# Page 12 | brightwheel Reviews 2026. Verified Reviews, Pros & Cons | Capterra > Page 12 - Is brightwheel the right Class Registration solution for you? Explore 3254 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 (3254) 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 # Page 12 - Reviews of brightwheel ## Showing most helpful reviews Showing 276-300 of 3254 Reviews Sort by: Most Helpful Rating Company Size Reviewer's Role Length of Use Frequency of Use AF Anna F. Project Manager Non-Profit Organization Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Parent using brightwheel" April 4, 2024 5.0 It was a nice surprise- I've never had this type of personal communication with my child's school. Pros It is a great way to keep in touch with my child's teachers. I also love that I am able to receive pictures and updates on a daily basis. Cons Sometimes I receive messages that do not apply to me, but I understand that it is a mass communication whether it's applicable for me or not. Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Digital Marketing Manager Individual & Family Services Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great software for staying up to date on children" December 7, 2019 5.0 This program from a parent's perspective helps fill the void of missing your child when you have to go back to work. As we are in the process of finding new schools for our children when they say they have BrightWheel it is an instant consideration. Pros I am a parent user of this software and I absolutely love it. This software allows me to easily stay in contact with my children's school and get updates on what they have eaten, when they have used the bathroom, napped and receive pictures and videos. I like that I can message school from my phone and receive a message back without having to call. Because it has ios applications i get the updates on my iWatch and phone. Cons I don't like that there can sometimes be a delay in the software or some glitches but that is to be expected with anything from time to time. Review Source ML Miss L. Administrator Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "All Inclusive and FREE!!" July 24, 2016 5.0 I have researched what seems to be everywhere software on the market for our center. There were only 3 that covered all of my required expectations. Brightwheel was one of the 3. I hesitated because it was free and a newer company. I felt there HAD to be a catch to it. Especially since the other 2 companies were very expensive, I couldn't understand how all of this could be offered for free. I took the chance in November 2015 and I am could not be more pleased! This product has been absolutely free with no hidden costs. Our center uses the daily activity record, which includes an app for the parents to be able to view from their phones/tablets or they can log in to the website from a computer. The daily record includes photos that can be uploaded directly from your phone, all of the detailed info you would want a parent to know, it even has a "Notes" section. We use the calendar to add events for the parents to see. There is also the daily check in/out and the best thing is the parents can send a note thru the app to say arriving late today, not coming in today, or picking up early, etc. The ability to communicate the simple things thru the app saves time during pick up/drop off because a lot of questions are already answered on Brightwheel. The best thing of all is the billing. FREE for ACH debits and no hassle to you! There is also a credit card capability. All of our parents are required to sign up. You can do one time billing or set up a recurring billing plan and bills/reminders/receipts are sent automatically to the parent. The money is deposited to your business account and that's it! Sooo simple and painless! I understand their is a premium version of Brightwheel being released soon but the standard version is so incredible that I don't know WHAT to expect. :) I truly love this product. Our parents are impressed with it as well. AND it's free! Pros The price - free, the billing option, the ability to upload pics and name activities the children are engaged in, The calendar keeps everyone on the same page. I love it all! Cons None Review Source DH Danielle H. Business Manager Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Mixed Feelings" November 16, 2018 4.0 We are generally receiving our payments on time more. BrightWheel has caused new frustrations but relieved others. We like the parent communication aspect. The customer service of BrightWheel is getting better; however, I usually only get an answer after asking multiple people the same question and finally I will get a correct answer. They love their standard boilerplate responses which if I needed would have gotten from the library. The overall feeling of “we are only here to make the parent experience better” versus making the centers business operations better is frustrating. In the end, the center will get what we need and with BrightWheel a lot of times it causes inconvenience to the parents. Example, when a new child starts under the parents, they have to re-link to AutoPay. The parents can’t figure it out because of it shows they are linked with one student so we have to add their bill to their older student who doesn’t come anymore in order to get their autopay to work. That is not friendly experience for us or the parent. BrightWheel still needs a lot of work to get it to a product that is time-saving and beneficial for centers to use. Pros We love the AutoPay feature and the ability for our parents to get their invoices 24/7. Cons There isn’t a way to record credit, and when a payment fails without attempting to go through it doesn’t send an email to the parents or us. Also, when a payment fails it doesn’t give us an opportunity to recharge. Many parents will ask us to retry and we can’t without creating a new invoice. Also, on the Plan section, it doesn’t allow you to make changes to the days the invoice gets charged, or a new end date, etc. This means we are constantly canceling the plan and creating a new one. Review Source SD Shelly