Homeschool Tracker has been keeping homeschool records longer than almost anyone, and its grading engine is genuinely deep — it earned its two decades of trust. If you found this page, you're probably deciding whether a program built in the desktop-software era still fits a homeschool that now involves ESA receipts, college applications, and a phone in your pocket.
The short version: Tracker is a gradebook first and does that well. ArborSlate is a full records office — the same gradebook, attendance, and planning, plus the documents that come out of those records: registrar-style transcripts, K-8 report cards, diplomas, state-compliance logs, and audit-ready ESA expense files.
Feature by feature
| Feature | ArborSlate | Homeschool Tracker |
|---|---|---|
| High-school transcripts | ✓ | ✓ |
| Gradebook & grades | ✓ | ✓ |
| Attendance tracking | ✓ | ✓ |
| Report cards | ✓ | ✓ |
| Lesson planning / scheduling | ✓ | ✓ |
| ESA expense tracking | ✓ | ✗ |
| State-compliance records | ✓ | Partial1 |
| AI course descriptions & tutor | ✓ | ✗ |
| Co-op management | ✓ | ✗ |
| Free tools (no account needed) | ✓ | Partial2 |
✗ means not offered — or not advertised on the product's public site as of July 2026. 1 Homeschool Tracker — Its reports can support a state filing, but there is no per-state guidance or compliance log. 2 Homeschool Tracker — Free Basic Edition requires creating an account.
Pricing
Homeschool Tracker: A free Basic Edition plus paid plans their homepage advertises as starting "under $5/month." We could not verify the exact current tiers — their pricing page was unavailable when we last checked — so confirm on their site before you budget.
ArborSlate: Family plan $29/month or $249/year; Transcript Pro $60/year; one-time clean transcript or diploma PDF $19 each. 14-day free trial (card at signup). Free anonymous tools — transcript builder, diploma maker, Arizona ESA tracker, GPA calculator — need no account. For Arizona ESA families, the subscription is ESA-eligible — most families reimburse it through ClassWallet as a non-public online learning program expense.
Where Homeschool Tracker shines
A comparison you can trust has to give the other side its due, so here it is honestly:
- Twenty-plus years in homeschool families’ hands — it is a known, trusted name.
- A genuinely deep grading engine: custom grading scales, weighting, and detailed report options.
- Among the least expensive full record-keepers if the advertised pricing holds.
Pick Homeschool Tracker if: Families who want a proven, inexpensive gradebook-first program and don’t need ESA tracking, compliance guidance, or modern AI-assisted tools.
Where ArborSlate is different
ArborSlate starts where Tracker stops: the paperwork your records exist to produce. Grades flow into a transcript that colleges recognize on sight (Registrar and Common App formats), attendance and subjects flow into your state's compliance log, and every ESA purchase is tracked against your state's actual category list — with itemized receipts and a submission packet when it's time to file. Add AI course descriptions, a per-student AI tutor, and co-op management, and the two products stop being the same category.
There's also the ESA math: for Arizona families, the ArborSlate subscription itself is ESA-eligible, and most families reimburse it through ClassWallet. A tool that costs more on the sticker can cost your family budget nothing.
Common questions
Is ArborSlate a replacement for Homeschool Tracker?
For most families, yes — ArborSlate covers the same core record keeping (gradebook, attendance, lesson planning, transcripts, report cards) and adds ESA expense tracking, per-state compliance records, AI course descriptions, an AI tutor, and co-op management that Homeschool Tracker does not offer.
Which is cheaper, ArborSlate or Homeschool Tracker?
Homeschool Tracker advertises plans starting under $5/month plus a free Basic Edition, which makes it one of the least expensive gradebooks available. ArborSlate is $29/month or $249/year for the whole family. If price is the only factor and you only need a gradebook, Tracker likely wins; if you also need transcripts, ESA records, or compliance documents, ArborSlate replaces several tools at once.
Does Homeschool Tracker support ESA expense tracking?
No — Homeschool Tracker does not advertise any ESA or scholarship expense-tracking features. ArborSlate tracks ESA expenses against your state’s category list (including the exact Arizona ClassWallet categories), generates itemized receipts, and builds a submission packet.
Can I try ArborSlate before paying?
Yes — the transcript builder, diploma maker, Arizona ESA tracker, and GPA calculator are free to use in your browser with no account. The full app has a 14-day free trial (card required at signup).