OWNA Review Australia 2026

AU-MadeChildcare
0.0 / 5— SoftwareHQ AU Rating
Pricing verified 2026-03-20

Overview

OWNA is all-in-one australian childcare management with transparent pricing. Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Bella Vista, NSW, it serves Australian businesses with local data hosting and AU-based support.

All-in-one Australian childcare management with transparent pricing

Pricing (AUD inc. GST)

All prices below are in Australian dollars and include GST. Pricing verified as of 2026-03-20.

Lite (ECE/OSHC, 0-50 children)
$79/mo
AUD inc GST
Entry-level plan for small centres with up to 50 children. Price scales by centre size: $99/mo for 51-100 children, $149/mo for 101-200, $199/mo for 201+. Includes core features. UNVERIFIED — exact feature inclusions per tier not confirmed.
  • Children: 0-50
  • Service Type: ECE or OSHC
Family Day Care (FDC)
$30/mo
AUD inc GST
Dedicated plan for Family Day Care services. Save $10/month with annual billing ($20/mo). Month-to-month available.
  • Service Type: Family Day Care

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • Transparent, publicly listed pricing starting from $79/month — unlike Xplor's quote-based approach, you can compare costs immediately
  • Genuinely all-in-one platform with CCS, billing, payroll, HR, documentation, compliance, and parent app in a single subscription
  • No lock-in contracts, no setup fees, and a 30-day free trial — lowest barrier to entry of any major childcare platform
  • Integrated payroll and HR add-on ($8/employee/month) eliminates the need for separate payroll software like Xplor requires
  • Trusted by 4,000+ Australian childcare centres with strong customer service reviews and regular training sessions
  • Broad accounting integrations — supports Xero, MYOB, QuickBooks, and Reckon (Xplor only confirms Xero)
  • Family Day Care plan at just $30/month makes it the most affordable option for FDC services
  • Active CCS compliance maintenance with published updates on regulatory changes (e.g., January 2026 NQF/CCS changes)

Cons

  • Parent app rated 4.3 stars on Google Play — lower than Xplor's Home app (4.7-4.8 stars), suggesting a less polished family experience
  • App stability issues reported — educators experience crashes during photo uploads and daily reflections, requiring re-entry of lost work
  • Billing and direct debit system described as cumbersome by some users — managing parent payments and reconciliation can be frustrating
  • Smaller market share (4,000+ centres) compared to Xplor (8,700+) — less community knowledge base and fewer peer resources
  • Notification bugs reported — users describe repetitive notifications every 2 minutes and loading screen issues preventing actions
  • No confirmed SOC 2 or ISO 27001 security certifications — may concern services handling sensitive children's data at scale
  • Some images and videos processed by US-based third-party providers — not 100% onshore data hosting for all content types

Who Is OWNA Best For?

  • Childcare Centre
  • Oshc
  • Family Day Care
  • Budget Conscious

OWNA may not be the best fit for:

  • Multi Centre Operator
  • Enterprise

OWNA Alternatives

If OWNA doesn’t quite fit your needs, consider these alternatives for Australian businesses:

  • Xplor Education Australia's largest childcare management platform with automated CCS.
  • Kidsoft Long-established CCS-approved childcare management for Australian centres. From $169/mo inc. GST.
  • Xap All-in-one CCS-approved childcare management with real-time automation. From $169/mo inc. GST.