patchio vs. App collection
The combination many families start with: Google Calendar for events, WhatsApp for arrangements and a shopping list app for the shop. Free and familiar, but each app only knows its own part.
What App collection does well
- Free and ready to go: most people already have Google Calendar and WhatsApp
- Nobody has to learn or install anything new – everyone already knows the apps
- Every job gets the right specialist app, and you can swap out single parts without moving everything
patchio
€4.99/month or €39/year per household (VAT included) – every module, every member, babysitter access included. No free tier, but never any ads. Try free for 30 days.
App collection
Free tier: Google Calendar and WhatsApp cost nothing; with shopping apps, the free scope and the advertising differ by provider. Premium: unknown (varies by shopping app).
Features compared
| Feature | patchio | App collection |
|---|---|---|
| Shared calendar | Yes month/week/agenda, visibility per entry, subscribing to other calendars, ICS import/export, attachments, checklists, printing | Yes Google Calendar: shared calendars with invitations; export of all calendars as an ICS file |
| Tasks & lists | Yes rotation, first come first served, points & rewards, advance reminder, declining a task | Partial tasks and lists depend on the app; no shared rotation and no points in Google Calendar or WhatsApp |
| Shopping list | Yes automatic categories, tile view, offline | Yes in the shopping app; scope and price depend on the provider |
| Loyalty cards for everyone | Yes scan barcode/QR, shared across the whole household, works at the till offline too | unknown not in Google Calendar or WhatsApp; with shopping apps it depends on the provider |
| Meal plan & recipes | Yes a week plan with who's home, recipes, ingredients onto the list | unknown depends on the shopping app |
| Finances & cost splitting | Yes splitting & balances, budgets, savings goals, contracts with a cancellation radar, insurance folder, bank statement import | No not part of Google Calendar or WhatsApp; splitting costs happens in messages or another app |
| Health & medication | Yes medication with reminders, routines, sport, readings, private journal | No not part of Google Calendar or WhatsApp |
| Vehicle management | Yes deadlines, fuel consumption, costs/TCO, service-book PDF | No not part of Google Calendar or WhatsApp |
| Polls & votes | Yes anonymous too, with a share link for people outside | Yes polls in WhatsApp groups |
| Parenting schedule (blended families) | Yes a parenting schedule per person with exceptions, who's home visible everywhere | No no parenting schedule feature; can only be improvised with recurring events |
| Several households, one account | Yes one account, several households, visibility per entry | Yes calendar sharing and chat groups work across households |
| Ad-free | Yes always – no ad-supported tier, no selling data | unknown depends on the shopping app |
| EU servers & privacy | Yes hosted in the EU in Ireland, no third-party trackers | unknown Google and Meta are US companies; shopping app depends on the maker |
| Data export | Yes a complete export any time; import from TimeTree, Google, Apple & Outlook; account deletion in the app | Partial Google Calendar exports all calendars as ICS; WhatsApp chats can be exported one by one; shopping app depends on the provider |
| Subscribe to other calendars | Yes subscribe to calendars from Google, Apple, Outlook or your school, checked every 30 minutes; the family calendar with due tasks as a feed for other calendars | Yes Google Calendar: add a calendar by its address |
| School (timetable, school letters, grades) | Yes timetable, events, grades, school letter scanner, study tasks for tests, school bag reminder | No not part of Google Calendar or WhatsApp |
| Document vault | Yes IDs and certificates per person, set to “Only me” by default, reminder before expiry; no end-to-end encryption | No not part of Google Calendar or WhatsApp |
| Bank statement import | Yes read a bank statement as CSV, XML or Excel; Sparkasse, N26 and Revolut are recognised; no bank connection, the file stays in your browser | No not part of Google Calendar or WhatsApp |
| English & other currencies | Yes interface in German and English; currency per household, e.g. Swiss francs or pounds, without conversion; public holidays for Germany, Austria and Switzerland | Yes Google Calendar and WhatsApp are available in many languages |
| Mac/PC as an installable app | Yes as an installable web app on Mac and PC with its own window; also in the Mac App Store | Yes Google Calendar in the browser, WhatsApp as a desktop app |
| Push notifications in the browser | Yes notifications in the browser and in the installed app, switched on once in your profile | Yes Google Calendar in the browser shows desktop notifications while the calendar is open; WhatsApp Web offers desktop notifications in the browser; shopping app unknown |
| Cancelling without signing in | Yes at patchio.de/kuendigen without signing in, confirmation of receipt straight away; withdrawal at patchio.de/widerruf | unknown not needed: Google Calendar and WhatsApp are free |
| Babysitter access with its own view | Yes own login at no extra cost: only the children assigned, emergency call, task checklist and a log for the evening | Partial Google Calendar: individual calendars can be shared read-only; there is no dedicated babysitter view |
| Wall display (tablet or monitor) | Yes old tablet or monitor in the browser, no sign-in on the device; 16 tiles, guest mode; finances and health never appear there | unknown a dedicated wall display mode is not documented for Google Calendar or WhatsApp |
| AI assistants & API | Yes access keys for AI assistants, Home Assistant and your own scripts; read and write per area, enabled by an admin; plus Alexa | Partial Google Calendar has an official developer API; WhatsApp and shopping app unknown |
| Forward an email, get an event | Yes own address per household: a forwarded email becomes an event, a task or a contact; only from registered senders, off by default | Partial Gmail adds bookings such as flights or reservations to Google Calendar by itself; there is no shared family address |
| Works offline | Yes calendar, tasks, shopping lists, emergency card and loyalty cards as last loaded; ticked tasks and shopping items are sent later | Partial Google Calendar can be used offline according to Google's help; shopping app depends on the provider |
| Wish lists to share and reserve from | Yes wish lists for you or others in your household, shared by link without an account; gifts can be reserved or given together as a group gift; the recipient does not see reservations | unknown Google Calendar and WhatsApp have no wish list; the shopping app depends on the provider |
patchio details as of: 05/11/2026. Details on App collection as of: 24/10/2026. All details on App collection come from publicly available official sources (website, pricing page, App Store listing, privacy policy) and were checked to the best of our knowledge – without claiming to be complete; “unknown” means not clearly verifiable. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Something out of date or wrong? Let us know.
Sources checked
- https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37111
- https://www.whatsapp.com
- https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37242
- https://whatsapp.com/faq/web/28080004
- https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/37082
- https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/6084018
- https://support.google.com/calendar/answer/1340696
- https://developers.google.com/workspace/calendar/api/guides/overview
- https://www.whatsapp.com/features
- https://workspace.google.com/products/calendar/
The best way is to compare for yourself.
No card needed · cancel monthly · then €4.99/month per household (VAT included)