Pigeonhole vs Famly
Famly's UK plans run from £79 to £229 a month per setting, ex VAT, depending on the plan and how you're billed. Pigeonhole is from £4.13 a month, and £16.50 for 40 children, with every feature included.
£750 a year less than Famly.
| Children | Pigeonhole, a year | Famly, a year | You save |
|---|---|---|---|
| 15 | £49.56 | £948 | £898.44 |
| 30 | £99 | £948 | £849 |
| 60 | £198 | £948 | £750 |
| 90 | £297 | £948 | £651 |
| 120 | £396 | £948 | £552 |
| 150 | £495 | £948 | £453 |
| 200 | £660 | £948 | £288 |
Famly: Foundation, its cheapest plan, at £79 a month ex VAT, billed annually or monthly. Premium is £159 and Professional £209 a month billed annually. 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 Famly
Rotas and automatic invoicing at every size
Staff rotas and invoices worked out from each child's sessions are in the one price.
Famly: Staff rotas and automatic invoicing are on Professional, £209 a month billed annually. Source
Priced by the size of your nursery
The price is set by the number of children, so a small setting pays a small price.
Famly: Plans are priced per setting, from Foundation at £79 a month. Source
A month to try it
A 30-day free trial with every feature, and no card needed.
Famly: A 2-week free trial. Source
The price, line by line
| Famly | Pigeonhole | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Famly: Foundation £79, Premium £159 and Professional £209 a month billed annually, or £79, £179 and £229 billed monthly, per setting, ex VAT. Groups of 10 or more sites by quote. 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 | Famly: Annual or monthly terms that renew automatically, ended with at least one month's written notice, with no refund of fees already paid. 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 | Famly: No setup fees, and onboarding is free. Source | Pigeonhole: No setup fee for standard onboarding. |
| Free trial | Famly: A 2-week free trial. Source | Pigeonhole: 30 days with every feature switched on, no card needed. |
| What's included | Famly: Medication and accident forms, head counts and parental permissions aren't on Foundation. Staff rotas and automatic invoicing are on Professional, and the public API is an add-on. Source | Pigeonhole: Everything: registers, learning journals, invoicing, council funding forms, custom forms, safeguarding, occupancy, the parent app and more, at every size. |
Famly'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 Famly is strong
Famly is widely used in UK early years. It says it's used by more than a million early years directors, owners, educators and families, counts groups such as Busy Bees and Bright Horizons among its customers, and offers a public API. Source
Moving from Famly to Pigeonhole
Famly's terms let you end your subscription with at least one month's written notice, and fees already paid aren't refunded. Subscriptions renew automatically, so give notice before your renewal date. 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.”
Other comparisons
- Pigeonhole vs Ovivio (formerly Blossom)Nursery management, formerly Blossom EducationalFrom £79 a month per setting billed yearly, ex VAT
- Pigeonhole vs Connect ChildcareNursery management with the ParentZone app£175 a month per setting +VAT, or £157.50 billed yearly
- Pigeonhole vs Nursery in a BoxNursery management, priced per nursery by size bandFrom £149 a month billed annually, ex VAT
- Pigeonhole vs ParentaAbacus nursery software, priced by commitmentFrom £75 a month +VAT on a 36-month plan
- Pigeonhole vs EyworksModules sold separately, including eyLogeymanage and eylog from £41 a month together, ex VAT
- Pigeonhole vs KinderlyLearning journal and parent app, up to 100 childrenFrom £12.50 a month +VAT, for up to 100 children
- Pigeonhole vs CheqdinChildcare management, priced by number of childrenFree up to 5 children, then from £68 a month
- Pigeonhole vs Daily ConnectChildcare app, priced per child£1 per child a month, minimum £12.99
- Pigeonhole vs BloomKidzNursery management, priced by number of childrenFrom £24.99 a month, free until the end of 2026
- Pigeonhole vs nursery.clickNursery management, flat price per nurseryFrom £49 a month per nursery, ex VAT
Try Pigeonhole beside Famly
30 days with every feature, no card, and no setup fee. Run it alongside your current system until you're sure.