Compare / vs Kangarootime · Updated August 2026
Kangarootime is familiar. HappyGarden is the upgrade.
Published pricing, admissions that fill rooms, support that answers. Childcare software for a more successful center.
HappyGarden is modern childcare software for centers and home daycares that want an easier week and a healthier business. Compared with Kangarootime as of August 2026: they cover the classics; we cover the classics plus admissions, CACFP, and licensing.
Free for 4 children. 14-day trial on paid plans. No credit card. No demo to see the price.
Why directors pick HappyGarden
Easier days. Fuller rooms. A business that feels under control.
Get hours back every week
Check-in, daily notes, invoices, and parent replies stop living in five apps and a group text. Teachers teach. Directors actually leave on time.
Fill seats and keep them
Inquiries, waitlists, and offers in one pipeline — plus a public apply link. Families stay because they see the day, not because you sent another paper reminder.
Get paid without the chase
Published prices. Create invoices, credits, and payment records in the app. Online card payouts via Stripe Connect are still rolling out — we don’t pretend they’re live.
Walk into inspections ready
Ratios, medications, incidents, sleep checks, CACFP, drills, licensing. The binder is already in the product.
The best choice
Choose HappyGarden if you want to win this year
- You want a free or $49 plan you can start tonight.
- You want admissions (waitlist, offers, apply link) next to the kiosk.
- You want calendar invites parents actually add, and humans on support.
- You want CACFP and dietary flags without a second system.
Stay with Kangarootime only if
It still might make sense when…
- Your team is trained on Kangarootime and refuses any change this year.
- You already negotiated a package you’re unwilling to reopen.
Everyone else: start HappyGarden free.
Side by side
Same jobs. Happier week. Read the HappyGarden column first.
| Feature | HappyGarden | Kangarootime |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance & check-in | Yes PIN kiosk and staff tap that actually move the line. Digital signatures and optional health screens at the door. Built for busy mornings — not a QR science project. | Yes Solid check-in story. Our PIN kiosk is built for the door, not a training manual. |
| Parent app & messaging | Yes Messages, announcements, and emergency broadcasts that reach the right families. Parents feel in the loop. You stop repeating yourself. | Yes Parent comms are listed. We make the loop — message, feed, calendar — something families brag about. |
| Photos | Partial Staff can add photos on a child’s profile. Classroom activity-feed photo sharing for families is not shipped yet — we won’t claim a photo product we don’t have. | Partial Confirm the package. Classroom activity-feed photos are not shipped here yet. |
| Billing & payments | Partial Invoices, credits, subsidies, and tax info in the app. Stripe Connect payouts are not live end-to-end yet, so we don’t claim autopay or card checkout as shipped. | Yes Tuition billing is a pillar. We ship invoices, subsidies, and tax info; Stripe Connect payouts are not live yet. |
| Admissions | Yes Inquiry → tour → waitlist → offer → enroll, with a public apply page. Empty spots cost money. This pipeline fills them. | Partial Enrollment tools vary. We ship waitlist, offers, and a public apply page out of the box. |
| Calendar | Yes Tell the right people: staff, all parents, a room, or one child. Families add field trips to Apple, Google, or Outlook with one tap. | Partial Scheduling exists. Ours targets a room or one child; parents subscribe in Apple or Google. |
| Staff scheduling & payroll | Partial Published shifts, timecards, and time off in the same place as the classroom. Export payroll CSV/IIF for your accountant — no live Gusto or QuickBooks hookup required to run the week. | Yes Staff time is marketed. Shifts and timecards sit with the classroom here. |
| Meals & CACFP | Yes Menus, meal logs, dietary flags, allergens, and CACFP claims. Reimbursement and safety without a second system. | Yes Meals are listed. Dietary flags, allergens, and CACFP claims are why food isn’t a liability. |
| Health, safety & licensing | Yes Medications, incidents, sleep checks, allergies, ratios, drills, licensing readiness. The inspector asks; you already have the answer. | Yes Incidents and health tracking. Ratios and licensing readiness are how we keep you inspection-calm. |
| Curriculum & lesson plans | Partial Teachers write the week in the app. No binder of kits you didn’t ask for. | Partial Lesson planning maybe. Teachers write the week here. |
| AI helpers | Partial Not a published plan feature. Teachers write recaps and lessons in the product — we don’t sell AI as included. | Partial Confirm theirs. We don’t sell AI drafts as a published plan feature. |
| Multi-site | Yes HQ and sites with a switcher and real permission roles. Grow the business without growing the chaos. | Yes They sell to more than one site. Our switcher is ready when you are. |
| Customer support | Yes Email support on paid plans, priority on Bloom, a dedicated success manager on Grove. No ticket maze just to see a price. | Partial Vendor support. We answer on email; Bloom is priority; Grove gets a success manager. |
| Pricing style | Yes See the number today: free for 4 children, $49, $149, or Grove. 14-day trial. No credit card to start. No “book a demo to hear the price.” | Partial Usually a quote. We show the grid. |
See the price. Then start.
Seedling free (4 children) · Sprout $49/mo · Bloom $149/mo · Grove for multi-site.
Kangarootime typically quotes. HappyGarden is free / $49 / $149 with a 14-day trial. Start, migrate a room at a time, feel the difference.
Support that wants you full
Email on paid plans. Priority on Bloom. A dedicated success manager on Grove who cares if occupancy is up. No ticket maze to learn what the software costs. We succeed when your rooms are full and your evenings are shorter.
Questions directors ask
- Why move from Kangarootime to HappyGarden?
- Same core jobs, better week: admissions fills the room, families live on the calendar, and you already know what it costs.
- Will billing still work?
- Invoices, credits, subsidies, and tax info in the app. Stripe Connect payouts are not live yet. Start the trial and send one draft invoice.
- I run a home daycare. Is this for me?
- Seedling is free for four children. Sprout is $49 for twelve. Built for the porch as much as the center.
- Can parents put events on their phone?
- Yes. Download or subscribe (ICS). Field trips stop living in a buried PDF.
- Who helps if we get stuck?
- Email support on paid plans. Priority on Bloom. A dedicated success manager on Grove. We want your occupancy up.
Make Kangarootime last year’s software
Plant the garden today. Your teachers, your families, and your occupancy will feel it.