Comparison
Bell Path vs aSc Timetables
Choose Bell Path when Australian planning time, job-shares, daily cover and yard duty are the problem. Choose aSc when you want a low one-off price, an unlimited trial or a program installed on your own computer.
aSc Timetables is one of the most widely used timetabling programs in the world, with three decades behind it, built-in AI and an unlimited free trial. It is also built for no country in particular, so it has no Australian planning-time rules.
Already run one? Send the file and it is in Bell Path within 48 hours, with Daily Cover free for two weeks.
Based on the public product and trial pages of aSc Timetables. aSc updates often and sells in many countries, so confirm current features and pricing with the vendor.
Sources checked · 3 October 2026
Which product fits which school.
Choose Bell Path if
- Your teachers have a planning-time entitlement that has to be delivered to the minute under your state’s rules
- Part-timers, job-shares and specialists who also teach a class are the reason the timetable is hard
- You want yard duty, daily cover, wet day plans and events to run from the same timetable
- You want the product to use your staffroom’s words: APT, RFF, NCT, NIT or DOTT, and yard duty
Choose aSc Timetables if
- You want to build a complete timetable before spending anything. aSc’s trial is unlimited, with printouts watermarked and export locked until you buy
- You are outside Australia, or you need the software in a language other than English
- You are a secondary school and student subject selection is the problem
- You want a program installed on your own computer rather than a website
What the decision usually comes down to.
Built for
Australian primary schools only, with state-specific planning-time entitlements built into the model
Schools worldwide, primary and secondary, with no country-specific entitlement logic
Planning time
Knows the Victorian and Tasmanian face-to-face cap and the fixed weekly release figures for NSW, QLD, SA, WA, the ACT and the NT, and enforces them as minimums
General teacher load and free-period settings that you set up yourself to approximate an entitlement
Terminology
Uses your state’s words on screen, in PDFs and in staff emails
International scheduling words, translated into many languages
After the timetable
Daily cover, yard duty with a fairness record, wet day plans, event timetables, an operations calendar and a staff portal
Substitution management, break supervision that can be generated for areas such as the yard, and a mobile app for published timetables
Evaluation and pricing
Send the timetable you already run and it is in Bell Path within 48 hours, with Daily Cover free for two weeks. Or set up and build a free preview of your real timetable. Prices are published, $679 a year for up to 100 students and $1,349 for 101 to 300, rising with school size, with no GST added
Unlimited free trial, with printouts watermarked and export locked until purchase. A one-off licence, with a primary-school price of $399, includes two years of updates, then costs $79 a year
Where it runs
In a web browser, with staff views on a phone
A desktop program, plus an online version
FAQ
Questions schools ask when comparing Bell Path and aSc Timetables.
Can aSc Timetables handle Australian planning time?
You can approximate it by setting teacher loads and free periods by hand, and many schools do. What it does not have is any concept of an Australian entitlement, so nothing checks that every teacher received theirs before the timetable goes out.
Is aSc cheaper than Bell Path?
Usually, yes. aSc’s price page lists a primary-school licence at $399, paid once, with two years of updates included and $79 a year after that. Bell Path is an annual subscription priced $679 a year for up to 100 students and $1,349 for 101 to 300, rising with school size, with no GST added. The clearer difference is what you get. aSc is a timetabling program, and Bell Path is a timetable plus the daily cover, yard duty and wet day plans that follow it.
Which should a small Australian primary school choose?
If the hard part is planning time, part-timers and job-shares, and you also want cover and duty handled, Bell Path is the closer fit, and it can build a free preview of your real school week. If you need unlimited access to a general program before committing, aSc’s trial is the stronger fit.
Does Bell Path offer a free trial like aSc?
Not the same kind. Bell Path loads the timetable you already run within 48 hours with Daily Cover free for two weeks, or lets you set up and build a free preview of your real timetable, then asks for a subscription to unlock the full week, sharing and downloads. aSc offers an unlimited trial with watermarked printouts. If unlimited pre-purchase access is decisive, aSc is stronger on that specific point.
Other comparisons.
Bell Path vs FET
Choose FET when there is no budget and you have someone technical who will own it.
Bell Path vs Prime Timetable
Choose Prime Timetable for a light, general scheduler that runs on any device and is quick to start.
Bell Path vs TimeTabler
Choose TimeTabler if you are a secondary school, or you want to learn the craft of timetabling itself.
Bell Path vs TimetableMaster
Choose TimetableMaster if you want a general AI scheduler for schools, colleges and universities, with phone apps and a 10-day free trial.
See the timetable before you decide.
Send us the timetable you already run and it is in Bell Path within 48 hours, or see a week Bell Path built for a sample school first.
Bell Path publishes its prices: $679 a year for up to 100 students and $1,349 for 101 to 300, rising with school size, with no per-user add-ons. See the full price list.