ClassLink
ClassLink is a US K-12 identity, rostering and analytics vendor. Like Clever, it sits between the student information system and the applications a district runs; unlike Clever, its commercial model is a district subscription and its deployment options run closer to the district's own infrastructure.
| ClassLink | Clever | |
|---|---|---|
| Rostering component | Roster Server | Secure Sync |
| Sign-on component | LaunchPad | Portal / Instant Login |
| Usage analytics | Analytics+, a headline product | Available, less central |
| Who pays | The district subscribes | Applications pay; rostering free to districts |
| OneRoster posture | Emits OneRoster CSV and REST; heavily standards-forward | Emits OneRoster and its own API shape |
| Deployment | Cloud sync or an on-district agent (OneSync) | Cloud sync or a district-hosted sync agent |
| Directory management | Can provision and manage accounts in Google and Entra | More focused on the login handshake |
The components, and which one a comms vendor ever touches
Four names cover most of what districts mean by ClassLink:
- Roster Server reads the SIS and publishes roster data to applications, natively in OneRoster shapes. This is the only component a school-home messaging platform has any business consuming.
- LaunchPad is the single sign-on portal — one page, many applications, one login. It is the component students and teachers actually see and the reason most districts buy.
- Analytics+ reports which applications are used, by whom, how often. Districts use it to defend or cancel software renewals, and it is often the strongest part of the business case.
- OneSync handles account provisioning into Google Workspace and Microsoft Entra from the SIS, which is directory management rather than rostering.
Keeping these separate matters at contract time. A district that bought ClassLink for LaunchPad and Analytics may have Roster Server available and unconfigured, which is a fast win for a new integration. The reverse also happens.
Deployment shapes, and their credential implications
How ClassLink reaches the SIS is a security conversation as much as a technical one, and the three shapes have genuinely different profiles:
| Shape | How it reads the SIS | What the district exposes |
|---|---|---|
| On-district agent | Software inside the network reads the SIS database or extract directory and pushes out | No inbound firewall rule; credentials stay on premises; the district maintains the agent |
| Cloud sync to a hosted SIS | Vendor-to-vendor API call | API credentials held by ClassLink; no local software |
| SFTP extract | Scheduled export dropped to a directory | An SFTP account and a job; the simplest and the most prone to silent truncation |
The on-premises agent is often preferred by security teams because nothing inbound has to be opened and no SIS credential leaves the building. The trade-off is that a stalled agent is a failure only the district can see, so it needs monitoring somebody owns.
Guardian data, and where Kastr fits
The same limit applies as with any rostering intermediary. Roster Server is excellent at students, staff, sections and enrolments. Guardian contact points, contact rank and preferred language are configuration-dependent and frequently thin, and messaging consent does not exist in the rostering layer at all because it is generated downstream, by families.
Practically, a district connecting a communications platform through ClassLink should confirm three fields before the project starts: guardian email, guardian mobile with a phone type, and preferred language per guardian. If those are not in the share, the integration will deliver a beautifully synchronised roster that cannot text anyone.
Our position. Kastr is not a ClassLink-certified application and does not implement LaunchPad sign-on — magic link is our only authentication. Because Roster Server emits standard OneRoster CSV and REST, a district can route that output into our public /api/v1/roster/sync endpoint or our MIT-licensed CLI without us being in anybody's catalogue. That is the practical argument for standards-based rostering: it works even when the vendor relationship does not exist.
Questions people actually ask
What is the difference between ClassLink and Clever?
They occupy the same position with different commercial models. ClassLink is a district subscription and bundles rostering, a sign-on launchpad, usage analytics and directory provisioning. Clever's rostering is free to districts and paid for by applications. ClassLink leans harder on native OneRoster output and on an on-district sync agent.
Does ClassLink use OneRoster?
Yes. Roster Server publishes OneRoster CSV and REST, which is useful for a district because it means the output is a standard shape rather than a proprietary one, and can be consumed by an application that has no relationship with ClassLink at all.
Does ClassLink provide guardian contact data?
It can carry what the SIS holds, but guardian contact coverage is a per-district configuration question and is often incomplete. Verify guardian email, mobile number with phone type, and preferred language specifically before scoping a communications integration.
Can a district run ClassLink and Clever at the same time?
Yes, and it is fairly common — typically one for sign-on and the other for rostering to particular vendors, or an inherited overlap after a merger of school configurations. It is worth reviewing, because two rostering paths means two places a stale share can persist.
One price. Every feature. Locked for three years.
$3.50 per student per year under 5,000 students. No tiers, no add-on modules, no per-message fees. Published on the site because you should not have to book a call to learn a price.