Groupchat by Chatbooks vs thingz
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Groupchat by Chatbooks
Organize conversations with topic-based rooms and share media seamlessly. Plan events, create shared notes, and enjoy secure, private messaging. Turn memories into photo books with integrated printing.
- Topic-based chat rooms
- Direct messaging
- High-quality media sharing
- Event planning and reminders
- Shared notes for important info
- Customizable group color schemes
- Seamless integration with Chatbooks
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Your people. Your moments. Stay connected with your groups using Groupchat, the best messaging app for families and other groups. Features include topic-based rooms, direct messaging, and seamless media sharing across all devices. Whether you're coordinating schedules, sharing photos, or just staying in touch, Groupchat keeps it all organized. ORGANIZED CONVERSATIONS, NO MORE SCROLLING Tired of losing track of important messages? Groupchat lets you organize chats by topic, making it easy to find recipes, trip plans, and more. Create Rooms (like channels on Slack or Discord) but with a friendly and clean layout, Groupchat is built specifically for families. SECURE, PRIVATE MESSAGING Your conversations are safe with military-grade security. We never sell your data, giving you privacy that rivals platforms like Signal and Telegram, without sacrificing family-friendly ease. SHARE PHOTOS, VIDEOS & AUDIO WITH EASE No more blurry images or broken videos. Groupchat ensures high-quality media sharing across all devices—like GroupMe or WhatsApp, but built for families. Send audio messages as well! CREATE EVENTS & REMEMBER BIRTHDAYS Plan gatherings and never miss another birthday with Groupchat's Events feature. Set shared reminders and keep everyone in the loop—no more scattered group texts. Polls help get everyone on the same page. SHARED NOTES TO KEEP YOUR GROUP ORGANIZED Need a place for emergency contacts, babysitter info, or grocery lists? Shared Notes make it easy to store and update important details, accessible to everyone in your family or group. MULTIPLE GROUPS, MULTIPLE COLOR SCHEMES Switch between different family groups effortlessly. Customize each group's color scheme so you always know which group you're chatting with. REPLY, REACT, AND KEEP THE CONVERSATION GOING Add emojis, start message threads, and keep the group connected. Whether it's a quick heart or a detailed response, Groupchat makes staying engaged effortless. NO ADS, NO SPAM No distractions, no noise. Just a private, invite-only space for your family or group to connect. PRINT MEMORIES DIRECTLY WITH CHATBOOKS Turn your favorite moments into beautiful photo books. Groupchat integrates seamlessly with Chatbooks, making it easy to preserve memories with just a few taps. Why Families and other Groups Choose Groupchat • Organized, topic-based chats • Safe and secure messaging • Easy event planning and shared notes • Multiple groups with custom themes • High-quality media sharing
thingz
Organize and rediscover your saved content from various apps and websites. Easily share recommendations with friends and discover what they're saving. Never forget a great find again.
- Centralized saving from multiple sources
- Automatic organization of saved content
- Content resurfacing at opportune times
- Easy sharing of recommendations
- Discover friends' saved content
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Welcome to thingz. Most of what you save gets lost. That restaurant you wanted to try. That product you meant to buy. That idea you swore you'd remember. Buried in screenshots, saved posts, and browser tabs. Rediscover what you save with thingz. Find it when it matters and recommend what works with the people you trust. How it works: — Save from anywhere: Capture places, products, videos, links, and ideas from the apps you already use — Stay organized automatically: Saves are sorted into searchable collections, no filing required — Create from real experiences: Turn a place, product, or moment you've actually tried into a recommendation worth sharing — Add context: Save notes, photos, and details so you remember why something mattered when you come back to it — Find it when you need it: Your Loop resurfaces what you saved at the right time — Recommend what works: Share places, products, and experiences you've tried and loved Save it. Try it. Recommend it. Built on real experiences, ready when you need them.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: Groupchat by Chatbooks at free against thingz's free with in-app purchases. Groupchat by Chatbooks also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (15.6 vs 18.0). thingz's advantage is update cadence (every 8 days vs monthly) and review sentiment (58% vs 49%). On price, rating, ratings volume and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for Groupchat by Chatbooks against 4.8 for thingz. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 348 and 821 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 49% of Groupchat by Chatbooks's written reviews are positive against 58% of thingz's.
Groupchat by Chatbooks ships an update monthly, thingz every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on November 7, 2026 and November 4, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Groupchat by Chatbooks | thingz |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (348 ratings) | 4.8 (821 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 48.8% of reviews | 57.9% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 348 | 821 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 8 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Free with in-app purchases |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 — better | 18.0 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 50 MB | 283 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 12+ |
| Developer | Chatbooks, Inc. | Likepost |
Customer experience
Groupchat by Chatbooks
thingz
Bugs and requests
Groupchat by Chatbooks
Reported bugs
16 issues- Unable to send pictures
- Family members not showing up
- Spinning circle on login
- Room not showing up after creation
- Error message when creating duplicate room
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- Unable to open specific rooms after update
- App not working on iPhone
- Shows new posts that aren't there
- Mark all as read button not working
- Report a bug feature not working
- App crashes on launch (macOS)
- Unable to get past verification code
- New update makes interface awkward/ugly
- Doesn't open to rooms tab
- Taking away reactions
- Annoying reply/reaction notification
Requested features
11 requests- Admin option to manage groups
- Ability to add/remove members from groups
- Search icon for rooms and content
- Ability to lock rooms directly
- Multiple "fam menus" for different groups
Show 6 moreShow fewer
- Ability to delete rooms (not just archive)
- Create polls within groups
- Ability to change group icons/colors
- Read receipt functionality
- Support for video messages
- Dark mode option
thingz
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Groupchat by Chatbooks
No in-app purchases
thingz
No in-app purchases









