Side by side

Be Closer vs OpenFamily

Both stand on family locator apps. Which one you can start free with, which one lets you read the code, and what each costs once you pay.

Be Closer

Free plan AndroidiPhone

Be Closer combines live location, arrival alerts, SOS sharing, and optional location history for invited circles. It has a free plan, with Premium at $3.99 a month and Family at $6.99 a month.

Visit Be Closer

OpenFamily

Free plan Open source AndroidAPIiPhone+2

OpenFamily provides household location sharing and safety tools while keeping account and location data on the operator's server. It requires self-hosting and security upkeep, and map tile providers may see which areas are viewed.

Visit OpenFamily

The facts

	Be Closer	OpenFamily
Free plan	Yes	Yes
Open source	Not published	Yes
Runs on	Android, iPhone	Android, API, iPhone, Self-hosted, Web
Lowest paid plan	Premium: $3.99 a month	Free or on request
Plans published	3	2
Maker	Not published	Not published
Website	becloser.com	openfamily.app
On family locator apps	#2 of 29	#1 of 29

Be Closer: what it does well

Invited members appear on a private live map.
One-tap SOS shares live location with the circle.
Arrival and departure alerts are available.
Free plan includes real-time location.
Available in 13 languages.

What to know first

Available only on Android and iOS.
Unlimited history and Places require Premium or Family.
Final pricing is shown in the app.

OpenFamily: what it does well

Live map displays battery, last-seen, and movement information.
Saved places can trigger arrival and departure alerts.
SOS, check-ins, and non-emergency help are available.
Detailed location history is retained for 90 days.

What to know first

Deployment requires operating a Docker Compose stack.
The operator must manage the server and PostgreSQL data.
Default map tile hosts can see the viewed area.
The app does not encrypt database rows itself.

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