# Groups vs OptiMIS

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: OptiMIS at none against Groups's 13. OptiMIS also leads on ads (none vs shown) and iOS requirement (12.0 vs 17.6). On price, update cadence and device support there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Groups sells 11 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. OptiMIS asks for nothing beyond the download.

Groups ships an update every 8 days, OptiMIS every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on September 29, 2026 and September 12, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | Groups | OptiMIS |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | **[4.2 (4.9K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/groups/id407855546/reviews)** | — |
| Number of ratings | **4.9K** | — |
| Positive reviews | 75.7% of reviews | — |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | Yes | **No** |
| Update frequency | **Every 8 days** | Every 2 weeks |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | — |
| Size | 146 MB | 42 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **12.0** |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | **iPhone, iPad, iPod** |
| Age rating | 4+ | 17+ |
| Developer | [Qbix, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/406865714) | [SAVITRIYA TECHNOLOGIES PRIVATE LIMITED](https://appshunter.io/developer/880570911) |

## What reviewers say

### Groups

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/groups/id407855546)

This app transforms your phone's contacts into a private social network. Organize people, share updates, and stay connected without sharing your data with large tech companies. It offers features for communication, event planning, and contact management.

**Highlights:** Organize contacts into custom groups, Set reminders to reach out, Send personalized group messages, Create events and invite guests, Share content from any app, Data privacy focused

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Safari Extension

**In-app purchases (11)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Unlock All Features | $0.99 | per month |
| Plus | $1.99 | per month |
| Premium | $2.99 | per month |
| Turn off Ads | $1.99 | one-time |
| Turn off Ads | $4.99 | one-time |
| + 500 icons | $5.99 | one-time |
| Unlock All Features | $5.99 | one-time |
| + I just like your app | $9.99 | one-time |
| Unlock All Features | $9.99 | one-time |
| + I just like your app | $14.99 | one-time |
| + I really love your app! | $19.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Easy to use
- 👍 Helpful for organizing contacts
- 🚀 Efficient for group messaging
- 👍 Customizable groups

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Crashes and freezes
- 🐛 Unreliable sync and data loss
- 🐛 Buggy updates
- 👎 Poor customer support
- 👎 Confusing UI changes

**Reported bugs**

- Groups disappearing
- Contacts not syncing properly
- Inability to create new groups
- Freezing and crashing on certain actions

**Requested features**

- Ability to delete groups and contacts
- Improved group management and sorting
- Option to send mass texts without individual replies
- Better integration with native contacts app


### OptiMIS

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/optimis/id6503255962)

**In-app purchases:** none


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Groups free?

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

### Is OptiMIS free?

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

### Do Groups or OptiMIS have ads?

Groups shows ads; OptiMIS does not.

### Which is updated more often, Groups or OptiMIS?

Groups ships an update every 8 days, and OptiMIS every 2 weeks. Most recently, Groups was updated on September 29, 2026 and OptiMIS on September 12, 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.*