Free School Management Software Built for Modern Schools
A production-ready, open-source school ERP covering every aspect of school operations — student admissions, attendance, fees, exams, payroll, library, transport, and more. Self-hosted. Zero licensing fees.
MIT License · No account required · No credit card · Forever free
19
Modules
8+
User Roles
MIT
License
PHP 8.3
Backend
React 18
Frontend
Free
Forever
Demo Mode — Click a role to explore
Password for all accounts: password
What is Free School Management Software?
Free school management software is a digital platform that helps schools, colleges, and educational institutions automate administrative operations — student admissions, daily attendance, fee collection, exam scheduling, staff payroll, library management, and parent communication — without recurring licensing costs or per-student fees.
Genius School Management is an open-source school management platform built with Laravel 11, React 18, and Inertia.js. It ships 19 fully built modules covering every school workflow — from first-day admissions to year-end reports — within a single self-hosted installation that supports unlimited schools with fully isolated data per school.
Unlike paid school management platforms that charge $50–$300 per month or lock features behind tiers, Genius School Management is MIT licensed — you self-host it on any VPS or shared hosting, own your data, fork the codebase, white-label it for clients, or build commercial products on top. No recurring fees. No vendor lock-in. No internet dependency.
The school resources management capabilities include a full library system, asset and inventory tracking, hostel and transport management, and lab consumables stock registers — all managed from the same unified dashboard used for student and staff administration.
Why is this free? What's the catch?
Open source by design
Xgenious built and open-sourced this software to demonstrate engineering quality and attract clients for paid premium products and professional services.
No hidden limits
No per-student fee. No module unlock. No expiry date. No usage cap. Every feature in the repository is free — checked and MIT licensed.
Paid options (optional)
Need help? Xgenious offers optional professional installation, customisation, and support services — but the software itself is always free.
19 Modules. Every School Need Covered.
From first-day admissions to year-end reports — every school workflow is built in and ready to use.
Authentication & Access Control
- 8 built-in roles: Super Admin, School Admin, Teacher, Accountant, Librarian, Driver, Parent, Student
- Role-based access control (RBAC) via Spatie Permissions
- Two-factor authentication (TOTP) for Admin and Accountant
- Activity log — every login, role change, and financial action recorded
- Session management — active sessions list, remote logout
Student Management
- Multi-step admission wizard with document upload
- Student ID card and bulk CSV import
- Class/section assignment and year-end promotion
- Alumni record retention after graduation
- Parent portal with dedicated child progress view
Attendance Management
- Daily attendance with QR code scan option
- Monthly calendar view per student
- Parent SMS notification on absence
- Attendance report by class, date range, or student
- Bulk attendance entry and percentage calculation
Fee Management
- Fee structure builder per class and shift
- Fee collection with PDF receipt generation
- Stripe online payment integration with webhook handler
- Automated late payment penalty via cron
- Fee concession, scholarship, and bulk posting
Examination & Results
- Exam types: unit test, mid-term, final, custom
- Custom grading scales and GPA configuration
- Report card PDF generation (async, queued)
- Merit list, ranking, and tabulation sheet export
- Cumulative result history per student
Timetable & Scheduling
- Drag-and-drop timetable builder with conflict detection
- Room and lab management
- Exam schedule builder and iCal export
- Substitution teacher assignment
- Timetable PDF export
Staff & HR Management
- Staff registration with documents and profile photo
- Payroll structure builder with allowances and deductions
- Monthly payslip PDF generation
- Leave application and approval workflow
- Staff ID card and appointment letter PDF
Library Management
- Book catalog with ISBN lookup (auto-fill metadata)
- Multiple copies tracking per title
- Book issue, return, and automated late fine
- E-library with digital PDF upload
- Overdue and fine collected reports
Transport Management
- Route management with stops and vehicle assignment
- Driver portal showing route and passenger list
- Student transport assignment linked to fee module
- Transport fee integrated with fee management
- Route-wise student report
Communication
- School-wide announcements targeted by role
- Internal messaging between teachers, admins, and parents
- SMS and email blast with template support
- Push notification support
- Event calendar with notifications
Hostel Management
- Hostel block, room type, and student room assignment
- Warden assignment per block
- Hostel attendance separate from class attendance
- Visitor log and occupancy report
- Hostel fee linked to fee management module
Inventory & Asset Management
- Asset registration with serial, value, and condition tracking
- Maintenance request log
- Stationery and lab consumables stock register
- Low-stock alert
- Asset and inventory PDF/Excel reports
Built on a Modern, Proven Stack
Every technology choice is production-tested, widely documented, and actively maintained.
Laravel 11
PHP backend, routing, ORM, queues
React 18
Component UI with TypeScript
Inertia.js
Server-driven SPA bridge
Tailwind CSS
Utility-first styling with dark mode
MySQL 8 / PostgreSQL 16
Primary relational database
Laravel Sanctum
API authentication
Spatie Permissions
Role-based access control
Laravel Horizon
Queue monitoring (Redis-backed)
DomPDF / Snappy
Async PDF generation
Stripe SDK
Online fee payment processing
Server Requirements
Works on any standard VPS, cPanel shared hosting, or Docker environment.
See It in Action
Real screenshots from the application. Every screen shown is fully functional and included free.
Get Your Free School Software Running in 15 Minutes
Self-hosted on any VPS or cPanel server. No cloud subscription. Your data stays on your infrastructure.
