Penji

Penji is scheduling software for college tutoring centers, bringing appointments, group sessions, and drop-in services into one system. It suits campus programs coordinating tutors and student visits; individual tutors looking only for a booking calendar may find its broader service-management focus unnecessary. Its strongest case is the combination of student check-in, mobile access, and reporting, while custom pricing can make it harder to assess for larger deployments.

Overview

Penji supports scheduled appointments, group classes, and drop-in tutoring. Students can book sessions themselves, and centers can run tutoring events online, in person, or in hybrid form. Attendance can be logged by tutors or through student self check-in, giving centers a way to account for both scheduled and walk-in participation.

For drop-in services, students can check in using email, an ID, or a card swipe, then follow their queue position and estimated wait. That is useful when a center needs to manage walk-in demand transparently. A program that handles only individual appointments may not benefit enough from these additional workflows to justify choosing a campus-focused platform.

Key features

Scheduling and session operations

Student self-booking, group classes, and two-way calendar sync support shared scheduling between students and tutors. Penji integrates with Google and Outlook calendars and video providers such as Zoom. Session usage caps, no-show handling, feedback logs, and in-app chat cover practical work around a tutoring session, helping centers manage participation and follow-up alongside bookings.

Reporting and events

The tutoring product includes more than 20 pre-built interactive dashboards and a real-time report builder. That gives administrators both ready-made views and a way to build reports as questions change. Centers that need to monitor activity across services may find this more useful than a booking tool with only basic scheduling information.

Events can take place online, in person, or in hybrid form. Tutors can record attendance, or students can check themselves in, which gives centers flexibility in how they track participation.

Mobile access, privacy, and support

Penji is available on the web and through Android and iOS mobile formats. Its mobile-first approach fits students who need to manage tutoring services away from a desktop. Penji says it does not sell student data and uses it to provide services to university partners and students. It states that it complies with FERPA when customer data includes covered education records and meets WCAG 2.1 AA standards. It also describes secure coding practices, use of providers such as AWS, and a HECVAT available for review.

Support includes in-house phone and email help, unlimited administrator training, and live troubleshooting. Setup depends on the deployment: Penji recommends at least four weeks for a multi-center launch involving SSO and IT integrations, while a single center without those integrations can be set up within two days.

Pricing

Penji offers a free plan and a custom quote plan. The free plan costs nothing and provides full platform access for up to five tutors or staff. It excludes SSO and IT integrations, and each institution can have only one free plan. This is a meaningful starting option for a small center, but the staff cap and integration exclusions may push a larger or more connected program toward a paid agreement.

The custom quote plan uses custom pricing, based on active tutor count or annual student visits. It is billed annually unless the contract says otherwise. This plan is the route for institutions that need capacity beyond the free plan or SSO and IT integrations, but the absence of a published price means centers will need a quote to compare costs.

Platforms

Penji supports Android, iOS, and web access, including a desktop web application. That gives students and staff mobile options while preserving browser access for administrative work.

Who it's for

Penji is aimed at college tutoring centers that coordinate multiple tutors and a mix of appointments, group sessions, and drop-ins. Its check-in queues, attendance options, reporting, and mobile access are most relevant to campus programs managing student services across formats. A small center can begin with the free plan if five or fewer tutors or staff are enough and SSO and IT integrations are not required. Solo tutors or institutions seeking a simple appointment calendar should consider a narrower tool.

Pros and cons

• Pros: One platform covers appointments, group classes, and drop-in queues, so centers can coordinate scheduled and walk-in tutoring together.
• Pros: More than 20 dashboards, a real-time report builder, and attendance options give administrators useful ways to track service activity and participation.
• Pros: The free plan offers full platform access for up to five tutors or staff, allowing a small center to use the broader feature set without a subscription.
• Pros: Android, iOS, and web access support a mobile-first student service model.
• Cons: The free plan has a five-person cap and excludes SSO and IT integrations, limiting its fit for larger or more integrated programs.
• Cons: Custom pricing is based on active tutor count or annual student visits, so institutions need a quote before they can weigh the paid plan's cost.
• Cons: A multi-center launch with SSO and IT integrations calls for at least four weeks of setup, which requires more planning than the single-center path.

Alternatives

Tutoring Scheduling Software is the broader category directory for comparing tools in this space.

Choose SchedulingKit if a free plan with a clearly capped booking allowance is a better fit: its free tier includes one team member, one event type, and 50 bookings per month. It also offers a free trial and Android, iOS, API, and web platforms.

Tutorbase is another freemium option with a free core plan and no feature restrictions; its free plan charges a 1% fee when you invoice through the system and has no monthly subscription.

Tutoressa is a freemium alternative with a free plan and Android, iOS, and web access.

GetSetTime may suit a web-based program that can work within a free plan capped at 50 bookings per month and one seat; it also offers a free trial.

Pynath Booking is a web and API option with a free plan covering three active services, up to 10 attendees per slot, a seven-day activity log, and no platform commission.

TutorTab is a free, web-based alternative for tutors who want scheduling, reminders, and invoicing without a tutor subscription; parents pay a $1 fee per paid invoice plus 2.9% and 30¢ processing when TutorTab collects payment.

Twizzlo offers a free web plan with up to 150 bookings per month and unlimited employees, locations, customers, and insights, which may suit programs that prioritize those allowances.

TutorKit by Agilix is another paid web option, with custom pricing.

Verdict

Penji is a strong fit for college tutoring centers that need to coordinate appointments, groups, and drop-ins while giving students mobile access and administrators substantial reporting. The free plan makes it approachable for centers with up to five tutors or staff and no need for SSO or IT integrations. Look elsewhere if your program needs a published paid price, exceeds that free-plan cap, or only needs straightforward one-to-one booking.