# brightwheel Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Is brightwheel the right School Management solution for you? Explore 3255 verified user reviews from people in industries like yours to make a confident choice. Source: https://www.capterra.com/p/144060/brightwheel/reviews --- brightwheel 4.7 (3255) Provider data verified by our Software Research team, and reviews moderated by our Reviews Verification team. [Learn more](https://www.capterra.com/our-story/) * * * Last updated March 13th, 2026 # Reviews of brightwheel Ease of use 4.6 Customer Service 4.6 ## Pros and Cons in Reviews TB Tamika B Teacher AssistantChild Day Care Services, 2 - 10 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “Features like attendance tracking, parent engagement tools, and learning assessments empower educators to focus more on teaching and less on administrative tasks, making it easy for teachers and parents to stay connected.“ November 2, 2024 MC Madolyn C AdministrationChild Day Care Services, Self-employedUsed the software for: Less than 6 months. “The feature that I least like about brightwheel is that it is a little difficult to update your deposit account if you do happen to change banks.“ November 17, 2024 GL Gilberto L Senior ConsultantBanking, 5,001 - 10,000 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “With features like real-time communication, student progress tracking, and payment management, this platform simplifies the day-to-day life of teachers and administrators.“ November 8, 2024 Nicholas B Senior AccountantConstruction, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “This code doesn't change, however, for a parent who doesn't do the primary drop offs and pickups, I found myself struggling to remember the code at times.“ August 19, 2024 SJ Stacy J DirectorChild Day Care Services, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “We are part of the Expense trial and we are liking it so far - we are able to take each bank transaction and add what they debit or credit was for to seperate each expense or income.“ June 25, 2024 BB Brittney B Marketing Project CoordinatorComputer Software, 51 - 200 employeesUsed the software for: 6-12 months. “They have a message for messaging admins but you don’t get to see who those people are so when I send a message I never know who sees it and just assume everyone does.“ September 15, 2024 Logan H DirectorChild Day Care Services, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: More than 2 years. “I love how I can use it to quickly communicate with parents about schedules, behaviors, and how any staff member can see the communication“ August 2, 2025 JR Jessica R Lead TeacherChild Day Care Services, 11 - 50 employeesUsed the software for: 1-2 years. “It's not clear how you make a template, or if that would even be helpful. And there aren't any example templates or template tutorials so you can see what that would look like.“ October 29, 2024 ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 1-25 of 3255 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use Logan H. Director Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Love this! " August 2, 2025 5.0 Pros I love how I can use it to quickly communicate with parents about schedules, behaviors, and how any staff member can see the communication Cons I cannot think of any big or even consistent cons of using this program aside from having to educate new staff on how to use it Alternatives considered [LineLeader by ChildcareCRM](https://www.capterra.com/p/129630/Child-Care-CRM/) Reason for choosing brightwheel It is more user friendly and has better features Review Source BJ Belineda J. Family support resource Specialist Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Parent Review " August 21, 2025 4.0 I love the app! I know the teachers and admin have to make efforts to utilize the features more but maybe a way to make it easier can make the difference. Pros I like that I am able to see videos and pictures of my child. I like the message option for all staff or just admin. It makes it easier as parents work throughout the day can feel connected to their children. Cons I wish there were ways teachers can upload or include moments in the classroom without feeling tied to a tablet. And the pay function I wish was easier to use. I don’t like putting my card info and have my account withdrawn and I was prepared for yet. Switched from [ProCARE Portal](https://www.capterra.com/p/140862/ProCARE-Portal/) The switch was made because of ease and even though it was pricer the school chose to stay with because of the ease and features. Review Source OG Olivia G. Teacher Child Day Care Services Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Happy teacher :) and happy parent :)" April 23, 2026 5.0 Extremely positive. I was scared about making the switch to but I really am glad we made the switch now. Pros I love how easy is to use. Other apps that I’ve used before have not been this way to use. It is cheaper than what my company was using before and I love that. It’s so easy to manage my students and see where they are at all times. I’ve never come across any bugs or issues. I love that I can easily use it on my phone or my computer if I have more time. It’s very easy to share pictures