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10 agencies scored · no paid placements

Best Marketing Agencies for Preschools & Daycares (2026)

By · Published · Last updated

The best full-service marketing agency for preschools and daycares is Child Care Marketing Group — childcare-only for 12+ years, 600+ centers supported, Google Premier Partner and Meta Business Partner, with a 5.0 Google rating. Preschool Marketing Group and ChildcareDM are close behind on tenure. If you want a price before a sales call, only Childcare Business Marketing publishes one ($1,597 plus ad spend). One warning this niche needs badly: several of the "platforms" recommended for enrollment growth — Procare, brightwheel — are childcare management software with an admissions module, not agencies. They organise the families you already found. Every company below was verified against its own live website.

Full disclosure

No agency paid for placement on this list, and there are no affiliate links or referral fees on this page. Karbon Agency publishes this list and appears on it; we are placed by the same score as everyone else, and on several of our lists that means we are not first.

The ranking, side by side

Ranked by the score below, which is explained in full under “How we ranked these”. The pricing and lock-in columns are the reason this page exists — almost no other list in this category will tell you what these agencies charge.

#AgencyScoreBest forPricingLock-in
1Childcare Business Marketing71/100centers that want a fixed-price, fixed-length Meta ad launch instead of an open-ended retainerPublished: $1,597 + ad spend (recommended $20–$25/day)Defined 45-day campaign support window; no money-back guarantee offered
2Child Care Marketing Group67/100centers that want one childcare-only team covering everything from the website to AI search visibilityPricing not published — quoted after a callNot published
3LeadGulls67/100centers that want childcare-only paid search and paid social across the US, Canada, UK or EuropePublished: centers typically spend $500–$3,000/month on ads; management fee not publishedNot published
4Preschool Marketing Group65/100directors who want a dedicated team that produces the content and runs the system every monthPricing not published — quoted after a callNot published
5ChildCareClicks65/100centers that refuse to sign a term and want a flat monthly rate they can cancelFlat monthly rate with no setup fees, per its site; the amount is not publishedMonth to month, no long-term contracts; 30-day money-back guarantee stated
6ChildcareDM64/100multi-location operators who want the founder on the account rather than a junior account managerPricing not published — quoted after a callNot published
7Procare Solutions64/100centers whose enrollment problem is really a waitlist, room-transition and follow-up problemPublished: $25/month for the in-home daycare version; center pricing quoted on requestNot published
8Grow Your Center62/100centers that cannot enroll more children until they have hired more staffPricing not published — quoted after a callNot published
9Karbon Agency *61/100centers that want local ads run for them, with AI reporting tying spend to booked toursPublished at karbonagency.com/pricing: marketing (Meta ads + a free landing page) from $1,500/month plus ad spend; other services priced separatelyNo long-term lock-in — month-to-month
10brightwheel53/100centers that want admissions, billing and parent communication in one app the families actually usePricing not published — quoted after a callNot published

* Karbon Agency publishes this list — see the disclosure above. All other rows are based on each agency’s own published materials as of September 14, 2026.

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The list

Best for: centers that want a fixed-price, fixed-length Meta ad launch instead of an open-ended retainer

Strengths

  • The only agency in this niche publishing a full engagement price: $1,597 plus ad spend, with a recommended $20–$25/day budget
  • Childcare-exclusive, and states plainly that it cannot guarantee a number of enrollments — rare honesty in a category full of guarantees
  • Defined scope with a stated 45-day campaign support window, so you know when it ends

Considerations

  • A 45-day Meta campaign launch, not an ongoing marketing partner — enrollment is a year-round problem
  • Thin proof: three first-name testimonials and three center logos, with no tenure, client count or case studies

Pricing: Published: $1,597 + ad spend (recommended $20–$25/day) · Lock-in: Defined 45-day campaign support window; no money-back guarantee offered

Best for: centers that want one childcare-only team covering everything from the website to AI search visibility

Strengths

  • 12+ years inside the early-years sector with 600+ childcare businesses supported and a 5.0 Google rating
  • Google Premier Partner and Meta Business Partner — the two credentials that are actually checkable
  • Broadest service fit on this list: website, SEO, Google and Meta ads, social, video, reviews, retargeting, CRM automation, AI search and local listings

Considerations

  • Pricing and contract terms not published
  • Its "+38% average inquiry growth in 90 days" figure is self-reported with no methodology given

Pricing: Pricing not published — quoted after a call · Lock-in: Not published

3.

