ParentLink
ParentLink is a web platform for UK and Irish childcare settings, including nurseries, breakfast clubs, after-school clubs and holiday clubs.
What ParentLink is
ParentLink is a web platform for UK and Irish childcare settings, including nurseries, breakfast clubs, after-school clubs and holiday clubs. It brings together enrollment, registers, attendance and check-in, billing, staff rotas, family communication, safeguarding, enquiry pipelines and compliance tools. Staff can record observations and learning-journal evidence across EYFS, Curriculum for Wales, Scotland’s CfE, Northern Ireland’s curriculum and Ireland’s Aistear. Pro supports invoicing and payments through GoCardless Direct Debit and Stripe card processing; CSV statements can be exported for Xero, Sage and QuickBooks. The service also offers a read-only REST API and outbound webhooks. ParentLink runs on the web and has no mobile apps. There is a free plan for up to 15 children, and Starter 50 costs £50/mo for up to 50 children. A 14-day Pro trial with the full Pro feature set is available at signup without a card; accounts move to Free afterward unless upgraded.
Good
- Combines registers, rotas, billing and family communication.
- Learning-journal evidence covers multiple UK and Irish curricula.
- Exports CSV statements for Xero, Sage and QuickBooks.
- 14-day Pro trial requires no card.
Watch out
- No mobile apps are available.
- Free accounts cannot add children after reaching their limit.
- Starter 50 is £50/mo.
Who it suits
ParentLink suits UK and Irish childcare providers seeking one web service for operational tasks, family communication and learning-journal evidence. Its free plan accommodates settings with up to 15 children; larger listed plans support more.
Verdict
ParentLink brings childcare operations and curriculum-linked learning journals together in a web platform. Check the child and staff limits against your setting’s needs, and note that mobile apps are not available.
Plans and prices
From ParentLink's own pricing page, checked 2 Oct 2026.
| Plan | Price | What it gives you |
|---|---|---|
| Free | Free | Up to 15 children · 5 staff users · 3 rooms · 30 parent accounts · 15-second video clips, 2 per child a month · Free forever — no card, no time limit. |
| Starter 50 | £50 a month | Up to 50 children · 15 staff users · 6 rooms · 100 parent accounts · 30-second video clips, 5 per child a month · £50/mo |
| Starter 100 | £75 a month | Up to 100 children · 25 staff users · 10 rooms · 200 parent accounts · £75/mo |
| Pro | £150 a month | Up to 150 children · Unlimited staff users, rooms, and parents · 60-second video clips, 10 per child a month · £150/mo |
| Enterprise | Priced on request | For multi-site groups and chains over 150 children · Group-level billing · Single sign-on · Consolidated reporting · Dedicated onboarding · Bespoke per-site pricing |
The facts
Each one read from ParentLink's own pages, with the date it was checked.
What it does
- Access controls
- ParentLink says it uses more than 200 database Row-Level Security policies, multi-factor authentication for managers, and custom staff roles.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Accounting integrations
- ParentLink can export CSV statements formatted for Xero, Sage, and QuickBooks.checked 2 Oct 2026
- API and webhooks
- The service offers a read-only REST API and outbound webhooks, with scoped tokens and HMAC-signed webhook deliveries.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Attendance and check-in
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
- Child capacity
- 50checked 22 Sep 2026
- Enrollment management
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
- Family communication
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
- Intended users
- ParentLink describes its platform as serving UK and Irish childcare settings, including nurseries and breakfast, after-school, and holiday clubs.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Learning journals
- The platform supports observations and learning-journal evidence across EYFS, Curriculum for Wales, Scotland’s CfE, Northern Ireland’s curriculum, and Ireland’s Aistear.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Limits
- Free accounts can continue editing existing child records after reaching their child limit, but cannot add another child until upgrading.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Messaging integrations
- Nurseries can connect Twilio for SMS and Resend or another SMTP-compatible provider for email.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Payments
- Pro includes invoicing and payments through GoCardless Direct Debit and Stripe card processing.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Privacy
- The maker says it does not sell, rent, or share customer data for advertising or behavioural profiling, and does not train AI models on customer data.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Product
- ParentLink combines childcare setting operations including registers, billing, staff rotas, parent communications, safeguarding, enquiry pipelines, and compliance tools.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Security
- The maker says data is encrypted with AES-256 at rest and TLS 1.2 or higher in transit, and hosted in Supabase’s UK London region.checked 2 Oct 2026
- Support
- Starter 50 includes priority email support, and the maker lists [email protected] for technical security questions.checked 2 Oct 2026
Money
- Billing and payments
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
- Free plan
- Yeschecked 22 Sep 2026
- Trial
- A 14-day Pro trial is available at signup with the full Pro feature set and no card required; accounts drop to Free after the trial unless upgraded.checked 2 Oct 2026
Where it runs
- Mobile apps
- nonechecked 22 Sep 2026
Alternatives to ParentLink
- 1
Xplor Education
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI9.0Free plan - 2
illumine
AndroidiOSWebAPI8.6 - 3
Kangarootime
Free planAndroidiOSWebAPI8.3Free plan - 4
BloomKidz
Free planAndroidiOS8.2From £24.99 a month - 5
OWNA
AndroidiOSWebAPI8.2 - 6
Gertrude
Free planAndroidWebLinuxmacOS8.1From €100 a year