with parents and other staff. I’ve never needed to reach out to customer support so no advice there! Cons I actually really love . I haven’t come across anything that I would change about it. It’s been a breath of fresh air after the other app I came from. Switched from [Procare Solutions](https://www.capterra.com/p/23486/Procare-Child-Care-Management/) We made the switch because is Cheaper and easier to use. Review Source JB Joyce B. Administrator Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great parent interface and easy for everyone to navigate, parents and teachers!" November 12, 2024 3.0 I was very happy with the parent interaction and the easy with the billing. If we were looking to increase our classroom visibility i.e. updates, photos etc. I would have continued to use this application. Pros is a very parent-oriented app. It is extremely user friendly. It has extensive capabilities when it comes to daily reports and updates for the child. It allows parents easy access to staff and to have a in real time picture of the child's day. From a teacher standpoint it is easy and intuitive to use. On the tuition side of things, parents have access to all of their tuition payment records and can schedule payments independently of the school. Posting payments is simple for the administration. Cons I would be very helpful if the data could be used for other purposes and easily adapted to such things a roll call list, classroom rosters. emergency lists etc. While you can export the data to excel spread sheets it would be very helpful if they provided pre-configured options for these necessary reports. Review Source MBK Mary Beth K. Enrollment Manager Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Reveiw of Bright Wheel features and Reports " February 6, 2025 5.0 Overall great product. Families, Teachers and admisistrators love the communication feature, thanks for allowing families to be soo connecected to their child's teachers and their child day Pros easy of making reports, and communication between home and program Cons The new adminstration feature. The prior feature allowed me to delete documents from a family list if it was not applicable or if they were unable to complete online but instead in person. The families are having difficutly moving throught the enrollment process, the way it is set up now. I would love for Bright Wheel to give providers some power to delete and or go back to the previous feature of adminsitaion that was based on forms Another con is the ablity to make reports based on enrollment start and end dates, this would better assist my program in pulling reports based on dates, for our funders. I currently have to pull everyone from active and inactive to a spread sheet only to delete what I do not need based on enrollment and end dates. This is time consuming for me Switched from [Procare Solutions](https://www.capterra.com/p/23486/Procare-Child-Care-Management/) BW offers me and my program the features we need to collect data for our funders. Review Source BB Bonnie B. Lead Systems Analyst Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Easy Setup & Great Parent Engagement" February 6, 2025 5.0 On the whole, is one of our easier softwares that actually does what it says it will do. I highly recommend. Pros 's setup was incredibly easy. Our staff picked it up right away, and we love that parents can easily keep up with what their kids are doing and learning each day. Check-in is a breeze and we love being alerted on the front end if a child is sick. Cons We do wish it had an api or at least a low code connection to Zapier. We use Salesforce as our primary data source of truth and don't love having to do by hand imports and exports to keep both updated. We also aren't using curriculum. If there was an easier way to import what we are using, that would be amazing. Alternatives considered [Tadpoles](https://www.capterra.com/p/118895/Childcare/) Reason for choosing brightwheel It had a better user experience in comparison. Switched from [Lillio](https://www.capterra.com/p/134048/HiMama-Preschool-Child-Care-App/) We wanted a product that had a better user experience for both our staff and our parents. Review Source KO Kaleigh O. Floater Teacher Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Brightwheel Review" February 22, 2025 5.0 Overall, I love using and think that it is an amazing and well organized system. It is easy to edit, submit, and view all data entered into the daily logs. Pros I love the ease of using the app and all the detail that I am able to share with the users. provides a lot of specific options so that daily logs are concise and organized. Cons I wish that there were specific categories that I could select when writing a note. (Just because I like things to have a specific label). Switched from [Procare Solutions](https://www.capterra.com/p/23486/Procare-Child-Care-Management/) My company heard about and another organization recommended it to us. Review Source RW Rachel W. Director Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Brightwheel has what we needed and more!" April 9, 2025 5.0 The onboarding process was very smooth and the team was very helpful! After using Brightwheel for months now the team is still helpful anytime I have