SubHubEdu vs. Spreadsheets
Your spreadsheet worked. Until 5:45 a.m. on a Monday.
If your school manages subs with a substitute teacher spreadsheet, a group text and a phone, you’re not alone. Most small schools started there. It works when absences are rare and you know every sub by heart. It stops working the morning three teachers call out, your go-to sub doesn’t answer, and the front office is still piecing it together when the bell rings.
| SubHubEdu | Spreadsheets | |
|---|---|---|
| When a teacher is out | They submit it from their phone in under a minute | They call, text or email someone, and hope the message lands |
| Finding a sub | Fit over fill: the right sub is matched and notified automatically | Someone works down a list, one call or text at a time |
| Preferred Subs | Teachers rank up to 5, and your rules decide who’s next | Kept in someone’s head or a tab that’s out of date |
| Schedules | Custom schedules for divisions, buildings, and schools | Cross-checked by hand |
| Who knows what’s covered | Everyone: real-time status for admins, teachers and subs | Whoever has the spreadsheet open |
| When the coordinator is out | Coverage keeps running | Coverage stops |
| What you learn | Fill rates, sub reliability, response history and absence patterns | Whatever you have time to tally |
| Cost | Simple pricing based on your full-time teachers | “Free,” paid for in admin hours every morning |
The hidden cost of “free”
A spreadsheet doesn’t cost anything, but the person running it does. Every call, text and follow-up comes out of someone’s morning, usually someone who already wears five hats. SubHubEdu gives that time back.
What happens when your sub coordinator is sick?
When coverage lives in one person’s spreadsheet and phone, that person can’t take a day off. SubHubEdu keeps everything in one shared place, so coverage doesn’t depend on any one person being there.
Built for schools that never needed “big” software
You don’t need an enterprise system or an IT department. SubHubEdu was built by a former teacher for small schools. Most schools are up and running in a day, and teachers learn it in minutes.
5 signs you’ve outgrown your spreadsheet
- You can’t say how often absences went uncovered last month.
- You’re texting subs before 6 a.m.
- Only one person really knows how coverage works.
- Teachers ask “Did I get a sub?” more than once.
- The same reliable subs get every job and burn out, while others never hear from you.
Ready to retire the spreadsheet?
Comparison based on EZ School Apps’ public website as of November 2026. Features and pricing may change.