Buying guide · checked October 2026

Best childcare management software in 2026: 9 options compared

The right childcare software depends on your setting. A home-based program, a single center and a group of centers need different things, and so does a program that bills subsidy agencies. This page doesn't crown a winner. It compares nine options on the same points, in alphabetical order. Every fact about another company comes from its own pricing page, terms or help center, checked between October 10 and 19, 2026, and each option links to its sources.

How we compared

Pricing: published prices or quote only, and what the price is based on (per child, per location or a quote).
What families pay on top: card surcharges and processing fees passed to parents.
Nonprofit terms: a published discount, a free plan or none.
Childcare tools: recurring tuition on autopay, subsidy billing, daily reports and sign-in with authorized pickup.
Contract terms: term length, automatic renewal and notice to cancel.
Your data: migration when you join and export when you leave.

Disclosure

BackPR makes this guide. We've included it with the same criteria; check every claim.

The options, A to Z

Listed alphabetically, not ranked. Prices are as published on each company's site when we checked; check the vendor's page before you decide.

BackPRMade by us

Good fit if you're a nonprofit center and want recurring tuition on autopay, subsidy and split billing, daily sheets with live staff-to-child ratios, pickup checks and year-end dependent care statements, with no subscription and no BackPR fees.

Watch for the limits: BackPR is free only for registered nonprofits and Stripe's processing fees still apply; support is by email only, there's no App Store or Google Play app (it runs in the browser) and BackPR doesn't send text messages (SMS).

Pricing: Nonprofits: $0, with no subscription and no BackPR fees. Other organizations: quote only. Confirmed by BackPR on October 10, 2026.
Nonprofits: Free for registered nonprofits: no subscription and no BackPR transaction or registration fees.
Fees for families: None from BackPR. Stripe's processing fees still apply, and you choose whether to absorb them or pass them on to families.

Sources: BackPR pricing; BackPR for nonprofits; BackPR capability list

brightwheel

Good fit if you run a center, preschool, in-home program or several sites and want billing, messaging, attendance, lesson plans and staff tools in one system, with a parent app in Spanish.

Watch for the renewal terms: monthly and annual subscriptions renew automatically unless you cancel at least 30 days before renewal, and fees are nonrefundable.

Pricing: Premium: quote only. Free plan for 1 staff member and fewer than 20 students, with limited features. Prices as published on October 10, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit offer published.
Fees for families: Programs choose whether families pay brightwheel's service fees on card and bank payments, including autopay. Its help center puts the fee on bank (ACH) payments at 0.6% (25¢ minimum, $2 maximum) for most programs.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: brightwheel pricing; brightwheel terms of service; brightwheel help: billing settings; brightwheel help: changing your language

Enrollsy

Good fit if you want published per-location prices, payment plans with automated invoicing and autopay, no percentage-of-revenue fee and a 14-day money-back guarantee.

Watch for the setup terms: every plan adds an implementation fee (amount not published), and there's a 12-month commitment before plans go month-to-month.

Pricing: Starter $159, Professional $289 and Enterprise $599 a month per location billed monthly, or $129, $239 and $479 billed yearly, plus an implementation fee. Prices as published on October 10, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: No discount on plan prices published; nonprofits get one additional admin user free.
Fees for families: None added by Enrollsy. Organizations may add their own convenience fee to card or ACH payments.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Enrollsy pricing; Enrollsy FAQs; Enrollsy help: card and ACH processing; Enrollsy for nonprofits

Jumbula

Good fit if you run childcare alongside camps or classes and want published plans from $15 a month and a child check-in and check-out workflow for staff and parents.

Watch for enrollment packs on the entry plan: Pay As You Go includes 10 enrollments, and more are bought in packs priced at $1.10–$2.00 per enrollment that aren't refunded if a child drops.

Pricing: Pay As You Go $15 a month (10 enrollments included, more in packs priced at $1.10–$2.00 per enrollment), Rise $150 a month and Ascend $285 a month; Enterprise by quote. Prices as published on October 11, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: 20% off paid plans; nonprofits paying yearly get 25% off.
Fees for families: No Jumbula fee to families. Organizations can turn on a convenience fee or surcharge.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Jumbula pricing; Jumbula terms of service; Jumbula nonprofit page

Kangarootime

Good fit if you run several childcare centers and want one dashboard across sites, one combined bill per family, subsidy and split billing, staff scheduling and the KT Connect parent app.

Watch for the exit terms: agreements renew for a year at a time unless canceled 90 days ahead, and its license agreement says it doesn't keep customer data once an agreement ends.

Pricing: Quote only (checked October 19, 2026). Fees are set in each customer's order form.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit offer published.
Fees for families: Centers can pass card processing fees to families as a percentage surcharge, debit cards included. They can also set a fee for returned ACH payments and bounced checks.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Kangarootime overview; Kangarootime customer license agreement; Kangarootime billing services agreement; Kangarootime help: payment surcharges; Kangarootime help: parent FAQ; Kangarootime help: Spanish enrollment forms

Lillio (formerly HiMama)

Good fit if you want center management, billing and a family photo and messaging app together with curriculum kits and accredited training for early childhood educators.

Watch for unpublished terms: Lillio doesn't publish pricing, contract or onboarding terms, and teachers' own updates aren't translated into Spanish.

Pricing: Quote only (checked October 10, 2026). The pricing page lists bundles without prices.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit offer published.
Fees for families: Centers may choose to charge parents card or bank-transfer processing fees. The center sets the amount, and these fees are nonrefundable.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Lillio pricing; Lillio payments terms; Lillio help: payment fees for families; Lillio help: changing the language

Playground

Good fit if you run a home-based program, center, multi-site group or Head Start program and want autopay you can make mandatory, subsidy billing, payroll, food program records and free data migration, with an app in English and Spanish.

