What records do homeschoolers need to keep?

It depends on your state, so check with your state's homeschool office, as Homeschool Tracker's own page advises. The tools above cover the usual pieces: attendance or hours, grades, reading lists, work samples, report cards and transcripts.

Is there a free way to make report cards and transcripts?

Homeschool Reports has a free Starter plan for one child with every report type, though PDFs carry a watermark. Fast Transcripts says its transcript generator, which calculates GPA, needs no signup or credit card.

Which tools track hours, not just days?

Homeschool Tracker tracks attendance by hours, Homeschool Hall's Activity Journal shows core and non-core subject hours, and Scholaric tracks planned and completed hours.

Can I keep my records if I cancel?

It varies. Homeschool Tracker keeps read-only access for 90 days and exports PDF or CSV, Transcript Maker exports PDF, CSV, XML and TREx files, and Homeschool Hall lets you keep using the app until your billing cycle ends.

Top 10 homeschool record keeping tools (2026)

Checked October 2026For Homeschool and parentsKind Software and appsNo affiliate links, no paid placement. How we chose

Quick answer

Homeschool Tracker is our number one pick for records: it tracks attendance by hours, builds transcripts and year-end portfolios, offers compliance packs for high-regulation states such as New York and Pennsylvania, and exports to PDF or CSV. Homeschool Manager costs less, and Homeschool Reports has a free plan for one child. This list is for parents who may need to show attendance, grades or a transcript to a state, an evaluator or a college.

Top 10 homeschool record keeping tools (2026): comparison
#	Name	Best for	Price
1	Homeschool Tracker	Best for families who must show records to the state	Paid
2	Homeschool Manager	Best for a lower-cost record book with volunteer hours	Paid
3	Homeschool Planet	Best when you want planning and records in the same place	Paid
4	Homeschool Reports	Best for printing report cards and transcripts cheaply	Free plan, paid upgrades
5	Homeschool Hall Activity Journal	Best for tracking core and non-core hours by subject	Paid
6	Homeschool Panda	Best for photo portfolios from a phone	Free plan, paid upgrades
7	Scholaric	Best for hours and attendance totals without extra entry	Paid
8	Syllabird	Best for keeping work samples with each assignment	Paid
9	Fast Transcripts	Best for a college-ready high school transcript	Free plan, paid upgrades
10	Transcript Maker	Best for transcripts that need several export formats	Paid

1. Homeschool Tracker

Homeschool Tracker

Best for families who must show records to the state
Paid

A web planner with a strong records side. Tests are graded question by question and roll up into a report card, and attendance is tracked by hours. It generates print-ready transcripts, year-end portfolios and state compliance packs for high-regulation states such as NY, PA, OH and NC. You can export records as PDF or CSV and keep read-only access for 90 days after cancelling.

$8 a month, $65 a year, or $119 for two years; all plans have every feature, up to 20 students and 3 teachers (as of 2026-10-27). 7-day free trial, no credit card.

Watch for No dedicated mobile app, and the page tells you to check your state's requirements with its homeschool office rather than rely on the packs alone.

Visit Homeschool Tracker ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

2. Homeschool Manager

Homeschool Manager

Best for a lower-cost record book with volunteer hours
Paid

A planner and record book in one. The records side includes a gradebook, report cards, transcripts, book lists, attendance tracking and a volunteer hours log, with a dashboard of overdue work and items still waiting for a grade. Both plans include all of these features.

$5.99 a month or $49 a year (as of 2026-10-27). 30-day free trial; the page says no charge until the trial ends.

Watch for The pages we read give no student limit and mention no export options or free tier, so check how you can download records before relying on it.

Visit Homeschool Manager ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

3. Homeschool Planet

Homeschool Planet

Best when you want planning and records in the same place
Paid

A planner whose assignments reschedule themselves, with grades, attendance and transcripts included and described as customizable. It also lists report cards, personalized reports and flexible grading options, and the site says students can see their own views. A lesson plan marketplace lists over 4,000 publisher plans.

$84.95 a year or $9.95 a month for a single family (as of 2026-10-27). 30-day free trial, no credit card.

Watch for Priced above most other tools here, and the records are part of a full planner, so you pay for planning features even if you only want records.

Visit Homeschool Planet ↗

4. Homeschool Reports

Homeschool Reports

Best for printing report cards and transcripts cheaply
Free plan, paid upgrades

A browser-based maker of six document types: attendance records, report cards, high school transcripts, progress reports, certificates and awards, and diplomas. Every plan, including the free one, has all six. Past school years are saved, and the site says records stay private.

The free part: The Starter plan is free for one child and includes every report type, with a watermark on PDFs and reports kept for 6 months.

The Family plan covers 5 children for $39 a year or $9 a month, with extra children $10 a year each (as of 2026-10-27).

Watch for The free plan covers one child, puts a watermark on PDFs and keeps reports for only 6 months, and it makes documents rather than planning your lessons.

Visit Homeschool Reports ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

5. Homeschool Hall Activity Journal

Homeschool Hall

Best for tracking core and non-core hours by subject
Paid

A journal for tracking what your children do. Its stats can show core and non-core subject hours, average time per day, attendance days and time at home versus away, and you can switch widgets on or off to match your state's requirements. Transcripts come with automatic GPA calculation and unlimited PDF downloads.

$7.99 a month or $79.99 a year (as of 2026-10-27). The page offers a full refund within 14 days of signing up and mentions no free trial.

Watch for You must commit to the Activity Journal for 3 months before you can download transcripts, and student portfolios are listed as not yet available.

