Softwr

Parenting · head to head

Brightwheel vs Tiny Beans

Brightwheel logo

Brightwheel

Parenting

The all-in-one childcare app

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Tiny Beans logo

Tiny Beans

Parenting

Your private family journal

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; Tiny Beans the free Tinybeans plan is capped at 20 uploads per month and 5GB of storage
  • They diverge on capability: Brightwheel covers Daily activity reports, Tiny Beans covers Private photo sharing.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Brightwheel and Tiny Beans actually diverge.

Attributes where Brightwheel and Tiny Beans differ
AttributeBrightwheelTiny Beans
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidIos, Android, Web
Founded20152012

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Parenting).

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 Tiny Beans

  • Private photo sharing
  • Video sharing
  • Milestone tracking
  • Daily email digests
  • Child timelines
  • Comments & reactions
  • Print products
  • Memory search

Both cover

  • Data encryption
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support
  • Ios support
  • Android support
  • English language support

What people use each for

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

Brightwheel

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

Tiny Beans

  • Keeping a private family photo and video journal organised by datenot Brightwheel
  • Sharing baby photos with invited grandparents and relatives onlynot Brightwheel
  • Turning saved moments into printed photo booksnot 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

Tiny Beans

  • The free Tinybeans plan is capped at 20 uploads per month and 5GB of storage
  • The free plan shows ads; an ad-free experience requires Tinybeans+
  • A second user account to share the journal is a Tinybeans+ feature
  • High-quality video uploads are limited to 5 minutes and require Tinybeans+
  • Tinybeans+ storage is capped at 200GB rather than unlimited
  • Priority support is restricted to Tinybeans+
  • Subscriptions renew automatically unless auto-renew is switched off at least 24 hours before the period ends

Pricing, plan by plan

Brightwheel

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

Tiny Beans

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Photo & video sharing
    • Daily email updates
    • Milestone tracking
  • Premium$4.99/month
    • Everything in Free
    • Unlimited storage
    • Video longer than 1 min

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 Tiny Beans if

  • You need private photo sharing.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Ios, Android, Web.
  • You also want video sharing.
Tiny Beans review

Questions people ask

Is Brightwheel or Tiny Beans better?
Neither clearly leads. Brightwheel starts at Free and Tiny Beans at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Brightwheel or Tiny Beans?
Brightwheel starts at Free and Tiny Beans at Free.
Does Brightwheel or Tiny Beans run on more platforms?
Brightwheel runs on Web, Ios, Android. Tiny Beans runs on Ios, Android, Web.
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 Tiny Beans is typically brought in for.
What can Brightwheel do that Tiny Beans cannot?
Brightwheel covers Daily activity reports, Parent messaging, Photo and video sharing, Attendance tracking. Tiny Beans covers Private photo sharing, Video sharing, Milestone tracking, Daily email digests. Both handle Data encryption, Cloud deployment, Web support, Ios support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Brightwheel: How does Brightwheel determine pricing?

Brightwheel uses a custom pricing model based on your program's enrollment capacity, number of locations, and center status. Customers complete a questionnaire to receive customized pricing quotes.

Source
Brightwheel: Is there a trial or special offer for Brightwheel?

Brightwheel promotes a limited-time offer: Get 3 months free of Professional Development with qualifying new accounts. Users must submit pricing request forms for additional details.

Source
Share

Related pages

More on Brightwheel

More on Tiny Beans

Keep looking

Other head to heads