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Top 8 school year and unit planning tools for teachers (2026)

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

Quick answer

For planning a whole year or a unit, rather than a single lesson, Common Planner is the easiest place to start: its teacher plan is advertised as free and it handles units, pacing and sharing. Google Workspace for Education and Trello suit a team that builds its own shared year plan. The four curriculum-mapping systems further down are sold to schools by quote. This list is for teachers and small teams planning at course, unit and year level.

Top 8 school year and unit planning tools for teachers (2026): comparison
#NameBest forPrice
1Common PlannerBest for a teacher or small team planning unitsFree plan, paid upgrades
2TrelloBest for a free shared board a team lays out itselfFree plan, paid upgrades
3Google Workspace for EducationBest for a school already on Google accountsFree
4ToddleBest for a school that wants planning and LMS togetherPrice varies
5Eduplanet21Best for teams writing or revising a curriculumPrice varies
6AtlasBest for school-wide curriculum mappingPrice varies
7Curriculum TrakBest for a faith-based or small private schoolPrice varies
8PowerSchool Curriculum & InstructionBest for districts already on PowerSchoolPrice varies

1. Common Planner

Common Planner (also listed as Common Curriculum)

  • Best for a teacher or small team planning units
  • Free plan, paid upgrades

A planning tool for unit and lesson plans with standards tracking. Plans can be rearranged by drag and drop, pushed forward one click to keep pacing, and copied into new units or school years. Teams can co-plan in a shared planbook, and admins can set a school-wide template and calendar and look for gaps in standards coverage.

The free part: The teacher plan, CP Basic, is advertised as free. School and district plans are by demo request, and admins can start a 30-day free trial.

No prices are listed for school plans on the page we read.

Watch for The page does not say what the free teacher plan leaves out, so check that before building a team's year plan on it.

Visit Common Planner ↗

2. Trello

Trello

  • Best for a free shared board a team lays out itself
  • Free plan, paid upgrades

A general-purpose board tool, not education software. Teams can build their own year-at-a-glance or unit boards and share them with collaborators. The free plan allows up to 10 boards per Workspace and up to 10 collaborators, with unlimited cards.

The free part: Up to 10 boards per Workspace and up to 10 collaborators, with unlimited cards and 10MB per file.

Standard is $5 per user per month billed annually or $6 billed monthly; Premium is $10 billed annually or $12.50 billed monthly (as of 2026-10-27).

Watch for Not made for schools: there are no standards or pacing tools on the pricing page, so you design your own layout.

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

3. Google Workspace for Education

Google

  • Best for a school already on Google accounts
  • Free

Docs, Sheets, Slides, Calendar and Classroom are included in every edition, including the Education Fundamentals edition that is available without cost to qualified educational institutions. It is not a planning product as such; teams use the shared documents, spreadsheets and calendars to build their own scope and sequence and year calendar.

Education Fundamentals is available without cost for qualified educational institutions.

Watch for Free applies to qualified educational institutions, so your school sets up and manages the accounts; a teacher cannot just sign up alone.

Visit Google Workspace for Education ↗

4. Toddle

Toddle

  • Best for a school that wants planning and LMS together
  • Price varies

A learning management system for K-12 schools whose curriculum planning module runs from curriculum maps to units and lessons, with an AI assistant and analytics on coverage and alignment. It supports frameworks including Understanding by Design, the IB programmes, Cambridge and the English National Curriculum.

Pricing is by quote, tiered by number of users. Planning Pro covers curriculum planning and mapping; higher plans add assessment, gradebook and AI tutors. Free trials typically run two to three weeks.

Watch for No prices are published and there is no free plan; you book a demo or ask for a quote.

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

5. Eduplanet21

Eduplanet21

  • Best for teams writing or revising a curriculum
  • Price varies

A curriculum planner built around Understanding by Design. A unit planner splits a course into units, a course planner holds description, pacing and objectives, and alignment reports track state and national standards. It also offers collaboration, AI-generated suggestions and a district-level Curriculum Blueprint add-on.

Pricing on the maker's site; request a demo or contact the company.

Watch for No price is shown, and the page does not say whether individual teachers can buy it.

Visit Eduplanet21 ↗

6. Atlas

Faria Education Group

  • Best for school-wide curriculum mapping
  • Price varies

A curriculum management platform said to be used at over 6,000 schools and districts. Teams organize school-wide curriculum, plan units, adjust timing with a unit calendar tool and align lessons to standards. Leaders see skills across subjects and grades, and a public site shows families what is being taught and when.

Pricing on the maker's site; the page directs you to Contact Sales or Get a Demo.

Watch for Built for schools and districts; the page sends you to sales or a demo and shows no price.

Visit Atlas ↗

7. Curriculum Trak

Faria Education Group

  • Best for a faith-based or small private school
  • Price varies

A curriculum mapping platform with a lesson planner and staff evaluations. Every user can open all course maps and unit plans across grade levels and run reports on curriculum data. The site says it was built by faith-based educators for faith-based schools, and it also lists solutions for preschools, K-8, high schools and international schools.

Pricing on the maker's site; the page offers a request-info or demo form.

Watch for No price or free trial is shown, and pacing is not mentioned on the page we read.

Visit Curriculum Trak ↗

8. PowerSchool Curriculum & Instruction

PowerSchool

  • Best for districts already on PowerSchool
  • Price varies

A product that keeps lesson plans, pacing guides and curriculum maps in one place and lets teams share them with colleagues, students and families. It has lesson templates with a submission and review process, an AI helper for standards-aligned content, and standards reports. It works with PowerSchool SIS and Schoology.

Pricing on the maker's site; the page invites you to speak with an expert.

Watch for Aimed at districts that use PowerSchool products, and no price is shown.

Visit PowerSchool Curriculum & Instruction ↗

Also good

  • PlanbookEdu: A weekly plan book with a free plan; see our lesson planning list.
  • Microsoft Office 365 A1: Free for eligible educators: web Word, Excel and OneNote for building your own pacing sheets.
  • Notion: K-12 educators can use the free plan, which is a one-member workspace.
  • Kiddom: A K-12 curriculum platform sold through national and NYC pricing pages and demo requests.

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.

  1. A teacher can start without a purchase order. Free tiers and free trials rank above tools you can only get by booking a sales demo.
  2. Works at year and unit level. Units, pacing, calendars, curriculum maps or standards coverage, not only a daily lesson page.
  3. Shared team planning. Whether a grade-level or department team can plan in one place and see each other's work.
  4. Clear about price. Published prices rank above quote-only products; we say plainly when a price is not shown.

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 is the difference between this list and the lesson planning list?
This list covers planning at year, course and unit level: curriculum maps, pacing and shared team plans. Our lesson planning list is about finding or writing individual lessons.
Is there a free tool for scope and sequence or pacing?
Common Planner advertises a free teacher plan with pacing tools, Trello has a free plan for small boards, and Google Workspace for Education is free to qualified institutions. The curriculum-mapping systems on this list are sold by quote.
Can a single teacher buy Atlas, Toddle or Eduplanet21?
These are sold to schools and districts through demos or quotes. The Eduplanet21 page does not say whether individual teachers can buy it, so ask the company.
Do I need a curriculum mapping system?
Not for one classroom. A shared spreadsheet or a free planner is enough for a grade-level team; mapping systems matter when a school wants standards coverage reports across grades.

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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.