FamilyWall vs Howbout

FamilyWall

• Families who want a calendar, lists, messaging and photos in one private app
• Parents who want arrival alerts and a map of where children are (Premium)
• Households that plan meals and track a shared budget (Premium)
• Keeping separate circles for extended family, friends or neighbors

Howbout

• Friend groups looking for a date when everyone is free
• Couples, roommates and families who plan from their phones
• People who want each plan to carry its own chat and details
• Shift workers and students adding routines to many days (Multi-add needs Howbout+)

FamilyWall

• The US App Store listing gives the monthly Premium price as $7.99, above the $4.99 on FamilyWall's website and Google Play listing. The yearly price is $44.99 on all three.
• Google and Outlook sync, the meal planner, budget tracker, timetables, documents and location sharing all need Premium.
• Premium applies to the first 5 circles an account created; any further circles stay on the free plan and cannot be chosen manually.
• The Premium page lists ad-free use as a Premium benefit, although the About page describes FamilyWall as ad-free.

Howbout

• Phone apps only: the site and terms describe a mobile app for iPhone and Android, and the App Store listing is for iPhone only. No web or desktop version is listed.
• Howbout+ prices are not on the website. The US App Store lists monthly options at $3.99, $4.99 and $5.99 and an annual option at $39.99, and prices vary by country.
• Howbout+ is tied to one account, so its features are not shared with friends or groups.
• Creating an account requires a phone number, and the terms say the app is intended for people aged 13 and over.

FamilyWall

Shared family calendar

A color-coded calendar shows one person's schedule or the whole family's at once. Any member can add or edit appointments, and reminders can be set for events.

Shopping and to-do lists

Shared shopping lists can be browsed offline in the store. To-do lists can be private or shared, and individual to-dos can be assigned to chosen family members.

Messenger, gallery and contacts

Family members post messages in threaded conversations, share photos and videos in a private gallery, and keep contacts such as a babysitter or doctor in a shared directory.

Calendar sync (Premium)

Premium connects Google and Outlook calendars to the family calendar and can subscribe to any public or shared calendar through its URL.

Meal planner and budget (Premium)

The meal planner lays out the week's meals, imports recipes from the web and turns a plan into a grocery list. The budget tracker records shared bills and everyday expenses.

Location and place alerts (Premium)

A map shows family members' recent and real-time positions, and alerts tell you when someone arrives at a saved place such as home or school. Each member chooses who sees their location.

Howbout

Availability at a glance

For any date, the app shows which friends are free, busy or maybe busy. A group's Availability view does the same for all members you are friends with, and tapping a date starts a plan.

Plans with their own chat

A plan holds the name, place and time, shows who is coming and sends reminders. Each plan has a chat for messages, photos, videos, GIFs and files such as tickets.

Per-plan privacy

Each plan can be visible to all friends, to Close Friends only (others see "Busy") or to no one. The same setting can be applied to a whole synced calendar or set as a default.

Calendar sync and export

Google Calendar connects directly, and other calendars such as Apple Calendar or Outlook come in through the phone's own calendar app. Howbout events can also be exported to the phone's calendar.

Polls and bucket lists

Polls can be created from any event, group or one-to-one chat. A bucket list saves ideas without a date and moves them to the calendar once a date is set.

Home screen widgets

Widgets on iOS and Android show upcoming plans, a week view with friends' events and countdowns to chosen events. The week view and unlimited countdowns are part of Howbout+.

FamilyWall

• Standard$0

  Shared calendar, shopping lists, to-do lists, messenger and contact book. The Premium page does not mark this plan as ad free.

• Premium$4.99

  per month, or $44.99 billed annually

  Adds Google and Outlook.com sync, meal planner, recipe box, budget tracker, timetable, documents, family locator and place alerts, without ads. One subscription covers a circle.

Howbout

• Howbout$0

  Shared calendar, friend and group availability, plans with chat, polls, bucket lists and calendar sync, with unlimited friends and groups.

• Howbout+ Monthly$3.99 to $5.99

  per month; the App Store lists $3.99, $4.99 and $5.99

  Calendar themes, 30+ event colors, unlimited color categories, the week view widget, unlimited countdown widgets, Multi-add and Scan-to-plan. Applies to one account only.

• Howbout+ Annual$39.99

  per year

  The same Howbout+ features billed once a year through the App Store or Google Play.

FamilyWall

• Annual discount

  About 25% less with annual billing

  The Premium page lists $4.99 per month or $44.99 billed annually. Twelve monthly payments come to $59.88, so paying for the year costs about 25% less.

Howbout

• Annual discount

  Annual Howbout+ costs less than twelve months

  The US App Store lists Howbout+ Annual at $39.99 and Howbout+ Monthly from $3.99. Twelve months at $3.99 come to $47.88, so the annual option saves at least $7.89 a year.