LeadGulls

67/100

Best for: centers that want childcare-only paid search and paid social across the US, Canada, UK or Europe

Strengths

  • Childcare-exclusive PPC across Google, Meta and Bing, plus local SEO, landing pages, email and reputation work
  • States 500+ childcare campaigns launched across four countries, a 40% average cost-per-lead reduction and first parent inquiries within 7 days on average
  • Publishes a realistic monthly ad-budget range ($500–$3,000) and says every campaign is run by vetted, licensed advertisers

Considerations

  • The published range is ad spend, not its management fee — the fee is not published, and neither are contract terms
  • No third-party reviews, named clients or case studies on the site; years in business not stated

Pricing: Published: centers typically spend $500–$3,000/month on ads; management fee not published · Lock-in: Not published

Best for: directors who want a dedicated team that produces the content and runs the system every month

Strengths

  • Early-learning centers only, with 300+ centers served nationwide and a stated 94% client renewal rate
  • Assigns a dedicated pod of specialists per center rather than a rotating account manager
  • Publishes an average time to first results (8 weeks) and three named center testimonials with described outcomes

Considerations

  • Pricing not published — the site only argues that "one or two enrollments covers the cost for the entire year"
  • Contract terms not published

Pricing: Pricing not published — quoted after a call · Lock-in: Not published

Best for: centers that refuse to sign a term and want a flat monthly rate they can cancel

Strengths

  • The clearest terms in this niche: month to month, no long-term contracts, no setup fees, one flat monthly rate
  • Childcare-only across social ads, Google Ads, SEO, Local Services Ads, email, content, reviews and listings
  • Google, Facebook and Google Analytics certified, with a stated 30-day money-back guarantee

Considerations

  • Names three packages (Infant, Toddler, Primary) but publishes no price for any of them
  • Publishes no client count, tenure or case studies to support its "guaranteed results" claim

Pricing: Flat monthly rate with no setup fees, per its site; the amount is not published · Lock-in: Month to month, no long-term contracts; 30-day money-back guarantee stated

6.

ChildcareDM

64/100

Best for: multi-location operators who want the founder on the account rather than a junior account manager

Strengths

  • 15+ years specialising in childcare and preschool marketing, with 250+ centers and $8.5M of childcare-specific ad spend managed
  • Covers paid search, paid social, local SEO, website and AI visibility, and explicitly handles multi-location strategy
  • States you work directly with founder Cory Gabel, with inquiries evaluated within one business day

Considerations

  • Pricing and contract terms not published
  • No named clients, testimonials or case studies on the site to check the numbers against

Pricing: Pricing not published — quoted after a call · Lock-in: Not published

Best for: centers whose enrollment problem is really a waitlist, room-transition and follow-up problem

Strengths

  • The most verifiable scale in this category: over 40,000 child care centers today and 100,000+ organizations since 1992
  • Carries waitlist and lead management, family registration and eDocuments, plus RoomRunner, an AI-assisted enrollment planning tool for matching families to future openings
  • Publishes $25/month for its in-home daycare version

Considerations

  • Childcare management software, not a marketing agency — it never creates a new inquiry, it organises the ones you have
  • Center pricing is quote-only, and note that procare.com now redirects to an unrelated investment firm; the product lives at procaresoftware.com

Pricing: Published: $25/month for the in-home daycare version; center pricing quoted on request · Lock-in: Not published

Best for: centers that cannot enroll more children until they have hired more staff

Strengths

  • 100% dedicated to childcare, supporting over 850 locations
  • Runs recruitment marketing ("Get Fully Staffed") alongside enrollment marketing — in 2026 staffing is the binding constraint at most centers, not demand
  • Five named client case studies across multiple states

Considerations

  • Pricing, contract terms and years in business all unpublished
  • Testimonials are self-hosted; no third-party review profile to check

Pricing: Pricing not published — quoted after a call · Lock-in: Not published

9.

Karbon Agency

61/100That’s us — see disclosure above

Best for: centers that want local ads run for them, with AI reporting tying spend to booked tours

Strengths

  • AI-driven reporting — a live dashboard shows what every ad dollar did, down to the lead
  • No long-term lock-in: month-to-month
  • Published pricing: marketing from $1,500/month plus ad spend, so you know the cost before the first call

Considerations

  • Small, newer team — we don't have a decade-deep case-study library yet
  • Not a childcare specialist — no experience with licensing rules, subsidy programs or staffing marketing

Pricing: Published at karbonagency.com/pricing: marketing (Meta ads + a free landing page) from $1,500/month plus ad spend; other services priced separately · Lock-in: No long-term lock-in — month-to-month

10.

brightwheel

53/100

Best for: centers that want admissions, billing and parent communication in one app the families actually use

Strengths

  • Childcare-only platform with 160,000+ customer reviews averaging 4.9 stars
  • Admissions sits alongside billing, attendance, communication and staff management, so a new family is onboarded in one place

Considerations

  • Software, not an agency — no ads are written, no budget is set and nobody is accountable for cost per enrolled child
  • Pricing is entirely quote-based behind a seven-step form; no contract terms published

Pricing: Pricing not published — quoted after a call · Lock-in: Not published

How we ranked these

Every agency is scored out of 100 across five weighted dimensions. The weights are fixed across every list on this site, so a 78 here means the same thing as a 78 on any other niche.

