6crickets

6crickets is a web service for camps, weekly classes, and extended-care providers that want registration, family communication, attendance, and marketplace discovery together. It is best suited to organizations serving children and to expanded-learning programs with formal reporting needs. The main trade-off is that marketplace and provider-site registrations carry fees that must be included in budgeting.

Overview

The public marketplace lets parents search for programs, schedule children, book places, and share activities with others. Registration supports purchases for multiple children, including siblings and friends, so one household can handle group enrollment in a single workflow. Providers get enrollment forms, customer management, staff scheduling, and a parent-facing web app rather than a marketplace listing alone.

6crickets can reject listings aimed at adults, promoting illegal or immoral activities, or priced above the provider's price elsewhere without explicit communication. Users under 13 may not use the site, an important consideration when designing family access and account procedures.

Key features

Registration and communication

Providers can email, send SMS messages, or call parents and guardians directly from rosters. That keeps routine contact tied to enrolled families instead of requiring a separate contact database. Family messaging and staff scheduling are included, making the service more useful for active programs than a simple online form.

Payments and attendance

Stripe processes payments while the provider remains the merchant of record for program fees. Real-time attendance appears in each dashboard, and families can sign children in and out through the mobile sign-in/out experience. These tools suit programs that need current attendance visibility during operating hours.

Expanded-learning administration

The platform can synchronize with any student information system, reducing repeated student-data entry. One-click reports for 21st CCLC, ASES, and ELO-P programs are a strong reason for qualifying expanded-learning providers to consider it. Translation to more than 200 languages broadens access for multilingual families. Onboarding, training, and continuing support cover district staff, providers, instructors, and families.

Pricing

Marketplace listing

The Marketplace listing plan costs free. Any number of seats may be listed, which removes a basic catalog-size constraint for providers promoting many offerings. The plan is not fee-free in operation: commission applies to marketplace registrations, and a referral fee applies when registrations occur on the provider's own site.

Payment economics add two more charges. Stripe processing reduces provider revenue by 2.9% plus $0.30, and 6crickets charges a provider registration fee. The school fee is currently 5% of the provider's list price or a $10 fee, depending on configuration. Providers should model these deductions against enrollment volume and price points; families get discovery and booking, while the provider absorbs the listed transaction costs.

No separate paid tiers, trial period, renewal term, or seat cap is provided for this plan. The free listing therefore fits organizations testing marketplace reach, but it is less compelling for providers that need predictable per-enrollment costs or want to avoid commissions and referral charges.

Platforms

6crickets is available on the web. The parent app is also web-based, so families and staff use browser access rather than a native mobile application.

Who it's for

Choose 6crickets if you run camps, weekly classes, extended care, or district and community expanded-learning programs and want one system spanning public discovery, enrollment, parent contact, attendance, and reporting. It is particularly well matched to organizations using 21st CCLC, ASES, or ELO-P reporting and to providers enrolling siblings or friends together.

Look elsewhere if your priority is a native iOS or Android experience, a simple fixed subscription with no per-registration charges, or a program outside the child-focused marketplace rules.

Pros and cons

Pros

• Marketplace plus management: Families can discover and book programs while providers manage enrollment and customers in the same service.
• Multi-child purchasing: Sibling and friend scheduling reduces duplicate work for group enrollments.
• Operational coverage: Enrollment forms, messaging, staff scheduling, billing, attendance, and sign-in/out address the daily program workflow.
• Reporting and data connections: Student-information-system synchronization and one-click 21st CCLC, ASES, and ELO-P reports support accountable programs.
• Broad language reach: Translation to more than 200 languages can make family-facing communication more accessible.

Cons

• Layered transaction costs: Providers face Stripe's 2.9% plus $0.30 processing charge, a provider registration fee, and a configured school fee of 5% or $10.
• Referral and commission charges: Marketplace bookings incur commission, while provider-site bookings can incur a referral fee even on the free listing plan.
• Web-only access: There is no native mobile platform listed for parents or staff.
• Marketplace restrictions: Adult-targeted or otherwise disallowed listings, and uncommunicated higher prices, may be rejected.

Alternatives

AfterSchool HQ is a better comparison for providers wanting Android, iOS, and web access, with a free plan and free trial; transaction fees still apply to activities processed through it.

Bloomwell suits licensed in-home daycares seeking a free Home plan with unlimited classrooms or a $49.00-per-month Center plan, rather than a marketplace-led camp workflow.

Cheqdin fits smaller operators who can start free for up to five students and prefer native mobile apps alongside web access.

OWNA is worth considering for curriculum planning, attendance, a parent app, and compliance on its free plan, with Premium billed from $39 per month.

Kangarootime offers a free tier limited to one program, one school, and five staff members, with paid capacity for up to 10 schools and unlimited staff.

Neztio provides a free-forever Starter plan for up to 15 children and a $79.00-per-month Standard plan with unlimited children per center.

QikKids is an alternative for providers wanting web, desktop, and mobile platform coverage with plans organized by place capacity.

Brightwheel is a paid, cross-platform option using custom pricing based on program information.

For a broader category comparison, see Childcare Management Software.

Verdict

6crickets is a strong choice for child-program providers that want marketplace discovery tied to registration, family contact, attendance, and expanded-learning reporting. Its free listing and unlimited listed seats make it easy to publish programs, but commissions, referral charges, processing costs, and the configured school fee are the central reasons to look elsewhere if predictable subscription pricing or native mobile apps matter more than marketplace reach.