Crews vs BAND
BAND is a long-established group communication app used by teams, clubs, classes and families. It combines a posts board, a group calendar, chat and photo albums in one app.
Crews overlaps with BAND more than most chat apps do. The differences are emphasis and price: Crews is a paid tool for organizers, built around plans and the social life of a club, with a chat for every event, a memory wall, and leagues where crews compete in challenges.
Who should pick BAND, who should pick Crews
Pick BAND if…
- You want a board-style group with announcements and posts
- You prefer a well-established app with native mobile apps
- Your group is used to BAND already
- You want a free app for a team, class or family
Pick Crews if…
- You want every event to have its own real-time chat
- You want one personal calendar across all your crews
- You want friendly competition with other groups
- You want a lightweight web app that installs to the home screen
At a glance
Shared calendar
- Crews
- Shared crew calendar, plus a personal calendar across all your crews
- BAND
- Group calendar
Event RSVPs
- Crews
- Going / maybe / not going, capacity limits, invite-only events
- BAND
- Attendance responses on scheduled events
Event chat
- Crews
- Every event gets its own chat
- BAND
- Discussed in posts or group chat
Group chat
- Crews
- Real-time crew chat with threads, reactions, @mentions and pinned messages
- BAND
- Group chat alongside a posts board
Polls
- Crews
- Polls right in crew and event chat
- BAND
- Polls and votes
Photo memories
- Crews
- Memory wall; turn any chat photo into a memory
- BAND
- Photo albums
Leagues & challenges
- Crews
- Leagues by crew size and crew-vs-crew challenges
- BAND
- Not built around group-vs-group competition
Push notifications
- Crews
- In-app and web push notifications
- BAND
- Mobile notifications
Invite links
- Crews
- Expiring, role-based invite links and join requests
- BAND
- Invite links
Native apps
- Crews
- Installable web app (PWA), no app store needed
- BAND
- Mobile and desktop apps
Price
- Crews
- 14-day free trial, then $59/mo per crew
- BAND
- Free to use
Key differences
- 1
Board vs plans
BAND is organized around a board of posts, with a calendar and chat alongside. Crews is organized around events, each with RSVPs, capacity limits and its own chat.
- 2
Across all your groups
Crews gives every member a personal calendar that combines events from all their crews, with ICS export to the calendar app they already use.
- 3
Maturity
BAND has been around for years and has native apps. Crews is newer and runs as an installable web app. If you want a proven, mature app, that counts in BAND’s favor.
- 4
Leagues and challenges
Crews places crews in leagues by size and lets them challenge each other with memory submissions, with size-weighted voting. It’s a light way to keep a group engaged.
When BAND is the better choice
BAND is a solid, mature choice for many groups.
- Groups that prefer announcement-style posts on a board
- Groups that want native app-store apps
- Teams, classes or families already set up on BAND
Moving your group from BAND
If you’re moving from BAND, focus on getting upcoming events and people over first.
- 1.Create your crew and choose public or private. Private crews are joined by invite link or approved join request.
- 2.Add the next few upcoming plans to the crew calendar, so there is something to RSVP to on day one.
- 3.Post a link to your crew on your BAND board and pin it as an announcement.
- 4.Make one or two trusted members moderators so organizing isn’t all on you.
- 5.Re-share a few favorite photos to the memory wall.
- 6.Ask members to install Crews to their home screen and turn on push notifications, so they don’t miss new events.
The verdict
BAND is a mature, well-rounded group app, and it's free to use, which makes it the better pick for families, classes and casual teams. Crews is the pick if you run a club whose life is about plans and you want event chat, a cross-crew calendar, memories and a bit of friendly rivalry, at $59/month per crew after a 14-day trial.
Start 14-day free trialFrequently asked questions
Is Crews a BAND alternative?
Yes, especially for social groups built around meeting up. Crews covers calendar, RSVPs, chat, polls and photos, with leagues and challenges on top.
Does Crews have a native app?
Crews is an installable web app. Add it to your home screen from the browser and turn on push notifications.
Can I export events to my phone’s calendar?
Yes. Crews supports ICS export so events can go into the calendar app you already use.
Can we import our BAND posts or albums?
No, there’s no import. Most groups start with upcoming events and a few favorite photos.
How much does Crews cost?
Every crew starts with a 14-day free trial, no card needed. After that it’s $59/month per crew, paid by the organizer, and members join free. That includes up to 100 members; each extra 100 members is +$18/month. Billing is monthly and you can cancel anytime. Full details are on the pricing page (/pricing).
Comparison based on publicly available information as of September 2026; features change — check each product's site. Product names are trademarks of their respective owners.