How caregiving circles work

A caring circle is a shared space for everyone helping look after one loved one — your mom, your dad, a grandparent, a partner. Instead of group texts and sticky notes, the circle holds the plan in one place where every family member can see it, contribute to it, and pick up tasks they can take on.

Here's the shape of it.

One circle, one loved one

Each circle centers on a single care recipient — the person being cared for. The other people in the circle are members: family, close friends, or anyone helping with their care. There's always one admin (usually whoever set up the circle) who can invite new members, change roles, and remove people if needed.

If you're caring for two parents who need separate coordination — or for a parent and a grandparent — that's where multiple circles come in. More on that below.

The three pillars

Most of what happens in a circle fits into three buckets:

The shared calendar ties them all together — every task and appointment shows up in one view, color-coded by who's doing what. On Circle Essentials you can also subscribe your phone or computer's calendar app to it, so events flow into the same place you check every day.

Roles and permissions

Most decisions in a circle are collaborative — anyone can post a task, claim one, or comment. But two things are admin-only: inviting and removing members, and changing the circle's plan or settings. If you're the original creator, you start as admin. You can promote another member to admin anytime — useful if the primary caregiver shifts or you want a backup admin.

What you can do on Free vs. Essentials

The Free plan covers a single circle with up to 3 members, 4 tasks per month, and 1 active appointment. It's enough for a small family handling occasional coordination.

Circle Essentials ($12/mo or $120/yr) is built for families actively coordinating real care: up to 8 members per circle, unlimited tasks and appointments, calendar feeds, appointment notes, and 50 saved locations. For a full breakdown, see our pricing page.

When you need more than one circle

Some families care for more than one loved one — both parents, or a parent and a grandparent — and the coordination doesn't always overlap. Mom's care team is different from Dad's care team. Different doctors, different in-laws, different appointments.

For that, Essentials subscribers can add more circles for $6.99/mo each (up to 2 additional, 3 total). Each circle has its own members, tasks, and calendar, but you manage them all from one account with one bill.