Prime Timetable

Overview

Prime Timetable is a timetabling platform for schools, universities and similar institutions managing classes, teachers and rooms.

The combination of manual editing, constraint-based generation and broad publishing options is useful for institutions with competing scheduling requirements. The trade-off is that continued use requires a commercial plan whose price depends on the term selected, and offline work is reserved for those plans.

Key features

Schedulers can work across multiple weeks and flexible time patterns, moving timetable cards in master or individual views. Classes can be split into groups for electives, a practical fit for schools where students do not all follow the same schedule. This level of control is valuable when a timetable needs careful adjustment, but it is more machinery than a small organization with a simple calendar may need.

The automatic generator works with pinned cards and forbidden time slots, and can optimize teacher and student loads, gaps, room use and building moves. Teacher and room constraints, conflict detection and multi-campus support extend its reach to schedules with many interdependent requirements. Automation can help reconcile those requirements, but planners still need to encode the rules the institution wants the schedule to follow.

Timetables can be customized, viewed from any device, printed as master or individual schedules, and exported to formats and apps. Data can be brought in by copy and paste, though no named integrations are described. The maker says schedules are backed up every 24 hours. Commercial plans allow offline work; the free plan requires an internet connection, a meaningful limitation for users who need to edit without connectivity.

For institutions weighing student-data handling, the privacy policy says student data is neither sold nor used for advertising and is kept only as long as needed to provide the educational service. The SaaS security measures include encrypted traffic, vulnerability and network safeguards, access policies, audit logs, and physical and procedural controls. Cloud data centres are in the US; after a subscription ends, current system data and associated encrypted backups may be retained for up to one year.

Pricing

Prime Timetable has a 30-day trial period and a free plan priced at $0. The Free plan is explicitly for evaluation, includes the web app for all devices and premium support, and requires an internet connection. It is a way to assess the workflow, not a substitute for commercial offline access.

Basic is intended for small and medium schools and supports up to 40 teachers; Premium targets larger and campus schools and supports up to 100 teachers. Both include the web app for all devices and premium support. Their prices are custom pricing: buyers choose a term of 1–5 years, and the total appears after selecting the plan and duration. That term choice matters for institutions comparing costs, while the teacher ceilings make Basic a poor fit once staffing exceeds 40 and Premium unsuitable above 100.

Platforms

Prime Timetable supports Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, web and Windows. The web app is included across all plans; offline work is a commercial-plan capability rather than a free-plan option.

Who it's for

Prime Timetable is aimed at schools, universities and similar institutions that coordinate teachers, student groups, rooms or multiple campuses. Flexible manual editing and constraint-based generation suit planners balancing many rules, while print and export options help distribute the resulting schedules. Its maker says the service is trusted in over 120 countries.

It is less suitable for a small team seeking a simple, low-commitment calendar, or for a buyer who needs a known upfront commercial price before choosing a term. Institutions with more than 100 teachers also exceed the stated Premium capacity.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Manual editing and automatic generation coexist, so planners can combine direct control with optimization of loads, gaps, rooms and building moves.
• Pros: Teacher and room constraints, conflict detection, student groups and multi-campus support address real institutional scheduling complexity.
• Pros: Customizable views, printing and exports provide several ways to distribute schedules across devices and formats.
• Cons: The free plan is evaluation-only and requires internet access, limiting its usefulness for ongoing or offline scheduling.
• Cons: Commercial prices depend on choosing a 1–5 year term, and teacher caps of 40 and 100 may rule out the lower tiers for larger institutions.
• Cons: Data centres are in the US, and data and backups can remain for up to a year after subscription termination, a consideration for institutions with strict data-location or deletion requirements.

Alternatives

For a wider scan of exam-focused products, browse Exam Scheduling Software; for broader school timetable choices, see School Scheduling Software.

• OpenEduCat is a freemium alternative with Android, iOS, Linux, API and self-hosted platforms; choose it if those deployment options matter more than Prime Timetable's listed cross-platform web offering.
• UniTime is free open-source software with commercial support available for a fee, and supports API, Linux, macOS, self-hosted, web and Windows; it is the alternative to consider if a free, self-hostable option is the priority.
• FET is free, has no stated usage limits, and supports Linux, macOS and Windows; it suits buyers prioritizing no-cost desktop availability.
• TimetableForMe offers a free-forever web plan for up to 10 teachers; it is a fit for a smaller school seeking a free option with a stated capacity limit.
• Classify Exam Management is a web-based alternative with founding-institution access for exactly three selected institutions for the 2026–2027 academic year; consider it if that limited access opportunity fits.
• Examduler is free and open-source software for the web.
• SchoolKit Exam Timetable Builder is a free web tool capped at 20 subjects, 10 rooms and two time slots per day; it fits a smaller exam timetable within those limits.
• EMS Academic Scheduling is a paid alternative across web, desktop, mobile, API and self-hosted platforms, with pricing available by demo or sales contact.

Verdict

Choose Prime Timetable if your school or university needs both direct timetable editing and automated handling of teacher, student and room constraints, especially across groups or campuses. Its most persuasive advantage is the range of scheduling controls paired with practical publishing options. Look elsewhere if you need a free ongoing service, offline access without a commercial plan, a firm price before selecting a multi-year term, or capacity beyond 100 teachers.