Debs vs FamilyWall
The family group chat has the shopping list, a photo of the dog and three separate conversations about whether it's non-uniform day on Friday. Nobody's sure.
FamilyWall is a family hub: a shared calendar, lists, messaging, photos and, on Premium, location sharing and budgets. Debs is narrower and deeper on school: it reads the school's emails and letters, knows your school's term dates, and tells you the night before what each child needs.
What FamilyWall is great at
FamilyWall is a family organiser with a calendar, lists, messages and location.
- Calendar, lists, photos and messaging for the whole family in one app
- Location sharing and arrival alerts (Premium)
- Meal planning, budgets and timetables (Premium)
- Two-way Google and Outlook calendar sync (Premium)
What Debs adds
- The school's emails and letters read for you, so nothing's typed in
- Your school's term dates and INSET days, kept up to date from the school website
- A night-before packing list for each child
- Forms, payments and deadlines with reminders before they're due
Side by side
| What matters | FamilyWall | Debs |
|---|---|---|
| How school dates get in | You add them | Automatically* |
| Night-before packing list per child | No | Yes |
| Family messaging and photos | Yes | No: Debs drafts messages you send on WhatsApp |
| Location sharing | Yes (Premium) | No |
| Shopping lists and meal planning | Yes (meal planning is Premium) | No |
| Made for UK schools | No, it's a general family organiser | Yes, every UK school is in it |
| What it costs | Free plan; Premium is US$4.99 a month or US$44.99 a year (US pricing), with a 30-day trial | 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 FamilyWall comes from familywall.com (Premium page) and FamilyWall support pages, checked on 28 September 2026. Prices and features change, so check their website before you decide. FamilyWall is a trademark of its owner; Debs isn’t connected to it.
Using both
FamilyWall for the family chat, photos and whereabouts; Debs for everything the school sends.
Which should you pick?
- Pick FamilyWall if you want one app for family chat, photos, location and lists.
- Pick Debs if you want the school side done for you, not just a place to write it down.
Questions parents ask
Does Debs share locations?
No. Debs is about school and the family diary, not where everyone is.
Can grandparents see Debs?
Yes. Debs Family has up to five logins, and grandparents or a childminder can have view-only access.