FamilyWall vs GroupCal

FamilyWall

• Families who want a calendar, lists, messaging and photos in one private app
• Parents who want arrival alerts and a map of where children are (Premium)
• Households that plan meals and track a shared budget (Premium)
• Keeping separate circles for extended family, friends or neighbors

GroupCal

• Clubs, communities and schools that publish a schedule to many people
• Small teams sharing shifts, bookings or meeting-room calendars
• Families and friends on a mix of iPhone and Android phones
• Groups where only the organizer should pay: members use the app free

FamilyWall

• The US App Store listing gives the monthly Premium price as $7.99, above the $4.99 on FamilyWall's website and Google Play listing. The yearly price is $44.99 on all three.
• Google and Outlook sync, the meal planner, budget tracker, timetables, documents and location sharing all need Premium.
• Premium applies to the first 5 circles an account created; any further circles stay on the free plan and cannot be chosen manually.
• The Premium page lists ad-free use as a Premium benefit, although the About page describes FamilyWall as ad-free.

GroupCal

• A plan covers the calendars its buyer owns, so prices are per calendar owner, not per member; members and admins of those calendars pay nothing.
• The free plan allows 1 admin and has no permission controls. More admins start at Team ($50 per month, billed annually).
• The REST API, webhooks and white-labeled apps are limited to Enterprise, which has custom pricing.
• Accounts are tied to a phone number: the guide says to sign in with the same number on every device.

FamilyWall

Shared family calendar

A color-coded calendar shows one person's schedule or the whole family's at once. Any member can add or edit appointments, and reminders can be set for events.

Shopping and to-do lists

Shared shopping lists can be browsed offline in the store. To-do lists can be private or shared, and individual to-dos can be assigned to chosen family members.

Messenger, gallery and contacts

Family members post messages in threaded conversations, share photos and videos in a private gallery, and keep contacts such as a babysitter or doctor in a shared directory.

Calendar sync (Premium)

Premium connects Google and Outlook calendars to the family calendar and can subscribe to any public or shared calendar through its URL.

Meal planner and budget (Premium)

The meal planner lays out the week's meals, imports recipes from the web and turns a plan into a grocery list. The budget tracker records shared bills and everyday expenses.

Location and place alerts (Premium)

A map shows family members' recent and real-time positions, and alerts tell you when someone arrives at a saved place such as home or school. Each member chooses who sees their location.

GroupCal

Calendars joined by link

Create separate calendars for different groups, topics or resources, each with its own color and photo. Members join from a shared link or an invite sent to their phone number, without an email address.

Real-time updates and RSVP

Members get push notifications when they are added to a calendar and when events are added or changed. Each event shows who accepted or declined.

Roles and permissions

Calendars have Owner, Admin and Member roles. Paid plans let the owner choose who can add events or members, and from Team hide event details or limit members to editing their own events.

Personal calendars alongside

Events from Apple Calendar, Google Calendar and Outlook appear next to GroupCal calendars in one view. From Pro, events from connected Google, Outlook and iCloud accounts can be shared with a group.

Public channels and embeds

A public calendar can be embedded in a website, with a WordPress plugin and a Wix widget. On Organization, a calendar channel is listed in GroupCal's search and takes unlimited followers.

Linked calendars

On the Organization plan, calendars can be linked so events sync across them, which lets a master calendar reflect several related schedules.

FamilyWall

• Standard$0

  Shared calendar, shopping lists, to-do lists, messenger and contact book. The Premium page does not mark this plan as ad free.

• Premium$4.99

  per month, or $44.99 billed annually

  Adds Google and Outlook.com sync, meal planner, recipe box, budget tracker, timetable, documents, family locator and place alerts, without ads. One subscription covers a circle.

GroupCal

• Free$0

  Unlimited calendars and events, 25 event photo attachments and 1 admin. Aimed at sharing calendars with family or friends.

• Pro$10

  per month, billed annually at $120 ($15 billed monthly)

  150 photo attachments, control over who can add events and members, a color per member, advanced RSVP, and sharing of Google, Outlook and iCloud calendars.

• Team$50

  per month, billed annually at $600 ($75 billed monthly)

  3 calendar admins, 500 photo attachments, event ownership, hidden event details, members limited to editing their own events, a business page and priority support.

• Organization$150

  per month, billed annually at $1,800 ($225 billed monthly)

  Unlimited admins, 1,500 photo attachments, calendar channels, event sync across linked calendars, verified calendars and embedding several calendars together.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Unlimited attachments, REST API and webhooks, white-labeled web and mobile apps, a custom legal and security review and a dedicated success manager.

FamilyWall

• Annual discount

  About 25% less with annual billing

  The Premium page lists $4.99 per month or $44.99 billed annually. Twelve monthly payments come to $59.88, so paying for the year costs about 25% less.

GroupCal

• Annual discount

  Save 33% with yearly billing

  The pricing page marks yearly billing as a 33% saving: Pro is $10 per month billed annually against $15 billed monthly, Team $50 against $75 and Organization $150 against $225.