GroupCal vs OurCal

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

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

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

OurCal

No public discounts listed.