web. The iPhone app requires iOS 17.0 or later. This makes it an option for teachers and families using Apple devices or a browser, but Android is not among its supported platforms.

Who it's for

Nova is a strong fit for independent music teachers who want recurring lesson scheduling, attendance, student communication and practice follow-up in the same system. Piano teachers, guitar instructors, voice coaches and private studios are its intended audience. The Free plan suits a small roster; Pro is the clearer fit once the 10-student ceiling, payment administration or calendar sync becomes a constraint.

It is less compelling for an Android-dependent studio or for a multi-teacher operation that needs a priced team plan now. Studio is aimed at multi-teacher businesses, but its pricing is custom and billing is marked Coming Soon.

Pros and cons

• Pros: A student portal combines lesson details, assignments, progress, resources and messaging, reducing the need to handle those student interactions separately.
• Pros: Practice logs and milestone-based goals give teachers tools to support work between lessons, not just schedule the next one.
• Pros: Pro combines unlimited students with invoicing, Stripe payments, automatic invoicing and calendar sync at 10.00 USD per month.
• Cons: Free is capped at 10 students and 100 MB of storage, so a growing roster or resource-heavy studio will need to upgrade.
• Cons: Pro is required for calendar sync, makeup credits and the included invoicing and Stripe payment tools.
• Cons: The iOS app requires iOS 17.0 or later, and Android is not supported.
• Cons: Studio is marked Coming Soon with custom pricing, limiting its usefulness for teams that need to budget for a live multi-teacher plan.

Alternatives

For a broader comparison, browse Music Lesson Scheduling Software.

• AMES is worth considering if a free trial and Android support matter; its Standard plan charges a 1.25% transaction fee on successful payments collected through AMES.
• Clefwise is an iOS and web alternative with a free plan capped at three students, including scheduling, invoicing and online payments, a parent portal and lesson notes.
• CogNote is a free self-hosted and web option described as built by a working piano studio for its own daily use.
• DuetStudio offers a web-based free plan with unlimited active and inactive students, scheduling, a student portal and practice tracking.
• Adagio is a freemium option for web, iOS and Android.
• Trio is a freemium web option.
• GroovConnect is a free web option.
• Harness is a freemium web option.

Verdict

Choose Nova Music if you are an independent music teacher who wants scheduling, student communication and practice tools alongside studio administration. Its strongest case is the combination of a student portal and practice tracking with a Pro plan that adds unlimited students, billing tools and calendar sync. Look elsewhere if Android support is essential, the Free plan's 10-student limit is too restrictive, or you need a currently priced multi-teacher plan.