Schools leaving Fedena are usually deciding one thing: whether to keep self-hosting. If the reason for moving is that nobody is left to run the server, the replacement should be hosted. If self-hosting still suits you, another self-hostable system is a closer match than any SaaS product, ours included.
We publish SchoolDeck, which is hosted only. If holding your own deployment is a requirement, we are not a candidate and this page says so rather than arguing you out of it.
Fedena derives from an open-source project and can be self-hosted or bought hosted, which is its distinguishing property. That single fact usually explains why a school is looking to leave.
The common story is not dissatisfaction with the software. It is that the person who set it up has gone, the instance is several releases behind, and nobody has restored from the backup to check it works. That is a staffing problem, and the right replacement depends on whether you intend to solve it or route around it.
Everything else follows from this and it takes about ten minutes to settle honestly.
| Your situation | What to shortlist |
|---|---|
| Nobody owns the server any more, and nobody will | Hosted products only. Self-hosting again reproduces the same failure in three years |
| You have technical staff and want to keep control | Another self-hostable system. A SaaS product cannot give you this |
| Policy requires data on your own infrastructure | Self-hosted, and check whether the policy actually says that or is assumed |
| It works but is behind on releases | Consider a supported hosting arrangement before replacing the software |
A school on Fedena CDS is already running a server, so the first question about any replacement is whether you want to keep doing that. The table below is what else gets shortlisted, ordered from those that will also hand you a server to those that will not.
The middle column is how each vendor describes itself in its own public material, checked on 21 September 2026 — it is their claim, not our assessment of them, and products change. The right-hand column is what to ask them. We do not publish a feature matrix against named competitors because we do not track their products and an invented one would be worth less to you than a question you can put to a salesperson.
| Alternative | How they describe themselves | The question to put to them |
|---|---|---|
| Vidyalaya | Offers a choice of deployment — its own material describes cloud-hosted, hybrid and on-premise | If we take on-premise, what do hosting, backup, patching and an owner cost on top of the licence? |
| Entab CampusCare | A “complete school management suite” — admissions, academics and finance in one system, cloud with mobile apps | Can we export everything ourselves today, with historical grading schemes attached? |
| MyClassboard | Cloud school ERP with a broad module set spanning ERP, finance, admissions, HR and an LMS | Which of these modules will still be in use in year two? |
| Skolaro | Cloud-hosted and AI-assisted, “50+ modules”; claims 1,800+ institutions across India, the UAE and Oman | Which modules would actually be switched on for a school our size? |
| Edunext | Cloud-based school ERP, founded 2012; claims 1,400+ schools globally | Are definitions held centrally, so a roll-up across campuses means anything? |
| SchoolPad | Claims 350+ schools across 16+ states and positions on a dedicated success team, guided onboarding and training rather than on feature count | Who does the configuration, how long does it take, and what happens if it is wrong? |
| Teachmint | Now leads with an “AI-Powered Connected Classroom” device — an interactive flat panel. Teaching delivery first, administration second | When the classroom layer and the register disagree, which one is the record? |
| SchoolDeck (ours) | Hosted only, on Google Cloud in Mumbai with data resident in India. Deliberately narrower: the administrative record, with no teaching layer | Put every question above to us, and ask for the answers in writing |
A hosted product takes things away, and it is better to know which before committing.
What you gain is that patching, backups and uptime stop being anyone at your school’s problem. Whether that trade is right depends entirely on the staffing answer above.
One advantage worth using: you hold the database. Even if the application is unusable, the data is yours and reachable, which is not true when a hosted vendor’s contract has lapsed.
Phrased the way they arrive, answered so each one stands on its own.
It derives from an open-source project, but commercial editions are paid, and self-hosting carries infrastructure and administration cost whether or not the licence does. Compare total cost including the staff time to run it.
Yes, from application exports or a database dump. Historical fee ledgers and results import; source-level customisations do not, and we will tell you which of yours will not survive before you commit.
Often, yes. If the software fits and the problem is that it is unmaintained, arranging supported hosting is cheaper and less disruptive than a migration. Replace the software when it stops fitting, not when it stops being patched.
Checked by the Implementations desk on 7 September 2026. Corrections go in the page, dated, rather than quietly.
Pricing is on the page, in the open, with the counting rule written next to it. Nobody has to book a call to find out what it costs.
See pricingForty minutes with an implementation engineer — your classes, your fee heads, your grading scheme, entered as we go. No slides, no sample school.