Gumb vs. WhatsApp

Gumb is a scheduling app that clubs, teams, businesses and organizations use instead of or alongside WhatsApp groups. Every event sits in one calendar, members RSVP with one click, and Gumb sends reminders automatically. Gumb runs on iOS, Android and the web and is free for members.

Gumb. You plan shifts and duties in Gumb just like events, in a club as well as in a business: employees and volunteers sign up themselves or get assigned, and everyone sees at a glance who is on when. Reminders and RSVP deadlines work for shifts too.

Yes. Businesses and companies use Gumb wherever schedules, assignments and RSVPs matter, for example for shifts, duties, trainings, meetings or company events. Departments, roles and permissions keep teams cleanly apart, and attendance can be exported to Excel or CSV. A WhatsApp group runs on private phone numbers and a chat history where RSVPs get lost.

WhatsApp is a messenger, Gumb is a scheduling app for clubs, businesses, teams and organizations. In a WhatsApp group, single events sit in the chat history. Gumb keeps every event of every group in one calendar, with RSVP deadlines, automatic reminders, planned absences, attendance statistics and exports. Gumb has one-on-one chats and chat rooms too.

Because WhatsApp events have clear limits according to the WhatsApp Help Center: only one person can create and edit an event, new members can't see events created before they joined, and events can't be forwarded to another chat. In Gumb, several admins and group leaders plan together, and new members see all upcoming events of their groups right away.

The official WhatsApp Help Center only describes single events and does not mention a series feature. For weekly practices, rehearsals, meetings or shifts, you create every event one by one in WhatsApp. In Gumb, you create recurring events as a series, with your own event types, colors and defaults.

Only once: according to the WhatsApp Help Center, people who answer Going or Maybe get a notification when the event starts. Anyone who hasn't answered gets no reminder. Gumb sends up to 2 reminders per event by push, email and in the app, and works with RSVP deadlines.

The official WhatsApp Help Center does not describe calendar sync for events. In Gumb, every member connects their own calendar with Google, Apple or Outlook, and all events show up there automatically.

According to the WhatsApp Help Center, groups can have up to 1,024 members. A community brings together up to 100 groups and up to 2,000 members in total, and only community admins can send announcements.

No. WhatsApp groups run on every member's phone number. In Gumb, you sign up with an email address or with Apple, Google or Facebook. Managed accounts, for example for children or seniors, don't even need an email address. Gumb sends no SMS codes. A phone number in the profile is optional, and every member decides for themselves. Organizations get a data processing agreement (DPA) under the GDPR.

WhatsApp is free; there are optional subscriptions, for example to remove ads in Status and Channels. Gumb Pro costs $149 per year or $16 per month and includes 20 group planners and 100 members in one organization. Premium plans for more groups and members start at $269 per year. Gumb is free for members; only the organization pays.

A WhatsApp group is enough if you mainly want to chat privately; if you don't need deadlines, reminders or statistics; or if you only plan the odd one-off event. Gumb fits you if you want to organize your events professionally; if you want an overview of every event, especially recurring ones; if you want to see who is in and who is out at a glance; or if you want to set RSVP deadlines and send reminders automatically.

WhatsApp: Android, iPhone, web, Windows and Mac. Gumb: iOS, Android and web.

Yes, many combine both: Gumb for organizing, WhatsApp for private chats. You share events straight to WhatsApp and post the Gumb invite link in your existing group.

In three steps: set up your organization with teams, notifications and colors, usually in 1 to 2 hours. Then plan single events and series, or import them. Finally, add your members in advance and invite them by link or email, so everyone sees their events right away. During the 2 free months you can run Gumb alongside WhatsApp.