CIRCLETIME vs Tadpoles
Tadpoles built its name on observation portfolios and photo sharing, but parent billing, lead capture, and compliance all live somewhere else. CIRCLETIME brings the warm photo-and-observation experience into one platform that also handles tuition, ratios, and marketing.
CIRCLETIME from $89 flat/mo · Tadpoles $149 – $299/mo
Feature by feature.
Tadpoles is good at photos. CIRCLETIME is good at running the whole center.
Where Tadpoles is fine
- Photo and observation experience parents have used for years.
- Beautiful end-of-year portfolios for graduations.
- Reliable iOS and Android apps.
Why centers leave Tadpoles
- No native tuition billing — centers need a separate billing tool.
- Limited compliance and licensing automation.
- No lead capture, no website builder, no marketing.
- Reporting is light; multi-center rollups require add-ons.
- Pricing creep and feature stagnation in recent years.
Switching from Tadpoles takes about a week.
Our migration importer reads Tadpoles CSV exports directly. No re-keying.
- 1Pull Tadpoles roster + observations as CSV / PDF archive.
- 2Upload to the Migration Importer (children, parents, classrooms map automatically).
- 3Connect Stripe for autopay so tuition stops living in a separate spreadsheet.
- 4Invite parents — CIRCLETIME's onboarding email warms up new accounts.
- 5Run both apps in parallel for one term; archive Tadpoles once new portfolios are caught up.
"Tadpoles never solved billing for us. We were running it alongside QuickBooks. CIRCLETIME collapsed three tools into one and our parents finally have one app, one bill, one inbox."
Common questions about switching
Can I keep my observation history?+
Yes. Tadpoles exports observations as PDF archives — we attach them to each child's CIRCLETIME profile so nothing is lost.
Does CIRCLETIME have portfolios?+
Yes — child portfolios with photos, observations, milestones, and learning stories, exportable as a graduation-ready PDF.
Will my teachers need to retrain?+
Most teachers are productive within 30 minutes. The photo and observation flows are nearly identical.
Can I bill tuition through CIRCLETIME?+
Yes. Stripe-powered autopay, ACH, recurring billing, late fees, and family ledgers are built in.
Is there an annual contract?+
No. Month-to-month, cancel anytime.