Comparison

FamilyConnect Mobile vs SmartTeach

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

FamilyConnect Mobile

Read full description

Family Connect Mobile is a messaging tool that enables direct messaging between parents and Tools of the Mind teachers working together to enable every child to reach their full potential. It is designed to be a safe, efficient, and accessible way for families to connect with teachers — bridging the gap between home and school and providing bidirectional translation with over 100 language options.

About

SmartTeach

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
Read full description

The SmartTeach® app by Teaching Strategies offers early childhood educators an easy and efficient way to quickly complete essential daily tasks on the fly, online, or offline. The SmartTeach app simplifies teaching, documentation, classroom management, and family engagement throughout the day, enabling teachers to make the most of every moment with easy-to-use tools right at their fingertips. The SmartTeach app is accessible to Teachers and Administrators using Teaching Strategies products such as GOLD®, The Creative Curriculum® Cloud, Kickstart LiteracyTM, and Tadpoles®. Download SmartTeach by Teaching Strategies to access our new and improved features & functionality. SmartTeach offers early childhood educators a single app to support all essential classroom tasks, including: Create documentation and share insights with families View and teach directly from your daily schedule, curriculum, activities, and care routines Communicate with families Save & share photos, videos, and other media across devices View & assess from resources like Intentional Teaching Experiences, Skill Development Cards, and Mighty Minutes®* Identify Infant and Toddler children’s developmental level with the Entry Screener to dynamically populate individualized support for each child* Take attendance, move children or staff, and complete name-to-face checks* Track care routines and share Daily Reports with families* Conduct health screenings for children and/or staff* *Feature availability is dependent on which Teaching Strategies products your classroom licenses.

Screenshots

FamilyConnect Mobile3 screens
SmartTeach4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: SmartTeach at monthly against FamilyConnect Mobile's every 4 months. SmartTeach also leads on device support. FamilyConnect Mobile's advantage is iOS requirement (13.4 vs 15.0). On price and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

FamilyConnect Mobile ships an update every 4 months, SmartTeach monthly. The most recent releases landed on October 2, 2026 and October 15, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
FamilyConnect Mobile versus SmartTeach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterFamilyConnect MobileSmartTeach
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.8 (1.2K ratings) — better
Positive reviews—24.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—1.2K — better
Update frequencyEvery 4 monthsMonthly — better
Ads—No
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
Devices—iPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS13.4 — better15.0
Further details — not scored
Size34 MB103 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTools of the MindTeaching Strategies, Inc.

Bugs and requests

FamilyConnect Mobile

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

SmartTeach

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • 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

5 requests
  • 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

In-app purchases

None

FamilyConnect Mobile

No in-app purchases

None

SmartTeach

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is FamilyConnect Mobile free?
FamilyConnect Mobile is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SmartTeach free?
SmartTeach is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which is updated more often, FamilyConnect Mobile or SmartTeach?
FamilyConnect Mobile ships an update every 4 months, and SmartTeach monthly. Most recently, FamilyConnect Mobile was updated on October 2, 2026 and SmartTeach on October 15, 2026.

Other comparisons