Where we lead
State Requirements & Filing
Staying on the right side of your state's rules — the part most planners leave entirely to you.
RomeschoolScholaric
Notice of Intent filing help✓YesGuided Notice-of-Intent wizard (FL/TN/GA + 22 template states)·No
Per-state requirement sheets✓YesAll 50 states·No
Deadline reminders✓YesNOI renewal reminders, escalating·No
Evaluator-ready reporting✓YesEvaluator letter + portfolio presets·NoGeneral report cards/transcripts, not evaluator-specific
Where we lead
Law & Policy Alerts
When the rules change, you hear about it — automatically, for your state.
RomeschoolScholaric
Legislative / policy alerts✓YesDaily law/policy alert engine with web-search discovery·No
Per-state alerts✓YesSubscribe by state + impact level·No
Where we lead
ESA Funds Support
Education Savings Account money is real and growing. Romeschool is building first-class ESA support — capture, categorize, and keep it audit-ready — and no other tool here is even attempting it.
RomeschoolScholaric
ESA expense trackingComing soonESA Wallet expense ledger is in build·No
Receipt captureComing soon·No
Approved-category taggingComing soon·No
Eligibility referencesComing soonStatute-cited eligibility references·No
ESA-platform awarenessClassWallet / Odyssey / MyScholarShopComing soonBuilt for ClassWallet / Odyssey / MyScholarShop states·NoNo ClassWallet/Odyssey/MyScholarShop
Where we lead
Field Trips & Resource Discovery
Tens of thousands of real, curriculum-classified destinations — not a blank calendar.
RomeschoolScholaric
Field-trip finder✓Yes24,000+ destinations·No
Location-based discovery✓YesMap + radius search from home·No
Destination database✓Yes17,600+ curriculum-classified destinations·No
Where we lead
Curriculum Matching
Help choosing what to teach — not just a place to type in what you already chose.
RomeschoolScholaric
Curriculum matching✓YesPublic Curriculum Finder quiz (AI-ranked, no login)·NoYou enter your own lessons; no curriculum library
Marketplace / plan importCSV importMarketplace is listings; lesson-plan import is via CSV·No
AI curriculum augmentation✓YesOptional LLM augmentation on per-child free text·No
Curriculum & Instruction
The education itself — the courses, the weekly speech, the teaching, and the record that stands behind them. Most planners include none of this; most schools include only this. Romeschool includes a full classical humanities core (and names the gaps: math, discrete labs) plus a speech-a-week ladder scored by an on-device AI rubric — a teacher substitute for the reasoning, while you judge presence.
RomeschoolScholaric
Curriculum includedThe actual courses — not just a place to plan them✓YesA full classical humanities core — ~25 courses across five tracks, climbing to Via Rhetorica — plus a ~1,100-title curriculum finder for everything else. We name our gaps: no math curriculum (deliberate), one integrated lab science, not discrete Bio/Chem/Physics·NoHolds the curriculum you pick; it doesn't include one
Live teacher instruction·No live Zoom classesSelf-paced, author-voiced lessons. The weekly speech is delivered to the household (not a remote teacher); cohort Forum days are on the roadmap—
Weekly speech / declamationStudent stands and delivers on a set weekly rhythm✓Yes — every weekDeclamatio: one course takes the floor each week. Mon–Thu build inventio → actio; Friday the student stands and delivers to the household. Written finish if there's no recorder that week·NoNo weekly household speech / declamation cadence
AI speech scoring (on-device)Transcription + rubric on reasoning; voice stays on device✓Yes — on-device AI rubricSpeech is transcribed entirely on your device (voice never touches our servers). AI scores the reasoning — thesis clear, argument holds, answers the other side — and clocks delivery (pace, pauses, ums). You score the one thing only an audience can: presence. Two judges, one score, logged to the record·NoNo on-device transcription + AI reasoning rubric
Outside grading / evaluationAI speech rubric + parent writing rubricsWeekly speech: on-device transcription + AI reasoning rubric (teacher-substitute for the argument). Quizzes/tests auto-scored where built. Writing and capstones ship with a rubric you score — students write outside the app. No human outside-evaluator service yet (roadmap)—
Accreditation / diplomaRecords, not accreditedNo homeschool curriculum is accredited — but Atheneum Academy LLC issues the transcript and you keep a per-child year-end portfolio + evidence trail (evidence beats accreditation; see /guides/is-romeschool-accredited)—
Track recordYears running / alumniFounding (2026)New — the Founding Families cohort, with a published course calendar shipping through fall—
Identity & Platform
Who builds it, on what, and how long free access runs before a card is required.
RomeschoolScholaric
PlatformWeb / iOS / AndroidWebResponsive web app — runs in any phone, tablet, or desktop browser; no app-store downloadWeb onlyBrowser-based; no native app
Owner / publisherAtheneum Academy LLCJeff Schmitz
Founded20262011Public launch; beta 2010
Actively updatedContinuouslyBuilt and updated daily through pre-launch·UnverifiedNo public changelog; product still operating
Free trial lengthFree OS + free sample unitPlanner, logbook & records free with an account (no card). Free public sample: A Sense of Scale Unit 1. Full Academy curriculum is membership (founders rates)15 days
Card required for trial·No·NoCard added when you subscribe after the trial
Core Planning & Logbook
The daily workhorse — planning lessons, logging what got done, tracking hours.
