Comparison

Helix Planner vs Houm

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

Head to head
About

Helix Planner

Features
Read full description

Helix Planner — Your smart, multilingual planner for Phone, Watch, and CarPlay Plan, organize, and complete your tasks with ease. Categorize tasks, add locations with geofenced reminders, sync to your Watch, share lists, bulk import items with visualization on the Map, customize the app’s look with beautiful themes—and now enjoy a safer, glanceable CarPlay experience that mirrors your iPhone filters in the car. What Helix Planner does • Organize tasks into categories with colors and emojis • Add notes, attachments, and optional GPS coordinates • Set location-based reminders (arrival or departure) • View tasks on an interactive map and filter by category or pin color • Sync open tasks to your Watch for quick access (ex shopping list) • Import multiple tasks at once from pasted text • Share completed tasks as a neatly formatted file • Personalize with multiple color compositions and a glass-like UI • Enjoy multilingual support for a global experience • Drive smarter with CarPlay: See your filtered “Open” tasks in a streamlined, distraction-aware interface • Keep filters in sync: Your iPhone’s current task filters automatically reflect on CarPlay when you connect Core Features and Functionality • Task Management • Create, edit, and reorder tasks with a simple, fast UI • Mark tasks as open or done; snooze workflow is supported in the data model • Add notes and optional attachments for extra context • Organize with categories, each having an emoji and color • Drag-and-drop reordering for both tasks and categories • Location Reminders • Add a location trigger to any task with a chosen radius • Choose between “on arrival” or “on departure” alerts • Optional pin color emojis for map markers • Smart region monitoring to conserve battery and reduce churn • Reverse geocoding for friendly addresses • Map View • See all tasks with locations on a map • Filter by category and pin color • Tap any pin to open task details and edit quickly • Watch Integration • Sync your open tasks to Watch for quick glances • Theme colors are shared so your Watch list matches your Phone style • Reliable background updates keep your list fresh • CarPlay Integration • Streamlined, distraction-aware task view tailored for the car • Automatic filter sync: CarPlay mirrors your iPhone’s current “Open” tasks • Background-safe updates keep your in-car list aligned without extra taps • Localized safety disclaimer available from the Today screen for clear guidance • Bulk Import & Sharing • Paste multiple tasks at once (newline or comma separated) • Optional inline GPS parsing (e.g., “Grocery @ 52.23, 21.01”) — easy to generate with AI • Export done tasks as a timestamped, readable list • Save shared files in-app and share via system Share Sheet • Personalization & Design • Choose from curated color compositions (themes) • Polished glass effect with subtle depth and highlights • Motion-aware gradient that responds gently to device orientation • Multilingual Experience • Built-in translations for key labels and flows • Quick language switcher with country flags • Category names localized for supported languages • Privacy & Performance • Efficient location monitoring and geocoding usage • Debounced searches and updates to keep the UI smooth • SwiftData-powered storage—fast and reliable Helix Planner brings together powerful organization tools, intuitive location reminders, rich import/export options, Watch syncing, and a refined CarPlay experience—wrapped in a thoughtful, elegant interface that adapts to your preferences and language.

About

Houm

This app unifies control of your self-hosted services, including smart home devices and media servers. Monitor and manage your homelab infrastructure, from media requests to server status, all from one place.

Highlights
  • Unified smart home control
  • Media request and tracking
  • Real-time playback monitoring
  • Download queue management
  • Server and container status overview
  • Direct server integration
Features
Read full description

Houm is one dark, modular home for everything you self-host — the smart home your phone already talks to, and the media, servers and containers your homelab already runs. Every service is its own switch. Turn on only the ones you actually use, sign each into your own server, and Houm gets out of the way. SMART HOME See and control every accessory from Apple Home or Google Home — lights, locks, thermostats and cameras — without opening a separate app. WATCH SOMETHING Browse what's trending and request new films and shows through Requests, then follow it through Radarr and Sonarr's queues until it's ready. WHAT'S PLAYING The dashboard leads with what's on: streams, transcodes and bandwidth from Plex or Tautulli, updated as they happen. DOWNLOADS Keep an eye on NZBGet's queue and speed without switching to a browser tab. THE RACK Proxmox, Unraid and Portainer put every node, VM, disk and container in your pocket — what's running, what's full, and what needs attention. Sign in once with Plex to connect Requests and the Now Playing card, or skip it and set everything up later from Settings. Houm talks directly to the servers you already run — no new accounts, no subscriptions, no cloud in between. Houm is for people who already run a homelab. Bring your own Plex, Seerr, Radarr, Sonarr, NZBGet, Tautulli, Proxmox, Unraid or Portainer — Houm is the one app to watch them all from

Screenshots

Helix Planner4 screens
Houm4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: Houm at Free against Helix Planner's $6.99. Houm also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs fortnightly) and iOS requirement (16.4 vs 26.0). On ads, in-app purchases 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

Houm is free to download; Helix Planner costs $6.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Helix Planner ships an update fortnightly, Houm every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on October 1, 2026 and October 17, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 6 level
Helix Planner versus Houm: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHelix PlannerHoum
Price$6.99Free — better
Rating—5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Number of ratings—1 — better
Update frequencyFortnightlyEvery 6 days — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
Monetization—Free
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS26.016.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size9 MB70 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMikolaj AdamowiczTehseen Hussain

In-app purchases

None

Helix Planner

No in-app purchases

None

Houm

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Helix Planner free?
Helix Planner costs $6.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is Houm free?
Houm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Helix Planner or Houm have ads?
Neither Helix Planner nor Houm shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Helix Planner or Houm?
Helix Planner ships an update fortnightly, and Houm every 6 days. Most recently, Helix Planner was updated on October 1, 2026 and Houm on October 17, 2026.

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