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 days3 months when you start by Dec 31 | ~Limited free tier | ✕ | ~ | ~ |
| Meal, nap, diaper & milestone logs | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ |
| Parent feed, photos & direct messaging | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ |
| CACFP food components tracked as you log | ✓ | ✕ | ~Add-on / limited | ✓ | ~Plan-dependent |
| Monthly CACFP compliance report export | ✓ | ✕ | ~ | ✓ | ~ |
| State licensing PDFs filled from your rosterUpload any state's forms once; PlayDay 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 intakeYour own form by secure link — or scan the paper forms you already have | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ~ | ✓ |
| Invoicing, bank payments & auto-pay | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Import your whole roster to switch systems | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| Phone during hours, browser after pickup | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Turn a spoken or typed note into log entries | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
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 tracks 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 ratio 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 ratio alerts, and no multi-site reporting, and it doesn't run payroll. We're not building any of that. 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 state forms at 9pm.
14 days with your real families. No credit card, no sales call, cancel anytime.
Start by December 31 and try PlayDay free for 3 months, then $9.99 a month. No credit card, no sales call, cancel anytime.
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