Sonderplan

Sonderplan is resource planning software for scheduling people, rooms, and equipment. Users can make bookings, switch between timeline, calendar, and grid views, filter schedules, and identify resource clashes. The maker says it is designed for post-production firms and is also used by creative agencies, equipment rental companies, universities, and recording and film studios. It runs in the cloud in a modern browser as a progressive web app that can be downloaded to desktop and mobile devices. Listed platforms include Android, iOS, macOS, web, Windows, and an API. Subscriptions are billed according to users and resources, with additions prorated until renewal; the listed Flexible subscription shows free, with calculator pricing varying by users and resources and monthly or annual options. A free 30-day trial requires no credit card. Sonderplan connects to more than 6,000 cloud tools through Zapier, and its REST API and SAML 2.0 single sign-on are included at no additional cost. Calendar feeds can sync bookings with major calendar services.

Sonderplan combines resource scheduling with calendar feeds, integrations, and access controls. The 30-day trial offers a way to evaluate it before subscription billing based on users and resources.

Sonderplan suits post-production firms and other organizations coordinating people, rooms, or equipment. Its listed users also include agencies, rental companies, universities, recording studios, and film studios.

Sonderplan is a resource scheduler for coordinating people, rooms and equipment across shared projects. It is best suited to post-production and other creative or rental teams that need to manage availability across many resources. Its flexible billing and calendar connections are useful, but costs vary with both users and resources.

Overview

Bookings can be viewed on a timeline, calendar or grid, with filters to narrow schedules and clash detection to flag conflicts. That combination helps teams track availability from different angles, though the subscription’s usage-based billing makes the total less predictable than a flat fee. Unlimited listed record types—including bookings, projects, contacts, quotes, invoices, billable items, services, schedules and calendar feed exports—are subject to a reasonable usage clause.

Read-only schedule access and private project settings give teams ways to share availability while limiting exposure of sensitive production projects. The maker’s data processing agreement describes security measures, breach notification and EU Standard Contractual Clauses with a UK Addendum; it also states that personal data may be transferred to servers in the United States.

Key features

Scheduling and calendar feeds

Timeline, calendar and grid views, schedule filters and resource-clash detection form a practical toolkit for teams juggling people, rooms and equipment. Shared iCalendar feeds can sync bookings with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook and other calendars, so users can follow schedules in familiar calendar apps.

Integrations and access

Sonderplan connects to more than 6,000 cloud tools through Zapier and names Xero, QuickBooks, Asana, Clockify, Slack, Salesforce, HubSpot and Google Sheets. That range may suit teams already relying on several services, although the stated connection route is Zapier. A REST API and SAML 2.0 single sign-on are included at no additional cost, with providers including Microsoft Azure AD, Google Workspace, Okta and OneLogin.

Support

Email technical support runs from 7AM to 7PM AEST, seven days a week. User help and developer documentation are also provided, a useful combination for teams that need both routine guidance and API reference material.

Pricing

The Flexible subscription is shown at free as a calculator price, but the actual subscription varies by the number of users and resources, with monthly and annual options. It is therefore not a fixed $0 plan: the model is to pay for users and resources used. New additions are prorated until renewal, so adding people or resources mid-cycle affects billing before the next renewal.

A free 30-day trial requires no credit card, giving teams a way to assess the workflow before subscription billing. There is no free plan. Listed records are unlimited subject to a reasonable usage clause; enterprise customers needing purchase orders or PayPal can request bespoke pricing.

Platforms

Sonderplan runs in a modern web browser as a cloud-based progressive web app downloadable to desktop and mobile devices. Supported platforms include Android, iOS, macOS, Windows and web, alongside API access. The downloadable PWA approach provides broad device coverage without a separately described native app.

Who it's for

The maker designs Sonderplan for post-production firms and says creative agencies, equipment rental companies, universities, recording studios and film studios also use it. It is a strong fit when several people need to coordinate shared equipment, rooms or schedules, especially if calendar feeds, integrations or controlled schedule access matter. Teams that need custom asset fields should look elsewhere, as that capability is not included.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Multiple schedule views and clash detection: timeline, calendar and grid views make bookings easier to inspect, while conflict detection helps expose resource clashes.
• Broad connections at no added API or SSO charge: Zapier links to more than 6,000 tools, and the REST API and SAML 2.0 SSO are included without an additional fee.
• Unlimited listed records: teams are not given fixed record quotas for bookings and several other record types, subject to reasonable usage.
• Trial without a card: the 30-day trial lowers the commitment required to evaluate the product.

Cons

• Costs depend on two counts: both users and resources affect the subscription, making growth a potential source of bill changes.
• No free plan: teams cannot remain on a permanent free tier after the trial.
• No custom asset fields: organizations needing tailored asset data will need another solution.
• US data transfers are possible: organizations with strict data-location requirements should account for the stated possibility of transfers to US servers.

Alternatives

Equipment Scheduling Software is a useful starting point for comparing tools focused on that category.

LabArchives is worth considering for teams seeking a freemium option with a free plan, including two owned notebooks, 1GB per user and a 25MB file limit, plus SnapGene and GraphPad Prism integrations.

HireHop may fit a small rental operation that wants a free one-user starter plan with quotes, bookings, customer management and basic stock control.

Rentman is another paid platform with a free plan and trial; its Rentman Platform plan is €39 a month when paid monthly, with yearly payment saving 8%.

EquipmentShare is another paid option for readers comparing equipment-focused software.

Sycor.Rental is another paid rental-software option.

Texada Rental Management is another paid option for rental management.

Baseplan may suit larger organizations: its Enterprise plan covers 20–2,000 users with custom pricing.

EQUIPR Software is another paid option to consider.

Verdict

Sonderplan is a good choice for post-production and creative or rental teams that need resource scheduling, calendar synchronization and access controls in one cloud tool. Its strongest reason to choose it is the combination of flexible schedule views, clash detection and broad connections, including API and SSO at no extra cost. Look elsewhere if a predictable flat fee, a permanent free plan or custom asset fields are essential.