An honest comparison
Which AI tool should you use for learning stories?
It depends on who pays and where your stories live. If your centre already has Storypark Assist or Educa Assist, use it: the story stays in the platform your families already use. If it does not, and you are an educator buying for yourself, pick a tool built for learning stories that you can buy on your own. StoryLoop is free for 3 stories a month, then NZ$21 or A$19. A general chatbot is free, but nothing checks what it writes about a child.
9 options below, with who can buy each and the prices each company publishes. We make StoryLoop, so we have linked every other company's own page for you to check.
Updated 13 October 2026 · StoryLoop, Ōtautahi Christchurch
Prices checked 13 October 2026
9 AI options for learning stories
StoryLoop
- Who can buy it
- An educator on their own, or a centre
- Price
- Free for 3 stories a month. Educator NZ$21 or A$19 a month. Centres from NZ$109 or A$99 a month for 10 educators, any number of children.
- What the AI does
- Writes the whole learning story from a quick note or voice memo, links Te Whāriki or EYLF V2.0, and writes a family version. Checks every child's quote against your note and lists anything it assumed.
- Where the story lives
- Copy or export into Storypark, Educa, Kinderloop or anything with a text box.
We make StoryLoop, so weigh our view accordingly.
Storypark Assist
- Who can buy it
- The service: an admin turns it on
- Price
- Storypark is priced per child: about NZ$1.79 to NZ$1.89 a month (prepaid annually or monthly), with a base rate for the first 15 children. Its AI is a paid add-on on every plan, and the add-on price is not published.
- What the AI does
- Drafting help, pedagogical feedback, grammar suggestions, story review and learning summaries, inside Storypark. Storypark says customer data is never used to train AI models.
- Where the story lives
- Inside Storypark, where your families already are.
Mana (formerly LoveHeart AI)
- Who can buy it
- Centres and groups; a Room plan for single rooms, family day care and very small centres
- Price
- Room A$39 a month. Centre and Enterprise: price on request.
- What the AI does
- Turns observations, photos and voice memos into documentation and planning across a centre. Australian, founded in 2022, with BestStart among its customers.
- Where the story lives
- Inside Mana.
KindieCloud
- Who can buy it
- New Zealand centres: book a demo
- Price
- Not published.
- What the AI does
- A two-minute voice note becomes a Te Whāriki tagged learning story, with translation, a centre philosophy setting and manager approval before families see it. Made by Rayvion, a New Zealand company.
- Where the story lives
- Inside KindieCloud, then shared with families.
Educa Assist
- Who can buy it
- The centre: admins switch it on for the site
- Price
- Not published.
- What the AI does
- Fine-tuning, validation and translation for learning stories and parent updates, inside Educa.
- Where the story lives
- Inside Educa.
One Child
- Who can buy it
- Australian services
- Price
- A flat price by approved places: A$10 a month for family day care, A$19 up to 50 places, A$49 for 51 to 80, A$79 for 81 or more.
- What the AI does
- AI writing assistance, as part of a platform with portfolios, planning and reflections.
- Where the story lives
- Inside One Child.
Kinderloop
- Who can buy it
- A service, or an educator starting their own
- Price
- $1.25 per child a month, with a $10 monthly minimum.
- What the AI does
- Kinderloop Magic: AI tools to help strengthen documentation.
- Where the story lives
- Inside Kinderloop.
Little Narratives
- Who can buy it
- Australian educators, as an Android app
- Price
- Not published.
- What the AI does
- Turns a spoken or typed observation into documentation mapped to the EYLF V2.0 outcomes and NQS quality areas, plus illustrated stories.
- Where the story lives
- In the app.
ChatGPT, Gemini, Claude or Copilot
- Who can buy it
- Anyone
- Price
- Free versions, with paid plans for more use.
- What the AI does
- Whatever you ask for. Nothing checks a child's quote against your note, or that a curriculum link is real and fits.
- Where the story lives
- In a chat you copy out of.
Our recommendation
Which one fits you
Your centre already pays for Storypark or Educa, with the AI add-on switched on. Use it. The story is written where it will be published, and families see it in the app they already have.
Your centre uses Storypark or Educa, but has not bought the AI. This is most educators. You cannot switch the add-on on yourself, so the choice is a general chatbot or a tool you buy for yourself. StoryLoop was built for exactly this: write and check the story, then paste it into your centre's platform as usual. See how it works alongside Storypark.
You run an Australian service and want one platform for everything. One Child includes AI writing help in a flat price by approved places, from A$19 a month for up to 50 places.
You are a centre choosing AI for the whole team. Compare the price model as well as the features: per child (Storypark, Kinderloop), per approved places (One Child) or per team (StoryLoop centres, from NZ$109 or A$99 a month for 10 educators with any number of children). Work each one out against your own roll.
Before you choose
Six questions to ask any AI tool
Does it keep children's exact words?
A learning story quotes the child. Ask whether the tool checks quotes against your note, or tidies them into proper sentences. A two-year-old does not say "I am building a tower".
Does it use your curriculum, properly?
Te Whāriki (2017) in Aotearoa, the EYLF V2.0 in Australia. A link should come from what the child did, with the reason given, not a list of outcome codes added to every story.
Where does the note go, and is it used for training?
Look for where the data is stored, and a clear statement that notes are not used to train AI models. Business AI services can promise this; consumer chat apps may use conversations unless you turn that setting off.
Does an educator sign off before families see anything?
Nothing about a child should reach a family without an educator reading it. Check the tool never posts on its own.
Can you get your stories out?
If you move platforms or leave a centre, can you copy or export what you wrote?
Who has to buy it?
Per-child pricing and admin-only add-ons mean an educator cannot start without their centre. That is fine if your centre has already bought it, and a wall if it has not.
In fairness
Where StoryLoop falls short
StoryLoop is for writing, checking and sharing learning stories. It does not host a family photo and video feed, family logins, enrolments, attendance or messaging, so it sits alongside your centre's platform rather than replacing it. It does not post into Storypark or Educa for you: you copy the finished story across, which is deliberate, because nothing should reach families without an educator reading it first.
It is also a small, independent company: Leo builds it in Christchurch and reads every email. We publish how accurate the drafts are, including the weak spots, in the accuracy report.
Questions educators ask
What is the best AI for writing learning stories?
Can I use ChatGPT to write learning stories?
Is there a free AI learning story generator?
Does Storypark have AI for learning stories?
Does Educa have AI?
Which AI tools work with Te Whāriki?
Is it safe to put children's names into AI?
Try StoryLoop free on your own note
- Free forever: 3 stories a month, no card.
- Educator: unlimited stories, NZ$21 or A$19 a month, after a 7-day free trial.
- Educator Pro: NZ$33 or A$29 a month, with child profiles, family translation and unlimited Quill.
- Centres: one price for the team, from NZ$109 or A$99 a month for 10 educators.