Compare / vs Lillio (formerly HiMama) · Updated August 2026
Less paperwork than Lillio. More business in the same app.
HappyGarden is childcare software for directors who want families close, seats full, and inspections calm — and you already know the price.
HappyGarden is modern childcare software for directors who want a thriving program, not another binder. Compared with Lillio (formerly HiMama) as of August 2026: they grew up as daily sheets and curriculum; we grew up as the whole business — parents, invoicing, admissions, 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 the parent love of daily updates plus billing, admissions, and licensing in one login.
- You want a public price and a free plan for a tiny program.
- You want CACFP, dietary flags, and licensing in the same login.
- You want support that answers — not a wait to hear what it costs.
Stay with Lillio only if
It still might make sense when…
- Your team is already standardized on Lillio curriculum kits.
- Daily sheets are the only product you intend to buy.
Everyone else: start HappyGarden free.
Side by side
Same jobs. Happier week. Read the HappyGarden column first.
| Feature | HappyGarden | Lillio |
|---|---|---|
| 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 Check-in is in their platform. Ours is a PIN kiosk built for the morning rush. |
| Parent app & messaging | Yes Messages, announcements, and emergency broadcasts that reach the right families. Parents feel in the loop. You stop repeating yourself. | Yes HiMama made parent engagement famous. We kept that warmth and tied it to the rest of the business. |
| 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. | Yes Moments at huge scale. We don’t ship classroom activity-feed sharing 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 Payments are listed. We ship invoices, credits, 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 is mentioned. We ship a full inquiry-to-enroll CRM and a public apply link. |
| 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 Events exist. Ours targets rooms or one child, and parents subscribe on their phone. |
| 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 tools are listed. Shifts and timecards sit next to the classroom in HappyGarden. |
| Meals & CACFP | Yes Menus, meal logs, dietary flags, allergens, and CACFP claims. Reimbursement and safety without a second system. | Yes Daily sheets for meals and naps. We add dietary flags, allergens, and CACFP claims. |
| Health, safety & licensing | Yes Medications, incidents, sleep checks, allergies, ratios, drills, licensing readiness. The inspector asks; you already have the answer. | Partial Notes on the sheet. We treat meds, incidents, ratios, and licensing as the job — not a footnote. |
| Curriculum & lesson plans | Partial Teachers write the week in the app. No binder of kits you didn’t ask for. | Yes Kits are their brand. Teachers plan the week in our app without kit lock-in. |
| 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 centers. Our switcher is ready when you open the second site. |
| 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 Big-vendor support. We pick up on email; Bloom is priority; Grove has a success manager who knows your rooms. |
| 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 print the number. |
See the price. Then start.
Seedling free (4 children) · Sprout $49/mo · Bloom $149/mo · Grove for multi-site.
Lillio typically quotes. HappyGarden: free / $49 / $149, trial with no credit card. Start today and compare their quote later — you’ll already be live.
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 choose HappyGarden over Lillio?
- You get the parent experience and the business: admissions, invoicing, CACFP, and licensing. Plus a price you can see without a call.
- Do I lose curriculum if I leave Lillio?
- Teachers plan the week in the app. No kit lock-in.
- Will parents still get meals and naps?
- Yes — on the feed, same day. That’s table stakes. We also keep them on the calendar and in messages so the whole relationship is in one place.
- What does it cost versus Lillio?
- Sprout $49/mo (12 children), Bloom $149/mo (50), Seedling free (4). Put their quote next to that. Then start the trial.
- Is support real?
- Email on paid plans, priority on Bloom, a dedicated success manager on Grove. We’d rather you succeed than sit in a queue.
Make Lillio last year’s software
Plant the garden today. Your teachers, your families, and your occupancy will feel it.