Rawdly logo
Switching from Lillio (HiMama) · 2026

Switching from Lillio to Rawdly: the compliance-first upgrade for daycare directors

Lillio (formerly HiMama) is the category leader for parent-facing daily reports and early learning documentation. But if your day also includes ratio compliance audits, CACFP claims, subsidy billing, and licensing inspections, Lillio leaves you filling the gaps manually. Rawdly was built for exactly that gap — and it ships the API and AI features that Lillio users have been requesting for years.

Your data is yours. Rawdly lets you export everything — children, attendance, billing, audit logs — as standard CSV or PDF at any time, with no export-unlock fees. Switch in or out on your schedule.

See a 5-minute demo

At a glance

The short version. A complete feature-by-feature matrix follows further down.

CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
Daily reports + parent updates
Invoicing + ACH / card collectionInvoicing + offline payment tracking
Early learning / curriculum documentationCore featureRoadmap 2026
Live ratio compliance monitor
Inspector-format PDF export (one tap)
CACFP menu planning + reimbursementIncluded
Subsidy split-invoicing + SSPS export (Washington State)Included
Behavior Pattern AI (mood / sleep / appetite anomalies)Director alerts
Family Vault (photos parents keep forever)
Public REST API (v1, OpenAPI docs)Keys on request
WA WAC 110-300 compliance tooling
AI incident report drafting (voice)
Immutable audit log (SOC 2 ready)
Data export (CSV/PDF, any time, no fee)PartialFull, always free

Feature-by-feature breakdown

Compliance & licensing
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
State-licensed daycare ratio configConfigurable per classroom, WA WAC seeded
Live ratio breach alertsPush + dashboard banner
30-day ratio history view
Inspector-format PDF exportOne tap
Immutable audit log (every change)Append-only, 7-year retention
WA WAC 110-300 ratio rules (seeded presets)
SOC 2 Type IIOn the roadmap
Billing & subsidies
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
Invoice + ACH / card collectionInvoicing + offline payment tracking
WCCC subsidy split-invoicing (Washington State)
DCYF SSPS-format export (Washington State)
SSPS response-file reconciliation (Washington State)
QuickBooks / Xero export with COA mappingCSV onlySaved mappings
CACFP
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
USDA foods catalog
Meal-pattern compliance rules
Reimbursement calculator (Tier I + II)
Monthly claim packet PDF
AI & behavior intelligence
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
AI incident report drafting (voice → write-up)Available today
Behavior Pattern AI — mood anomaly detectionAvailable today
Behavior Pattern AI — sleep pattern alertsAvailable today
Behavior Pattern AI — appetite deviation alertsAvailable today
AI allergy alertsAvailable today
AI translation of parent messagesAvailable today
AI daily summaries for parentsAvailable today
Integrations & API
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
Public REST API (v1)Keys on request
OpenAPI / Swagger docs
Data ownership & parent experience
CapabilityLillio (HiMama)Rawdly
Family Vault (permanent parent photo/video archive)
Parent access survives center cancellationVia Family Vault
Data export for parents (CSV/PDF)Center-controlledParent self-serve
Data export for directors (CSV/PDF, any time)PartialFull, always free

What Lillio (HiMama) does that Rawdly does not (yet)

  • Dedicated early learning / pedagogical documentation. Lillio's core product is learning observation and curriculum documentation tied to developmental frameworks (e.g., Ontario ELG, NAEYC). Rawdly does not have a dedicated curriculum module in 2026. If curriculum documentation is a primary workflow, Lillio remains the stronger choice.
  • Parent app brand recognition. HiMama / Lillio is well known among parents who have experienced it at previous daycares. Rawdly's parent app is newer and less recognizable to parents today, though the onboarding email flow is designed to make the transition seamless.
  • Enterprise / franchise multi-site management. Lillio serves large franchise networks with centralized reporting. Today one Rawdly login switches between several centers, and they share one Pro plan and one bill priced on all their children together; centralized reporting across sites is on the 2026 roadmap. For franchise networks, ask us about Enterprise.

Pricing comparison

Lillio charges per-child per-month, with admin and billing features on higher tiers. Centers with 20–40 children typically pay $80–$180/month depending on the tier selected. Rawdly publishes its pricing — Freemium is free forever for up to 10 children, Pro is $1.99/child/month, less from the 51st child across all your centers — and every compliance and API feature on this page is included. AI Daily Summaries is an optional $1 per child per month add-on.

