FamilyWall vs OurCal
We give FamilyWall a 3.6 GPA and OurCal a 3.4, out of 4.0. FamilyWall grades higher on the free plan. They get the same grade on value for money, features, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
FamilyWall
Family organizer with a shared calendar, lists and messaging
Free plan · from $4.99/mo
OurCal
End-to-end encrypted shared calendar with a chat on every event
Free trial · from $6.99/mo
How we grade them
| 3.6GPAFamilyWallExcellent | 3.4GPAOurCalVery good | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | BPremium is $4.99 a month or $44.99 billed annually, about typical, and one subscription covers a whole circle. Watch where you buy, though. The US App Store lists the monthly price at $7.99. The yearly price is $44.99 everywhere. | B$6.99 a month for a group of up to 6, with every feature and everyone else joining free. That's about what one person pays for a typical calendar app. It's monthly only, though. OurCal says annual plans were retired on August 1, 2025. |
| Free plan and trial | BThe Standard plan gives you the shared calendar, shopping and to-do lists, messenger and contact book. But Google and Outlook sync is Premium, and so is going ad free. You can try Premium free for 30 days. | CNo free plan. You get a free trial when you create a group, with no payment details asked for, but the listing can't say how long it runs. After that the group is paused until a member subscribes. |
| Features | AA colour-coded calendar, shopping lists you can browse offline in the store, to-dos you can assign, a messenger and a private photo gallery. Premium adds a meal planner that builds the grocery list, a budget tracker and a map with arrival alerts. | AA chat thread on every event, automatic before-and-after notes when someone changes a plan, encryption by default, and Google, Microsoft and iCloud calendars synced in. You can type "Dentist Tuesday 3pm for an hour" too. That's the group job done. |
| Ease of use | A4.8 from about 24,000 App Store ratings. Any family member can add or edit an appointment, and the calendar shows one person's week or everyone's at once. | A4.7 from about 1,100 App Store ratings. One person subscribes, everyone else just joins, and events can be typed in plain words. |
| Platforms and integrations | AiPhone, Android and the web, on phones and tablets. Premium connects Google and Outlook calendars and can subscribe to any public or shared calendar through its URL. | AiPhone, iPad, Mac, Vision Pro and Android, syncing with Google, Outlook, Exchange and iCloud calendars. No web or Windows app is listed, mind, and pushing events out to other calendars isn't on Android yet. |
| Best for | one private app for the whole family's admin | private group calendars with built-in chat |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: FamilyWall and OurCal. How we grade
Where they differ
- FamilyWall starts at $4.99 per month, or $44.99 billed annually (Premium). OurCal starts at $6.99 per month for a group of up to 6 people.
- FamilyWall has a free plan. OurCal does not, though it has a free trial.
- Only FamilyWall lists a web app.
- Only OurCal lists a macOS app.
- OurCal is end-to-end encrypted, according to its own site.
- FamilyWall also covers tasks and file sharing.
- OurCal also covers natural-language input.
In commoniOSAndroidCalendar
At a glance
| FamilyWall | OurCal | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Free trial |
| Starts at | $4.99 per month, or $44.99 billed annually (Premium) | $6.99 per month for a group of up to 6 people |
| Free plan | Standard plan: shared calendar, shopping lists, to-do lists, messenger and contact book. The Premium page marks ad-free use and every other feature as Premium only. | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial of Premium | Free trial starts when a group is created, with no payment details; length not stated. 30-day money-back guarantee. |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Family & Co | OurCal Ltd |
| Price read from | familywall.com | ourcal.com |
| Checked | Oct 9, 2026 | Oct 9, 2026 |
Who each one suits
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
OurCal
- Couples and families split between iPhone and Android
- Groups that want their shared calendar end-to-end encrypted
- Shift workers sharing a rota with family and friends
- People who want the discussion about a plan kept inside the event
Worth knowing
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.
OurCal
- There is no free plan: when the trial ends the group is paused until a member subscribes.
- Each group needs its own subscription, so a family group and a work group are billed separately.
- Billing is monthly only. OurCal says annual plans were retired on August 1, 2025.
- No web or Windows app is listed, and pushing OurCal events out to other calendars is not yet available on Android.
Key features
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.
OurCal
- Chat on every event
- Each event has its own thread for messages, photos, files and notes, with reactions, replies and quotes. A separate group chat covers anything that does not belong to one event.
- Automatic change tracking
- When someone edits an event, a before-and-after update is posted automatically in the event chat and the activity feed, and reminders go to the members concerned.
- End-to-end encryption by default
- Every profile, group, calendar, event, message and file is end-to-end encrypted. The encryption is provided by Seald, whose technology is certified by ANSSI, France's cybersecurity agency.
- Calendar sync in both directions
- Google, Microsoft and Apple iCloud calendars, plus subscribed calendars, can be shared with a group. OurCal events can be pushed out to a calendar on the device from iPhone, iPad and Mac.
- Natural-language event creation
- Typing a phrase such as "Dentist Tuesday 3pm for an hour" creates the event, and reminders, to-dos and repeating events work the same way. The vendor says this runs on the device.
- Multiple groups and availability sharing
- Each group has its own calendars, members and chat, and a person can join any number of groups. Busy times can be shared group by group without revealing event details.
Plans
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.
OurCal
Up to 6 people$6.99
per month for the whole group
For couples and small families. One member subscribes and everyone else in the group joins free. Every feature is included.
Up to 20 people$12.99
per month for the whole group
For bigger families and friend groups, with the same features as the other tiers.
Up to 100 people$29.99
per month for the whole group
For clubs, teams and communities, up to the 100-member limit of a group.
Ways to pay less
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.
OurCal
No public discounts listed.
