Debs vs Apple Family Sharing
Everyone in the house has an iPhone, there's a shared Family calendar and a shopping list in Reminders. And still nobody knew about the cake sale.
Apple Family Sharing is free and already on your iPhones: a shared family calendar, shared reminder lists, shared purchases and location. Debs adds the part Apple can't: it reads the school's emails and letters and turns them into dates, kit and to-dos, and you can see Debs in Apple Calendar.
What Apple Family Sharing is great at
Apple Family Sharing is Apple's free way for a family to share calendars, reminders and more.
- Free, built into every iPhone, iPad and Mac
- A shared family calendar and shared reminder lists
- Sharing iCloud storage, purchases and locations
What Debs adds
- Reads the school's emails and letters so the dates arrive on their own
- Term dates and INSET days for your school, kept up to date
- A night-before packing list for each child
- Works on Android and computers too, for the parent or grandparent who isn't on iPhone
Side by side
| What matters | Apple Family Sharing | Debs |
|---|---|---|
| How school dates get in | You type them in | Automatically* |
| Night-before packing list per child | No | Yes |
| Shared reminder lists | Yes | School to-dos with deadlines |
| Needs everyone on Apple | Yes | No: works in any browser, iPhone or Android |
| What it costs | Free; iCloud+ storage plans are extra | Free to try, then £5.49 a month to read your school emails, or £3.49 a month for Debs Diary, which doesn't (UK pricing) |
*After a few minutes’ setup: pick your school, add your children and connect your email inbox. Debs then checks the inbox for the senders you choose (the school, its apps and your clubs) and keeps your school’s term dates up to date. Don’t want to connect email? You can show Debs a screenshot or photo instead.
What we say about Apple Family Sharing comes from Apple Support pages on Family Sharing, shared calendars and Reminders, checked on 28 September 2026. Prices and features change, so check their website before you decide. Apple Family Sharing is a trademark of its owner; Debs isn’t connected to it.
Using both
Add Debs's calendar link to Apple Calendar and the school dates sit in the same place as the family calendar.
Which should you pick?
- Pick Apple Family Sharing if you're an all-Apple family and happy to type the school dates in.
- Pick Debs if you want the school side filled in for you, or not everyone has an iPhone.
Questions parents ask
Is Debs on the App Store?
Not yet. On iPhone, open Debs in Safari, tap Share, then Add to Home Screen, and it works like an app.
Can Debs read iCloud email?
Yes, with an app-specific password you make in your Apple Account. Debs only reads the senders you choose.