Pigeonhole vs BloomKidz
BloomKidz is free until 31 December 2026; after that it's £24.99 to £84.99 a month by number of children. Pigeonhole is from £4.13 a month, and £16.50 for 40 children, with every feature included.
£200.89 a year less than BloomKidz.
| Children | Pigeonhole, a year | BloomKidz, a year | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | £49.56 | £284.89 | £235.33 |
| 30 | £99 | £284.89 | £185.89 |
| 60 | £198 | £512.89 | £314.89 |
| 90 | £297 | £626.89 | £329.89 |
| 120 | £396 | £797.89 | £401.89 |
| 150 | £495 | £797.89 | £302.89 |
| 200 | £660 | £968.89 | £308.89 |
BloomKidz: Paid yearly: £284.89 for 1 to 30 children up to £968.89 for 151 to 200; over 200 by quote. VAT isn't stated. It's free for all of 2026, which the chart leaves out because that offer ends on 31 December. Source
A year is twelve months of each provider's cheapest published plan at that size. All prices exclude VAT. One-off setup or training fees are left out of the chart and listed below. Checked 10 November 2026; prices change, so please check before deciding.
Where Pigeonhole stands out against BloomKidz
Smaller bands for smaller settings
Priced in bands starting at up to 15 children, so a small pre-school pays a small price.
BloomKidz: From 2027, £284.89 a year for up to 30 children. Source
Published prices at every size
Prices are public at every size, including above 200 children.
BloomKidz: Over 200 children and groups by quote. Source
The price, line by line
| BloomKidz | Pigeonhole | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | BloomKidz: £24.99 (1 to 30 children) up to £84.99 (151 to 200) a month, or £284.89 to £968.89 a year; over 200 by quote. Free for all of 2026. VAT not stated. Source | Pigeonhole: From £4.13 a month, set by the number of children; £16.50 a month for 40 children. Every feature in every size, billed annually, ex VAT. |
| Contract | BloomKidz: Cancel before your next billing date and you won't be charged again. Source | Pigeonhole: A year at a time, and it doesn't renew automatically. Cancel within 30 days for a full refund, or later for a refund of every whole month left. |
| Setup | BloomKidz: £0 setup. Source | Pigeonhole: No setup fee for standard onboarding. |
| Free trial | BloomKidz: A 30-day free trial, no card needed. Source | Pigeonhole: 30 days with every feature switched on, no card needed. |
| What's included | BloomKidz: Every feature included, whatever your size. Source | Pigeonhole: Everything: registers, learning journals, invoicing, council funding forms, custom forms, safeguarding, occupancy, the parent app and more, at every size. |
BloomKidz's details are from its own website, checked on 10 November 2026. Where it doesn't publish something, we've said so rather than guess. Prices change, so please check before deciding.
What every nursery gets with Pigeonhole
Everything, at every size
No modules and no add-ons. The register, learning journals, termly reviews, invoicing, council funding forms, custom forms, safeguarding and occupancy are in the one price, so the only thing that changes it is the number of children.
Council funding forms, done for you
Parents fill in and sign their council's funding declaration online, and you get a correctly completed form every term. If your council isn't set up yet, upload its form and we'll add it.
Invoices from the sessions children attend
Invoices are worked out from each child's sessions, funded hours and extras, then synced to Xero or QuickBooks.
A parent app with nothing to set up
Families get photos, the care diary, news, invoices and forms on iPhone or Android, with a Face ID or fingerprint lock. It already works for every family at your nursery.
Learning journals written faster
Staff capture a photo and a rough note or a voice note, and AI turns it into a written observation for a manager to approve.
Built for a shared room tablet
The staff app signs people in with a PIN, so a key person can do observations and termly reviews on the room's tablet in a quiet moment.
Where BloomKidz is strong
BloomKidz includes every feature at every size, charges nothing for setup, has no lock-in, and is free for all of 2026. Source
Moving from BloomKidz to Pigeonhole
BloomKidz says you can cancel before your next billing date with no further charge, so you can move whenever suits you. Source
Start a free trial
30 days with every feature switched on, and no card. Run it alongside your current system until you're happy.
Bring your children and families across
Upload a spreadsheet or an export from your current system, and AI matches each column for you to check. Children come across with their parents, carers and emergency contacts; staff and funding forms import the same way.
Or copy records straight from your old system
The Pigeonhole Chrome extension reads a child's page in your current software and adds them to Pigeonhole, with no export needed.
Switch over between terms
Most nurseries move at the start of a term or month, so invoices and funding claims start cleanly in Pigeonhole.
“Pigeonhole has been the most intuitive and useful software I have used in my career in Early Years.”
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Try Pigeonhole beside BloomKidz
30 days with every feature, no card, and no setup fee. Run it alongside your current system until you're sure.