# Groups vs enCourage UW

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: enCourage UW at none against Groups's 3. enCourage UW also leads on iOS requirement (15.5 vs 17.4). Groups's advantage is update cadence (every 3 months vs every 28 months) and ratings volume (154 vs 3). On price, rating, ads and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Groups sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $2.99 per month. enCourage UW asks for nothing beyond the download.

enCourage UW holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Groups has 154 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two.

Groups ships an update every 3 months, enCourage UW every 28 months. The most recent releases landed on November 2, 2026 and October 30, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Groups | enCourage UW |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.8 (154 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/groups-random-team-generator/id1160022250/reviews) | **[5.0 (3 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/encourage-uw/id6468810119/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **154** | 3 |
| Positive reviews | 90.0% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 months** | Every 28 months |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Size | 24 MB | 7 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.4 | **15.5** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, Mac | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [William Taylor](https://appshunter.io/developer/1066424218) | [University of Wisconsin-Madison Shared Apps](https://appshunter.io/developer/908478605) |

## What reviewers say

### Groups

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/groups-random-team-generator/id1160022250)

This app helps educators create balanced and effective student teams using an advanced algorithm. It offers features like gender balancing, exclusion of incompatible students, and random student selection to promote participation. Easily import student data and export group compositions for classroom use.

**Highlights:** Advanced team-building algorithm, Gender balancing for groups, Exclude incompatible student pairs, Random student picker, Export and print group compositions, Bulk import students, Cross-device sync via iCloud

**Features:** Family Sharing, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (3)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Groups Pro Monthly | $2.99 | per month |
| Groups Pro Yearly | $14.99 | per year |
| Groups Pro | $39.99 | one-time |


### enCourage UW

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/encourage-uw/id6468810119)

This application facilitates the creation of supportive and genuine learning environments. It is designed to foster authentic communities for educational purposes in various settings.

**Highlights:** Create supportive learning communities, Foster authentic educational environments, Applicable in any learning situation, Designed for community building

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Groups free?

Groups is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Is enCourage UW free?

enCourage UW is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Groups or enCourage UW?

enCourage UW is rated higher. Groups averages 4.8 out of 5 from 154 ratings, while enCourage UW averages 5.0 from 3 ratings.

### Do Groups or enCourage UW have ads?

Neither Groups nor enCourage UW shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Groups or enCourage UW?

Groups ships an update every 3 months, and enCourage UW every 28 months. Most recently, Groups was updated on November 2, 2026 and enCourage UW on October 30, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*