Grove vs Cheddar Up
Collect the dues, or run the whole reunion.
Grove is one connected place to plan the reunion, organize the family, manage who is coming and paying, and keep what happens afterward. Cheddar Up is a strong, simple way to collect money, forms and sign-ups from a group. If you are looking for a Cheddar Up alternative to collect reunion dues, here is how they compare, with every Cheddar Up detail taken from Cheddar Up's own pages.
About Cheddar Up
Cheddar Up is an online payment and fundraising platform that helps groups collect money, forms and sign-ups in one place. Payers need no app or account and can always pay as a guest. Groups use it for dues, donations, event tickets and merchandise, and reunions are one of its listed uses.
About Grove
Grove is one connected place for a reunion. Plan it (invite page, schedule, budget, tasks). Organize the family (households, branches and a family tree). Manage participation (RSVPs, card payments with Essentials, schedule, committees and group chat). Then keep what happens afterward: memories, recorded stories and a handoff to the next organizer.
| Feature | Cheddar Up | Grove |
|---|---|---|
| Reunion setup | Reunions are a listed use; you build a general collection page rather than a reunion planLimited or plan-dependentSource: cheddarup.com | Free to start; can read an old flier to fill in the details |
| Family and class reunions | Not publicly verifiedNot publicly verifiedSource: cheddarup.com | Family reunions, plus class, church and other group types |
| Invitations and RSVP | An Events feature covers tickets, RSVPs and check-in; ticketing is listed under the Team planLimited or plan-dependentSource: cheddarup.com, /pricing | Invite page, a personal link for each guest, household RSVPs |
| Households | Not publicly verifiedNot publicly verifiedSource: cheddarup.com | Household RSVPs and headcounts, family branches |
| Payment tracking | Dues, donations, tickets and merchandise with automatic tracking and reporting; cash and check payments tracked freeVerified availableSource: cheddarup.com, comparison page | Payment tracking for cash, check and payment apps (Essentials and up) |
| Online payments and fees | Card and eCheck payments with free bank withdrawals. Per Cheddar Up's comparison page: cards 3.95% + $0.95 on Basic, 3.59% + $0.59 on Pro and Team; fees go to the payer by default, and the organizer can cover them or let payers chooseVerified availableSource: comparison page, /pricing | Card checkout at RSVP on Essentials and up. Grove fee per card payment: 1.5% + $0.49 on Essentials, 0.75% + $0.29 on Pro, separate from standard card processing. No Grove fee on payments recorded by hand |
| Schedule, activities and polls | Forms and sign-ups. Schedule and polls: not publicly verifiedNot publicly verifiedSource: cheddarup.com | Schedule, polls and a potluck board (Free) |
| Committees and volunteers | Ad-free volunteer sign-ups, with or without payment; one form or sign-up per page on Free. Committee roles: not publicly verifiedLimited or plan-dependentSource: cheddarup.com, /pricing | A treasurer and up to 3 co-organizers on Essentials; up to 10 co-organizers and 20 committees on Pro |
| Family communication | A Message Center under Share and Communicate; details not statedLimited or plan-dependentSource: cheddarup.com | Family Feed, group chat and direct messages, email reminders |
| Video meetings | Not publicly verifiedNot publicly verifiedSource: cheddarup.com | No video on Free (new signups) or Essentials. Pro includes 2 video hours in total; Grove Live plans add more |
| Family tree and memories | Not publicly verifiedNot publicly verifiedSource: cheddarup.com | Family tree, Story Circle with voice answers, memories and a post-reunion capsule |
| AI planning help | Not publicly verifiedNot publicly verifiedSource: cheddarup.com | Auntie, a premium AI helper, on a monthly plan ($12, $29, $49 a month) |
| Phone experience | Payers need no app. A Cheddar Up app: not publicly verifiedNot publicly verifiedSource: cheddarup.com | Works in the phone browser; guests RSVP from their link with no account |
| Privacy and ads | Sign-ups are described as ad-free. Privacy policy: not publicly verifiedLimited or plan-dependentSource: cheddarup.com | A private family space with no ads inside Grove |
| Pricing | Free Forever $0; Pro $15 a month and Team $35 a month, billed annually; Partner customVerified availableSource: cheddarup.com/pricing | Free; Essentials $79 or Pro $149, once per reunion; Annual $299 a year |
| After the reunion | Paid plans cancel anytime and drop to the free Basic plan. Data retention: not publicly verifiedNot publicly verifiedSource: cheddarup.com/pricing | Essentials and Pro never expire; the Family Feed stays open after the reunion, with a handoff for the next organizer |
Cheddar Up details verified on November 9, 2026 from Cheddar Up's own public pages (see Sources below). "Not publicly verified" means we did not find it on those pages, not that Cheddar Up lacks it.