questions and they are quick with responses. I enjoy using Brightwheel in our program. Pros It houses all of the features we need for our child care program. Attendance, parent communications, staff information, student information and more! Cons The set up of facility rooms is a little difficult to make work with our AM and PM schedule of students. Switched from [Google Drive](https://www.capterra.com/p/161425/Drive/) We switched because was being offered for free by the state and it had everything we need that we were just doing on Google Drive and then printing out on hard copies. Review Source SH Staci H. Director Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Game-Changer!" November 22, 2024 5.0 has been a game-changer for our center. It keeps things all in one place that we used to keep over numerous apps and programs. It has made things run more efficiently. I would recommend it to any center! Pros It allows me to keep everything in one place! Cons Most everything on my wish list has been or is in the process of being added as a feature. Switched from [QuickBooks Online](https://www.capterra.com/p/190778/QuickBooks-Online/)[Microsoft Word](https://www.capterra.com/p/227146/Microsoft-Word/) It was so complicated having information spread amongst numerous apps and software. Review Source SM Sanaa M. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Convenient Childcare Management App" November 26, 2025 5.0 Pros is a highly convenient childcare and student management platform. It includes features like photo sharing, announcements, direct message, and more. It can be downloaded as an easily accessible app on both mobile devices and computers. Cons does not store photos for free, requiring users to pay to access photo galleries from the past. Switched from [Lillio](https://www.capterra.com/p/134048/HiMama-Preschool-Child-Care-App/) It was a company requirement that all staff switch from Lillio to in 2025. Review Source AB Alfreda B. Director Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great Platform, Highly Recommend" April 15, 2025 4.0 I would give the platform 8 out of 10. In fairness, all three of my programs use . I don't have experience with any other platform. I also like the fact they listen to your feedback and make improvements. Pros The platform is user-friendly. It's nearly an all inclusive platform to manage my program. There's trainings, how-to videos, best practices, resources for parents and the ability to integrate curriculum. Cons The dislikes are constraints on reporting and ability to control your own data. Also, team members that are also parents have to login separately using different email addresses. Review Source KW Kandy W. Director Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Brightwheel is a HUGE time saver that simplifies everything" December 19, 2024 5.0 Since I'm the Director, Lead Teacher, AND do 100% of the admin work, it has been a huge time saver for me! I used to hand write receipts for every payment I got AND had an old school ledger sheet to keep track of all the money. This has been wonderful. I also love being able to send photos in real time to familes throughout the day. Pros I love that everything is in one single app. Communicating with parents via email is hard since families get so much email that mine would sometimes get lost. The same with text messages. This just streamlines it so that families know they can go look in the BW app to find anything related to our preschool. Also, I have NEVER had a problem in regards to a response to a questions or problem I've had. You all are very quick to respond and always have a well explained answer that is easy to understand. Cons I can't really think of anything right now. I'm looking to see if there's a way to sort out income sources for our benefit. For example, I'd like to be able to calculate how much of our income is "tuition" or "field trip fees" or "registration fees" or "early drop off fees" etc. There may be a feature for this but I haven't even had time to dig to find out. :-) Review Source NT Nicole T. Marketing Manager Printing Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "One-Stop-Shop for Child's Schooling" April 7, 2025 4.0 Overall very good! Nice to be connected with my son's learning during the day. Easy one-stop-shop for all things related to his school Pros I like being able to pay through the app, being able to decide who to select for messages, like the ease of communicating with my son's school Cons I wish my son's school would use the calendar feature more and have the calendar push automatic reminders about days off, special things for school, etc. Review Source AL Andrea L. Owner adProvider Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Best App for Family and Group Childcare" March 12, 2025 5.0 Extremely positive and happy overall I highly recommend for all childcare educators Pros I can't say one thing. I love that it allows me to send parents info and pictures and videos in real time. I also love that it gives me a record when I want to look back and check on something (for instance a child's absences due to sickness). Lastly, I LOVE that I don't have to worry about collecting paper checks as parents pay directly to my bank on the app. Cons I wish there was a way to record staff absences and whether or not they were absences with or without pay. Review Source HS Hailey S. