Comparison
BookClay and Kiln Fire, without the marketing
Kiln Fire is the established product in pottery studio software, and it is a good one. This page says where they win, where we win, and which studios should buy theirs instead. Everything below comes from their own pricing calculator and their own documentation.
The short version
They charge by studio size and by how many of eight modules you turn on. We charge one flat fee with everything on.
Where the line crosses
A small studio pays them less. A medium studio pays them more. Above that, considerably more.
The real difference
They have deeper kiln tooling and wheel reservations. We have an AI front desk and retention, which they do not offer at all.
Money
How the two bills are built
Their price is a grid: studio size across, number of modules down. The figures below are the all-modules price in each size band, taken from their published calculator.
Pricing model
- BookClay
- One flat fee. $49 a month, or $490 a year.
- Kiln Fire
- Studio size multiplied by how many of eight modules you switch on.
A small studio, everything on
- BookClay
- $49
- Kiln Fire
- $169
A medium studio, everything on
- BookClay
- $49
- Kiln Fire
- $289
A large studio, everything on
- BookClay
- $49
- Kiln Fire
- $459
The largest band, everything on
- BookClay
- $49
- Kiln Fire
- $629
What happens as you grow
- BookClay
- Nothing. The bill does not move.
- Kiln Fire
- You cross a size band and the price steps up.
Adding a capability later
- BookClay
- It is already on.
- Kiln Fire
- Another module, another line on the bill.
Cut of your class or membership revenue
- BookClay
- None
- Kiln Fire
- None
Price published on the website
- BookClay
- Yes, in full, on the pricing page
- Kiln Fire
- Yes, through a calculator on their pricing page
Getting started
- BookClay
- 14-day trial, no card, no call
- Kiln Fire
- Request a demo
Said plainly
Kiln Fire is cheaper than us in exactly one case: the smallest studio band with a single module switched on, at $29. That is a real number and we are not going to dress it up. Everywhere else the comparison is not close, because their price climbs with your size and with every feature you turn on, and ours does neither. A small studio wanting the whole product pays them $169. It pays us $49.
Product
What each one actually does
Including the four rows where they beat us outright. Those are on the roadmap, but they are not shipped, and a comparison table that quietly omits them is not a comparison table.
Kiln and firing fees
- BookClay
- Yes
- Kiln Fire
- Yes, and it is the heart of their product
Kiln loads as batches
- BookClay
- Not yet. Pieces are tracked individually.
- Kiln Fire
- Yes, with load planning
Wheel and equipment reservations
- BookClay
- Not yet
- Kiln Fire
- Yes, inside the memberships module
Class packs and punch cards
- BookClay
- Not yet
- Kiln Fire
- Yes
Staff permissions
- BookClay
- Three roles: owner, assistant, instructor
- Kiln Fire
- Fine-grained, permission by permission
Changing a membership price later
- BookClay
- Edit the plan
- Kiln Fire
- Their docs say a plan price cannot be changed once created; the documented route is a new plan and moving members across by hand
Discounting an existing member
- BookClay
- In the product
- Kiln Fire
- Their docs route you into the Stripe dashboard to apply the coupon
Waitlist promotion
- BookClay
- Automatic. The seat is offered and charged without anyone watching.
- Kiln Fire
- Their docs describe sending the invite manually
Class reminders by text
- BookClay
- Yes, on your own number, and you set the timing
- Kiln Fire
- Their docs describe class communications as email with fixed timing
AI answering member texts
- BookClay
- Yes
- Kiln Fire
- Not offered
At-risk member detection
- BookClay
- Nightly, with a message drafted for approval
- Kiln Fire
- Not offered
Your own domain for members
- BookClay
- Embed into the site you already own
- Kiln Fire
- Members sign in at a kilnfire.com subdomain
Public API and outbound webhooks
- BookClay
- Yes, both
- Kiln Fire
- Not published
Deleting a user account outright
- BookClay
- Yes
- Kiln Fire
- Their docs describe marking a user inactive
Point of sale with card-present hardware
- BookClay
- Yes, via Stripe Terminal
- Kiln Fire
- Yes, hardware purchase required
Private events and parties
- BookClay
- Yes
- Kiln Fire
- Yes, as a module
Track record
- BookClay
- Running in production at one studio. New.
- Kiln Fire
- Years of studios, a large class directory and a long changelog
Statements about Kiln Fire describe their published documentation and pricing calculator as of 31 August 2026. Products change. If something here is out of date or wrong, tell us and we will correct it: hello@bookclay.app. Kiln Fire is not affiliated with BookClay and their name is their own.
The recommendation
Which one you should actually buy
Buy Kiln Fire if
You want one module and nothing else
Their calculator starts at $29 a month for the smallest studio band with a single module on. If piece tracking is genuinely all you want and you never expect to want the rest, that is twenty dollars a month cheaper than us and we are not going to pretend otherwise. It stops being true as soon as you switch on a second thing.
Wheel reservations are the whole reason you are shopping
If members booking a specific wheel for a specific hour is the problem you are trying to solve, they have it and we do not yet. Buy the thing that solves your problem.
You run big multi-kiln firings as planned loads
Their kiln load planning is more developed than our queue. We track pieces individually and group them loosely. If you plan cone-by-cone loads days ahead, theirs fits better today.
You need a long track record
They have been doing this for years with a lot of studios. BookClay runs one studio in production and is looking for the next few. If being an early customer sounds like a risk rather than an opportunity, that instinct is reasonable.
Buy BookClay if
You want more than one or two pieces of the product
Their $29 is one module at the smallest band. Switch on the ones a working studio actually needs and the small band reaches $169, which is more than three times our whole bill. We are $49 with everything on, at every size, forever.
You do not want a budget conversation every time you need a feature
Eight modules means eight upsells. Every capability you add is a new line on the bill and a decision to defer. Ours are all on from the first day, which mostly means you stop thinking about it.
You change your prices
Raising dues, running founding-member rates, discounting a long-standing member: these are normal things a studio does, and they are documented as painful on their side.
The front desk is the thing wearing you out
This is the real difference. Members text, an AI answers, reschedules, quotes your policy and reports kiln status without you. Their published features and documentation describe nothing like it.
You want to try it tonight
Fourteen days, no card, no demo call. Or open a seeded sandbox without even signing up.
If you are already on Kiln Fire
The move takes an afternoon and a two-week overlap
Members export as a CSV. The schedule gets retyped once. Memberships move as each renewal comes around, so nobody is double-charged. Send me the export and I will set the whole thing up for you before you decide anything.