SOLUTIONS
Custom app or platform for daycares
Most daycares don't need a native app first — a custom website or web platform usually covers it. When a daycare does need real logged-in workflows, a platform starts from $16,000 one-time or $1,399/mo for 24 months at Nabee Studio; a native app from $25,000 or $2,099/mo. We'll tell you honestly which tier fits after one scoping pass.
A daycare should not build its own native app. Daily reports, check-in/check-out, and parent messaging already run beautifully in purpose-built apps like Brightwheel and Procare, which parents may already use. Building a custom app (from $25,000) to duplicate that would waste budget that belongs in a site that actually wins enrollments.
A logged-in web platform could theoretically suit a large multi-center organization wanting a unified enrollment and parent portal (from $16,000 one-time), but that's a later, scale-driven step on top of a proven website. For essentially every center, the honest recommendation is a custom website that handles enrollment, tours, and waitlists — connected to the childcare app you already use for daily operations.
The reality for most daycares
Enrollment and waitlist management is paper-heavy
Demand often exceeds spots, so centers juggle waitlists by age group, collect enrollment packets on paper, and track who's next by hand. This is slow, error-prone, and loses families when the process feels disorganized — parents equate admin chaos with care chaos.
Parents choose on trust and safety — the site must show it
A parent is trusting you with their child. If the site doesn't clearly convey your program, staff qualifications, safety practices, and licensing, families move on to a center that reassures them. Generic sites with stock photos fail the exact test that matters most.
Tour scheduling and inquiry follow-up leak families
Interested parents want to tour, but if booking one means phone tag, they contact multiple centers and go with whoever's easiest. Inquiries that aren't captured and followed up promptly become another center's enrolled family.
What does it cost?
One scoping pass, one fixed number — no hourly billing. Daily reporting and check-in run in childcare apps; the win is a site that wins families through enrollment, tours, and waitlists connected to that software — not a separate platform.
- Website — from $4,500 one-time (standard from $7,500), or $499/mo for 24 months with the Maintenance Plan and hosting included.
The monthly plan totals somewhat more than paying up front — that's the honest trade for spreading the cost and having us operate everything for two years. Details in the payment plan guide and on the pricing page.
Start a project — one scoping pass, a fixed number within one business day.
Related: Custom website for daycares · Business automation for daycares · Booking system for daycares · Nabee for daycares · website cost guide
Common questions
- Does a daycare need a mobile app?
- Usually not first. A well-built website or web platform covers most needs without app-store friction. A native app makes sense when push notifications, offline use, or device features are central — see our app vs website guide.
- What does an app or platform cost?
- A web platform is from $16,000 one-time or $1,399/mo for 24 months with updates and maintenance included; a native app from $25,000 or $2,099/mo. Fixed prices after one scoping pass.
- How long does it take to build?
- Most platform builds ship in two to three months. Tight scoping — a clear core first version — is what keeps both the timeline and the price down.
- Can we start with a website and grow into a platform?
- Yes, and it's usually the right order. A custom website built by the same team becomes the foundation — accounts, data, and workflows get added when the business is ready.