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Your Daycare Needs Brightwheel!" June 2, 2025 5.0 I am loving for allowing me to keep better tabs on my son's daycare experience. It is free for parents and easy to use! Pros I love that allows me to be a more active participant in my child's daycare experience. I am able to change my payment method if needed. I also have access to photos taken during the day and can message my providers! Cons is very user friendly, I have been using it for a few weeks and have not found an issue with it yet! Review Source BO Bryanna O. Office Manager Consumer Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Brightwheel Review" November 26, 2024 5.0 I really enjoy using as the app has everything you really need in it. You can pay your bill, contact teachers, look at pictures and feel secure that our littles are being taken care of as they should be. Pros is absolutely amazing for those parents who like to keep things in order and or staying connected with my childcare provider Cons I do not believe I have any cons about . Nothing notable Review Source KM Kim M. Director Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Great preschool program" November 22, 2024 5.0 The representatives are helpful and knowledgeable about the product. is always adding new features. Pros Streamlined billing, attendance, records. Cons It did take some practice to learn how to use all of the features, but the representatives and online tutorials were helpful. Review Source KA Khadija A. Talent acquisition specialist Education Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Great App that has all you need!" December 13, 2024 4.0 It’s a good system to use for updates on your child. With ease you can view your child’s potty, meals and sleep schedule whilst viewing and liking photos of the child. It’s really user friendly and easy to message to teachers and sign forms as required. Pros I like the option to like photos and see real time updates with ease. Especially the part of seeing notes related to their meals. Cons There isn’t anything in particular that I don’t like about this app as yet. I’ve been on it since July 2024, and so far it’s meeting my expectations. Review Source AL Arielle L. Contract Specialist Government Administration Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "Simple and Clean" April 17, 2025 5.0 We use it for our daycare, it’s a good program and it makes it easy to pay and check invoices. Pros I like the interface, it’s easy to navigate and view all areas I need to see. Straightforward and clean. Cons If you only have one child I would prefer to not have to click into that child. Review Source CL Christina L. Director and Teacher Political Organization Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "I Love Brightwheel!" October 26, 2024 5.0 My job is so much easier with and my files are organized!! Pros Children's Attendance Record Staff Time Cards Parent Communication Online Payment Option Cons Nothing that I can think of, I love everything about ! Review Source SO Sunny O. Parent Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Works bit hard to keep the pictures " November 25, 2024 4.0 This is what the school chose and we are glad to see the pictures and updates throughojt the day but it doesn’t offer high quality imagine or picture downloads packaged. Pros Keep me updated on my kids throughout the day Cons Pictures are not grouped. Hard to download Review Source SW Shawn W. Owner and Director Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Amazing!!!" November 24, 2024 5.0 Pros The ease in using this program is awesome. As a director, this frees up time for all the other things!!! Cons There is a learning curve to using all the features. Review Source KM Kim M. Director Child Day Care Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Brightwheel remains one of the best" December 8, 2025 5.0 is great to use to track the daily happenings with my child and offer updates for other families. Pros The ease of use remains the most important. I also like the wide range of uses it has, which prior I was unaware it had so many varying options. Videos, pictures, chats, logging times of events, etc. Cons i can not think of any cons at this time. I love and all the things I can do with it. It makes my day go by easier knowing my child's happenings. Review Source SH Shaqueisha H. Parent Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Easy Account Management" September 21, 2024 5.0 Overall, I like the app because it allows me to pay my fees for my child's after-school program. I also like that I can see when I check her out from the program Pros I like that users can manage their accounts and balances. Cons There is no way to contact my daughter's after-school program through the platform. Review Source BJ Braedon J. Personal Trainer Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Brightwheel Review" December 30, 2024 5.0 Overall satisfied with my experience. Competency behind the app matters. Pros Kept me informed and up to date with my child. Cons I wouldn't say it was a problem with , but the operators at the daycare. Review Source