RomeschoolScholaric
Lesson planning✓YesAuto-generated, rhythm-aware year plan✓YesRepeating lessons, embed links/YouTube
Drag-and-drop rescheduleReshuffle queueLessons reflow via an explicit queue, not drag-and-drop✓YesDrag-drop; shift a lesson series
Daily logbook✓YesPlus omnivorous intake — type, snap a photo, or speak✓YesCompletion tracking, not a separate journal
Attendance & hours✓YesMinutes/hours per subject, per child✓Yes
Auto-reschedule missed work✓YesRedistribute engine folds missed work into lighter daysManualRescheduling is user-driven (drag/shift)
Reporting & Portfolio
The records that prove the year happened — transcripts, portfolios, clean exports.
RomeschoolScholaric
Transcripts✓YesPrintable academic transcript✓Yes
Report cards·NoTranscripts + year-end portfolio instead✓YesCustom grading scales, gradebook
Year-end portfolio✓YesPer-child, per-year portfolio artifact·NoReports exist; no portfolio builder
PDF export✓YesClient-side PDF (no print-dialog hacks)✓YesPrintable reports/lesson plans
Custom reportsPortfolio presetsState / evaluator / full export presetsPartialCustom grading scales; goals
AI Features
What the software actually does for you with AI — not a checkbox, a capability. Romeschool's headline: on-device speech transcription scored against a reasoning rubric (thesis, argument, answering the other side, pace) so the voice never leaves the household device.
RomeschoolScholaric
AI presentNone / Matching / Generation / Speech scoringSpeech scoring + matching + assistant·None
What the AI doesOn-device speech transcription scored by a reasoning rubric (thesis, structure, other side, delivery clocks); family assistant with tool loop; curriculum matching; logbook intake. Voice never leaves the device·No AI features
Experience & Design
How it feels to live in every day — on the couch, on the phone, mid-school-morning.
RomeschoolScholaric
Mobile appResponsive webWorks in any mobile browser; no native app to download·NoResponsive web only
Setup effortLow / Medium / HighLowGuided onboarding + auto year-planLowSimple, but you enter your own content
DesignDated / Functional / ModernModernDated–Functional'Very simple interface'; 2011 product
Multi-Child
Running more than one student without doing the work more than once.
RomeschoolScholaric
Multiple students✓YesParent-aware multi-child scheduling✓YesPriced per student
Shared subjects across students✓YesWhole-family subjects·UnverifiedNot confirmed in sources
Community
Finding other families — safely — for group trips and shared days.
RomeschoolScholaric
Social / friends layer·NoThe in-person HomeSocial layer was retired·No
Groups / co-op coordinationComing soonForays — group field-trip coordination, in build·No
Data & Privacy
Whose data it is, and whether it's the product. Romeschool's speech feature never uploads a child's voice — transcription stays on the household device.
RomeschoolScholaric
You own your data✓YesYour records are yours; export anytime·UnverifiedNo data-ownership statement located
Sells your data·NoUnknownNot stated
Ad-free✓Yes✓YesPaid subscription, no ads
Child voice on vendor serversWhether speech audio leaves the device·No — never uploadedRecording and transcription for Declamatio happen entirely on-device; nothing is submitted until a parent has read the transcript and pressed send—
Support & Onboarding
How much hand-holding you get when you're new and it's August.
RomeschoolScholaric
Support channelsEmail + in-app assistantsupport@romeschool.app·UnverifiedSpecific channels not confirmed; small operator
Training / docsIn-app guidanceHelp content still being built out·No formal training program
Guided onboarding✓YesSetup wizard + dashboard checklist·NoSelf-serve, simple
Pricing & Value
What it costs over the years you'll actually homeschool — not just the first sign-up. Romeschool is priced per student (rates step down for siblings); the planner, logbook, and records are free for every family.
RomeschoolScholaric
Billing modelMonthly / yearly / per-studentYearly, per studentCurriculum graduated per student; planner, logbook & records free for every familyMonthly, per-studentNo annual option
Entry price$999/yrFounding rate for the first student — founding price for year one. renewal rate guaranteed forever. (half the $1,499 standing rate). Planner free$3/mo (1 student)+$1/mo per additional student
Whole-family priceUnlimited childrenGraduated per studentFounders: $999 first, $499 second, $499 each additional — planner free for all$7/mo (caps at 5+ students)Flat cap above 5; not strictly unlimited
Co-op / group pricingNot publishedNo separate co-op SKU yet·No dedicated co-op plan
Price over timerises-annually / flat / lifetime-lockedLocked for foundersFounding Families hold the founder per-student rate for life; the standing schedule is higher once the founding closesflatLong-standing $3–$7 tiers; no annual-increase mechanism observed
Lifetime price lock✓YesFounding price for year one. Renewal rate guaranteed forever. — founders pay below the standing per-student schedule, held for the students they have now and any they add later·No
Free tier✓Yes — OS + sample unitPlanner/logbook/records free forever with an account; A Sense of Scale Unit 1 free no account; full courses require membership·NoTrial only