illumine vs Parent
illumine
illumine.app
Parent
parent.appSide by side
| Figure | illumine | Parent |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | Yes |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| Windows | Yes | — |
| macOS | Yes | — |
| Linux | Yes | — |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| API | Yes | — |
| Plans published | 6 | 4 |
| Spec score · Early Childhood Education Software | 9.3 (#2) | 8.7 (#11) |
| Spec score · Child Care Software | 9.0 (#1) | 8.0 (#8) |
| Spec score · Child Care Management Software | 9.0 (#2) | 8.1 (#6) |
| Attendance | Attendance supports QR and kiosk check-in, leave tracking, staff-child ratios, geofencing and electronic signatures. | Digital check-in/out records children and staff, tracks attendance in real time and monitors room ratios. |
| Attendance and check-in | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | The platform automates invoices, credit and debit notes, discounts, subsidies, taxes, reminders, late fees and financial reports. | Parent automates tuition invoicing, payment reminders, subsidy tracking and agency billing. |
| Billing and payments | Yes | Yes |
| Documentation | The help center lists module documentation for billing, lessons, attendance, communication, registration, admissions, reports, forms, staff, scheduling, messages and permissions. | The product provides an online help center, chat support, blogs, webinars, guides and an Early Years Academy resource library. |
| Enrollment | Enrollment tools capture inquiries, schedule tours, manage waitlists, run marketing campaigns and digitize registration. | The platform manages inquiries, digital waitlists, applications and enrollment forms across locations. |
| Enrollment management | Yes | Yes |
| Family communication | Yes | Families receive real-time updates, photos, videos, secure messages, forms, permissions and billing information in the app. |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Headquarters | Wilmington, Delaware, United States | LinkedIn lists Copenhagen, Denmark as headquarters; Parent also lists offices in Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, the UAE and the United States. |
| Integrations | Illumine advertises more than 50 accounting and payment integrations, including Gusto, Stripe, PayPal, Tally, QuickBooks, NetSuite and Paychex. | The Exclusive plan lists Zoom, QuickBooks, Zoho, Sage, WhatsApp, Gmail and Office 365 integrations; Stripe powers payments. |
| Lesson planning | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile apps | both | Parent’s materials list the app as available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. |
| Rating on Apple App Store | 4.7 out of 5 from about 2.5K ratings for illumine for Parents. | 4.7 out of 5 from 103 ratings |
Plans
illumine
- BusinessPrice not published
- EnterprisePrice not published
- Standard$0.99 a month
- EssentialsPriced on request
- Growth + AIPriced on request
- ScalePriced on request
Parent
- BasicPrice not published
- ExclusivePrice not published
- Basic PlanPriced on request
- Exclusive PlanPriced on request
In their own words
Parent
Parent is a childcare management platform for providers handling enrollment, family communication, attendance, billing and children’s learning journeys. It is built for childcare centers, including enterprise groups, franchises and organizations with multiple branches. Educators can record meals, naps and diaper changes, share photos and videos, and prepare daily summaries. Families and staff can use a newsfeed and in-app messaging, with automatic translation in 198+ languages. Enrollment features include centralized digital waitlists, custom forms, digital signatures, and QR code or link sign-ins. The product also supports lesson planning, check-in, billing and payments. Parent names integrations including WhatsApp, Gmail, Office 365, Zoom, QuickBooks, Zoho and Sage. It is available through a browser-based web app and Android and iOS apps. The maker, Parent, is headquartered in Copenhagen, Denmark and was founded in 2015. The paid service has pricing on request and offers a 14-day trial; there is no free plan. Listed Basic and Exclusive plans have no listed prices.