Comparison

CPCO vs SM Home

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CPCO

Features
Read full description

CPCO is the professional association for Principals and Vice-Principals in Ontario’s publicly-funded Catholic school system. CPCO also offers services to individuals from other organizations, provinces and countries around the world such as: • LTD (Ontario) • Newsletters • Professional magazine (Principal Connections) • Professional Learning opportunities • Access to on-line forums and e-learning • Access to CPCO’s Annual Conference Connect with CPCO’s community and stay informed and engaged by discovering the depth of your membership with a mobile solution tailored specifically for your needs.Features include: • Users Tab: Find a list of CPCO members for easy communication. • Direct and Group Chat: Message members without ever leaving the app. • Forums: Create group discussions by posting questions or topics for the CPCO community. • Newsfeed: Stay up to date with curated content. • Resource Library: Search our database for helpful articles and guides. • Events Tab: Find a list of upcoming events, registration, and schedules.

About

SM Home

Stay connected with your child's school. This app consolidates all school communications, including phone calls, emails, and SMS messages, into a single inbox. Manage your preferences, and optionally chat with teachers or report absences.

Highlights
  • Consolidated communication inbox
  • Manage communication preferences
  • Optional chat with teachers
  • Report student absences
  • Search, sort, and filter messages
Features
Read full description

For parents/guardians and students, the easy-to-use app allows users to quickly review any broadcast sent from the SchoolMessenger service (Phone/Email/SMS) in one place, manage your communication preferences and, optionally, Chat with teachers** or report absences.** Requires WIFI or data plan for internet access. Requires SchoolMessenger Communicate service subscription by the school or district. Note: SchoolMessenger Home is used for receiving SchoolMessenger Communicate messages sent by district or school personnel. If you are a school administrator or staff member looking to send messages, please download the SM Sender App. ** Chat and Attendance options may not be available depending on your School/District Here’s what’s new in v1 Inbox: All broadcasts sent from Communicate to you (Phone/SMS/Email) will also live in the app Inbox giving you one place to easily access all communications regardless of the delivery method. You can search, sort, filter and delete any of these communications My Profile: This is where you can see your students, manage your communication preferences, Access Help and Delete Your Account Chat**: Have one on one or class group conversations with teachers Attendance**: Report your students absent from school or respond to absences not reported to the school **Optional items and may not be available to all schools

Screenshots

CPCO4 screens
SM Home4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: SM Home at monthly against CPCO's every 3 months. On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

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

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CPCO ships an update every 3 months, SM Home monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 23, 2026 and September 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard1 real difference · 9 level
CPCO versus SM Home: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCPCOSM Home
PriceFreeFree
Rating—2.1 (12 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—15.4% of reviews
Number of ratings—12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 monthsMonthly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size55 MB37 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperCatholic Principals' Council of Ontario, ThePowerSchool Group LLC

In-app purchases

None

CPCO

No in-app purchases

None

SM Home

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is CPCO free?
CPCO is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is SM Home free?
SM Home is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do CPCO or SM Home have ads?
Neither CPCO nor SM Home shows ads.
Which is updated more often, CPCO or SM Home?
CPCO ships an update every 3 months, and SM Home monthly. Most recently, CPCO was updated on September 23, 2026 and SM Home on September 24, 2026.

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