Free daycare software
isn’t free.
“Free” apps charge a fee every time a parent pays tuition. MyKidReports charges far less on every bank payment, so the fees you save pay for your plan, and you keep the rest.
A 50-child center billing $1,200 a month pays $446.50 a month in fees on a typical “free” app, and $238.95 with MyKidReports, plan included. That is $2,491 a year kept.
| Per month | “Free” app | MyKidReports |
|---|---|---|
| Plan | $0.00free | $49.5050 × $0.99 |
| ACH fees | $270.0045 × $6.00 | $22.0545 × $0.49 |
| Card fees | $176.505 × $35.30 | $167.405 × $33.48 |
| Total | $446.50 | $238.95 |
That’s $207.55 a month. The fees you save cover your plan 5.2 times.
Advanced: how families pay (90% ACH · 10% card) ↓
How we worked this out ↓
- “Free” app: $0 software, 1% per ACH payment capped at $6, and 2.9% + $0.50 per card payment. Published US rates, checked October 9, 2026.
- MyKidReports: $0.99 per child a month, billed in groups of 10. $0.49 per ACH payment and 2.79% per card payment.
- Weekly billing is 52 payments a year, about 4.33 a month per family.
- We count the fees, whoever pays them. On most “free” apps parents pay at checkout; with MyKidReports you choose.
Your MyKidReports plan pays for itself.
Most software is one more bill. MyKidReports puts money back in your center: the payment fees you stop paying are bigger than your subscription, so the plan is covered and the rest is yours.
saved every month on ACH and card fees, compared with a “free” app
your MyKidReports plan for 50 children, paid out of those savings
back in your center every month: $2,491 a year
Think of it this way: you don’t pay for MyKidReports. The fees you no longer lose pay for it, and you keep the change. Move the slider above to see it for your center.
See it with your numbers →No subscription. A fee on every payment.
The app costs $0, so the money comes from your tuition. Here is what a typical “free” app takes at $1,200 tuition.
With MyKidReports the same payment costs a flat $0.49, whatever the amount.
- $0.49 on a $250 or a $2,500 payment
- The calculator assumes 9 in 10 families pay this way
With MyKidReports a card payment is 2.79%, which is $33.48 on the same tuition.
- No extra 50-cent charge per payment
- Autopay by card or bank
Bill weekly and every family pays about 4.33 fees a month instead of one.
- Flat $0.49 keeps weekly billing cheap
- Switch the calculator to Weekly to see it
A 50-child center, one month.
$1,200 tuition paid monthly. 45 families pay by ACH and 5 by card.
A typical “free” app
- Software$0.00
- ACH fees45 × $6.00$270.00
- Card fees5 × $35.30$176.50
MyKidReports
- Plan50 × $0.99$49.50
- ACH fees45 × $0.49$22.05
- Card fees5 × $33.48$167.40
The ACH savings alone ($247.95 a month) pay for the MyKidReports plan 5.0 times over.
“Free” app rates are its published US rates, checked . See MyKidReports pricing and childcare billing software.
The jobs that eat your evenings, done for you.
Real MyKidReports screens, filled with sample data.
Teachers post activities, photos, meals, naps and diapers with one click, and parents see them right away. At check-out the day becomes one report for the family.
Real app screens with sample names and numbers. Enrollment marketing tools and social scheduling are paid add-ons.
Live in 5–10 business days.
With a free data migration and our team running the cutover, most centers are live in one to two weeks, with a few days where both systems run side by side.
Free data export
We pull your rosters, billing history, attendance and parent contacts at no charge.
Audit & clean
Our migration team checks the data, flags gaps and fills them with your director.
Staff training
A live session for your director, short training for each teacher, and videos for later.
Parent app rollout
Families install MyKidReports while both systems run side by side.
Cutover
Billing runs on MyKidReports. You cancel your old subscription at month-end.
Want us to run your center’s fees?
Bring last month’s payment report to a 15-minute demo. We’ll show you, line by line, what you would pay with MyKidReports.
Free childcare software, answered.
Is there free daycare software?
Yes. Some childcare apps charge $0 for the software and make their money from a fee on every tuition payment, usually 1% per ACH payment and 2.9% + $0.50 per card payment. MyKidReports is also free for up to 5 children. For a center with 40 or more children, lower payment fees usually save more than a per-child plan costs.
How much does daycare software cost?
MyKidReports is $0.99 per child a month, billed in groups of 10. ACH payments cost a flat $0.49 and card payments 2.79%. No setup fee, no contract, and we move your data for free. Growth tools for your center are paid add-ons.
How can free childcare software cost more than paid software?
The fee on each payment. At $1,200 tuition, a “free” app takes $6.00 on an ACH payment; MyKidReports takes $0.49. For 50 children paying monthly, that is $446.50 a month in fees on the “free” app against $238.95 with MyKidReports, plan included: $2,491 a year kept.
Is NestliCare really free?
The NestliCare software is $0 for daycares. It earns its money from a processing fee on each online tuition payment: in the US, 2.9% + $0.50 per card payment and 1% per ACH payment, capped at $6, according to its public pricing page (checked October 9, 2026). In most states the fee is added to the parent’s payment at checkout; in CT, MA, ME, NY, NJ, CO, LA and Puerto Rico the daycare covers it. For a 50-child center billing $1,200 a month, with 9 in 10 families paying by ACH, those fees come to $446.50 a month. The same center pays $238.95 a month with MyKidReports, plan included.
How does MyKidReports pricing compare with Brightwheel, Procare, Playground, Lillio and Kangarootime?
MyKidReports publishes its prices: $0.99 per child a month, $0.49 per ACH payment and 2.79% per card payment, free for up to 5 children. When we checked on October 9, 2026, Brightwheel and Procare priced by custom quote and did not list payment-processing rates on their pricing pages, Playground’s pricing page was a demo request form with no prices shown, and we could not find a published price list on the Lillio or Kangarootime websites. Ask each company for its per-payment ACH and card fees, then compare them with ours.
What should I ask any childcare software company about fees?
Ask five things before you sign: the fee on each ACH payment and whether it is capped, the fee on each card payment, who pays the fee (the center or the parent), any payout, setup or contract fees, and the monthly subscription for your number of children. Multiply the per-payment fees by the payments your families make each month; for most centers with 40 or more children, that number matters more than the subscription.
Who pays the payment fees?
On most “free” apps the fee is added to the parent’s payment at checkout, so your families pay it. In some states the center has to. With MyKidReports you choose whether the center or the parent pays the transaction fee.
Does weekly billing change the math?
Yes. Each payment carries a fee, so weekly billing means about 4.33 fees a month per family. At $300 a week, a 50-child center keeps about $5,495 a year with MyKidReports.
How long does it take to switch?
Most centers are live in 5–10 business days. We move your rosters, billing history, attendance and parent contacts for free, and both systems can run side by side for a few days.
Stop paying for “free.” Keep the difference.
At 50 children: about $2,491 a year kept.
Free up to 5 children. No setup fee. No contract. Free data migration when you’re ready to move.