Parent vs Smartcare
Parent
parent.appSmartcare
revtrak.comSide by side
| Figure | Parent | Smartcare |
|---|---|---|
| Price from | — | — |
| Free plan | — | — |
| Free trial | Yes | — |
| Open source | — | — |
| Web | Yes | Yes |
| iOS | Yes | Yes |
| Android | Yes | Yes |
| Plans published | 4 | 3 |
| Spec score · Early Childhood Education Software | 8.7 (#11) | 7.5 (#60) |
| Spec score · Child Care Management Software | 8.1 (#6) | 7.1 (#10) |
| Attendance and check-in | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Parent automates tuition invoicing, payment reminders, subsidy tracking and agency billing. | Centers can set custom tuition schedules, automate billing, support split households or third-party payments, and let families manage payments online. |
| Billing and payments | Yes | Yes |
| Enrollment | The platform manages inquiries, digital waitlists, applications and enrollment forms across locations. | The software supports online enrollment, student waitlists, and lead tracking. |
| Enrollment management | Yes | Yes |
| Family communication | Families receive real-time updates, photos, videos, secure messages, forms, permissions and billing information in the app. | Yes |
| Headquarters | LinkedIn lists Copenhagen, Denmark as headquarters; Parent also lists offices in Denmark, Switzerland, Germany, the UAE and the United States. | Glastonbury, CT, United States |
| Integrations | The Exclusive plan lists Zoom, QuickBooks, Zoho, Sage, WhatsApp, Gmail and Office 365 integrations; Stripe powers payments. | Smartcare lists integrations with QuickBooks for accounting, ChildcareCRM for customer and prospect management, and PDK for entrance security. |
| Lesson planning | Yes | Yes |
| Mobile apps | Parent’s materials list the app as available on the Apple App Store and Google Play. | Smartcare offers iOS and Android apps for parents and teachers with communications, automatic payments, photo sharing, electronic check-in, and in-app messaging. |
| Purpose | Parent is a childcare management platform for providers to manage records, communication, billing, and children’s learning journeys. | Smartcare is cloud-based, mobile-friendly childcare management software for daycare, preschool, and after-school programs. |
| Security | Parent’s security page states that it is SOC 2 Type II compliant and lists MFA, TLS 1.3 in transit, AES-256 at rest, and role-based access controls. | RevTrak states that its payment platform is PCI DSS v4 Level 1 certified and uses TLS encryption in transit and AES-256 encryption at rest. |
| Support | Official terms describe onboarding, training, troubleshooting and ongoing support through in-app live chat and email. | A dedicated Smartcare client adoption specialist helps with startup, and Client Success and Client Services teams provide ongoing support. |
Plans
Parent
- BasicPrice not published
- ExclusivePrice not published
- Basic PlanPriced on request
- Exclusive PlanPriced on request
Smartcare
- Preschool2mePriced on request
- SmartcarePriced on request
- Smartcare + Preschool2mePriced 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.