Comparison

Homeroom Private Photo Sharing vs SmartTeach

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

Head to head
About

Homeroom Private Photo Sharing

This app allows teachers to securely share classroom photos and videos with parents in private albums. Parents receive updates and can interact with posts, while teachers can easily manage classroom content away from public social media.

Highlights
  • Private classroom albums
  • Secure photo and video sharing
  • Parent notifications for updates
  • Comment and like photos
  • Invite teachers and parents to post
  • Web and mobile app access
Features
Read full description

Homeroom is the easiest way for teachers to share what's happening in their classroom with students' parents. Upload photos safely to private classroom albums only parents and teachers can see, away from social media and the internet. Simple for teachers: • Open the classroom: Show parents all the fun their kids are having • Exceptionally simple: Share photos and videos quickly and easily Amazing for parents: • Stay informed: Get alerts when teachers post new updates • Collaborate: Assign other teachers and parents to post to the album Totally private albums: • Start conversations: Add comments and like photos • Stay informed: Get alerts when teachers post new updates How it works: 1. Create: Make one or more albums for your homeroom 2. Invite: Send invitations to your kids' parents 3. Share: Post photos and videos of your students Homeroom gives parents a window into the classroom: • Worry-free privacy: All content is only visible to members of the album • Apps for everyone: Access Homeroom through gorgeous mobile apps and the web • Relevant updates: Parents only get notifications for their kids' classes Built by the team that created Cluster, featured as a Best New App in the App Store Homeroom Pro is a monthly or annual subscription to give teachers and administrators more control over their classroom groups. Check it out by visiting the Settings → Subscription Settings section of the app. By purchasing a subscription you agree to Homeroom's Terms of Use: http://gethomeroom.com/terms/ and Privacy Policy: http://gethomeroom.com/privacy/

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

Homeroom Private Photo Sharing4 screens
SmartTeach4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SmartTeach at none against Homeroom Private Photo Sharing's 2. Homeroom Private Photo Sharing's advantage is review sentiment (41% vs 24%) and ratings volume (16K vs 1.2K). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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. Homeroom Private Photo Sharing sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $9.99 per month. SmartTeach asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Homeroom Private Photo Sharing against 4.8 for SmartTeach. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Homeroom Private Photo Sharing has 16K ratings behind it against 1.2K, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 41% of Homeroom Private Photo Sharing's written reviews are positive against 24% of SmartTeach's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Homeroom Private Photo Sharing ships an update every 2 months, SmartTeach monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 24, 2026 and September 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
Homeroom Private Photo Sharing versus SmartTeach: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHomeroom Private Photo SharingSmartTeach
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (16K ratings) — better4.8 (1.2K ratings)
Positive reviews41.3% of reviews — better24.0% of reviews
Number of ratings16K — better1.2K
Update frequencyEvery 2 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple TV — betteriPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS15.015.0
Further details — not scored
Size35 MB105 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperCluster Labs, Inc.Teaching Strategies, LLC

Customer experience

Homeroom Private Photo Sharing

All ratings16,399 ratings
Positive97.6%
Neutral1.1%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews80 reviews
Positive41.3%
Neutral11.3%
Negative47.5%

SmartTeach

All ratings1,185 ratings
Positive95.4%
Neutral1.6%
Negative3.0%
Written reviews25 reviews
Positive24.0%
Neutral12.0%
Negative64.0%

User reviews

Homeroom Private Photo Sharing

From 16K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Simple and straightforward
  • 💡 Convenient way to share photos with parents
  • 😊 Parents love it

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Frequent crashes and freezes
  • ⚠️ Unreliable photo uploading
  • 🔒 Security and privacy concerns
  • 🔍 Lack of support and responsiveness

SmartTeach

From 1.2K App Store ratings

What we love

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

Room to improve

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

Bugs and requests

Homeroom Private Photo Sharing

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Issues with email verification
  • Problems with saving photos
  • Inability to log out and switch accounts
  • Compatibility problems with iOS updates

Requested features

4 requests
  • Allow editing of posts
  • Add ability to reorder photos
  • Implement more organization options like albums
  • Enable private messaging between teachers and parents

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

2 purchases

Homeroom Private Photo Sharing

Subscriptions2
  • Homeroom Pro$9.991 Month
  • Homeroom Pro$99.991 Year
None

SmartTeach

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Homeroom Private Photo Sharing free?
Homeroom Private Photo Sharing is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SmartTeach free?
SmartTeach is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Homeroom Private Photo Sharing or SmartTeach?
Homeroom Private Photo Sharing is rated higher. Homeroom Private Photo Sharing averages 4.9 out of 5 from 16K ratings, while SmartTeach averages 4.8 from 1.2K ratings.
Do Homeroom Private Photo Sharing or SmartTeach have ads?
Neither Homeroom Private Photo Sharing nor SmartTeach shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Homeroom Private Photo Sharing or SmartTeach?
Homeroom Private Photo Sharing ships an update every 2 months, and SmartTeach monthly. Most recently, Homeroom Private Photo Sharing was updated on September 24, 2026 and SmartTeach on September 17, 2026.

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