Visit Homeschool Hall Activity Journal ↗

6. Homeschool Panda

Homeschool Panda

Best for photo portfolios from a phone
Free plan, paid upgrades

A planner with record keeping and portfolio tools. Photos added to assignments, mainly through the mobile app, build a portfolio or yearbook, and the site says it generates transcripts, grade reports and portfolios. The Essentials plan includes homeschooling reports, and the Pro plan adds a transcript report and unlimited storage.

The free part: The free Panda Connect plan covers posts, messenger, groups, a forum and finding nearby homeschoolers, not the record tools.

Homeschooler Essentials is $5 a month and Homeschooler Pro is $8 a month (as of 2026-10-27). 30-day trial, no credit card.

Watch for The transcript report is only on the higher plan, and the pricing page shows monthly figures only and still carries an old line about being free until 2020.

Visit Homeschool Panda ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

7. Scholaric

Scholaric

Best for hours and attendance totals without extra entry
Paid

A planner that keeps record totals as you go. It tracks planned and completed hours, totals attendance automatically and shows whether you are on track for state requirements or personal goals. You enter each lesson once, and students can log in or you can print checklists.

From $3 a month for one student to $7 a month for five or more (as of 2026-10-27). 15-day free trial; cancel any time.

Watch for The pages we read do not mention transcripts or report cards, and you must subscribe by the end of the 15-day trial to keep your data.

Visit Scholaric ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

8. Syllabird

Syllabird

Best for keeping work samples with each assignment
Paid

A digital planner where you can upload documents to assignments, enter grades and have the app calculate course grades. A gradebook shows each child's current and past grades.

Essential is $6 a month or $60 a year with 50 GB of storage; Premium is $9 a month or $90 a year with 250 GB (as of 2026-10-27). 14-day trial, no credit card.

Watch for Uploads count against a storage cap, and the pages we read do not mention transcripts or attendance reports.

Visit Syllabird ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

9. Fast Transcripts

Fast Transcripts

Best for a college-ready high school transcript
Free plan, paid upgrades

A transcript-only service for high school. Its home page offers a free transcript generator that calculates weighted and unweighted GPA with course name suggestions and no signup or credit card. The site also describes a transcript audit that flags possible mistakes and secure delivery to colleges through its Homeschool Clearinghouse.

The free part: The home page says the free generator needs no signup or credit card and calculates weighted and unweighted GPA.

Plans are listed at $19.99 (Essentials), $29.99 (Best for Scholarships) and $99.99 (Expert Review) (as of 2026-10-27).

Watch for The pricing page does not say whether those plans are one-time or recurring, or how long the trial is, so confirm before you pay. It does only transcripts, not attendance or grades.

Visit Fast Transcripts ↗ Facts read on the maker’s page.

10. Transcript Maker

Transcript Maker

Best for transcripts that need several export formats
Paid

A cloud tool for building transcripts. It calculates weighted and unweighted GPA by year, semester or subject, tracks AP and honors and dual enrollment courses, and counts credits attempted versus earned. It exports PDF, CSV, XML and TREx files, and supports a custom logo, watermark and footer.

Homeschool plans cover up to 5 students: $14 for 1 month, $19 for 3 months or $59 for 1 year (as of 2026-10-27). 14-day free trial.

Watch for A transcript tool only: it does not track daily attendance, hours or portfolios.

Visit Transcript Maker ↗

Also good

CM Organizer: A Charlotte Mason planner; its subscription adds school-year attendance and bibliography reports, which the free Basic account lacks.
Discovery K12 Parent/Teacher Account: For families using its free curriculum; the upgraded account adds grade books, attendance logs, transcripts and diplomas.
Google Sheets: A free spreadsheet with a Google Account and offline editing; you build your own attendance, hours and grade columns.
HSLDA transcript templates: Fill-in templates, but the page says they are for HSLDA members.

How we chose

We weighed these, most important first. The order is our judgement against them, not a score or a vote, and a different teacher could reasonably order it differently.

Covers the records you may be asked for. Attendance or hours, grades, reading lists, work samples, report cards and transcripts, as listed on the maker's own page.
Free version or trial. A way to test it with your own children's information before paying, and whether a card is needed.
Cost for a year. The price on the maker's pricing page, with what the plan covers.
Getting your records out. Exports, downloads and what happens to your data if you cancel.
Fits your state's rules. Whether the tool lets you track hours or match a state's requirements; rules vary, so always check with your state's homeschool office.

We took no money, free products or affiliate commissions for any place on this list, and no link here carries a tracking code. Every fact was read on the maker’s own page on October 27, 2026; prices carry that date because they change. See how we choose and the ad-free promise.

Questions

What records do homeschoolers need to keep?: It depends on your state, so check with your state's homeschool office, as Homeschool Tracker's own page advises. The tools above cover the usual pieces: attendance or hours, grades, reading lists, work samples, report cards and transcripts.
Is there a free way to make report cards and transcripts?: Homeschool Reports has a free Starter plan for one child with every report type, though PDFs carry a watermark. Fast Transcripts says its transcript generator, which calculates GPA, needs no signup or credit card.
Which tools track hours, not just days?: Homeschool Tracker tracks attendance by hours, Homeschool Hall's Activity Journal shows core and non-core subject hours, and Scholaric tracks planned and completed hours.
Can I keep my records if I cancel?: It varies. Homeschool Tracker keeps read-only access for 90 days and exports PDF or CSV, Transcript Maker exports PDF, CSV, XML and TREx files, and Homeschool Hall lets you keep using the app until your billing cycle ends.

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Last checked October 27, 2026. Something out of date or missing? Tell us and we will fix it; makers can send corrections, never money.