What is the best app for a play school?

For parent engagement and admissions, an app built around a per-child photo feed with school approval — Oyku is our own answer. For fees and attendance, pair it with a management tool. Free classroom tools like ClassDojo are teacher-led and lack school-level approval.

How much should a play school app cost?

From free (teacher-led, limited control) to several dollars per child per month for all-in-one platforms. Oyku is under $10 per child per month with rupee pricing available.

Can a play school use WhatsApp instead of an app?

It can, but it shouldn't share children's photos that way: no approval, no consent enforcement, personal numbers exposed, and the school owns nothing.

Best Play School Apps (2026) — Parents & Teachers

Ask a play school owner in Hyderabad, Dubai or Singapore what their parents want and the answer is always the same: to see the day. The photo of rhyme time. The birthday cake. The first written name. Most ‘play school apps’ were built for the office — fees, attendance, announcements — and bolt photos on afterwards. A few were built the other way round. This list separates the two.

How we ranked

Does the parent open it on purpose? A per-child feed beats a class stream beats a notice board.
Does the school stay in control? Approval before parents see content; consent enforced per child.
Does it work on everyday Android phones and 4G?
Does it help admissions? Approved moments that become Instagram content.
What does it really cost at 150 children?

Our own — bias declared
1
Oyku
Best for: play schools that want parents to see the day — and admissions to benefit
Oyku is the per-child photo and video layer parents open every day: teachers capture in ten seconds, the school approves, per-child consent is enforced automatically, reactions land on the teacher's screen, approved moments become admissions content, Spark supplies classroom and take-home ideas, and every family gets a printed book at year end. It is deliberately not billing, attendance or a daily sheet.
Strengths
- ✓Built entirely around the parent's daily experience
- ✓School approval and per-child consent in software
- ✓Spark idea bank + take-home activities with photos back
- ✓Printed yearly photo book per family
- ✓Under $10 per child per month, free pilot classroom
Consider
- •No billing, attendance or ratio tools — sits beside your management system
- •Newer than incumbents; fewer third-party integrations
Pricing model: Under $10 per child per month; most schools near $5; free 60-day pilot classroom.See how it compares →
2
ClassDojo
Best for: Teachers who want a free classroom community tool
A free, teacher-led classroom app built around behaviour points, class stories and translated messaging, with school-wide features layered on.
Strengths
- ✓Free and widely adopted
- ✓Translated messaging
- ✓Quick for individual teachers
Consider
- •Teacher-led adoption; school control is optional
- •Behaviour points and open chat aren't for every school
Pricing model: Free with optional paid tiers.Full comparison →
3
Kinderpedia
Best for: European kindergartens wanting multilingual all-in-one management
A Romanian-born all-in-one platform for kindergartens and schools with communication, attendance, billing and multilingual support across Europe.
Strengths
- ✓Multilingual
- ✓All-in-one for European settings
- ✓GDPR positioning
Consider
- •Broad platform; daily moments are one feature
- •Per-child pricing
Pricing model: Per child per month.
4
Brightwheel
Best for: US single-site and small multi-site centers wanting one app
The most widely used all-in-one childcare platform in the US: check-in, billing, daily sheets, messaging and photos in a single parent app.
Strengths
- ✓Genuinely all-in-one
- ✓Fast setup, responsive support
- ✓Familiar to many US families
Consider
- •Photo experience is one tab among many
- •Per-child monthly pricing scales with enrollment
Pricing model: Free tier; paid plans typically per child per month.Full comparison →
5
Lillio (formerly HiMama)
Best for: Report-heavy centers that want milestones and daily sheets
A Canadian-born childcare app known for structured daily reports, developmental milestone tracking and curriculum tools, with billing layered on.
Strengths
- ✓Strong daily reports and milestones
- ✓Curriculum tooling
- ✓Well reviewed in North America
Consider
- •Report-first rather than moment-first
- •Per-child monthly pricing
Pricing model: Per child per month, tiered.Full comparison →

The WhatsApp question

Most play schools we speak to are not choosing between apps. They're choosing between an app and six WhatsApp groups. WhatsApp is free and familiar; it is also unapproved, consent-blind, tied to teachers' personal numbers and permanent on every parent's phone. Our full argument is in WhatsApp groups vs a school app.