Swipe the table sideways to see every column →
| What matters day to day | PlayDay | Brightwheel | Procare | KidKare | Playground |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Designed for a single home daycareNot a center product with the classroom features hidden | ✓ | ~Serves both | ✕Center-first | ✓ | ~Center-first |
| Flat price, unlimited children | $9.99/mo every feature, any roster size |
✕Priced per child | ✕Quote-based | ✕Per-child tiers | ✕Priced per child |
| Every feature included — now and laterNo tiers to compare, no modules to bolt on, no upgrade prompts | ✓New features included | ✕Tiered plans + add-ons | ✕Modules priced separately | ~Tiered plans | ✕Plans + paid add-ons |
| Start today, no sales demo | ✓ | ~Demo for paid plans | ✕Demo required | ✓ | ✓Self-serve signup |
| Free trial without a credit card | ✓14 days | ~Limited free tier | ✕ | ~ | ~ |
| Meal, nap, diaper & milestone logs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ |
| Speak or type one note, AI files the logs"Emma napped 1–2:30, ate all her lunch" → structured entries, matched to the right child | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Parent feed, photos & direct messaging | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ |
| CACFP food components checked as you log | ✓ | ✕ | ~Add-on / limited | ✓ | ~Plan-dependent |
| One-tap monthly reimbursement export | ✓CSV or PDF | ✕ | ~ | ✓ | ~ |
| State licensing PDFs filled from your rosterUpload any state form once; AI maps the fields and flags what it's unsure of | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Photo of a shot record → state immunization formIncluding combination vaccines credited across each disease | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Parents complete their own enrollment intake | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ |
| Invoicing and online payments | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Import your whole roster to switch systems | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| Phone during hours, browser after pickup | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
Compiled from each product's publicly published pricing and feature pages as of August 2026. Competitor pricing is largely quote-based and changes — check their current pages before deciding. Product names and trademarks belong to their respective owners; PlayDay is not affiliated with or endorsed by any of them.
If you only read one box, read the one that sounds like your situation.
You're paying per enrolled child for a product designed around classrooms, teachers, and ratio tracking you don't use. PlayDay covers the parts a home provider actually touches every day — logs, the parent feed, invoicing — at one flat price, and adds the licensing paperwork none of them automate.
Your CACFP claims are handled, but the rest of the day lives somewhere else — texts to parents, a notebook, a separate invoice app. PlayDay checks food components inside the same meal log parents see, so one entry serves the claim, the parent, and your records.
Playground is a good product and the daily logging will feel familiar. The difference is what you're paying for: a per-child bill for classroom and staffing machinery you don't run, and no help at all with the state licensing forms and immunization records that eat a home provider's evenings.
PlayDay has no classroom dashboards, no staff timeclock, no ratio alerts, and no multi-site reporting — and we're not building them. If you have several classrooms and a payroll to run, Brightwheel or Procare will serve you better and we'd rather say so now than after you've moved your roster.
What we do build for is the provider who is also the director, the cook, the bookkeeper, and the person filling out the state form at 9pm.
14 days with your real families. No credit card, no sales call, cancel anytime.
Start your free trial
Get the PlayDay app
