We performed single-cell RNA sequencing on the the larvae of the cnidarians Clytia hemisphaerica (Hydrozoa), Astroides calycularis (Anthozoa) and Pocillopora damicornis (Anthozoa). We identified cell types that were likely from the aboral end of the planulae and searched for genes in common that may mediate the larval settlement response. Overall design: Planula larvae were dissociated and cells fixed prior to library preparation using the 10X Genomics platform, and Illumina sequencing.