# Black Forest Hills Elementary vs FAMILIES | TalkingPoints

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Black Forest Hills Elementary at 100% against FAMILIES | TalkingPoints's 24%. FAMILIES | TalkingPoints's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and update cadence (every 3 weeks vs every 14 months). On price, in-app purchases, device support and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

FAMILIES | TalkingPoints holds the better App Store score, 4.8 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: FAMILIES | TalkingPoints has 92K ratings behind it against 7, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 100% of Black Forest Hills Elementary's written reviews are positive against 24% of FAMILIES | TalkingPoints's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Black Forest Hills Elementary ships an update every 14 months, FAMILIES | TalkingPoints every 3 weeks. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 6, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Black Forest Hills Elementary | FAMILIES | TalkingPoints |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.4 (7 ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/black-forest-hills-elementary/id1276605634/reviews) | **[4.8 (92K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/families-talkingpoints/id1320244591/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 7 | **92K** |
| Positive reviews | **100.0% of reviews** | 23.5% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | Every 14 months | **Every 3 weeks** |
| Monetization | Ad-supported | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | — | **#95** |
| Size | 44 MB | 44 MB |
| Requires iOS | **15.0** | 16.0 |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Black Forest Hills Elementary PTCO](https://appshunter.io/developer/1621856506) | [TalkingPoints Corp](https://appshunter.io/developer/1205379491) |

## What reviewers say

### Black Forest Hills Elementary

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/black-forest-hills-elementary/id1276605634)

Stay connected with the latest news, events, and important updates from the school. Receive push notifications, access a faculty directory, and find parent resources. Easily notify the school of absences through this communication tool.

**Highlights:** Latest news and events, Push notifications, Faculty listing, Parent resources, Absence notification

**Features:** macOS Compatibility

**In-app purchases:** none


### FAMILIES | TalkingPoints

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/families-talkingpoints/id1320244591)

**Currently charting:** #95 Top Free · Education (US App Store)

This app facilitates communication between parents and educators, allowing users to send and receive messages in their preferred language. It automatically translates messages into English for teachers, fostering greater involvement in a child's education.

**Highlights:** Parent-teacher messaging, Multilingual communication, Automatic message translation, Stay engaged in child's learning, School communication platform

**Features:** Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 👍 Great communication app
- 🚀 Easy to contact teachers
- 💡 Convenient for parents
- 🚀 Saves time on return phone calls

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 App crashes frequently
- 🐛 Buggy and glitchy
- 🐛 Logging out issues
- 🐛 Notifications not working
- 🐛 Slow to load messages

**Reported bugs**

- App crashes frequently
- Logging out issues
- Notifications not working
- Slow to load messages
- Unreliable service

**Requested features**

- Add dark mode
- Improve message organization and filtering
- Allow both parents to see conversation history
- Provide desktop/web interface
- Add time/date stamps for messages


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Black Forest Hills Elementary free?

Black Forest Hills Elementary is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Is FAMILIES | TalkingPoints free?

FAMILIES | TalkingPoints is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Black Forest Hills Elementary or FAMILIES | TalkingPoints?

FAMILIES | TalkingPoints is rated higher. Black Forest Hills Elementary averages 4.4 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while FAMILIES | TalkingPoints averages 4.8 from 92K ratings.

### Do Black Forest Hills Elementary or FAMILIES | TalkingPoints have ads?

Black Forest Hills Elementary shows ads; FAMILIES | TalkingPoints does not.

### Which is updated more often, Black Forest Hills Elementary or FAMILIES | TalkingPoints?

Black Forest Hills Elementary ships an update every 14 months, and FAMILIES | TalkingPoints every 3 weeks. Most recently, Black Forest Hills Elementary was updated on November 3, 2026 and FAMILIES | TalkingPoints on November 6, 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.*