Mailicity / A GrandPad alternative

For families shopping the senior-tablet category

The GrandPad alternative that works on the iPad you already have.

You don't need to buy your parent a new tablet. Mailicity gives the iPad on their bedside table the same calm, allowlisted experience GrandPad delivers, on the device they already know.

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Free during early access · No new hardware · Works with their existing email

on the bedside table,
where they left it.

Already here

Mailicity

Your messages

Sarah

daughter · this morning

Eli

grandson · yesterday

Tom

son · on Monday

Ruth

sister · last week

Write a message

· · ·

§Section 1 · The honest version

What GrandPad is, in plain terms.

~175,000

families · today

average user age

$299

hardware · once

$40/mo

service plan

GrandPad is a well-built product. It's a locked-down Android tablet, designed specifically for older adults, with a curated app set: phone calls, video, photos, simplified email, a few games, a customer support button. They cost $299 from Consumer Cellular, plus $40 a month for the service plan. About 175,000 families use one, with an average user age of 82. Many of those families love it.

For some situations, GrandPad is genuinely the right answer. If your parent doesn't have a tablet, or wants the always-on cellular connection so there's no Wi-Fi to manage, or values the included video-calling and US-based customer support, the bundle is worth the money.

For most families, though, it's overkill.

¶Section 2 · Why a different answer

Three reasons it comes up.

These come up over and over when adult children ask us for a GrandPad alternative.

i. The cost.

$299 up front plus $40 a month is roughly $780 in the first year, and $1,260 over three years. A lot of that is paying for the hardware and the cellular plan, not the software experience. If your parent already has Wi-Fi at home and an iPad sitting on the kitchen bench (most do — they got one for Christmas a few years back), you're paying twice for things you already have.

GrandPad · year-one

Hardware (once)$299
Service · 12 × $40$480

First year $780

Three years $1,260

— before you've sent a single email.

ii. The new device.

Adopting GrandPad means asking the person you look after to give up the iPad they've been using and learn a different tablet. For people whose memory is already under strain, that's not a free transition. The iPad on the bedside table works — they know how to turn it on, where the volume buttons are, that the case opens this way. Throwing that out for a new device, even a simpler one, is a real cost.

iii. The new email address.

GrandPad's email runs through their own ecosystem. Their existing Gmail or Outlook address doesn't come with them. So their doctor, their bank, their sister all need to update their address books — or the old email keeps arriving on the iPad, the GrandPad email goes unused, and you've solved nothing.

✶Section 3 · A different shape of answer

How Mailicity is different.

Mailicity is a software-only answer to the same problem.

The iPad they already have.

Any iPad. The one you bought them three Christmases ago. No new hardware, no charging dock to find a home for, no cellular plan to manage.

The email account they already have.

Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, anything with IMAP. The address everyone writes to them at — the one they fill in on forms at the doctor's — keeps working.

iii

The protective bit.

Only people you've approved reach their inbox. Strangers, marketing, scam emails — they land in your queue, you decide what reaches them. The same outcome GrandPad gives you, on a device they already know.

We don't do video calling, photos, games, or a customer support button. GrandPad does all of those, and if you need them, GrandPad's worth a look. We do one thing very well: a calm, dignified, allowlisted email inbox on a tablet they already know how to use.

⌗Section 4 · Side-by-side

For the scrollers, then.

The two products, honestly compared — strengths included on both sides. Pick whichever fits your family.

	Software · only Mailicity The iPad they already have, made calmer.	Hardware + service GrandPad A complete bundle in one box.
Hardware	None — works on any iPad	Dedicated Android tablet · $299
Monthly cost	Free during early accessconsumer pricing TBD	$40 / month
Total year-one cost	$0 (early access)	$780
Email	Wraps their existing account Gmail · iCloud · Outlook · IMAP	New address through GrandPad
Allowlist protection	Yes	Yes
Video calls	FaceTime or Zoom on the same iPad	Built-in
Photo sharing	Built into existing email	Built-in
Customer support	Email; phone for paid customers	24/7 US-based phone
Family admin	Web app, sibling co-admin, audit log	GrandPad Companion App
Setup time	Five minutes, no new device	Order, wait, set up, learn the device
Strength	Fits onto the device that's already there, and only solves the email problem.	A complete senior-tablet bundle — everything in one box.

⁂Section 5 · Why we built this differently

An honest version.

When I was figuring out how to keep my Mum's email calm after she moved into an aged-care home, GrandPad was on the shortlist. The reason we didn't go with it was simple — the iPad was already on her bedside table, she knew where the volume buttons were, she knew how the case opened. We couldn't bring ourselves to ask her to give that up and learn a new device.

GrandPad isn't wrong. There's room for a software-only answer to the same problem, for the millions of families whose parent already has an iPad and just needs the email part to get calmer.

— Steve Founder · Mailicity

A note about Consumer Cellular

GrandPad is sold by Consumer Cellular, who also run the cellular plan. That bundle is great if your parent doesn't already have home internet — the tablet works anywhere there's mobile coverage. If your parent does have Wi-Fi at home, you're paying for connectivity twice. Worth knowing before you compare prices.

The iPad on their bedside table is enough.

Set up Mailicity in five minutes. Free during early access. No new hardware.

Start your free trial →

Works with Gmail, iCloud, Outlook, and standard IMAP · Designed in Australia · Built by a son for his Mum

?Questions, answered

For families comparing the two.

Do I have to buy a new iPad?

No. Mailicity works on any iPad your parent already has. We're iPad-first because that's the most common tablet in homes — Android tablet support is coming.

Will my parent still get their existing emails?

Yes. Mailicity wraps their existing email account. Anything from approved contacts goes straight to their Mailicity inbox; everything else goes to your review queue. Their email address stays the same.

Does Mailicity do video calls?

No — we deliberately don't. Use FaceTime, Zoom, or Microsoft Teams on the same iPad for video. Mailicity is just for the inbox.

How does GrandPad's customer support compare?

GrandPad's 24/7 US-based phone support is genuinely good and is a major reason families pick them. Mailicity's support is currently email-based; phone support is on the roadmap for paid customers.

Can multiple siblings co-administer?

Yes, on both products. Mailicity has an audit log so you can see who in the family approved or rejected which message.

What if I want to switch from GrandPad to Mailicity?

Easy. Set Mailicity up on the existing iPad (or buy a refurbished one — they're cheap), point it at the email address your parent's friends still use, and you're done. The GrandPad can be returned within their 30-day window or sold on.