D. Director/Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Made my life a lot easier." September 7, 2022 5.0 With having trouble staffing right now, this saved me!!! I was going crazy trying to keep up with everything and teach a class. Pros The billing and invoicing. I put it in one time and go. It sends it out when it needs to go out. Cons I wish there was a week end template you could fill out for parents telling what your week looked like. Letters learned, help needed, coming soon etc... Review Source DV Dawn V. Owner/Director Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Brightwheel Pros & Cons" December 4, 2018 4.0 Our staff members are more informed on a daily basis and connected to the parents more. They receive updates on students versus relying on the director to pass on the information from a phone call or email. Pros 1) It has aloud our staff members to connect with families more on a daily/weekly basis. 2) Staff are able to post pictures without using their phone storage. 3) Parents can sign-in & sign-out easier. Easier to add extra pick-up people. 4) Easier to obtain tuition payments from families. 5) Easier to have a visual of the school in one location (I can switch rooms and see who is there and the staff in the room. 6) Bi-monthly payroll is much easier with the time sheets. Cons 1) There is no way to message staff members all at once or for them to receive a message as well. (example, I post the newsletter for parents and the staff would have to open a student file to view it or I mass message the parents but the staff do not receive the mass message as well. 2) I wish you could post pdf files to the parents versus just image files. (My newsletters and forms always have to be converted to pdf and then to image file. 3) Red sign-in kiosk screen is not good for viewing out in the sunlight. (blue & white would be better) 4) I am unable to find the observations easily for review later on for report as a class or objective/goal. 5) iPhone users seem to have trouble with the app more (receiving messages & they are not able to click on links that I may send either through messaging or under the notes). Review Source AM Alexa M. Document Controller Civil Engineering Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Connection Throughout the Day" March 6, 2024 5.0 Love that my care provider uses this app. Truly helps me feel connected to my child while I am at work and made my transition from leave to care an easier one. Pros Love being able to see my child's daily activities, including what they are eating, when they are getting diaper changes (did they poop, or pee, or both? Did they need cream?), when did they go down for a nap? Cons No real complaints. It's an easy platform to use! Review Source KB Katie B. Lead Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Good but would like to see 2 other features for ease" November 27, 2018 3.0 It really is a wonderful tool to have for communication with parents. It makes sending pictures really easy. I love knowing that our parents can easily receive pictures of their child throughout the day. As a parent myself, I love receiving pictures of my son! Pros I love the ability to post multiple pictures at the same time. All the options are easy to find and labeled really well (ie. nap, food, potty, etc.). Cons First, I really don't like how difficult it is to edit a note, photo, or custom message if we spot an error after sending it. We have used another platform before that you could easily click on which students had the note that was sent out and you could edit it one time instead of having to go through each child. For example, to edit a "note" that was sent we would have to edit it 19 times to fix it. That's a lot! If you could update this I would really, REALLY love Brightwheel. Secondly, can we please have a "Sent" message page separate from just the one page that groups the sent and received all in one. I am missing incoming messages because they're getting lost in a bunch of other messages. And one more thing about messages. This would help out SO much! Can there be an option to mark a message as "Unread"? Sometimes my morning assistant will check a message but forget to tell me and unfortunately I won't see the notification that a message came in. But if it could be known that if anyone reads a message before the lead teacher they can easily indicate it as Unread and then no one will miss it. Review Source Marenyane M. Digital marketer Internet Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "How to manage your managerial work at School with brightwheel" March 21, 2022 5.0 I helped one of the school daycares to manage inventory, students, and payments quite well. Pros It is very easy to track down your schedules on the calendar It is easy to keep a record of students' attendance along the week It is easy to plan well on how your schedule Cons The only thing not good about this software is that it is not yet known all over Lesotho Reason for choosing brightwheel It is a bit easy to use rather than other softwares Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Site Director Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Brightwheel review" December 4, 2018 5.0 Communication at our center (between teachers and parents and teachers and teachers) has greatly improved with the use of Brightwheel. Pros It is easy to use. Training with staff is easy. Parents enjoy the ease of use as well. From an administrative standpoint, entering new children and staff is a quick process. Entering all daily information can be done in the click of a button. Cons When adding a child for a family that already has children at our center, the app does not allow me to only enter first name and email address to add this child's parent. I have to go on a computer to do this. We have several teachers at our center that also have their own children here. There is no way for our teachers to receive notifications both as teachers and parents. Review Source JG Jaime G. Director Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Brightwheel is Amazing " March 1, 2024 5.0 Pros The ease of being able to effectively communicate with