RosarioSIS

RosarioSIS is an open-source student information system built mainly for K–12 schools, with potential to serve universities, academies and institutes. It is best for schools that want a broad set of administrative modules and can either maintain their own installation or pay for hosting.

Overview

RosarioSIS brings student records, grades, scheduling, attendance, billing, discipline and food service into a web application. Student and parent portals, online registration and PDF document generation extend its reach to families and enrollment work. That breadth makes it a plausible central system for schools consolidating routine administration, though each school should weigh the work of self-hosting against the cost of a hosted plan.

The project began for a school in Colombia and was based on Centre/SIS before being released as free software. A public forum and invitations for community contributions, particularly translations and bug reports, give users a route to participate in the project.

Key features

Administration and family access

Attendance tracking, gradebook, fee management and admissions and enrollment cover important day-to-day school workflows. Portals provide student and parent access, while online registration can bring enrollment into the same application. Schools seeking one system across these tasks may value the scope, but the feature set alone does not establish how closely the workflows fit a particular institution.

Integrations and language support

Moodle integration synchronizes users, courses, schedules, events, assignments and portal notes, making RosarioSIS more useful for schools that already use Moodle. Hosted solutions also list Google and Microsoft single sign-on, PayPal and Stripe registration, Jitsi Meet, FET timetable imports and TTHotel smart-lock integration. The application supports translations in French, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Italian, Russian, Ukrainian, Czech, Greek, Turkish, German, Vietnamese and Bulgarian, a practical advantage for multilingual communities.

Web access and deployment

RosarioSIS runs as a web application powered by PHP and PostgreSQL or MySQL, accessible from an internet-connected computer. Its responsive design supports tablets and smartphones. Documentation covers installation on GNU/Linux, Windows and Mac, as well as cPanel, Softaculous and Docker. Self-hosting avoids a recurring hosting plan, but requires a PHP environment, a SQL database and school-managed updates when new releases arrive. That maintenance obligation makes the free option less suitable for schools without technical capacity.

Pricing

The self-hosted software costs nothing. It removes licensing cost, but the school supplies the infrastructure and keeps the installation updated. The maker also offers installation for €60 and email support starting at €60 per month, covering use, configuration and consulting.

For hosted service, PRIMARY costs €24 a month, billed €24 per month. It includes unlimited staff, parents and schools, a selectable student limit, email support and seven-day backup retention. PREMIUM costs €36 a month, billed €36 per month, and adds priority email support and 30-day backup retention while retaining the same stated access and student-limit terms. Both hosted plans list HTTPS encryption; the hosted service also advertises daily backups. PRIMARY suits schools comfortable with shorter backup retention and standard email support, while PREMIUM is the clearer fit for those who value longer retention and faster support access. Schools with more than 1,000 students should contact the provider for custom pricing; student limits can otherwise be selected and plans automatically grow with the school.

The €599, paid once Premium Bundle is a separate purchase, billed €599. It includes premium add-ons, 30 days of email support and updates downloadable for one year. It may suit a school seeking those additions without choosing a monthly hosted plan, but it does not remove the stated self-hosting duties. A 30-day hosted trial gives schools a period to assess the service before committing.

Platforms

RosarioSIS is listed for Android, iOS, Linux, macOS, self-hosted deployment, web and Windows. Its web application and responsive design support access from computers, tablets and smartphones, while the documented installation options give technical teams several deployment routes.

Who it's for

RosarioSIS is a strong candidate for K–12 schools that need student, grade, attendance, scheduling, billing and discipline functions in one system, particularly those that value open-source software or Moodle synchronization. Universities, academies and institutes may also adapt it. Schools that cannot manage PHP and database maintenance should favor hosted service; those needing more than 1,000 student places should discuss custom pricing with the provider.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Broad school-management scope: student, grade, scheduling, attendance, billing, discipline and food service modules can consolidate several administrative needs.
• Free self-hosting option: the software has no licensing price, and documentation covers multiple operating systems and deployment routes.
• Choice of hosted support levels: PRIMARY and PREMIUM offer selectable student limits and unlimited staff, parents and schools, with different support priority and backup retention.
• Moodle synchronization: the integration covers courses and schedules as well as users, events, assignments and portal notes.

Cons

• Self-hosting requires ongoing technical work: schools need PHP and a SQL database, and must install releases to keep the system secure.
• Hosted fees recur monthly: schools opting out of maintenance responsibility pay €24 or €36 per month, with backup retention varying by plan.
• Large schools need a pricing conversation: more than 1,000 students requires contacting the provider for custom pricing.

Alternatives

Gibbon is another free, open-source school platform with self-managed hosting, worth considering if that model is preferred. openSIS offers a free, open-source downloadable edition for schools that want to install and manage it independently. OpenEMIS Admissions is a free, self-hosted web option with no licensing fees.

Gradelink is a paid alternative with Android, iOS, macOS, web and Windows support; its Gradelink Payments plan is priced at $0, with transaction fees potentially covered by the school or passed to families. Aeries SIS is a paid option for schools willing to contact sales for a district quote. Ed-admin uses annual agreements and school-specific pricing, with all 50 modules and four app portals included. Fedena has a free plan and trial, plus a Standard plan at $999 a year with 20 Core Modules, 17 Standard Modules, unlimited users and one-to-one online training. Infinite Campus is another paid option available on Android, iOS, web and API platforms.

Browse more options in Student Information Systems or School Management Software.

Verdict

RosarioSIS is best for schools seeking a broad, adaptable information system with the choice of free self-hosting or paid cloud service. Its strongest reason to choose it is the combination of core administration modules, family portals and Moodle synchronization; the main reason to look elsewhere is the need to avoid either self-managed updates or recurring hosted costs.