Kohortly vs Google Classroom
Google Classroom is a great free classroom. Kohortly runs the programme around it.
Google Classroom is Google's free tool for teachers: post assignments, collect work in Google Drive, grade it and talk to the class. It's included in every Google Workspace for Education edition, and anyone with a personal Google account can create a class. It's built for a teacher and the students already enrolled in their school. Training organisations need the parts before and after the class too: applications, intakes, fees, attendance, certificates and a community that lasts after graduation. That's what Kohortly does.
The short answer
Choose Google Classroom if
- You're a school whose students already have Google accounts from you.
- You mainly need assignments, Drive files and grading for an enrolled class.
- You want something free that teachers already know.
Choose Kohortly if
- You recruit learners: they apply, you admit them, they join an intake.
- Learners pay fees, in instalments or through an employer or sponsor.
- You need attendance, certificates and reports for funders.
- You want a community, squads and WhatsApp reminders under your own name.
Google Classroom and Kohortly at a glance
- Price
- Google Classroom: Free with Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals or a personal Google account; Education Plus on quote
- Kohortly: From $49 a month ($41 billed yearly). Every feature on every plan, 0% on what learners pay.
- Best for
- Google Classroom: Teachers running school classes
- Kohortly: Organisations running training programmes
- Who can join
- Google Classroom: Students given a class code or invited by the teacher
- Kohortly: Anyone who applies, registers or is invited
- Community
- Google Classroom: A class stream
- Kohortly: Feed, chats, squads and channels
Feature by feature
| Feature | Kohortly | Google Classroom |
|---|---|---|
| Community feed, categories and polls | Class stream | |
| Courses, lessons and progress | Classwork and topics | |
| Points, levels and leaderboards | ||
| Live sessions | Live rooms in the browser, with breakout groups and recording | Google Meet links |
| Admissions | Application forms with a review queue | |
| Cohorts | Intakes with seats, dates and class times | Classes |
| Attendance | Online and in person, with QR check-in | |
| Certificates | Issued on completion, with a public check page | |
| Small groups | Squads inside each cohort | Student groups |
| Impact reporting | Impact reports and follow-up surveys | Grades and analytics in paid editions |
| Payments made outside a card checkout | Bank transfer, M-Pesa, UPI, Pix, card and cash recorded, with receipts and balances | Not a payments tool |
| One payer for many learners | An employer or sponsor pays for several learners | |
| WhatsApp and SMS | WhatsApp and SMS reminders and announcements | |
| Email broadcasts and automatic sequences | Guardian email summaries | |
| Phone app | Installable web app under your own name and logo, plus the Kohortly phone app | Google Classroom app |
| Web address | kohortly.com/yourname, or your own domain | classroom.google.com |
| Developer access | Public API, MCP server and CLI | Classroom API |
| Fee on what learners pay | 0% | Not a payments tool |
Google Classroom details as of November 2026, from Google Workspace for Education editions, Google Workspace for Education pricing and licensing and published reviews. Prices and fees change, so check Google Classroom's site before you decide.
A classroom tool versus a training business
Google Classroom assumes the hard parts are already done: the school has admitted the students, given them accounts and timetabled the class. The teacher's job is assignments, feedback and grades, and Classroom does that well, with Drive, Docs and Meet built in.
A training organisation has to do those parts itself. People apply and are reviewed, an intake has seats and class times, fees are paid in instalments or by an employer, sessions need attendance, and graduates expect a certificate an employer can check. Kohortly puts all of that in one place, with the courses and live sessions in the middle.
Cohorts, not just a membership
Google Classroom organises work by class, for students the school has already enrolled. Kohortly starts from the programme: you open an intake with a start date, seats and class times, people apply, your team admits them, and they move through the cohort together until graduation.
Every learner has a record that follows them: which intake they joined, which sessions they attended, what they paid and which certificate they earned. When a funder or board asks how the last cohort went, the answer is already there.
If you only need an open membership that anyone can join with a card, Google Classroom may be all you need. If you admit people into programmes that start and finish, that structure is what Kohortly is for.
Getting paid the way your learners pay
Google Classroom doesn't handle fees at all. Many of the organisations we work with are paid by bank transfer, mobile money such as M-Pesa, UPI or Pix, a company cheque, a card on their own machine (Visa, Mastercard, American Express) or cash at the first session, often in instalments.
Kohortly records each payment against the learner's fee account, issues a receipt, shows the balance and reminds people before an instalment is due, by email, WhatsApp or SMS. Nothing is taken from what your learners pay: Kohortly charges 0%.
When an employer pays for ten staff, one payer covers all ten seats and gets one invoice, while each learner still has their own place in the cohort.
Attendance and certificates that prove the work
Google Classroom has no attendance register or certificates of its own. In Kohortly, people who join a live session are marked present automatically, and for in-person days staff can tick a register or learners can scan a QR code at the door, even on a weak connection.
Completion rules can require attendance as well as lessons. When a learner finishes, their certificate is issued with a public check page, so an employer can confirm it is genuine.
Where Google Classroom is the better choice
No platform suits everyone. Google Classroom does these things better than Kohortly:
- Free, and many teachers and students already know it.
- Built into Google Drive, Docs, Forms and Meet.
- Strong assignment, rubric and grading tools for school work.
Moving from Google Classroom to Kohortly
- Request a community. We set it up with your name, logo and colours, at kohortly.com/yourname or on your own domain.
- Import your members from a CSV export, with their names, emails and phone numbers.
- Recreate your programmes and courses. Lesson videos can be uploaded or embedded, and we can help with the move when we agree your plan.
- Invite members to sign in. Their history starts in Kohortly from the next intake.
Questions
Is Google Classroom free?+
Yes. Classroom is included in Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals, which is free for qualifying schools, and anyone with a personal Google account can create a class. The paid Education Plus edition and add-ons are priced on quote.
Can I use Google Classroom for a paid course or training business?+
You can teach in it, but it has no applications, payments, fee records, certificates or marketing pages, and learners need a Google account. Most training businesses end up adding forms, spreadsheets and a payment tool around it. Kohortly includes those parts.
What's a Google Classroom alternative for training organisations?+
If you admit learners into cohorts, take fees, track attendance and issue certificates, Kohortly is built for that, with a community and WhatsApp reminders included.
Other comparisons
Bring your next cohort to Kohortly
Request a community today. We review every request by hand.