families in real-time. Cons Nothing, it is amazing! I honestly cannot think of 1 negative aspect of using Brightwheel. Reason for choosing brightwheel Cost and offered services comparisons were the deciding factor. Switched from [Procare Solutions](https://www.capterra.com/p/23486/Procare-Child-Care-Management/) Not effective for our communication needs with families Review Source EM Eunice M. Digital marketing Capital Markets Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Bright wheel thing" January 8, 2022 5.0 Pros Caring of children and management to top complete issues Cons Billing and caring children's was gorgeous Review Source TD TANAYA D. Data Abstractor- Trauma Hospital & Health Care Used the software for: 2+ years ### "All daycares/preschools need to use this app!" July 6, 2021 5.0 I have used the brightwheel app since my son was 3 months old( he is now 3 years old). As a new parent, it definitely put my mind at ease when I had to return to work. I love checking on him throughout the day! Pros Being able to view pictures of my son, check to see what he ate, message the teachers, etc. Cons Nothing I can think of. I think that it is great and all daycares/preschools should use it! Review Source CP Camille P. Director Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The Best about Brightwheel" May 26, 2022 5.0 My overall experience with Brightwheel, is positive. I like what it has to offer. I would rather have it then not. Pros The ease of parents being able to communicate back and forth with teachers is most beneficial. I love being able to read the conversations and replying, if necessary. Cons Least about the software that it can not be real time. For instance if the class is doing something in particular and a video is being done, I would love the parents to be able to view video in real time. Also, to be able to review teacher statements before they go out to parents would be the biggest request. Reason for choosing brightwheel Not sure only because my Administrator made the final decision. Review Source BM Bianca M. Former K5 teachrr Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Brightwheel is better then the rest " September 29, 2022 4.0 Excellent would be nice if they were just a little cheaper Pros The daily sheets are easy and notes and information can be added to allow simple communication with parents Cons Payment features aren’t easy to do and sometime struggle to process . Reason for choosing brightwheel Cheaper option Review Source KH Kelle H. Owner/director/teacher Consumer Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Love all the new features " March 16, 2023 5.0 I love that I have so much less paperwork and the parents can digitally check the kiddos in and they make payments through the app as well, no more sending out reminders about payments, it does it all for me! Pros The most impactful feature is the parent check in/out, it is extremely helpful during busy morning drop offs and in the afternoons for pickups. I just discovered the new menu feature… game changer. So much better than creating a spreadsheet from scratch! Cons The billing feature has some hiccups, but only with the limitations, but then again maybe I’m just not as knowledgeable as I should be on using those features. I really can’t say much about cons! I love the app!! Review Source CM Chethan M. Technology Lead Information Technology and Services Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Review of Brightwheel application" December 7, 2019 4.0 Overall the experience was good. I would recommend for small child care schools to adopt this to manage the day to day activities. Pros Brightwheel application is a very popular and easy to use app.The Brightwheel mobile app is very popular among Childcare schools and Parents. This is very good Child Care management application with many different features. Brightwheel has features like manage your classroom, Administer the respective child care schools related activities and easily engage with parents. Brightwheel helps the teachers to capture the daily attendance, upload photos for each child, add activities of each child and send messages to complete group or individual person at once. Brightwheel also provide options for Bill Pay for the parents to pay child fees, Parents can view the invoices and keep track on previous invoices. Cons Brightwheel has lot of useful features and very less cons or demerits. Brightwheel mobile app though is very popular but not used much for Bill payments. The earlier version of Brightwheel app was comparatively slower when you upload many photos at once. The app is more useful for Child care schools and less for the parents. There is less interactivity from parents to school and no options for parents to contact other parents. Review Source SH Sarah H. supervisor Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "We love Brightwheel" July 18, 2022 4.0 We have had great luck with BW. Pros We love the ease of communication with parents. Cons Inputting new students' information can be redundant as you must add the same people twice for emergency contacts and approved pick-up. Also, parents complain about not being able to post pictures in their child's BW feed to show staff. Alternatives considered [Procare Solutions](https://www.capterra.com/p/23486/Procare-Child-Care-Management/) Reason for choosing brightwheel The customer service end and the continued changes that BW was making. Alos loved that it was started through Shark Tank. Review Source JN Jai N. Compliance Engineer Computer & Network Security Used the software for: Less than 6 months ### "First year use" July 21, 2023 3.0 Pros Most beneficial sections of the app are the messaging abilities and the daily photos/videos and updates. Cons Missed or forgotten checkin/outs could be resolved by admins but there should be a secondary ability to check our children in when we forget without having to engage the admins. Review Source NA Nanette A. Teacher and Director Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Brightwheel helps with multiple facets of the preschool day!" February 1, 2019 5.0 As stated in the "pros" of this