Homsy vs OurHome: Which Chore App Wins?

First, the availability, because it decides the comparison. OurHome cannot be installed. Checked on 27 August 2026: Apple returns nothing for its bundle, the Google Play link printed on its own website returns a 404, and that website only loads over plain HTTP. Nobody has announced a shutdown, so that is what we found rather than a verdict. A different developer, Elusios, ships an unrelated app of the same name in both stores — version 1.8.0, updated 15 July 2026, a shopping list and task list for roommates — so check the developer before installing anything called OurHome. What follows is a like-for-like comparison for households that already run OurHome and are deciding whether to move.

OurHome and Homsy both tackle household chore management, but they come at it from completely different angles. OurHome is built around a points and rewards system - kids earn points for chores and spend them on rewards their parents set. Homsy has no points and no rewards, on purpose; it is built around household teamwork, shared visibility, fair distribution, and adult-to-adult coordination.

Both work. But they work for different families with different problems.

OurHome's Points and Rewards System

This is OurHome's whole design, so it is worth setting out plainly before the comparison.

Parents assign a point value to each chore - "take out the trash = 5 points" - and define what points buy. Kids complete tasks, the points accumulate, and they spend them in a reward shop the parents have stocked: 50 points for choosing Friday's movie, and so on. A leaderboard shows how everyone is doing. The interface is bright and kid-facing, with icons and progress bars, and for children roughly five to twelve it genuinely works. It is the most effective thing on the market for getting a young child to do a chore without being asked twice.

Homsy has no points and no rewards system, and is not adding one. Chores get a named owner, a schedule and a completion record, and that record is the accountability - the household can see what was done and by whom without anything being scored. Adults do not need a reward shop for taking the bins out, and the chore app for adults shortlist exists because a lot of people search specifically for a chore app with no points, stars or badges in it.

That is the trade in one line: if you want a rewards economy for young children, OurHome has it and Homsy never will. If you want a household system that keeps working when the children are fifteen and the adults are the ones avoiding the laundry, points are the wrong mechanism and Homsy leaves them out.

Feature Comparison

Where OurHome Wins

The points and rewards system itself. If your primary goal is motivating children to do chores, OurHome is purpose-built for it, and nothing in Homsy competes: parents control the point values and the reward shop, and kids see a direct line between effort and payoff.

Kid-friendly interface. OurHome's design is colorful and engaging for children. Icons, progress bars, and the reward shop make chores feel more like a game than a mandate.

Grocery lists. OurHome includes shared grocery lists that any family member can add to, which keeps shopping coordination in the same app as chores.

Where Homsy Wins

Whole-household management. OurHome is primarily designed as a parent-to-child chore system. Homsy is designed for everyone - partners dividing tasks, roommates coordinating, multi-generational households sharing responsibilities. The fair division of labor between adults is Homsy's strength.

Beyond kid chores. Most household management challenges aren't about getting kids to do chores. They're about the invisible labor, the mental load, the uneven distribution of work between adults. OurHome doesn't address this. Homsy does.

No gamification dependency. Gamification works - until it doesn't. Research on extrinsic rewards shows they can undermine intrinsic motivation over time. Kids who do chores for points may stop doing chores when the points stop. Homsy's approach of visibility and shared responsibility builds habits based on participation, not rewards.

This isn't to say gamification is bad - for younger kids especially, it can be a great starting tool. But for long-term household management, a system that doesn't depend on point accumulation is more sustainable.

Simplicity for adults. If you're using a chore app primarily to coordinate with your partner - who's cooking tonight, who's handling the school pickup, are the bathrooms done this week - OurHome's kid-focused gamification is unnecessary overhead. Homsy gives you a clean, adult-appropriate task management system.

Web access. Homsy works in browsers, OurHome is mobile-only. Planning and reviewing household tasks is often easier on a larger screen.

Flexible household types. Homsy works for any household configuration. OurHome assumes a parents-and-children structure. If you're in a co-parenting arrangement, a roommate situation, or a household without kids, Homsy fits; OurHome doesn't.

The Core Question: Who Are You Organizing?

If your main challenge is motivating kids to do chores, OurHome's gamification system is excellent. The point-and-reward mechanism is engaging for children ages 5-12, and it takes the nagging out of chore time.

If you are not sold on either, the six OurHome alternatives put the wider field side by side, and is OurHome worth it is the honest read on staying put.

If your main challenge is coordinating the whole household, Homsy is the better fit. It treats household management as a team sport where everyone - adults and kids - has visibility into what needs doing and who's handling it. Our pick of the household chores app for a house of adults covers what to check before you commit, and the household task app page sets out the assignment and rotation mechanics underneath it.

If there are no kids in the house at all, neither app's kid features matter and the choice gets simpler - start with the chore app for adults shortlist instead.

If you need both - kid motivation AND adult coordination - you have two options:

1. Use Homsy for everything and create age-appropriate chore assignments for kids (without gamification, but with clear expectations)
2. Use OurHome for kids and a separate system for adult task coordination (though this means managing two systems)

The Gamification Question

Let's address this directly, because it's the philosophical divide between these apps.

Pro-gamification argument: Kids respond to rewards. Making chores fun increases compliance. It's better than nagging. Points give kids a sense of accomplishment and agency.

Anti-gamification argument: Chores are part of being in a family, not a transaction. Paying (in points) for basic contributions can create an expectation that all contribution requires compensation. Long-term, intrinsic motivation (contributing because it matters) is healthier than extrinsic motivation (contributing because of rewards).

The middle ground: Use gamification as a bridge. Start younger kids with OurHome's points system to build the habit, then transition to a non-gamified system like Homsy as they mature. The habit of doing chores transfers even when the points go away - if the transition happens intentionally.

FAQ

How does OurHome's points and rewards system work?

Parents set a point value on each chore and stock a reward shop with what those points buy. Children complete tasks, the points build up, and they spend them on the rewards - a movie choice, screen time, whatever the parents have listed. A leaderboard shows everyone's progress. Parents control both sides of the exchange, which is what makes it work with children roughly five to twelve.

Does Homsy have points and rewards?

No, and that is deliberate. Homsy tracks chores by owner, schedule and completion record rather than by score, so the accountability comes from visibility instead of from earning something. If you want a rewards economy for young children, OurHome is the right app; if you want a system adults will still use, points tend to get in the way. See the chore app for adults guide for why so many households search for one without them.

Is gamification good for teaching kids chores?

For younger kids (ages 4-10), gamification can be an effective tool to build initial chore habits. The risk is dependency - kids who only do chores for rewards may resist when rewards aren't offered. Use gamification as a starter, then gradually shift toward intrinsic motivation as kids mature.

Can Homsy be used with kids?

Absolutely. Kids can be household members in Homsy with their own assigned tasks. The difference is that Homsy doesn't gamify the experience with points and rewards. Instead, it provides visibility - kids can see their tasks, and the whole family can see everyone's contributions.

Does OurHome work for couple chore division?

OurHome can technically be used between partners, but it wasn't designed for this. The gamification elements (points, rewards) feel awkward in an adult-to-adult context. If your primary need is fair chore division between partners, Homsy is a more appropriate tool — see our guide to the best chore app for couples, and the chore splitting app page for dividing the list before anyone assigns it.

Which app is better for teens?

Teens typically resist gamification - earning points for chores feels childish. Homsy's straightforward task assignment and visibility works better for teenagers, who respond more to autonomy and clear expectations than to reward systems.