Comparison

Houm vs Folio

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

Head to head
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

About

Folio

Features
Read full description

Folio is a personal workspace for the things you want to remember, make, and get done. CAPTURE YOUR THOUGHTS Write notes, organize them into notebooks, pin favorites, and build checklists. KEEP DOCUMENTS CLOSE Scan documents into editable text while keeping the original attached. Read PDFs, highlight passages, and keep linked notes alongside the source. MAKE ROOM TO DRAW Sketch on a canvas, choose colors and drawing tools, and export your work. PLAN YOUR EVERYDAY Organize tasks, keep shopping lists with totals, and collect useful information in your workspace. YOUR PERSONAL WORKSPACE Folio stores your content locally and requires no account. Export and share a copy when you choose. Optional calendar, map, and reminder features use Apple system services.

Screenshots

Houm4 screens
Folio4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is update cadence: Folio at daily against Houm's every 6 days. Houm's advantage is iOS requirement (16.4 vs 18.0). On price, 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

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Houm ships an update every 6 days, Folio daily. The most recent releases landed on October 24, 2026 and October 16, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard2 real differences · 7 level
Houm versus Folio: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterHoumFolio
PriceFreeFree
Rating5.0 (1 ratings) — better—
Number of ratings1 — better—
Update frequencyEvery 6 daysDaily — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFree—
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS16.4 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size70 MB36 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperTehseen HussainNagarjuna Reddy Bhimavarapu

In-app purchases

None

Houm

No in-app purchases

None

Folio

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Houm free?
Houm is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Folio free?
Folio is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Do Houm or Folio have ads?
Neither Houm nor Folio shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Houm or Folio?
Houm ships an update every 6 days, and Folio daily. Most recently, Houm was updated on October 24, 2026 and Folio on October 16, 2026.

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