software, Brightwheel makes communication that much better between the preschool and the families. It allows for parents to really be connected with their child, and the the learning they are involved in all day, as well as those memorable moments, that the parent may not get to see as it is happening. I would recommend Brightwheel to all preschools for the fact that it is quite easy to use, it is fast to input data, and it is multi-functional. As a preschool teacher that has been teaching for 20 years, I feel this is one of the best tools I have had access to. Pros This software helps make the connection between home and the preschool setting stronger. It allows teachers and parents to communicate important information to each other. It allows for photos to be shared with the families, so that they can see the learning taking place in the classroom. It allows for teachers to keep track of the development that each child is going through, in a very structured, easy to understand format. I can't say enough good things about this software! Cons The software used to never have the video component, but they introduced that component within the last year, and it has really been a nice addition. It seems that the company really values the feedback of it's clients, and then implements the ideas. There is nothing I like the "least" about this software. Review Source DG Denise G. School Administrator Education Management Used the software for: 6-12 months ### "Brightwheel Became Our Bright Spot!" February 23, 2021 4.0 Brightwheel has helped me simplify many aspects of my job. Messages to teachers and staff go in real time. No more running all over the school looking for people. Parents love the app because the get daily communication about their child as the day progresses. During this pandemic, grandparents are being added so they can see daily pictures of their grandchildren. It works well with our school community. Pros I love the fact that the one program takes care of communications with faculty and parents, billing and payments, and student information. All of it quickly accessible by computer or cell phone. Customer service is attentive and thorough. Cons There are some areas where improvement is necessary. Sometimes when you export information, you may need to tweaking the organization of the information to look the way you want it. The thing is, they invite you to share what you believe needs to improve. In the short 7 months of using this software, and they have made significant updates many of these aspects. Switched from [Procare Solutions](https://www.capterra.com/p/23486/Procare-Child-Care-Management/) We were using three different programs for all of our school business. Unlike our beginning experience with them, they became unresponsive to our needs. They didn't even fight to keep our business after over 12 years of service. Review Source RD Raoul D. Mental Health Therapist Health, Wellness and Fitness Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Brightwheel Review" August 21, 2022 5.0 My overall experince with brightwheel has been great. I can review my billing, the children attendance as well as the different activities at daycare. Pros This product shows great promise all around. It's fantastic to have the chance to include families in new and unique ways, and we hope to have the chance to put this into practice in the future. Cons My only complaint was with the billing. However, they already gave me this information. Review Source Kevin D. Teacher Education Management Used the software for: 2+ years ### "Great to keep parents in the loop" July 18, 2019 5.0 If you can ignore the cost and my issue with the messaging portion, it is a great way to keep parents informed of what happens every day at school. Pros It's relatively easy to upload pictures and videos (and other information) to let parents know what is happening at school. I have also used it as a parent for my kids' daycare and I felt like I was missing out when they began elementary school (where it wasn't used). Cons With the increase in cost, my children's daycare had to start charging parents just to continue to use it. With this additional cost, I would like them to find a new tool. Also, it's frustrating how it does not show the messages my wife sends to teachers (I only see the reply from the teacher). Review Source SR Sarah R. Administrative Accounting Used the software for: 2+ years ### "The best app for Parents!" January 23, 2023 5.0 My experience has been great! Everything I need is all in one place. My daycare providers upload photos of my kid and all their daily information so I know exactly what they ate and what they have done while they were at daycare all day. Pros I love how easy Brightwheel makes tracking my baby while they are at daycare. I see every diaper change, nap time, and bottle. It also allows me to communicate with his daycare provider through messenger and allows me to pay online each week. The app has made our entire daycare experience better! Cons I don't have any cons about this program. As long as the providers use it like they should and upload the information, then the app is great as a parent! Review Source VR Verified Reviewer Curriculum Specialist Education Management Used the software for: 1-2 years ### "Works " December 5, 2018 5.0 Pros The app works really well for our large preschool of approximately 150 students. We experience very little lag when entering information or posting pictures/videos. It's easy for our teachers to use (even those that are "technology challenged". Our parents say it's easy to use and they love that they're able to download the pictures from the app to their personal devices. The customer service is excellent as we always get a quick and professional response and we've seen improvements made to the application based off of our concerns. Cons We wish that brightwheel had an assessment/formal evaluation portion so that we're able to have all inclusive software. It also would be really helpful if administrators on the account had more control over certain features like resetting employee information, and disabling messaging. Review Source