Comparison

Approach vs SoCaly

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

Head to head
About

Approach

This app helps you know when friends and family are available to connect without direct communication. It displays availability through simple color blocks and allows users to set their own status to indicate when they welcome company. Seamlessly integrates with existing calendars to visualize everyone's free time.

Highlights
  • Visualizes friend and family availability
  • Set custom 'Please Approach' status
  • Integrates with multiple calendars
  • Anonymous busy blocks option
  • Group contacts for easy management
  • Trip planning based on availability
  • Real-time status updates with friends
Features
Read full description

Connecting is hard. You want more of it — more calls that aren't about anything, more "are you around?", more someone just showing up. But you're never sure when a good time is. And sometimes you need to connect and asking is the hardest part: you don't want to interrupt, you don't want to be a bother, you don't want to say out loud that today is a lot. Approach is for that. It shows you, in simple blocks of color, when the people closest to you are free — without showing you their business. And when you'd welcome company, you set yourself to Please Approach. You don't have to ask anyone. The people you've chosen simply know: now is a good moment. Come closer. Set your availability. In the hours you'd like to connect, let the people who matter know. Your family, your friends, your support circle — everyone you add will know when to approach. WHO CAN I TALK TO RIGHT NOW? The Now screen answers one question. Everyone you've added is sorted by how approachable they are this minute: Please Approach, Available, Working, Approach with Caution, Do Not Disturb. YOUR STATUS, YOUR WAY • Automatic — worked out from your calendar and your approachable hours • Or set it by hand: Available to Approach, Please Approach (for 30 minutes, an hour, until you turn it off, or scheduled for later), Do Not Disturb • Approachable hours: weekly bands like "Work, Mon–Fri 9–5" or "Approach, evenings" that shade your week and tell people how approachable you are SEE YOUR WHOLE LIFE IN ONE PLACE Every calendar already on your iPhone — iCloud, Google, Outlook, Exchange — plus any shared calendar link. Day, 3-day, week and month views. Flip between anonymous blocks and event titles with one tap. Mark anything private and it stays private everywhere. FAMILY, FRIENDS, YOUR SUPPORT CIRCLE Add the people who matter and group them — Family, Close Friends, Work, a support group, the trip crew. Connect with someone who also has Approach and you'll see each other's real status, live; choose what you share: status only, status and hours, or anonymous busy blocks too. For anyone else, paste the calendar link they share with you. PLAN THE TRIP WITHOUT THE 80-MESSAGE THREAD A weekend away, the family reunion, a friends' trip that's been "we should really" for two years. Tap Plan, pick the group and what you're after — a day, an evening, a weekend, a long weekend, a week — and Approach lists the dates when everyone's free, then the near-misses with the one holdout named. Tap a date to see it on the grid; share the shortlist with one tap. KNOW THE MOMENT THEY'RE READY Turn on the bell for the few people it matters for, and you'll get a time-sensitive notification the moment they set Please Approach. PRIVATE BY DESIGN No account, no sign-up, no Approach servers. Your calendars are read on your device. What you choose to share with a friend is encrypted so only they can read it. Event titles, locations and notes never leave your phone. ALSO • Home Screen widget: how many people are approachable right now, and your own status • Call, Message, FaceTime or Email someone straight from their page • Pin the people you check on most FREE AND PLUS Approach is free to download, and free always includes your calendars, your status and approachable hours, the widget, up to three people and one group, connecting with friends, and sharing your status, hours and busy blocks with them. Approach Plus is a single one-time purchase — no subscription — that unlocks unlimited people and groups, Plan a trip or visit, and Hold the date. Approach is for anyone who wants more connection and less guessing. For the person living alone who'd love a knock on the door. For new parents and carers whose free minutes come without warning. For anyone far from family, anyone in recovery or leaning on a support group, anyone who has stared at a name in their contacts and thought "I don't want to bother them." You're not a bother. Let them know when to approach.

About

SoCaly

Connect with people in Southern California through a social and dating app. Discover nearby users, match, chat, and join local community discussions. Personalize your profile and control your experience with privacy tools.

Highlights
  • Discover and match with people nearby
  • Chat with messages, photos, and voice calls
  • Join local community discussions
  • Connect through county-based communities
  • Personalize your profile
  • Control privacy with blocking and reporting
Features
Read full description

SoCaly is a social and dating app built for Southern California. Discover people nearby, match and chat, join local community conversations, and connect with people across your county and beyond. With SoCaly you can: Discover and match with people in Southern California Send messages, photos, reactions, gifts, and voice calls Join local Community discussions and polls Connect with people through county-based communities Personalize your profile with photos, interests, prompts, music, gifts, and Profile Charms Control your experience with blocking, reporting, and privacy tools SoCaly is for adults 18 and older. Real connections, closer to home. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/ Privacy Policy: https://sites.google.com/view/socaly/privacypolicy

Screenshots

Approach4 screens
SoCaly4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is monetization model: Approach at free against SoCaly's freemium. SoCaly's advantage is update cadence (every 4 days vs fortnightly) and ratings volume (5 vs 1). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases 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. Approach sells 1 one-off in-app purchase and SoCaly sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per 7 days. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for Approach against 5.0 for SoCaly. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: SoCaly has 5 ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Approach ships an update fortnightly, SoCaly every 4 days. The most recent releases landed on October 20, 2026 and October 10, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Approach versus SoCaly: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterApproachSoCaly
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (5 ratings)
Positive reviews—100.0% of reviews
Number of ratings15 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 4 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree — betterFreemium
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS17.015.1 — better
Further details — not scored
Size3 MB78 MB
Age rating4+17+
DeveloperMARISA FAHRNER GIBAUDMegan Bechtold

Customer experience

Approach

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

SoCaly

All ratings5 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

1 purchases

Approach

One-time1
  • Approach Plus$4.99
6 purchases

SoCaly

Subscriptions2
  • SoCaly+ Weekly$6.997 Days
  • SoCaly+ Monthly$14.991 Month
One-time4
  • 50 SoCaly Coins$0.99
  • 150 SoCaly Coins$2.99
  • 400 SoCaly Coins$6.99
Show 1 more
  • 1000 SoCaly Coins$14.99

Questions

Is Approach free?
Approach is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SoCaly free?
SoCaly is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Approach or SoCaly?
Approach and SoCaly are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 5 ratings respectively.
Do Approach or SoCaly have ads?
Neither Approach nor SoCaly shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Approach or SoCaly?
Approach ships an update fortnightly, and SoCaly every 4 days. Most recently, Approach was updated on October 20, 2026 and SoCaly on October 10, 2026.

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