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Software · head to head

Brightwheel vs Brown Paper Tickets

Brightwheel logo

Brightwheel

Software

The all-in-one childcare app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
B

Brown Paper Tickets

Software

The fair-trade ticketing company

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Brightwheel pricing is quote-only, driven by enrolment capacity and number of locations, and requires filling in a multi-step form to obtain; Brown Paper Tickets fees are charged to ticket buyers rather than the organiser, at $1.49 plus 6.0% of the ticket price in USD
  • They diverge on capability: Brightwheel covers Daily activity reports, Brown Paper Tickets covers Ticketing.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Brightwheel and Brown Paper Tickets actually diverge.

Attributes where Brightwheel and Brown Paper Tickets differ
AttributeBrightwheelBrown Paper Tickets
Pricing modelsubscriptiontransaction
Founded20152000

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Brightwheel

  • Daily activity reports
  • Parent messaging
  • Photo and video sharing
  • Attendance tracking
  • Billing & invoicing
  • Staff time tracking
  • Learning assessments
  • Check-in/check-out

Only in Brown Paper Tickets

  • Ticketing
  • Will call
  • Seating charts
  • Reporting
  • Customer service
  • PayPal
  • Google Analytics
  • Mailchimp

Both cover

  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Brightwheel

  • Childcare centre attendance and check-innot Brown Paper Tickets
  • Parent communication with photos and daily reportsnot Brown Paper Tickets
  • Billing and tuition collection from familiesnot Brown Paper Tickets
  • Staff scheduling and ratio trackingnot Brown Paper Tickets
  • Learning assessments and developmental recordsnot Brown Paper Tickets

Brown Paper Tickets

  • Selling tickets for events, performances and workshopsnot Brightwheel
  • Handling ticket distribution and door lists for independent organisersnot Brightwheel

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Brightwheel

  • Pricing is quote-only, driven by enrolment capacity and number of locations, and requires filling in a multi-step form to obtain
  • No transaction or payment processing fees are disclosed anywhere on the pricing page

Brown Paper Tickets

  • Fees are charged to ticket buyers rather than the organiser, at $1.49 plus 6.0% of the ticket price in USD
  • The 6.0% applies regardless of payment method, including when the organiser uses their own merchant account or PayPal
  • The flat component varies by currency, running from roughly $0.99 to $1.99 equivalent
  • Because the buyer pays, the advertised ticket price is not what the buyer is charged

Pricing, plan by plan

Brightwheel

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Messaging
    • Daily reports
    • Photo sharing
  • Plus$100/month
    • All Free features
    • Billing & payments
    • Staff management

Brown Paper Tickets

Free
  • StandardFree
    • $0.99 + 5% per ticket
    • Free events free
    • All features

Which should you pick?

Choose Brightwheel if

  • You need daily activity reports.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want parent messaging.
Brightwheel review

Choose Brown Paper Tickets if

  • You need ticketing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want will call.
Brown Paper Tickets review

Questions people ask

Is Brightwheel or Brown Paper Tickets better?
Neither clearly leads. Brightwheel starts at Free and Brown Paper Tickets at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Brightwheel or Brown Paper Tickets?
Brightwheel starts at Free and Brown Paper Tickets at Free.
Does Brightwheel or Brown Paper Tickets run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Brightwheel for free?
Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Brightwheel best used for?
Brightwheel is most often used for childcare centre attendance and check-in, parent communication with photos and daily reports, billing and tuition collection from families, staff scheduling and ratio tracking. Of those, childcare centre attendance and check-in and parent communication with photos and daily reports are not what Brown Paper Tickets is typically brought in for.
What can Brightwheel do that Brown Paper Tickets cannot?
Brightwheel covers Daily activity reports, Parent messaging, Photo and video sharing, Attendance tracking. Brown Paper Tickets covers Ticketing, Will call, Seating charts, Reporting. Both handle Web support, Ios support, Android support.
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Related pages

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