Download free
Click Download Free below. Enter your email and receive a direct GitHub link to the latest release. No account required. No credit card.
Upload & configure
Upload to any Apache or Nginx server (PHP 8.3+, MySQL 8+, Redis). Run composer install, copy .env, set database credentials, run migrations.
Add your school & go live
Log in as Super Admin, create your school profile, configure classes and sections, then invite teachers and students. Your school management platform is live.
Who Uses This Free School Management Software?
Small Schools
Replace paper registers and spreadsheets. Deploy on any shared hosting for near-zero cost.
Large Schools & Colleges
Multi-section, multi-shift, multi-building. Built to handle thousands of students.
Government & NGO Schools
Zero license cost. Full data ownership. You control where the data lives.
Software Agencies
MIT license — fork, white-label, and resell development services on top.
School Resources Management — Everything in One Place
School resources management software typically requires separate tools for library, inventory, assets, hostel, and transport. Genius School Management consolidates all resource management into a single self-hosted platform:
Library & E-Library
Book catalog with ISBN lookup, digital PDF uploads, issue/return tracking, automated late fines
Inventory & Assets
Asset serial tracking, condition logs, maintenance requests, lab consumables, low-stock alerts
Hostel Management
Block/room assignment, warden assignment, hostel attendance, visitor log, hostel fee integration
Transport Management
Route management with stops, vehicle assignment, driver portal, transport fee linked to fee module
Free School Software vs Paid School Management Platforms
| Genius School Management | Paid SaaS Platforms | Other Free Options | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | Free forever (MIT) | $50–$300/month | Free (limited features) |
| Data ownership | Your server | Vendor's cloud | Varies |
| Source code | Full (MIT license) | None (closed source) | Open source (varies) |
| All modules included | 19 — no tier split | Split by pricing tier | Fewer modules |
| Customisation | Unlimited (fork freely) | Limited or paid add-ons | Varies by project |
| Multi-school support | Yes — one install | Often a paid add-on | Rarely built in |
| Student management | Full — admissions to alumni | Full (paid) | Partial |
| School resources mgmt | Library, assets, hostel, transport | Partial or add-on | Partial |
| Internet required | No — fully self-hosted | Yes (cloud only) | Depends |
| Setup time | ~15 minutes | Account + onboarding calls | Varies |
Other free school management platforms: OpenEduCat (Odoo-based), Gibbon (open source). Paid platforms include eSkooly, Teachmint, and Edublooms.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is free school management software?
Free school management software is a digital platform that automates school administrative tasks — student admissions, daily attendance, fee collection, exam scheduling, staff payroll, library management, and parent communication — without recurring licensing costs. Genius School Management is MIT licensed, meaning every feature is available free forever with no upgrade tiers, no per-student fee, and no expiry.
Is Genius School Management really free?
Yes. It is MIT licensed. Every feature ships in the public repository with no paid tier, no feature locks, and no upgrade prompts. There is no per-student fee, no expiry date, and no cap on the number of schools or students you can manage.
What is the best free school management platform?
Genius School Management is among the most complete free school management platforms available. It includes 19 fully built modules in a single self-hosted installation — covering everything from student admissions to staff payroll. Other free options include OpenEduCat (Odoo-based ERP) and Gibbon (open source), but neither offers the same combination of fee management, payroll, transport, hostel, and inventory management built into one system.
Does this free school software include student management tools?
Yes. The free student management module covers multi-step admission wizards, student ID card generation, bulk CSV import, class and section assignment, year-end promotion workflows, alumni record retention, and a parent portal with a dedicated child progress view — all included at no cost.
What school resources can be managed with this free software?
The school resources management features include: library (book catalog with ISBN lookup, digital e-library, automated overdue fines), inventory and asset management (serial tracking, condition logs, maintenance requests, low-stock alerts), lab consumables stock register, hostel room and warden assignment, and transport route and vehicle management. All resources are managed from the same unified dashboard.
How does this compare to paid school management platforms?
Paid school management platforms typically charge $50–$300 per month and lock features behind pricing tiers. Genius School Management includes all 19 modules free, with no feature restrictions, no per-student fee, no internet dependency (fully self-hosted), and complete source code access under MIT license. You own your data and choose where it lives.
Can I use it commercially or white-label it?
Yes. The MIT license allows commercial use, modification, and redistribution. You can fork it, white-label it, sell installation and customisation services on top, and build products on the codebase — all without licensing fees.
Does it support multiple schools from one installation?
Yes. A single installation supports unlimited schools with fully isolated data per school via a school_id global scope. This makes it suitable for school networks, government education departments, and software agencies managing multiple school clients.
What languages does it support?
English and Bengali are built in. The system is RTL-ready for Arabic and Urdu, making it suitable for schools in South Asia and the Middle East.
Do I need technical knowledge to install it?
Basic server administration knowledge is needed — you will configure PHP 8.3+, MySQL 8+, Redis, and a web server (Apache or Nginx). The full step-by-step installation guide is in the user manual. If you prefer a managed setup, Xgenious offers a professional installation service.
Where do I report bugs or request features?
Open an issue on the public GitHub repository. Xgenious actively maintains the codebase and reviews community submissions regularly.
Download the Free School Management System
No account. No credit card. MIT license. Enter your email and get the download link instantly.
Need help setting it up? Contact Xgenious for installation service