  1. Niche specialization30 points

    How much of the agency's actual business is this one industry. A shop that works only in this niche scores full marks; a generalist that lists it among twenty verticals scores about half.

  2. Pricing transparency20 points

    Does it publish what it charges on its own website. Full marks for real numbers you can read before a sales call, partial for a published budget framework or starting-at figure, zero for "contact us".

  3. Proof and reviews20 points

    Verifiable evidence on its own site: years in business, client counts, named case studies, third-party review counts, Google/Meta partner badges. Unsourced hype counts for nothing.

  4. Service fit20 points

    Whether the service mix matches what this industry actually needs to get customers, rather than what is easiest to sell.

  5. Contract flexibility10 points

    Month-to-month terms and client ownership of the website, ad accounts and data score highest; undisclosed or multi-year terms score lowest.

Every agency here was checked against its own live website. Pricing, contract terms, client counts and review counts are only stated where the agency publishes them — everything else is recorded as "not published" rather than guessed at. Scores are ours, they are subjective, and the rubric above is published so you can disagree with them.

Last reviewed by . We refresh these lists when something real changes — a price, a contract term, an agency going dark — not on a schedule.

Frequently asked questions

Who is the best marketing agency for preschools and daycares?

Child Care Marketing Group has the strongest combination of tenure (12+ years), scale (600+ centers), checkable credentials (Google Premier Partner, Meta Business Partner) and service breadth. Preschool Marketing Group is the better pick if you want a dedicated pod producing content monthly, ChildcareDM if you run multiple locations, LeadGulls if you only want paid ads, and Grow Your Center if staffing — not enrollment — is what is actually capping you.

Is Procare, brightwheel or a childcare app a marketing agency?

No, and this is the single most common mistake in this niche. Procare Solutions and brightwheel are childcare management platforms. They handle waitlists, admissions paperwork, billing, attendance and parent messaging — Procare even ships RoomRunner for AI-assisted enrollment planning. None of that generates a new inquiry. A platform decides whether the family who called you gets followed up properly; an agency decides whether they call at all. Most centers need both.

What does childcare marketing cost per month?

Published figures are scarce. Childcare Business Marketing charges $1,597 plus ad spend for a 45-day launch; LeadGulls says centers typically spend $500–$3,000/month on ads; Karbon publishes marketing from $1,000/month; Procare publishes $25/month for its in-home product. Everyone else quotes after a call. A useful test: compare any monthly fee to one child's annual tuition — most centers break even on a single retained enrollment.

How much should a daycare spend on Google Ads?

LeadGulls publishes $500–$3,000 a month as the typical childcare range, varying with competition, which matches what most centers report. Search is usually the first dollar because parent intent is explicit — "daycare near me", "infant care", "VPK" — and the geography is tight. Measure it on cost per booked tour, not cost per lead: in childcare the tour is the real conversion, and the enrollment decision follows it by weeks.

What should a preschool ask a marketing agency before signing?

Ask whether they have run campaigns under your state's licensing and subsidy rules — advertising VPK, Head Start or state-subsidy availability is not generic local marketing. Ask who owns the website, ad account and Google Business Profile if you leave. Ask what happens to leads after hours, since most parent inquiries arrive outside your office hours. And ask for the management fee separately from ad spend, in writing.

Should a childcare center market for enrollment or for staff?

For many centers in 2026 the classroom is empty because there is no teacher for it, not because no family wants the seat. Grow Your Center is the only company on this list running recruitment marketing alongside enrollment marketing. If you have a waitlist and an unstaffed room, spending on enrollment ads makes the waitlist longer and changes nothing about revenue.

Do preschools need Meta ads as well as Google Ads?

Google captures parents already searching, which is the cheaper first dollar and usually enough for a single site with normal turnover. Meta earns its place for two specific jobs: filling a brand-new center or a new room before anyone is searching for you, and reaching parents of infants who have not yet started looking. Childcare Business Marketing is Meta-only; LeadGulls and Child Care Marketing Group run both.

Should a childcare center hire an agency or market in-house?

Directors are already running ratios, licensing and payroll; marketing is what gets dropped first. An agency retainer in this niche is typically covered by one retained child, and the specialists know the licensing language. In-house wins only for larger multi-site groups that can justify a dedicated marketer. We wrote out the comparison. Agency vs. hiring in-house →

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Last updated · 10 agencies scored