What Peñalara Software does

Peñalara Software S.L. is a Spanish software company founded in 1997 and headquartered in Segovia, Spain, that develops GHC (Generador de Horarios de Centros), an AI-powered timetabling platform for educational institutions. The product automatically generates weekly schedules for schools, institutes, vocational training centers, universities, conservatories, language schools, and private academies across primary, secondary, and higher education levels. Its core engine applies constraint-based optimization to resolve complex conditions (e.g., 3,000+ constraints in a single institution) while optimizing for student performance, classroom utilization, and teacher satisfaction, and it is complemented by a web/mobile app (GHC App) that publishes schedules, manages teacher absences and substitutions, and generates performance reports across administrator, teacher, and student profiles.

The company operates a freemium-to-subscription model: a free GHC LITE tier (up to 3 installations) and a 15-day GHC DEMO drive acquisition, while GHC OPTIMUM is a paid annual subscription (up to 10 installations) providing full functionality, technical support, updates, and cloud-backed hosting through Microsoft Ibérica. Distribution combines self-serve website downloads with an international distributor network covering more than 25 countries, supported by content marketing (video tutorials, webinars, blog), inbound sales (phone/email), and bidirectional integrations with official regional academic management systems such as SIGAD, Itaca, SAUCE, Stilus, and IES2000.

The customer base spans 15,423 institutions globally, with documented usage in Europe, Latin America, North America, Asia, and Africa. Peñalara received a regional government grant in 2016 for next-generation system development and holds the Spanish PYME INNOVADORA certification (valid until 2029). The company is privately held with no disclosed external investors, operates as a Spanish sociedad mercantil under CIF B40247744, and reports no subsidiaries or acquisition history.

Name

Peñalara Software

Legal name

PEÑALARA SOFTWARE S.L.

Website

https://penalara.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Peñalara Software develops GHC, an AI-powered timetabling platform that automatically generates and optimizes weekly schedules for educational institutions. It serves 15,000+ schools, institutes, and universities across 25+ countries via freemium and subscription tiers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

León

HQ country

Spain

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. GHC OPTIMUM Annual Subscription: Annual subscription license providing up to 10 installations, technical support, product updates for one calendar year, and access to GHC WEB APP. The license is automatically renewed unless cancelled with one month's notice. This is the primary paid product tier targeting established educational institutions.
2. GHC LITE Free Tier: Free annual subscription license with up to 3 installations, technical support, and updates. Functionality is significantly reduced compared to OPTIMUM. May be charged in subsequent years at Peñalara's discretion. Serves as a lead-generation and onboarding tool, converting free users to paid subscriptions.
3. Software Licenses and New Version Upgrades: Annual new software versions with improved functionalities and new features are released each year and require separate purchase beyond the standard maintenance/support period. This creates an additional revenue opportunity from existing customers seeking feature upgrades.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Peñalara Software develops and sells GHC (Generador de Horarios de Centros), an AI-powered timetabling software that automatically generates optimized, conflict-free weekly schedules for educational institutions of any type and complexity — from primary schools to universities, including vocational, language, music, and art schools. The platform combines a desktop scheduling engine with the GHC App (web and mobile) for day-to-day schedule management, teacher absence/substitution handling, and performance reporting, sold via annual subscription with freemium and trial tiers.

Product overview

Peñalara Software offers GHC (Generador de Horarios de Centros), a unified timetabling platform for educational institutions. The portfolio consists of three components: (1) GHC desktop software for automatic timetable generation and optimization, available in Optimum (paid subscription), Lite (free subscription), and Demo (limited trial) versions; (2) GHC App, a web and mobile application for publishing, viewing, and managing timetables on a calendar, handling teacher absences and substitutions, and generating performance reports; and (3) associated support services including technical assistance and video tutorials. The core software uses AI-powered optimization to generate schedules meeting complex institutional constraints, while the App enables day-to-day schedule management and collaboration across administrator, teacher, and student profiles.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• GHC (Generador de Horarios de tu Centro): Timetabling software for educational institutions that automatically generates weekly schedules for schools of any type and complexity, including primary schools, secondary schools, vocational schools, universities, art schools, and music conservatories.
• GHC App
• GHC OPTIMUM
• GHC Lite

Products and services

• GHC (Generador de Horarios de Centros) AI-powered timetabling software that automatically generates optimized, conflict-free weekly schedules for educational institutions of any type and complexity — primary schools, secondary schools (ESO), baccalaureate, vocational training, universities, language schools, music conservatories, art schools, and private academies.
• GHC App (Web and Mobile) Web and mobile companion application for publishing and viewing timetables on a calendar, managing teacher absences and substitutions, and generating performance reports. Supports multiple user profiles (administrator, teacher, student) for collaborative day-to-day schedule management.