Pricing
Cheddar Up
- Free Forever: $0. Unlimited pages to collect payments, forms and sign-ups, up to 5 items per page, 1 form or sign-up per page.
- Pro: $15 a month, billed annually. Unlimited forms and sign-ups per page.
- Team: $35 a month, billed annually. Adds ticketing, a group website, waitlists and integrations.
- Partner: custom pricing.
- Card fees per Cheddar Up's comparison page: 3.95% + $0.95 on Basic, 3.59% + $0.59 on Pro and Team. eCheck, per the same page: 1.59% (minimum $1) on Pro, a flat $0.95 on Team, not offered on Basic. By default the payer pays the fee; the organizer can absorb it or let payers choose. Cheddar Up's fees page did not load for our check, so confirm current rates with Cheddar Up.
- Cash and check payments are tracked free, and withdrawals to your bank are free.
Grove
- Free: $0. Planning, invite page, roster and household RSVPs, schedule, polls, potluck, family tree, stories and memories.
- Essentials: $79 once per reunion. Card checkout at RSVP, payment tracking, a treasurer and co-organizers. Grove fee of 1.5% + $0.49 per card payment, separate from standard card processing.
- Pro: $149 once per reunion. Everything in Essentials, a lower Grove card fee (0.75% + $0.29) and 2 video hours of video meetings in total.
- Grove Annual: $299 a year, Pro for up to 3 reunions each paid year.
- Grove Live video plans: $39 or $79 a month for one reunion.
- Auntie (premium AI helper): $12, $29, $49 a month per family.
- No Grove fee on payments you record by hand. No video on Free (new signups) or Essentials.
Pricing verified 2026-11-09. Cheddar Up plan prices are from cheddarup.com/pricing on that date; card and eCheck rates are as stated on Cheddar Up's comparison page on that date, because its fees page did not load for our check. Grove prices are Grove's current published prices. Prices change, so check each product's pricing page before you buy.
Strengths
Cheddar Up
- -A free plan with unlimited collection pages.
- -Payers never need an account; they can always pay as a guest.
- -Cash and check payments are tracked free, next to card payments.
- -Sign-ups with or without payment, and free withdrawals to your bank.
- -Simple and quick for any group that mainly needs to collect money.
Grove
- -One connected place: planning, the family roster, RSVPs, payments, chat and memories share the same records, so nothing is copied between tools.
- -Organizes the family itself: households RSVP together, branches show headcounts, and the family tree lives next to the guest list.
- -Manages participation: a personal RSVP link for each guest with no account, card checkout at RSVP on Essentials ($79 per reunion), schedule, polls, potluck, committees and group chat.
- -Keeps what happens afterward: memories, Story Circle with voice answers, a post-reunion capsule and a handoff brief for the next organizer.
- -A generous Free plan: planning, invite page, household RSVPs, schedule, polls, potluck, family tree, stories and memories.
- -Reunion dues are tied to each household's RSVP, so the treasurer sees who is coming and who has paid in the same list.
Limits to know about
Cheddar Up
- -Reunions are one listed use, served by a general collection page rather than reunion tools.
- -Households, family branches, a schedule, polls, a family tree and group conversation were not found on the pages we read.
- -Ticketing and a group website are on the Team plan.
Grove
- -Card checkout needs Essentials ($79) or Pro ($149), and each card payment carries a Grove fee on top of standard card processing.
- -Video meetings are not on Free (new signups) or Essentials; Pro includes 2 video hours in total, and more needs a monthly Grove Live plan.
- -Auntie, the AI helper, is a premium monthly plan, not part of Free, Essentials or Pro.
- -Grove does a lot, so there is more to learn than a single event page.
Who each one fits best
Cheddar Up fits best if
- -You mainly need to collect dues, donations or tickets from a group
- -You want payers to pay as guests with no account
- -Your group is a PTA, team or club as much as a family
Grove fits best if
- ✓You want the plan, the family and its history in one place instead of four apps
- ✓Households RSVP together and you want headcounts by branch
- ✓You collect reunion fees and want to see who has paid, in cash, check, payment apps or card
- ✓Your family gathers again and again and you want each reunion to start where the last one ended
- ✓You want reunion dues, RSVPs, the schedule and the family conversation in one place instead of a payment page plus everything else
Collecting dues is one job. A reunion has many.
If all you need is a simple way to collect money from a group, Cheddar Up does that well and has a free plan.
If you want to collect reunion dues inside the same place where the family RSVPs, plans the weekend and keeps its history, start a Grove reunion free and see how it fits.
Start your reunion freeSources
Every Cheddar Up detail on this page comes from these public pages, read on the dates shown. Grove details come from Grove's own pricing and feature records.
- cheddarup.com (home page) (checked November 9, 2026)
- cheddarup.com/pricing (checked November 9, 2026)
- Cheddar Up's comparison page (vs GiveBacks) (checked November 9, 2026)