OpenFamily

Overview

OpenFamily combines 12 built-in modules, synchronized in real time across devices, for activities including shopping, tasks, calendars, budgets and recipes. That breadth can reduce the need to coordinate household routines across separate apps. Its AGPL-3.0 license and self-hosting option will appeal to families who want to run the service themselves, while OpenFamily Cloud offers a managed route with data hosted in France and no ads or tracking.

Key features

Shopping lists include automatic categories, prices, quantities and reusable templates, with real-time item ticking while shopping. Those details make the lists useful for coordinating a shop as well as remembering what to buy. Shared tasks and reminders help cover household follow-through, not just planning.

The calendar supports recurring and all-day appointments, up to five reminders per appointment, Google, Outlook and iCloud calendars, and .ics imports. It can therefore accommodate existing schedules and varied reminder needs without limiting each appointment to a single alert. Push notifications for appointments and tasks can arrive in each member's language, even when the app is closed.

Meal planning connects weekly views with recipes, can import Tandoor meal plans and exports the week's plan as a PDF. Family profiles store health information, allergies, vaccines and emergency contacts for each member, a useful household reference that goes beyond scheduling. Integrations with Mealie, Tandoor, Home Assistant, Grocy and Nextcloud make OpenFamily more attractive to households already using those tools.

Pricing

The free Self-hosted plan is free and stays free forever. It keeps data with the household, but Docker is required except when using the Windows installer. That makes it the right fit for technically comfortable families willing to operate their own deployment; the zero subscription price does not remove the setup and hosting responsibility.

OpenFamily Cloud costs 3.90 €/month per family. One subscription covers the whole household and includes automatic updates and backups, data hosted in France, and the option to export and switch to self-hosting. It is the simpler choice for families who do not want to run the service, in exchange for a recurring household fee. Both plans address the same choice—self-managed infrastructure or hosted convenience—rather than a per-member subscription.

Platforms

OpenFamily supports Android, iOS, web, Windows, API access and self-hosting. Windows has an all-in-one installer that bundles Node.js and PostgreSQL, while Android is distributed as an APK. Self-hosting uses Docker Compose to launch PostgreSQL, an Express server and an Nginx frontend, making it available on a local network or production domain. The Windows installer lowers the barrier for that platform, but Docker remains part of the self-hosting route elsewhere.

Who it's for

OpenFamily is a strong candidate for families wanting one place for household coordination, especially those who value the mix of shared shopping, calendar, meal planning and family profiles. Self-hosting makes it suited to households prepared to manage their own service; Cloud suits those who prefer automatic updates and backups. Families seeking a setup that avoids both deployment work and a recurring fee may find its two routes a poor fit.

Pros and cons

• Pro: Twelve real-time synchronized modules bring multiple household activities together, rather than focusing on a single shared calendar or list.
• Pro: Calendar reminders, external calendar connections and .ics imports support households with established schedules and different notification needs.
• Pro: The free self-hosted route and the 3.90 €/month per family Cloud plan give households a clear choice between keeping data on their own infrastructure and paying for managed hosting.
• Con: Self-hosting requires Docker except on Windows, so the free plan is not the low-effort option for every household.
• Con: Cloud requires an ongoing household subscription, which may not suit families seeking managed hosting without a recurring cost.

Alternatives

For a wider shortlist, browse Family Calendar Apps. Consider Famnest if you want a free plan with shared to-dos, a family calendar, chores and routines, meal-planning basics and recipes, or need macOS support. Ahenora is another freemium option with a 14-day free period followed by a free plan for two adults, covering tasks, calendar, shared lists, family chat and reminders.

Equal House may suit households looking for fairness tools: its free plan includes a Fairness Engine and Auto-Balance, but calendar, meals and parties are limited to a three-day horizon. Choose Fami if its listed free core—shared calendar, chores, shopping list, budget and family places—matches your priorities. Cozi offers a free shared family calendar, automatic notifications, shared grocery and to-do lists, and a recipe library.

FamilyDash has a free plan capped at one connected calendar and one reminder per event, so it may suit a household whose planning needs fit those limits. Famnly is an iOS-only alternative with a free plan for one managed member. Famora offers a free plan covering shared calendars, shopping lists, todos and chore charts, and meal planning.

Verdict

Choose OpenFamily if your household wants a broad, synchronized organizer and values the option to keep the service on infrastructure you manage. Its strongest reason to choose it is the combination of household modules, calendar flexibility and self-hosting or French-hosted Cloud. Look elsewhere if you need to avoid both Docker-based setup and a recurring managed-hosting fee.