Quantifiable outcome

• 15,423 educational institutions subscribed to GHC globally
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration5 records

AI capability2 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Agencia para la Investigación, Financiación e Internacionalización Empresarial de Castilla y León (ICE)coreOthers · 1 January 2016Peñalara received a government grant (File Number: 07/16/SG/0002) under the ICT Development of SME Projects line for the development of a timetable generation system for educational institutions. The project laid foundations for a new management system including web and mobile visualization tools. This grant was co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
• Microsoft Ibérica S.R.L.coreTechnology or IntegrationPeñalara subcontracts its cloud servers and cloud services for GHC to Microsoft Ibérica S.R.L. (Datacenter/cloud storage provider), located at Paseo del Club Deportivo 1, Pozuelo de Alarcón, Madrid, CIF B78603495. This partnership provides the cloud document repository for GHC software installations, ensuring reliable data hosting for educational institutions.
• Regional Academic Management System Integrations (SIGAD, Itaca, Stilus, SAUCE)coreTechnology or IntegrationGHC integrates bidirectionally with official regional academic management systems used by public educational institutions in Spain. These include SIGAD (Aragon), Itaca (Valencia region), Stilus (various regions), SAUCE (Asturias), and IES2000 ( Castilla y León). These integrations enable one-click import of teacher, group, and subject data and export of timetables directly to official government platforms, creating strong regulatory compliance value.
• International DistributorscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPeñalara operates a network of international distributors across more than 25 countries who resell GHC licenses, provide local sales support, and handle first-line customer service in their respective territories. The company actively recruits new distributors and offers advantageous partnership conditions for companies seeking to distribute educational timetabling software internationally.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• PowerSchool: Largest US K–12 student information system, increasingly bundling scheduling modules. Comparable as a broader school management platform whose timetable functionality competes with standalone tools like Peñalara's GHC.
• Veracross: Integrated school information system for independent schools, including scheduling components. Comparable as a broader SIS that can absorb timetable workflows into a unified platform.

Emerging players

• FET (Free Educational Timetabling): Open-source timetabling software for schools and universities. Comparable as a free alternative targeting the same constraint-based scheduling use case, with potential cannibalization risk for paid tiers like GHC LITE/OPTIMUM.
• Fedena: School management platform from India with timetable generation capabilities. Comparable as an emerging EdTech SaaS bundling scheduling with broader SIS functionality, primarily in Asia and emerging markets.
• Skolaro: Cloud-based school management platform with timetabling module serving K–12 institutions. Comparable as an emerging EdTech SaaS expanding the integrated scheduling-plus-SIS proposition in international markets.

Regional players

• A3 Software (A3Congresos / A3ERP): Spanish software vendor with adjacent education and resource-management offerings. Comparable regional vendor competing for similar institutional buyers in Spain and Latin America.

Direct peers

• UniTime (University Timetabling): Open-source academic timetabling platform widely deployed in higher education. Comparable on the core scheduling-engine functionality for universities and large institutions.
• Lantiv Timetabler: Estonian vendor of school scheduling and substitution management software used across Europe. Directly comparable vertical SaaS scheduling tool for K–12 institutions with web and mobile delivery.
• TimeTabler: UK-based school timetable generation software serving secondary schools and colleges. Comparable as a dedicated, long-tenured educational timetabling product with similar target buyer (head of studies/coordinator).
• Edval Timetables: Australian-headquartered timetabling software for schools and universities. Directly comparable as a vertical SaaS scheduler serving educational institutions with constraint-based optimization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/PenalaraSoft
• Facebookfacebook.com/profile.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/penalara-ghc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Peñalara Software