Comparison

School Planner | DormWay vs Helium

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

Head to head
About

School Planner | DormWay

This app consolidates assignments and deadlines from various sources like syllabi and learning platforms into a single, accurate view. It offers an AI assistant to answer course-specific questions and works across thousands of universities without requiring IT approval.

Highlights
  • Consolidates assignments from syllabi and learning platforms
  • Connects to Canvas and Moodle for auto-syncing
  • AI assistant for course-specific questions
  • Works at over 6,000 universities
  • Data privacy focused with read-only access
  • Free to use with no premium tiers
Features
Read full description

Ever realize at 11pm something might be due tomorrow, but you're not sure? So you check Canvas, dig through your email, and open a 47-page syllabus just to find out. That's why we built DormWay while at University of Michigan. DormWay pulls your syllabi, Canvas assignments, and calendar into one place and shows you exactly what's due and when. Do Now. Up Next. Due Soon. Always current. WHAT DORMWAY DOES • Syllabus breakdown in minutes: assignments, deadlines, exam dates, grading weights, late policy. No reading 47 pages. • Canvas auto-sync: every assignment from every class, no manual entry, no checking "just in case." • Ask Ace anything about your courses: "When's my ECON 301 final?" "What do I need on the final to get a B?" Answers come from your actual syllabi, not the internet. • See the whole semester: conflicts, crunch weeks, and back-to-back deadlines show up before they become a crisis. WHY STUDENTS TRUST DORMWAY • Works at your school. No IT approval or university partnership needed. Canvas, Moodle, and Brightspace D2L supported. • Your data stays yours. We never sell it and never share it with your university. Read-only access to your LMS. Delete everything anytime. • Built by a student. Riley (23, University of Michigan) built DormWay because he kept missing things buried in syllabi. He still uses it every day. HOW IT WORKS 1. Add your syllabi in the app, or email them to syllabus@dormway.app 2. Connect Canvas, Moodle, or Brightspace in one tap 3. Open DormWay and see what's next No setup to maintain. It updates itself. Stop wondering what's due. Download DormWay.

About

Helium

This app helps students manage their academic life by organizing classes, assignments, grades, and notes. It features smart calendars, a live grade tracker, and a rich notebook to keep all essential academic information in one place.

Highlights
  • Smart calendar with multiple views
  • Live grade tracker and calculator
  • Rich note-taking with linking
  • Assignment planner with details
  • Focused todos checklist
  • Customizable reminders
Features
Read full description

SMART CALENDARS Color-code classes, assignments, and personal events across month, week, 3-day, day, and agenda views — and toggle between Light and Dark mode. Pull in Google, Apple, or any iCal calendar, or push Helium back out. LIVE GRADE TRACKER & CALCULATOR Helium recalculates your grades in real time — by class, by category, and across the term. The dashboard surfaces At-Risk Classes, Progress vs. Pace, and Pending Impact at a glance. Ask "What Could I Get?" to project your final grade from how the rest of the term goes, or "What Do I Need?" to find out exactly what you need on the Final. RICH NOTEBOOK Write rich notes, linked directly to items in your Planner, so the context you need is always right where you need it. Or keep standalone notes for anything else, from lecture summaries to paper drafts. Format like a doc, search across everything, print when you need a hard copy. AT-A-GLANCE SCHEDULES Classes time-blocked hour by hour, including rotating schedules like A/B Day and Week A/B. Drag to reschedule, check off completed assignments right from the calendar, and tap any class for details — room, teacher email, grading scale. TODOS VIEW A focused checklist of your assignments. Sort and filter by class, priority, due date, or resources — organize your study time the way you want. DETAILED ASSIGNMENT PLANNER Class, category, priority, Reminders, Attachments like rubrics, formatted Notes, and linked Resources — every detail in one place. For a weekly assignment, create it once, then clone the template for the rest of the term. REMINDERS Reminders before assignments, classes, exams, or events — push notifications, or email if that's your style. BUILT FOR STUDENTS Middle school, high school, college, university, grad school, homeschool — Helium helps every kind of student stay organized and succeed academically. Connect the apps and tools you already use, or build your own with Helium's open API. Create your free online account today, and take control of your student life.

Screenshots

School Planner | DormWay4 screens
Helium4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Helium at 5.0 against School Planner | DormWay's 3.2. Helium also leads on review sentiment (100% vs 67%) and update cadence (every 2 days vs every 5 days). On price, ratings volume, 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. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Helium holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 3.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 9 and 7 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 67% of School Planner | DormWay's written reviews are positive against 100% of Helium's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

School Planner | DormWay ships an update every 5 days, Helium every 2 days. Both last shipped on November 5, 2026.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
School Planner | DormWay versus Helium: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSchool Planner | DormWayHelium
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.2 (9 ratings)5.0 (7 ratings) — better
Positive reviews66.7% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings9 — better7
Update frequencyEvery 5 daysEvery 2 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationAd-supportedFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, MaciPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS26.015.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size79 MB56 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDormWay LLCHelium Edu, LLC

Customer experience

School Planner | DormWay

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews15 reviews
Positive66.7%
Neutral6.7%
Negative26.7%

Helium

All ratings7 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews3 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

School Planner | DormWay

No in-app purchases

None

Helium

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is School Planner | DormWay free?
School Planner | DormWay is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Helium free?
Helium is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, School Planner | DormWay or Helium?
Helium is rated higher. School Planner | DormWay averages 3.2 out of 5 from 9 ratings, while Helium averages 5.0 from 7 ratings.
Do School Planner | DormWay or Helium have ads?
Neither School Planner | DormWay nor Helium shows ads.
Which is updated more often, School Planner | DormWay or Helium?
School Planner | DormWay ships an update every 5 days, and Helium every 2 days. Most recently, School Planner | DormWay was updated on November 5, 2026 and Helium on November 5, 2026.

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