Sonely vs. My Music Staff: Software for private teachers
Both are made for private teachers and music studios, with unlimited students. Sonely is free for one teacher, and My Music Staff charges from the first. Here’s how they compare, from each one’s own pages.
What Sonely and My Music Staff have in common
Unlimited students
Both charge for the people who log in to run your studio, never for your students.
Try it without a card
Both let you try every feature without entering a card.
A 90-day refund
Both refund you in full if you ask within your first 90 days.
Six languages
Both come in English, Spanish, French, German, Dutch and Japanese.
Sonely vs. My Music Staff
Studio management for private teachers and music studios.
Most of what a studio does every week, both of them do. Here they are side by side, with My Music Staff’s answers taken from its own pages.
| Features | Sonely | My Music Staff |
|---|---|---|
| First teacher | Free | $16.95/mo1 |
| Each extra teacher or staff login | $12/mo | $4.95/mo1 |
| Unlimited students | ||
| Try it free without a card | Free plan | 30 days1 |
Sonely refunds you in full within 90 days of creating your account. My Music Staff’s pricing page offers a full refund within your first 90 days. | 90 days | 90 days1 |
| Private and group lessons on one calendar | ||
| Families book from your availability | ||
| Make-up credits | ||
| Auto-invoicing, auto-pay and late fees | ||
| Payments into your own Stripe or PayPal | ||
Sonely takes ACH in the US and Bacs, BECS and SEPA direct debits through Stripe. My Music Staff’s payments page lists ACH (US only) and Bacs (UK only). | ACH, Bacs, BECS, SEPA | ACH, Bacs3 |
| Family portal | ||
| Website builder and widgets for your own site | ||
Sonely texts lesson and invoice reminders from its own number to families who allow texts, included in the plan. My Music Staff includes SMS reminders in its price1. | ||
My Music Staff describes repertoire on its learning page and practice logs on its Student Portal page4. | ||
| Lending library | ||
| Teacher payroll, hourly or a share of revenue | ||
| Expenses, mileage and reports | ||
| API keys and webhooks | ||
Sonely’s API keys work from tools like Zapier. My Music Staff lists a Zapier integration. | API keys | |
Sonely adds the Zoom, Meet, Teams or FaceTime link you paste to the lesson and its reminders; it doesn’t create meetings. My Music Staff lists Zoom, Skype and FaceTime integrations. | Paste your link | Zoom, Skype, FaceTime2 |
| Interface languages | 6 | 61 |
Sonely is a web app: teachers and families use it in any phone’s browser. We couldn’t confirm My Music Staff’s answer on its current pages. | Unknown |
Prices are monthly list prices as each pricing page showed them. My Music Staff’s page shows a $ sign without naming a currency.
Where Sonely and My Music Staff differ
Price
Free for a teacher on their own
Both include every feature and unlimited students, so the difference is the price of each login.
- My Music Staff: $16.95 a month, plus $4.95 for each extra teacher or staff member1.
- Sonely: free for one teacher and $12 a month for each extra teacher, admin or staff seat.
- Sonely costs less for studios with up to 3 teachers. From 4 teachers, My Music Staff costs less: with 4, it’s $31.80 a month with My Music Staff and $36 with Sonely.
Payments
More ways for families to pay by bank
- Families pay by card, or by ACH, Bacs, BECS or SEPA direct debit, through your own Stripe account.
- They can pay with PayPal too, and every payment lands on its invoice.
- My Music Staff’s payments page lists Visa, Mastercard, Amex, ACH (US only) and Bacs (UK only)3.
Website
See which sign-ups your ads bring
Both include a website builder and sign-up widgets for the site you already have5.
- Sonely’s widgets report each sign-up to Google Analytics and Meta Pixel.
- Sign-ups become leads or students in Sonely by themselves.
- Five templates and your own domain for your studio site.
Credit where it’s due
What My Music Staff does well
- It has served private teachers and music studios since 2013, its site says12.
- Free phone and email support, with phone lines for the US and Canada, the UK and other countries11.
- SMS reminders come with the subscription1.
- It lists Zoom, Skype and FaceTime integrations for online lessons2 and a Zapier integration9.
Frequently asked questions about Sonely and My Music Staff
You can also reach out to our support team or try the demo studio to see Sonely for yourself.
My Music Staff is studio management software for private music teachers and music studios. Its site says it has been around since 201312. Like Sonely, it brings lessons, attendance, invoices, a student portal and a studio website together.
Yes. Both are made for private teachers and studios and work much the same way: unlimited students, a portal for families and a website. Try the demo studio to see whether Sonely suits the way you teach.
For one teacher, yes: Sonely is free and My Music Staff is $16.95 a month1. As you add teachers, My Music Staff charges $4.95 for each one and Sonely $12. Sonely costs less for studios with up to 3 teachers. From 4 teachers, My Music Staff costs less: with 4, it’s $31.80 a month with My Music Staff and $36 with Sonely.
Import your students and families from a CSV or Excel file, and your teachers from a CSV file. Lessons, invoices and expenses can’t be imported, so you set up your weekly lessons and opening balances when you start. Contact us if you get stuck.
Not with Sonely. The family portal works in any phone’s browser, so there’s nothing to download.
Try the demo
Look around a sample studio with students, lessons and invoices already in place.
Open the demo studioTalk to us
Ask us anything about running your studio on Sonely. Real people read and answer.
Contact us about Sonely
See what’s new
Every update we ship, in one place. See what changed in each release.
Read the changelog