Rawdly publishes its tiers: Freemium is free forever for up to 10 children, and Pro is $1.99/child/month, less from the 51st child across all your centers. CACFP and Washington State subsidy billing carry no add-on fee. AI features come with the paid plans, and AI Daily Summaries is $1 per child per month. Price is the same on day one as on day 365.

How to switch from Lillio (HiMama)

Average migration time for a single-site, 30-child daycare: under 2 hours.

  1. 1

    Export children and attendance data from Lillio

    Lillio supports CSV export for children's profiles and attendance history. Request the export from Account Settings → Data Export. Download children, guardians, and attendance records.

  2. 2

    Import your children

    In Children → Import, choose Generic CSV, upload the file and map its columns. The importer validates rows and shows a full preview before you commit — no data is written until you confirm. It imports children only, and a dedicated Lillio format is not available yet; our team can help you bring across families and billing setup.

  3. 3

    Reconnect parent accounts

    Parents receive a branded email to set their Rawdly password. Daily reports, photo sharing via Family Vault, and messaging work immediately on activation.

  4. 4

    Configure CACFP and subsidy programs

    Set up once; each month, preview the CACFP claim and export the OSPI-WINS CSV and the claim packet PDF. Subsidy billing covers Washington State programs. Most centers recover the switching cost in the first CACFP reimbursement cycle.

  5. 5

    Run your first compliance report

    Export the 30-day inspector PDF and verify it reflects the first days of Rawdly attendance. You are now audit-ready for an unannounced licensing inspection.

FAQ

Is Rawdly really free to try?
Yes. Every new account gets a full year of every feature free, with no credit card required. There is also a self-serve sandbox demo that boots in under ten seconds.
Lillio focuses on early learning documentation. Does Rawdly cover that?
Rawdly's core is operational compliance: attendance, ratios, billing, Washington State subsidies, and AI-assisted incident reports. Dedicated pedagogical documentation (learning observations tied to curriculum frameworks) is on the roadmap but not the 2026 focus. If curriculum documentation is a primary requirement, Lillio may still be the better fit.
Can I keep my Lillio parent communication history when I switch?
Lillio does not provide a full message export API, so existing in-app conversation threads do not migrate. Children's profiles import from a CSV. Attendance records and billing history do not migrate automatically, and our team can help with those.
How does Rawdly's pricing compare to Lillio / HiMama?
Lillio charges per-child per-month with separate tiers for admin features. Rawdly publishes its pricing: Freemium is free forever for up to 10 children, Pro is $1.99/child/month, less from the 51st child across all your centers, with every compliance feature included. AI Daily Summaries is an optional $1 per child per month add-on.
Does Rawdly work for in-home / family daycare providers?
Yes. In-home providers are one of Rawdly's two primary segments, with a dedicated onboarding flow for solo operators.
What is Family Vault and how is it different from Lillio's photo sharing?
Family Vault is a permanent, parent-owned archive of every photo, video, and daily report their child accumulated at your center. Even if your center cancels its Rawdly subscription, parents retain full access to their child's memories — forever, at no extra cost. Lillio's media library is tied to the center account; parents lose access if the center stops using the platform.
Does Rawdly have a public API?
Yes. Rawdly has a public REST API (v1) with OpenAPI documentation. API keys are issued by our team on request, and there is no self-serve key screen yet. Event webhooks are limited and there is no public Zapier app yet, so contact us if you need either.
What is Behavior Pattern AI and how does it work with Lillio's milestone tracking?
Rawdly's Behavior Pattern AI monitors mood, sleep, and appetite logs across your enrolled children and surfaces anomaly alerts to directors — for example, a child whose sleep durations dropped 40% over 5 days, or a classroom where appetite scores declined after a menu change. Lillio's milestone tracking records developmental observations on demand; it does not continuously monitor operational patterns or alert directors to anomalies.
Is WA WAC 110-300 compliance tooling only useful in Washington State?
The WA WAC 110-300 ratio config and inspector PDF export are Washington State-specific compliance features. The underlying compliance framework — configurable ratio rules, live breach alerts, and one-tap inspector exports — ships to all states. Non-WA directors configure their own state's ratios manually; additional state-specific seeded presets are coming through 2026.

Evaluating multiple platforms? See all Rawdly comparisons →

Compliance is the product

Everything else is table stakes. Book a 15-minute walkthrough or try the live sandbox — no signup, no card, no follow-up sales call.

Try the live sandbox