GroupCal vs Howbout

GroupCal

• Clubs, communities and schools that publish a schedule to many people
• Small teams sharing shifts, bookings or meeting-room calendars
• Families and friends on a mix of iPhone and Android phones
• Groups where only the organizer should pay: members use the app free

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+)

GroupCal

• A plan covers the calendars its buyer owns, so prices are per calendar owner, not per member; members and admins of those calendars pay nothing.
• The free plan allows 1 admin and has no permission controls. More admins start at Team ($50 per month, billed annually).
• The REST API, webhooks and white-labeled apps are limited to Enterprise, which has custom pricing.
• Accounts are tied to a phone number: the guide says to sign in with the same number on every device.

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.

GroupCal

Calendars joined by link

Create separate calendars for different groups, topics or resources, each with its own color and photo. Members join from a shared link or an invite sent to their phone number, without an email address.

Real-time updates and RSVP

Members get push notifications when they are added to a calendar and when events are added or changed. Each event shows who accepted or declined.

Roles and permissions

Calendars have Owner, Admin and Member roles. Paid plans let the owner choose who can add events or members, and from Team hide event details or limit members to editing their own events.

Personal calendars alongside

Events from Apple Calendar, Google Calendar and Outlook appear next to GroupCal calendars in one view. From Pro, events from connected Google, Outlook and iCloud accounts can be shared with a group.

Public channels and embeds

A public calendar can be embedded in a website, with a WordPress plugin and a Wix widget. On Organization, a calendar channel is listed in GroupCal's search and takes unlimited followers.

Linked calendars

On the Organization plan, calendars can be linked so events sync across them, which lets a master calendar reflect several related schedules.

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+.

GroupCal

• Free$0

  Unlimited calendars and events, 25 event photo attachments and 1 admin. Aimed at sharing calendars with family or friends.

• Pro$10

  per month, billed annually at $120 ($15 billed monthly)

  150 photo attachments, control over who can add events and members, a color per member, advanced RSVP, and sharing of Google, Outlook and iCloud calendars.

• Team$50

  per month, billed annually at $600 ($75 billed monthly)

  3 calendar admins, 500 photo attachments, event ownership, hidden event details, members limited to editing their own events, a business page and priority support.

• Organization$150

  per month, billed annually at $1,800 ($225 billed monthly)

  Unlimited admins, 1,500 photo attachments, calendar channels, event sync across linked calendars, verified calendars and embedding several calendars together.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Unlimited attachments, REST API and webhooks, white-labeled web and mobile apps, a custom legal and security review and a dedicated success manager.

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.

GroupCal

• Annual discount

  Save 33% with yearly billing

  The pricing page marks yearly billing as a 33% saving: Pro is $10 per month billed annually against $15 billed monthly, Team $50 against $75 and Organization $150 against $225.

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.