The short answer
In one sentence: if you want a cleaner house, use Tody or Sweepy; if you want to motivate kids with rewards or allowance, use Homey; if your real question is "am I doing more than my share?", none of them answers it, because they all reward whoever does the most instead of measuring what each person owes the others. That is what FairChore does.
- Sweepy: best for keeping a room-by-room cleaning schedule, split between the people who live there, with a leaderboard.
- Tody: best if you live alone or as a couple and want to clean what actually needs it rather than follow a calendar.
- OurHome: best for a shared house that wants groceries and chores in one place.
- Flatastic: best for roommates who also split expenses.
- Homey: best for teaching kids about money, with allowance and paid jobs.
- Cozi: best for a family calendar. It is not really a chore app, and it is very good at what it is.
- FairChore: the only one that measures a debt rather than a merit, and the only one where a chore's points are shared between the people it affects. Free, no ads.
The table
| who it is for | how it works | the counter | model | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sweepy | a household that wants a schedule | cleanliness level per room, daily generated tasks, leaderboard | cumulative, as a ranking | free, subscription |
| Tody | one person or a couple | dirt level per room, no imposed calendar | nothing is split between people | free, paid option |
| OurHome | shared houses, families | tasks assigned per room and per person, shopping lists | task progress | free, paid option |
| Flatastic | roommates | recurring assigned chores, reminders, shared expenses | task progress | free, paid option |
| Homey | families with kids | chores paid as commissions, allowance, savings goals | money earned | free, paid option |
| FairChore | families, shared houses, couples | zero-sum points: the person who does the chore gains, the people it affects lose | never reset, it shows who owes the others | free, optional premium at 2.99 €/month |
Models checked on Google Play, 21 August 2026. We do not compare the other apps' prices: they change often, and a wrong price helps nobody. Check with the publisher.
The question nobody asks, and the one everybody actually has
All of these apps answer "what needs doing, and who is doing it?". That is a real question, and they answer it well.
But it is almost never the question that makes someone go looking for a chore app. The real one, typed at 10pm after emptying the dishwasher for the third time this week, is: am I doing more than my share?
A leaderboard that rewards the most diligent person does not answer that. It says who is ahead. It does not say how far behind the other person is, and it certainly does not say it to them.
How FairChore does it
Every chore type is worth a number of points, decided by the household. When someone completes a chore they gain points and the members that chore affects lose some, so the household total always adds up to zero.
The leaderboard therefore does not say who is best: it says who owes the others, and it rebalances by itself as soon as that person pitches in.
Two settings do the rest. The affected members are chosen chore by chore: a six-year-old is not affected by "cook dinner" but is by "clear the table". And points adjust through use: a chore nobody wants is worth too little, so you raise it until someone takes it; a chore everyone fights over is worth too much, so you lower it. The balance is settled in the household, not in the code.
free, no ads, nothing to install
What FairChore does not do
- No iOS app. FairChore runs in a browser and installs from it, on iPhone as anywhere else, but there is no App Store app and no announced date. An Android app is on Google Play.
- No offline mode. It installs, but it needs a connection.
- No rewards catalogue and no allowance. If what motivates your kids is money or a shop of rewards, Homey does that and FairChore does not.
- No shopping list, no shared expenses. OurHome and Flatastic do.
- A zero-sum system makes no sense for one person. If you live alone, use Tody.
- On the free plan the history stops at 7 days and detailed statistics need premium (2.99 €/month, 29.99 €/year). Everything else is free: the household, its members, chores, scheduling, reminders, 7 supervised child accounts, and there are no ads.
Which one for your situation
A family with kids who need motivating. Homey, if money is the lever that works on them. If it is not, or if the argument is between the adults rather than about the kids, FairChore.
A couple arguing about the load. This is where a weekly reset does the most damage: the whole point is the running total. FairChore.
A shared house. Flatastic if you also split expenses, OurHome if you want groceries in the same place, FairChore if the sore point is fairness rather than organisation.
A household that mainly wants a clean house. Sweepy or Tody. Different tools from the ones above, and the best at that job.
You live alone. Tody, no question. FairChore would be no use to you.
FAQ
Is there a genuinely free chore app?
All six compared here can be used for free. What differs is what "free" contains. With FairChore, a full household, its members, its chores, scheduling, reminders and child accounts are free and ad-free; history beyond 7 days, detailed statistics and export are paid.
How do you split housework fairly?
You need three things a shared list does not give you: every chore carries a weight (they are not equal), that weight can be raised when nobody wants the job, and the counter is never reset. That is what zero-sum points are for.
Can an app actually settle an argument about chores?
No, and be wary of one that promises it can. It can replace "I feel like I do more" with a number everyone can see, which is already a lot, because a feeling cannot be argued with and a number can.
Do I have to install anything?
FairChore opens in a browser, and installs from it if you want. An Android app is on Google Play.
What about kids without an email address?
FairChore allows 7 supervised accounts, created and held by an adult. Homey and OurHome also handle child accounts.
free, no ads, nothing to install