TLDR
Brightwheel charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per credit card transaction and 0.6% per ACH transfer. For a center collecting $15,000 per month in tuition, that is approximately $435 per month in processing fees — before the subscription. This list shows which childcare management platforms use flat pricing without per-transaction fees, and what you get for the price.
| Platform | Fee Model | $8K/mo Tuition | $15K/mo Tuition | $22K/mo Tuition |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PebbleDesk (Center Starter) | Flat $99/mo | $99 | $99 | $99 |
| LifeCubby | Flat $30-350/mo | ~$60 | ~$150 | ~$250 |
| Procare (typical) | Flat ~$85/mo | ~$85 | ~$85 | ~$85 |
| Brightwheel | 2.9%+$0.30/CC; 0.6%/ACH | ~$232+sub | ~$435+sub | ~$638+sub |
| Sawyer (free plan) | ~6%/transaction | ~$480 | ~$900 | ~$1,320 |
PebbleDesk
Flat monthly pricing with no per-transaction fees. Home tier covers in-home daycares; Center tier covers licensed programs up to 50 active children.
PROS & CONS
PebbleDesk
Pros
- Home: $29/month flat — no per-child fees, no processing percentage
- Center: $50/month flat — full subsidy reconciliation and audit reports included
- Enterprise: custom pricing for multi-site operators and Head Start grantees
- Month-to-month — no annual contract required to access flat pricing
Cons
- New product — not all state-specific subsidy submission formats supported at launch
- Smaller user community than legacy platforms
Pricing: Home $29/month, Center Starter $99/month, Center Pro $149/month, Group $299/month, Enterprise custom
Verdict: Best flat-rate option for licensed programs under 75 children. At $50/month with no transaction fees, Center tier becomes cheaper than Brightwheel processing fees alone at roughly $1,700/month in tuition collection.
LifeCubby
Flat monthly pricing tiered by enrollment. No per-transaction fees documented.
PROS & CONS
LifeCubby
Pros
- Flat pricing from $30/month (small programs) to $350/month (larger centers)
- Billing and attendance in the same platform
- No per-child or per-transaction fees on top of subscription
Cons
- Upper tiers ($200-350/month) are expensive relative to alternatives for large programs
- CCDF subsidy reconciliation tools are less developed than Procare or Kangarootime
- Smaller company with a shorter track record
Pricing: $30-350/month flat by enrollment
Verdict: Solid flat-rate option for programs under 50 children. The $30-80/month range is competitive; pricing becomes less attractive for larger centers.
Procare
Flat tiered subscription. No per-transaction fees on the base product. Processing fees depend on how you configure payment collection.
PROS & CONS
Procare
Pros
- Subscription-based pricing — no per-child fees for base modules
- Deepest subsidy billing and CCDF reconciliation of any established platform
- Broad state subsidy agency familiarity
Cons
- Parent communication app requires a separate ~$25/month add-on
- Total cost for most centers runs ~$85/month with necessary modules
- Interface design requires more staff training than modern platforms
- Enterprise ownership (Roper Technologies) means pricing tends to increase over time
Pricing: ~$60/month base + ~$25/month parent app = ~$85/month typical
Verdict: Flat pricing but higher base cost. The $85/month typical total is still cheaper than Brightwheel processing fees for a center collecting $4,000+/month, which is most licensed centers.
Famly
Processing included in subscription. No separate transaction percentage.
PROS & CONS
Famly
Pros
- Payment processing included in the subscription cost — no separate processing percentage
- Modern interface, faster to onboard staff
- Strong parent communication alongside billing tools
Cons
- Pricing requires a demo call — not published
- Less US state-specific subsidy compliance depth than Procare or PebbleDesk
- Smaller US market presence
Pricing: Not published (processing included in subscription)
Verdict: Worth evaluating if you want processing included in subscription without the percentage fee structure. Confirm subsidy billing capabilities for your state before committing.
Brightwheel
Per-transaction fee platform. Documented costs: 2.9%+$0.30 per credit card, 0.6% per ACH.
PROS & CONS
Brightwheel
Pros
- Large installed base — many families already familiar with the platform
- Strong parent communication and daily reporting
- Enrollment and general billing work well
Cons
- 2.9% + $0.30 per credit card transaction — the highest per-transaction rate of platforms in this category
- 0.6% per ACH transfer — adds cost even on bank transfers
- At $15,000/month in tuition, processing fees alone run approximately $435/month
- At $22,000/month in tuition, processing fees run approximately $638/month
- Subscription pricing is not published; adds to total cost
- CCDF subsidy reconciliation requires manual work outside the platform
Pricing: 2.9%+$0.30/CC; 0.6%/ACH; subscription not published
Verdict: The highest per-transaction fee of any platform in this category. Cost-effective only for very low-volume programs. At $8,000+/month in tuition collection, flat-rate alternatives are cheaper.
Sawyer
Per-transaction fee platform with compounding rates. Charges its own fee on top of Stripe's processing fee.