Watch for the renewal terms: paid subscriptions renew automatically at the then-current rate, and there's no prorated refund after you cancel.

Pricing: Quote only (checked October 19, 2026). Billing, enrollment and subsidy tools are in the core subscription; websites are a paid add-on.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit offer published. Some providers in Arizona, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas and New York can use Playground at no cost through state partnerships.
Fees for families: Programs choose, separately for cards and ACH, whether families or the program pay processing fees. Fees passed to families also apply to autopay.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Playground overview; Playground terms of service; Playground billing; Playground onboarding and support; Playground help: billing settings and processing fees; Playground help: language for families

Procare

Good fit if you run a center, in-home daycare or Head Start program and want subsidy billing, built-in payment processing, staff scheduling and payroll, meal planning and food program reports.

Watch for the exit terms: you have 30 days after an account ends to export your data, and any export help Procare agrees to provide is billed to you.

Pricing: Quote only (checked October 19, 2026), with no per-child charges. Promotional pricing can rise to standard pricing after 12 months.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit offer published.
Fees for families: No Procare fee for families published. Centers may add a surcharge on credit cards (not debit), capped at their card cost.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Procare: cost and pricing; Procare terms and conditions (June 2026); Procare help: card payment fees; Procare help: translating messages; Procare for in-home daycare

Tadpoles

Good fit if you want daily reports with photos and videos from a teacher app that works offline, a parent app for drop-off notes and health screenings and real-time classroom counts and ratios for directors.

Watch for payment and billing terms: Family Billing runs through the payment processor BlueSnap at 2.8% + $0.30 per US card payment plus $2 per payout, and Teaching Strategies, which makes Tadpoles, bills subscription fees yearly in advance unless the order says otherwise.

Pricing: $2.25 per active child per month on its pricing page, with no per-user fees; new accounts are set up through Teaching Strategies' sales team. Prices as published on October 19, 2026; check the vendor's page.
Nonprofits: No nonprofit offer published.
Fees for families: No Tadpoles fee for families published. Processing fees can't be passed to families automatically; programs that want families to cover them add a fee to each billing plan by hand.

Full comparison with BackPR · Sources: Tadpoles pricing; Tadpoles at Teaching Strategies; Tadpoles help: Family Billing fees; Teaching Strategies subscription agreement; Tadpoles help: Parent app

Which one fits your program

If you want a published price to budget with Look at brightwheel (a free plan for 1 staff member and fewer than 20 students), Enrollsy (per-location plans), Jumbula (plans from $15 a month) and Tadpoles ($2.25 per active child per month on its pricing page).
If you run several centers Look at BackPR, where each location can have its own payout bank account. Kangarootime sends a family one bill across several schools, and Playground serves multi-site groups.
If you bill subsidy agencies Look at BackPR, Kangarootime, Playground and Procare, which all include subsidy billing.
If you want payroll in the same system Look at Playground, which includes full-service payroll, and Procare, which includes staff scheduling and payroll.
If families need Spanish Look at BackPR, which offers registration and parent screens in Spanish, and brightwheel and Playground, where families can switch the app to Spanish. Kangarootime's parent app runs in Spanish when the phone is set to Spanish.
If you're a nonprofit center Look at BackPR, which is $0 for registered nonprofits. Enrollsy gives nonprofits one extra admin user, and Jumbula publishes a 20% nonprofit discount.

FAQ

Questions buyers ask

How much does childcare management software cost?

Only some options publish prices. Tadpoles' pricing page lists $2.25 per active child per month. Enrollsy charges per location, from $129 a month billed yearly. Jumbula starts at $15 a month. brightwheel has a free plan for 1 staff member and fewer than 20 students and quotes Premium. Kangarootime, Lillio, Playground and Procare quote each center. BackPR is $0 for registered nonprofits and quoted for other organizations.

Can we pass card processing fees on to parents?

On seven of the eight other platforms here, yes. Kangarootime lets centers add a percentage surcharge, debit cards included. Procare allows a surcharge on credit cards only, capped at the center's card cost. brightwheel and Playground let the program choose who pays processing fees. Lillio lets centers charge parents processing fees, which are nonrefundable. Enrollsy and Jumbula let organizations add a convenience fee. Tadpoles can't pass fees on automatically; programs add a fee to each billing plan by hand. BackPR never adds its own fee; you choose whether to absorb Stripe's processing fees or pass them on.

Which childcare software handles subsidy billing?

Procare, Kangarootime and Playground include subsidy billing, and Kangarootime also handles split billing. BackPR bills subsidy agencies and other third-party payers and can split a family's charges between households.

What happens to our data if we switch?

Check the exit terms before you sign. Procare's terms give you 30 days after an account ends to export your data. Kangarootime's license agreement says it doesn't keep customer data once an agreement ends. When you join, Playground offers free data migration and Procare includes data migration support. BackPR imports your data for free and lets you export it anytime for free.

Is there free childcare software?

brightwheel has a free plan for 1 staff member and fewer than 20 students, with limited features. Through state partnerships, some providers in Arizona, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas and New York can use Playground at no cost. BackPR is free for registered nonprofits, with no subscription and no BackPR fees; Stripe's card processing fees still apply.

Keep comparing

Registration software pricingWhat 48 platforms publish about prices and fees.

Choosing registration softwareThe questions to ask before you sign.

All comparisonsBackPR side by side with each platform, with sources.

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