Availy vs Fons — A Studio Platform for Any Subject
Fons — now rebranding to MakeMusic Studio after its acquisition by MakeMusic — is a music-first studio manager built around automatic billing. Availy is a newer, any-subject alternative built around student self-booking, lesson credits, and real parent accounts, with your own branded studio subdomain.
| Feature | Availy | Fons (MakeMusic Studio) |
|---|---|---|
| Works beyond music | Built for any subject — academics, music, languages, test prep | Music-first, with an integrated music library |
| Pricing model | $29/mo solo, $99/mo studio — flat, unlimited students | $19.95/mo + $4.95 per additional teacher — lower base price, unlimited clients |
| Student self-booking | Real-time self-booking backed by lesson credits | Real-time booking with instant-confirm or approval modes |
| Online payments | Card payments via Stripe (USD & CAD) — no markup from Availy | Stripe-standard card fees; ACH at 1.8%; plus a 0.4% fee on recurring subscription volume |
| Email & SMS reminders | Included — sent to students and linked parents, each with their own notification preferences | Included — texts go to the family's primary contact only |
| Calendar sync & invites | Instructors connect Google Calendar: lessons push into it and their Google busy times block availability. Plus a personal feed for every user (Google, Apple & Outlook) and an invite on every booking email | Two-way Google sync; Apple via read-only feed; Outlook via a generic feed URL |
| Parent & family accounts | Full parent accounts — per-child balances, booking, and notification controls | One paying primary contact per family; packages can't be shared between siblings |
| Credit packages & memberships | Credit packages, recurring memberships, and a credit ledger students and parents can see | Autopay-first billing — per-lesson auto-charge, package auto-repurchase, subscriptions |
| Learning plans & homework | Goals and homework tasks per student, shared with parents and pulled into lesson reminders | Lesson notes per session |
| Late-cancellation handling | Configurable notice window — after the deadline, online cancellation closes; nothing is auto-charged | Automatic enforcement — late cancels auto-charge or deduct a credit, with a forgive option |
Comparison based on each product's publicly published features and pricing as of July 2026. Fons (MakeMusic Studio) is a trademark of its respective owner and is not affiliated with Availy. Details change — check their site for the latest.
When Fons (MakeMusic Studio) is the better fit
If you want autopay-first billing that charges families automatically, auto-repurchases lesson packages, and auto-enforces your late-cancellation policy, Fons is built for exactly that. Its base price is lower than Availy's, and music teachers get its integrated music library.
Common questions
- Is Availy cheaper than Fons?
- Not at the base price. Fons starts at $19.95 per month plus $4.95 per additional teacher, against $29 per month for a solo instructor on Availy. Availy's $99 per month Studio plan covers up to 10 instructors with no per-teacher fee, so larger studios can come out ahead, but a single teacher will pay less on Fons.
- Does Availy charge families automatically like Fons does?
- No. Fons is built around autopay: it can charge families automatically, auto-repurchase lesson packages, and auto-enforce your late-cancellation policy. Availy sends invoices that students or parents pay by card through Stripe, and tracks balances and who has paid, but it does not run autopay on a family's card. If hands-off billing is your main requirement, Fons is built for exactly that.
- What does Availy do that Fons doesn't?
- Availy works for any subject rather than focusing on music, gives parents and guardians their own logins alongside students, and shows a visible credit ledger so families can see exactly what they have bought and used. Every student can also have a learning plan with goals and homework tasks that parents can follow.
When to choose Availy
Choose Availy if you teach any subject — not music only — and want real parent accounts with per-child visibility instead of a single billing contact, reminders that reach every family member with their own preferences, a transparent credit ledger, and your own branded studio subdomain.
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