PROS & CONS
Sawyer
Pros
- Free plan available for programs with very low volume
- Activity enrollment and class management tools
Cons
- Free plan charges 3% per transaction on top of Stripe's 2.9%+$0.30 — approximately 6% total per transaction
- Paid plans reduce the Sawyer portion but Stripe fees still apply
- Designed more for activity-based businesses than full childcare center management
- Not built for CCDF subsidy reconciliation or ratio tracking
Pricing: Free plan: ~6% per transaction; paid plans: Stripe rate + reduced Sawyer %; subscription not published
Verdict: Only cost-effective at extremely low transaction volumes. The compounding fee structure becomes the most expensive option once monthly tuition exceeds a few thousand dollars.
Playground
Pricing not published. CACFP automation is the strongest feature. Per-transaction fee status unclear.
PROS & CONS
Playground
Pros
- CACFP meal count automation is genuinely best-in-class
- Clean modern interface
- Good enrollment management tools
Cons
- Pricing not publicly available — requires a sales call
- Per-transaction fee structure not publicly documented
- CCDF subsidy reconciliation tools are underdeveloped
Pricing: Not published
Verdict: Can't be reliably placed in the flat-rate or per-transaction category without a sales call. If CACFP automation is your primary need, worth evaluating; ask about processing fees explicitly.
The hidden cost of per-transaction pricing
Childcare software pricing looks straightforward until you factor in payment processing. A platform advertised as low-cost or free can become one of your larger operating expenses once you run actual billing through it.
The math is simple: Brightwheel charges 2.9% plus $0.30 per credit card transaction. That is a standard Stripe pass-through rate, not an unusually high fee for payment processing. The issue is that it compounds directly with your tuition revenue. Collect $15,000 per month and you’re paying $435 per month in fees. Collect $22,000 per month and you’re paying $638 per month. Every time you raise tuition to keep up with operating costs, your processing fees go up proportionally.
Flat-rate platforms charge the same amount regardless of whether you collect $8,000 or $22,000 in tuition. The difference becomes material quickly.
The crossover point
Per-transaction fees are not always the wrong choice. At very low tuition volumes — a home daycare collecting $1,500/month — a flat $50/month subscription is more expensive than 2.9%+$0.30 on $1,500, which runs about $44/month. The per-transaction model is cheaper for programs with minimal billing volume.
The crossover depends on the specific rates. For Brightwheel’s credit card rate versus PebbleDesk Center Starter at $99/month, the crossover is approximately $1,700/month in credit card collections. Above that volume, flat-rate is cheaper. Most licensed childcare centers exceed that threshold before accounting for a single family.
ACH as a partial workaround
Some centers encourage or require families to pay via ACH bank transfer instead of credit card. Brightwheel charges 0.6% per ACH versus 2.9%+$0.30 per credit card — significantly cheaper for high-volume programs.
The limitations of this approach: not all families are willing to authorize bank account access; ACH payments can fail and require follow-up; and 0.6% on $15,000/month still runs $90/month. ACH reduces the problem; it doesn’t eliminate it. Flat-rate platforms don’t require families to choose a payment method based on the center’s fee structure.
What the comparison in this list measures
This list divides platforms into three groups: flat-rate with no processing fees, processing included in subscription (where the vendor absorbs the processor cost), and per-transaction fee platforms.
The cost comparison table at the bottom of this article uses $8,000/month, $15,000/month, and $22,000/month in tuition as reference points. These represent a small-to-midsize home daycare, a midsize licensed center, and a larger licensed center respectively. All calculations assume credit card payments — the highest-cost scenario for per-transaction platforms. ACH-only scenarios would lower the per-transaction costs but not eliminate them.
What the table doesn’t cover
The table shows direct cost. It doesn’t capture features, compliance capability, or support quality. A platform that is cheaper but lacks CCDF subsidy reconciliation tools will have real operational costs for programs that need those features — staff time, reconciliation errors, and audit risk. Cost should be the tiebreaker between otherwise comparable platforms, not the primary selection criterion.
If you’re comparing PebbleDesk Center Starter at $99/month against Procare at $85/month, the $35/month difference is real but small relative to the compliance and subsidy management capability comparison. Where flat-rate pricing matters most is in the comparison against Brightwheel and Sawyer, where the processing fee structure makes them materially more expensive for most licensed centers.
Q&A
Which childcare software has no per-transaction fees?
Flat-rate platforms with no per-transaction fees include PebbleDesk ($29-$299/month flat), LifeCubby ($30-350/month flat by enrollment), Procare (~$85/month typical for base modules plus parent app), and Famly (processing included in subscription, price requires sales call). Brightwheel and Sawyer charge per-transaction fees that compound with tuition volume.
Q&A
How much do Brightwheel processing fees cost per year?
For a center collecting $15,000 per month in tuition via credit card, Brightwheel's 2.9%+$0.30 rate runs approximately $435 per month — roughly $5,220 per year in processing fees before the subscription cost. A center collecting $22,000 per month pays approximately $638 per month, or $7,656 per year. Flat-rate platforms cost the same regardless of tuition volume.
Frequently asked