# Playground vs SmartTeach

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Playground at 70% against SmartTeach's 24%. Playground also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.8) and chart position (#144 vs unranked). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

Playground holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Playground has 7K ratings behind it against 1.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 70% of Playground's written reviews are positive against 24% of SmartTeach's.

Playground ships an update every 2 months, SmartTeach monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Playground | SmartTeach |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[5.0 (7K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/playground-child-care-app/id1486661197/reviews)** | [4.8 (1.2K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartteach/id1663286926/reviews) |
| Number of ratings | **7K** | 1.2K |
| Positive reviews | **70.0% of reviews** | 24.0% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | Every 2 months | **Monthly** |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Best chart rank | **#144** | — |
| Size | 136 MB | 105 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.1 | **15.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [After School Development LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/1486661196) | [Teaching Strategies, LLC](https://appshunter.io/developer/571518842) |

## What reviewers say

### Playground

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/playground-child-care-app/id1486661197)

**Currently charting:** #144 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

This comprehensive platform streamlines early childhood education operations for providers, teachers, and families. It offers tools for daily activity updates, billing, enrollment, compliance, and communication, reducing administrative tasks and enhancing the child care experience.

**Highlights:** Real-time activity feed, Digital attendance & ratio tracking, Tuition billing and payment, Lesson plan builder, In-app messaging, Licensing-ready reports

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Wallet, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Helpful for monitoring kids during the day
- 👍 Easy communication with teachers
- 👍 Informative and organized app
- 👍 Simplifies pick-up and drop-off
- 👍 Customizable to school's needs

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Notification issues (not working, hard to clear)
- 🔍 Poor user experience (small buttons, basic design)
- 🔍 Switching between accounts is not efficient
- 🔍 Inability to mark absences in advance

**Reported bugs**

- Delayed chat message delivery
- Blank screen when signing out
- Inconsistent behavior with photo library access

**Requested features**

- Ability to save and share documents between parents
- Improved notification management
- Enhanced photo/video capabilities
- More customization options for schools


### SmartTeach

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/smartteach/id1663286926)

This app helps early childhood educators streamline daily classroom tasks. It simplifies documentation, classroom management, and family communication with easy-to-use tools for online and offline use.

**Highlights:** Create documentation and share insights, View and teach from daily schedule, Communicate with families, Save and share photos/videos, Assess from curriculum resources, Track attendance and care routines, Conduct health screenings

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy and awesome app to track notes and submit to Teaching Strategies Gold
- 👍 Brings together curriculum and assessment
- 👍 Convenient and easy to use

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Frequent technical glitches and bugs
- 🐛 Performance issues
- 🐛 Login issues
- 🐛 Messaging and communication problems
- 🐛 Delayed or failed uploads

**Reported bugs**

- Screener not working when clicking plus sign
- Inability to log in through app, but able to log in on website
- Delayed or failed message delivery
- Uploaded documentation still showing in app, causing confusion

**Requested features**

- Add ability to select and apply objectives to multiple pieces of documentation at once
- Add ability to select and delete multiple photos/videos at once
- Add ability to change date on add documentation page
- Add landscape mode support for easier typing
- Improve translation and communication features for ESL families


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Playground free?

Playground is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is SmartTeach free?

SmartTeach is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Playground or SmartTeach?

Playground is rated higher. Playground averages 5.0 out of 5 from 7K ratings, while SmartTeach averages 4.8 from 1.2K ratings.

### Do Playground or SmartTeach have ads?

Neither Playground nor SmartTeach shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Playground or SmartTeach?

Playground ships an update every 2 months, and SmartTeach monthly. Most recently, Playground was updated on September 23, 2026 and SmartTeach on September 17, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*