Pricing models, compared, October 2026
Flat-rate daycare software
Most daycare software is priced per child, per room, or by a quote based on your capacity, so the bill grows every time a family enrolls. Below, 10 platforms are sorted by one question: does the price rise with enrollment? Every figure is from the vendor's own pricing page. NestliCare's software is $0 at any size; the only cost is the processing fee on tuition parents pay online.
· Vendor prices from the weekly check of each vendor's own pricing page, last run October 19, 2026.
Flat: the price does not rise with enrollment
Adding children does not change the software bill.
| Platform | How the price moves with size | Software price, as published | Fee on parent payments, as published |
|---|---|---|---|
| NestliCare | $0 at any size. No per-child, per-staff, or per-location charge. | $0. Every feature, unlimited children, staff, and locations. No paid plan for daycares. | 2.9% + $0.50 per card payment, 1% capped at $6 per bank (ACH) payment, in the US. Parents cover it at checkout by default, except in CT, MA, ME, NY, NJ, CO, LA and Puerto Rico, where the daycare covers it; anywhere else the daycare can choose to absorb it. Cash and check: $0. |
| Bloomily | One price per location; free for licensed home programs up to 18 children. | $249 a month per location, or $2,388 a year ($199 a month, billed yearly); every feature included. | 3.5% on cards, plus $0.30 on payments under $60; 1% on bank transfers, at least $0.50 and never more than $8. The program chooses who covers it. |
Scales: the price rises with children, rooms, or capacity
The bill grows as the program grows. Fine while small; worth projecting before you sign.
| Platform | How the price moves with size | Software price, as published | Fee on parent payments, as published |
|---|---|---|---|
| MyKidReports | Per child, in tiers of 10. | $0.99 per child per month, priced in tiers of 10 (6 to 10 children = $9.90 per month). | In the US, a flat $0.49 per ACH (bank) payment and 2.79% per card payment; "No monthly processing fee." The center or the parent pays, set in billing settings. |
| myKidzDay | Per child, or per room. | $1.00 per child per month, or $10.00 per room per month ("additional fees apply for 11+ children" on per-room pricing; 10% off for non-profit centers). | Not stated on the pricing section. |
| Daily Connect | Base price with 10 children included, then per child. | $16 per month billed annually with 10 children included, then $1.60 per child. Nannies and small family daycares: $8.99 per month (3 children max) or $12.99 per month (6 children max). | "Standard payment processing fees apply" when using parent billing. |
| brightwheel | Quote, "based on enrollment capacity." | Premium is "customized for each program rather than published as a price list"; the price "is based on enrollment capacity." | Card, FSA, and bank payments each carry "a service fee specific to your program." The rate is not published. |
Quote only: how the price scales is not published
Ask for the total at your enrollment today and at the enrollment you plan to reach.
| Platform | How the price moves with size | Software price, as published | Fee on parent payments, as published |
|---|---|---|---|
| Procare | Quote. The in-home edition states no per-child charges, for up to 15 children. | "One low monthly price," not published. The in-home edition is for "up to 15 children" with "zero contracts, set-up fees, per-child charges." | Not published. |
| Lillio (formerly HiMama) | Quote. How it scales is not published. | Not published. Pricing requires booking a call or demo. | Not published. |
| Playground | Quote. How it scales is not published. | Not published. The pricing page schedules a demo. | Not published. |
| Kangarootime | Quote. How it scales is not published. | No pricing page exists; the site offers a demo and pricing is by quote. | Not published. |
Quotation marks are the vendor's exact wording. "How the price moves with size" is our one-line reading of the published price beside it. We make NestliCare; every source is linked below.
The one cost that does scale
A flat software price is not the whole bill. When parents pay tuition by card or bank transfer, every platform charges a processing fee, and that fee follows the money you collect, not your headcount. On NestliCare it is the only cost: 2.9% plus 50 cents on a US card payment or 1% capped at $6 on a bank transfer, which parents cover at checkout by default where local rules allow. Cash and check payments recorded in the app cost nothing.
So the question to ask any vendor is the same one: at your enrollment today, and at the enrollment you plan to reach, what is the software price plus the fee on a month of tuition?
Answered plainly
- What is flat-rate daycare software?
- Software whose price stays the same when your enrollment grows: no per-child, per-classroom, or capacity-based charge. On the vendors' own pricing pages, the flat ones are NestliCare and Bloomily. The price rises with children, rooms, or enrollment capacity at MyKidReports, myKidzDay, Daily Connect, and brightwheel. Procare, Lillio (formerly HiMama), Playground, and Kangarootime quote privately and do not say how the price scales.
- Is NestliCare flat-rate?
- The software is $0 at every size, with every feature, unlimited children, staff, and locations, and no paid plan to move up to. That is as flat as a price gets. The one cost is per payment, not per child: 2.9% + $0.50 per card payment, 1% capped at $6 per bank (ACH) payment, in the US. Parents cover it at checkout by default, except in CT, MA, ME, NY, NJ, CO, LA and Puerto Rico, where the daycare covers it; anywhere else the daycare can choose to absorb it. Cash and check: $0.
- Which daycare software has no per-child fee?
- NestliCare charges no software fee at all. Bloomily is priced per location: $249 a month per location, or $2,388 a year ($199 a month, billed yearly); every feature included. Free for "licensed home daycares and small in-home programs" with up to 18 children. Procare's in-home edition, for up to 15 children, says it has no per-child charges, but its price is not published.
- Is per-child pricing cheaper for a small daycare?
- It can be, while you stay small. MyKidReports, for example: Free up to 5 children with 1 staff account. Above that, $0.99 per child per month, priced in tiers of 10 (6 to 10 children = $9.90 per month). The catch is growth: every new family raises a per-child bill, so the cheapest option at 8 children may not be the cheapest at 40. Price the software at the enrollment you plan to reach, not the one you have.
- Does a flat rate include payment processing?
- Usually not. Card and bank-transfer fees on parent payments are a separate line on almost every platform, and several vendors do not publish theirs. Compare the fee at your monthly tuition volume as well as the subscription. The table lists each fee as the vendor publishes it.
- How was this compiled?
- From each vendor's own pricing page, linked below. A script re-reads those pages every week and a person updates a row only from the vendor's own wording; the last check was October 19, 2026. The full price table and its changelog are on our daycare software prices page. We make NestliCare.
The other products named on this page are trademarks of their respective owners. NestliCare is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by any of them. Their prices, plan limits, and fees are quoted from their own websites as of the date shown at the top of this page and may have changed since; we correct errors the same day they are reported.