Comparison

ChoirKey vs Howli

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

Head to head
About

ChoirKey

Features
Read full description

ChoirKey helps singers learn their choir music with custom rehearsal tracks, flexible playback tools and a scrolling score, built for real practice. Enter your unique Choir Key to access your choir's repertoire, then choose the tracks you'd like to rehearse in your own time. Hear your own vocal line clearly, blend it with the accompaniment or a choral reduction, slow difficult passages without leaving the player, and loop short sections until you're confident with your part. When score files are available, ChoirKey lets you view the sheet music in the app and follow along as the audio plays. You can also download tracks for offline practice, keep favourites close to hand, and manage stored files from your repertoire list. Key features: - Secure access to your choir's custom rehearsal library - Separate vocal-part and accompaniment playback controls - Tempo adjustment for learning difficult passages - Repeat loops for focused practice - Score viewing with audio-following support where available - Favourites and local storage management - Offline access to downloaded rehearsal materials ChoirKey is designed for choir members, choral leaders, teachers, and singing groups who want rehearsal preparation to be quicker, clearer, and easier to fit around everyday life. Note: Access to most libraries requires a Choir Key provided by your choir, organisation, teacher, or rights holder.

About

Howli

This app allows users to practice and record vocal harmonies. Users can record individual parts, duet with friends, or create multi-layered vocal tracks. It offers tools for creating and sharing custom vocal arrangements with visual feedback.

Highlights
  • Practice vocal parts with pitch and lyric guides
  • Record harmonies solo or duet with friends
  • Create layered harmony videos
  • Freestyle recording for a cappella or choir effects
  • Import MIDI and MusicXML for custom arrangements
  • Save and share videos with or without camera
  • Adjust reverb and voice pitch
Read full description

Howli is a harmony singing and vocal recording app for iPhone. Practise each vocal part with pitch and lyric guides, record harmonies with yourself or duet with a friend, and create a layered harmony video. Learn and record harmonies - Hear each part before you sing, then follow pitch and lyric cues while recording. - Use your vocal range to choose a starting key, then adjust it yourself. - Record each harmony separately and bring your best takes together in one performance. Duet with a friend Start a harmony, send your duet file to a friend, and let them add their voice in Howli. Record in your own time, then save or share a harmony video with both voices. Sing with yourself in Freestyle Record two to six vocal layers, choose your tempo and recording length, and sing freely without written notes or a pitch score. Make an a cappella-style cover or build a one-person choir with your own voice. Create and share your own arrangements Choose a built-in song, paste a Howli song code or write notes and lyrics for your own vocal parts. Share the arrangements you write as song codes so another singer can record their own version. Song codes contain the arrangement, not your audio or video recordings. Import MIDI and MusicXML Open Howli's free browser editor at https://get-howli.com/custom, import a MIDI or MusicXML file, and check the vocal parts. Copy the resulting song code into the iPhone app to practise and record. PDF scores and photos are not supported. Save and share, with or without the camera Record with the camera on or keep your face off screen. Voice-only recordings can still become a shareable video with animated pitch visuals. Choose part colours, show or hide lyrics and pitch notes, and adjust reverb or voice pitch before saving your finished harmony video. Start free Free practice includes a daily recording allowance, with full-quality saving and sharing included. Songs you write from scratch in Howli have unlimited free practice on your iPhone. Howli Unlimited Keep practising with unlimited recording attempts for every song and part, and sing the extended ending of In the Bleak Mid-Winter. Its first four sections remain free to record, review and share. Choose a monthly or yearly subscription, or lifetime access with one purchase. Your retained recordings remain free to review, save and share if Unlimited ends. Terms of Use (EULA): https://www.apple.com/legal/internet-services/itunes/dev/stdeula/

Screenshots

ChoirKey4 screens
Howli4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: ChoirKey at none against Howli's 3. ChoirKey also leads on iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.0). Howli's advantage is update cadence (every 3 days vs every 10 days). On price, ads and device support 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. Howli sells 3 in-app purchases, starting at $3.99 per month. ChoirKey asks for nothing beyond the download.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

ChoirKey ships an update every 10 days, Howli every 3 days. The most recent releases landed on November 3, 2026 and November 5, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
ChoirKey versus Howli: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterChoirKeyHowli
PriceFreeFree
Rating—4.4 (21 ratings) — better
Positive reviews—50.0% of reviews
Number of ratings—21 — better
Update frequencyEvery 10 daysEvery 3 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNo — betterYes
Monetization—Freemium
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPod — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS15.0 — better17.0
Further details — not scored
Size13 MB94 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTristan RusscherCandidGO Ltd

In-app purchases

None

ChoirKey

No in-app purchases

3 purchases

Howli

Subscriptions2
  • Howli Unlimited Monthly$3.991 Month
  • Howli Unlimited Yearly$14.991 Year
One-time1
  • Howli Unlimited Lifetime$24.99

Questions

Is ChoirKey free?
ChoirKey is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Howli free?
Howli is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Do ChoirKey or Howli have ads?
Neither ChoirKey nor Howli shows ads.
Which is updated more often, ChoirKey or Howli?
ChoirKey ships an update every 10 days, and Howli every 3 days. Most recently, ChoirKey was updated on November 3, 2026 and Howli on November 5, 2026.

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