The Playground childcare app alternative that shows you the price.
Playground’s pricing page doesn’t show a price — it asks about your program and routes you to a customized demo (August 2026). MyKidReports publishes its pricing: $0.99 per child per month, free up to 5 children, every feature included on every plan.
You searched “playground childcare app pricing” and got a form.
Playground (tryplayground.com) does not publish its pricing. The pricing page asks whether you run a home-based program, a center or a multi-location group — and routes you to a customized demo (August 2026). Here is what that looks like next to a published per-child price.
Three things that change the day you switch.
These are the three differences providers describe most often after choosing MyKidReports over demo-gated apps like Playground. Each is a deliberate product decision.
You see the price first
No form, no demo call to learn the monthly cost. The published rate is what every program pays at every size.
One plan, every feature
Billing, attendance, staff scheduling, CACFP, enrollment, daily reports — included from day one. Nothing waits for a demo reveal.
Free to actually start
Create an account and run a real program on the free plan today — no credit card, no sales step.
Every feature, on every plan — no demo-gated tiers.
The modules a multi-room childcare program actually needs — from check-in to billing to licensing reports. Everything ships with every plan, even the free tier. No quote-locked features, no per-staff fees.
Parent app (iOS + Android)
Daily activity feed, photos, two-way messaging, and contactless check-in/check-out. Same app for every family.
Billing & tuition
Auto-billing, Stripe + Deluxe + ACH and card payments, late-fee rules, and parent-app invoice payments.
Attendance & check-in
QR or PIN check-in/check-out, room rosters, late-pickup alerts, and audit-ready attendance logs.
Staff scheduling
Drag-and-drop scheduling by room, time clock, time-off requests, and ratio-aware coverage.
CACFP food program
USDA-aligned meal logs, daily attendance counts, and quarterly reimbursement reports.
Reports & analytics
Enrollment, capacity, revenue by room, A/R aging, staff cost ratio — for directors and owners.
Enrollment & waitlist
Public inquiry form, tour calendar, digital enrollment packets with e-signature, and per-room waitlists.
Paperwork & licensing
Immunization tracking, staff certifications, incident reports, and licensing-ready document exports.
Center website builder
A public website for your center with built-in inquiry form — included on every plan.
Every module above has a deeper page on the site — with screenshots, customer use cases, and the operational decisions behind how each one works.
See the full feature breakdown →Free to start. Pay as you grow.
No setup fees. No per-feature upcharges. Cancel anytime. Playground’s pricing is demo-quoted at every program size — ours is published below for every size.
- Up to 5 children · 1 staff
- Daily activities, attendance, messaging
- No credit card required
- Free forever
- Everything in Lite
- 1–100 children · Unlimited staff
- Billing, custom reports, scheduling
- 14-day free trial
- Everything in Pro
- Multi-location dashboard
- Volume pricing
- Dedicated success manager
There's more to MyKidReports than published pricing.
The reasons centers stay (not just switch) — how the product was built, who built it, and the operating choices behind every-feature-on-every-plan. The full story.
Move off Playground in two weeks.
Most centers think switching software is a six-month nightmare. With a free data migration from Playground, parent-facing templates, and our team running the cutover, the average switch is ten to fourteen business days — with one parallel week in the middle.
Free Playground export
We pull your rosters, billing history, attendance, and parent contacts from Playground at no charge.
Audit & clean
Our migration team audits the data, flags incomplete records, and works with your director to fill gaps.
Staff training
90-minute live training for your director. 30 minutes each for teachers. Pre-recorded videos for anyone who joins later.
Parent app rollout
Family email goes out. Parents install MyKidReports during the parallel week, alongside My Playground.
Cutover
All operations switch. Billing runs on the new system. Playground subscription cancelled at month-end.
Considering a Playground alternative? — See MyKidReports walked through your way.
A few honest questions. Pick the ones that match your day — we'll tailor the walkthrough to the modules that solve them.
- Are you spending too much time on manual administrative tasks instead of focusing on providing quality education and care at your childcare center?
- Do you want to make communication with parents easier for things like billing, scheduling, and daily activity updates?
- Is manually tracking staff schedules, attendance, and absences becoming too time-consuming for your team?
- Are you finding it difficult to manage essential records — attendance logs, incident reports, and staff certifications — in one centralized system?
- Would you like to streamline your center's operations and offer a better family experience with an all-in-one childcare center management solution?
- How do you handle staff scheduling and attendance tracking efficiently without relying on paperwork?
- Are you struggling to manage multiple administrative tasks — billing, scheduling, attendance — across different systems?
- Do you want to learn how automated notifications can keep parents updated — from schedule changes to billing reminders — effortlessly?
Request your demo
Tell us about your center — a product expert will reach out to schedule.
The most common reasons providers pick MyKidReports over Playground.
These four reasons come up most often when directors compare the two.
“We just wanted the number”
Directors comparing childcare apps describe filling forms and sitting through demos just to learn a monthly cost. With a published per-child price, the comparison takes a minute.
“Demo-gated pricing slowed everything down”
When every price question needs a scheduled call, evaluating software stretches across weeks. A public price page collapses that to an afternoon.
“We grew — and wanted the cost to stay linear”
Quote-based pricing tends to be renegotiated at renewal. A published per-child rate scales with enrollment, predictably and openly.
“Same support on every plan”
Real humans by chat, email or phone — whether you run 5 children or 500. No support tier gated by what you pay.
Playground app pricing & alternative, answered.
Direct answers to the questions providers ask most often when comparing Playground to MyKidReports.
How much does the Playground childcare app cost?
Playground (tryplayground.com) does not publish its pricing. Its pricing page asks about your program — home-based, center, or multi-location — and routes you to a customized demo (August 2026). MyKidReports publishes per-child pricing openly: $0.99 per enrolled child per month, free up to 5 children.
What is the Playground childcare app?
Playground is childcare management software used by daycares, preschools and home-based programs for check-in, parent messaging, billing and enrollment. It is one of several childcare apps providers compare — alongside Brightwheel, Procare, and MyKidReports.
Is Playground free?
Playground’s public pricing page does not mention a free plan (August 2026) — the path in is a demo request. MyKidReports is openly free up to 5 children, every feature included, no credit card required.
What is the best alternative to the Playground app?
MyKidReports is a transparent Playground alternative: published per-child pricing ($0.99/child/month, free up to 5 children), every feature included on every plan, no setup fee, no contract, and free data migration when you switch.
How do I switch from Playground to MyKidReports?
Most programs complete the switch in 10-14 business days. The MyKidReports migration team moves rosters, billing history and parent contacts at no charge, trains your staff, runs a parallel week, and switches you over.
See the price before you talk to anyone.
Free up to 5 children. No credit card. Every feature included. If you decide it's not for you, the export is free too.