Comparison

Howbout vs Ekko

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Howbout

Effortlessly coordinate plans with friends, family, and partners. This app simplifies scheduling by showing everyone's availability, centralizing event details, and providing real-time updates. It aims to reduce communication overhead and help you connect with the people who matter most.

Highlights
  • See everyone's availability
  • Centralize plan details
  • Share calendars or availability
  • Real-time notifications
  • Sync multiple calendars
  • Home screen widgets
Read full description

The shared calendar for friends, couples, and family This is the app you’ve seen all over TikTok. 10M downloads, 200M+ plans made, and 1B+ views across social media. Howbout is how millions of people actually see each other more. Planning shouldn't take a hundred messages and a "when works for you?" thread that goes nowhere. Howbout fixes that. Find the gap, lock in the plan, actually see the people who matter to you. … WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH HOWBOUT SEE WHEN EVERYONE'S FREE No guessing, it's right there on the calendar. MAKE PLANS Add events, add details, and keep everything together, so plans don't fall apart. SHARE YOUR CALENDAR OR AVAILABILITY Choose what people see. Stay private or share with friends. KEEP ALL THE DETAILS IN ONE PLACE Plans, chats, locations, notes, photos… no switching apps or losing the details. REAL TIME NOTIFICATIONS Get updates when plans change or when your friends are up to something fun. MAKE YOUR CALENDAR YOURS Color-code and customize your calendar how you like. SYNC YOUR CALENDARS & TIMELINES Work, school, personal, social… it's all in one place, so nothing clashes. UP NEXT WIDGETS Stay on top of your upcoming plans and see what your friends are up to from your home screen. … BUILT FOR REAL LIFE For friend groups: check availability, lock in plans, actually see each other more. For couples: stay in sync, plan dates faster, stop double-booking each other. For families: track school runs, appointments, and weekends, all in one place. … HOWBOUT+ Unlock more customization like colors and app themes, smarter planning tools, and get an all around better experience. Your subscription will automatically renew unless turned off at least 24 hours before the end of the current period. You can manage your subscription in your App Store settings. … Contact us: support@howbout.app · Follow @howbout_app Privacy: howbout.app/privacy · Terms: howbout.app/terms

About

Ekko

This app provides a shared digital photo frame widget for your home screen. It allows friends and family to send photos that appear directly on your device, creating an ever-changing display of shared memories. You can even send surprise photos that are 'gift-wrapped' for unwrapping.

Highlights
  • Home screen photo widget
  • Shared photo streams
  • Send photos to friends' home screens
  • Gift-wrapped photo surprises
  • Easy link-based sharing
Features
Read full description

Ekko is a shared digital photo frame widget that sits on your home screen. The Ekko widget is a little portal on your home screen that your friends can control, so you can enjoy an ever-changing stream of your favourite moments. Whether it's endearing pictures with your family, cute pictures with a partner, or nostalgic photos with your friends - Ekko allows you to share these moments directly to the home screen of those you care about for them to discover throughout their day. Want to leave them a little suprise? You can even gift wrap images so they appear as a little parcel on their home screen waiting to be unwrapped. Creating and joining streams is as easy as sharing a link, so try it with someone today! -- You can read our privacy policy at https://www.ekko.pics/privacy and our Terms of Service at https://www.ekko.pics/terms

Screenshots

Howbout4 screens
Ekko4 screens

Verdict

The call

Howbout and Ekko both sit at 4.8 stars, but that hides the real split: 87% of Ekko's written reviews are positive against 42% of Howbout's. Ekko also leads on device support (3 vs 1) and iOS requirement (14.0 vs 16.0). Howbout's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (52K vs 122). On price, rating, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Howbout sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month and Ekko sells 5 in-app purchases, starting at $4.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.8 for Howbout against 4.8 for Ekko. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Howbout has 52K ratings behind it against 122, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews are what separate them: 42% of Howbout's written reviews are positive against 87% of Ekko's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Howbout ships an update weekly, Ekko every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on November 10, 2026 and November 3, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Howbout versus Ekko: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHowboutEkko
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (52K ratings) — better4.8 (122 ratings)
Positive reviews42.0% of reviews86.7% of reviews — better
Number of ratings52K — better122
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFreemiumFree with in-app purchases
Best chart rank#61 — better—
DevicesiPhoneiPhone, iPad, iPod — better
Requires iOS16.014.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size159 MB35 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperHowbout Ltd.ICEBREAKER STUDIO LIMITED

Customer experience

Howbout

All ratings51,641 ratings
Positive96.5%
Neutral1.9%
Negative1.6%
Written reviews1,255 reviews
Positive42.0%
Neutral7.1%
Negative50.9%

Ekko

All ratings111 ratings
Positive94.6%
Neutral1.8%
Negative3.6%
Written reviews30 reviews
Positive86.7%
Neutral3.3%
Negative10.0%

User reviews

Howbout

From 52K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
  • 🚀 Helps with planning and organizing
  • 💡 Useful features like polls, countdowns, and event chats
  • 🤝 Facilitates sharing calendars and coordinating with friends

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Occasional glitches and bugs
  • 🔀 Difficulty syncing with other calendars
  • 📢 Overwhelming notifications
  • 🔒 Forced to add friends to use the app

Ekko

From 122 App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Great for sharing photos
  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 👍 Keeps friends/family connected
  • 👍 Fun concept
  • 👍 Private and intentional connection

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Photos disappear after 24 hours
  • 🐛 Widget doesn't always update
  • 🐛 Premium subscription issues
  • 🐛 App is plain
  • 🐛 No help button

Bugs and requests

Howbout

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Calendar sync issues causing duplicate events
  • Notifications not working as expected
  • App crashing or freezing
  • Inability to edit events without resending invites

Requested features

4 requests
  • Add widget support
  • Allow customization of event colors
  • Improve recurring event handling
  • Add option to only share with specific people

Ekko

Reported bugs

6 issues
  • Downloaded premium without subscribing
  • Group names changing themselves
  • Groups duplicating
  • Photos duplicating
  • Widget opens multiple photos
Show 1 more
  • Unable to sign up with Apple

Requested features

7 requests
  • Add videos and audios (free version)
  • Allow changing name
  • Save photo history permanently
  • Option for photos not to expire
  • Fix widget update issue
Show 2 more
  • Improve comment visibility
  • Add a help button

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Howbout

Subscriptions6
  • Howbout+ Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Howbout+ Monthly7 Days trial2 variants$4.991 Month
  • Howbout+ Monthly7 Days trial$5.991 Month
Show 3 more
  • Howbout+ Annual1 Year trial$39.991 Year
  • Howbout+ Annual7 Days trial$39.991 Year
  • Howbout+ Annual$39.991 Year
5 purchases

Ekko

Subscriptions4
  • Showcase Pro: Level 1 Monthly$4.991 Month
  • Showcase Pro: Level 2 Monthly$9.991 Month
  • Showcase Pro: Level 1 Yearly$39.991 Year
Show 1 more
  • Showcase Pro: Level 2 Yearly$79.991 Year
One-time1
  • Premium$1.99

Questions

Is Howbout free?
Howbout is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is Ekko free?
Ekko is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, Howbout or Ekko?
Howbout is rated higher. Howbout averages 4.8 out of 5 from 52K ratings, while Ekko averages 4.8 from 122 ratings.
Do Howbout or Ekko have ads?
Neither Howbout nor Ekko shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Howbout or Ekko?
Howbout ships an update weekly, and Ekko every 3 months. Most recently, Howbout was updated on November 10, 2026 and Ekko on November 3, 2026.

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