Best Chore Chart Apps
The best chore chart apps for kids, compared honestly: ChoreOS, OurHome, Cozi, Greenlight and BusyKid, from points-and-rewards charts to real debit cards.
The best chore chart app depends on one question: what do the points turn into? If you want a classic chart where kids earn points for chores and cash them in for rewards you set, ChoreOS and OurHome are the two strongest picks, and the difference is that ChoreOS is a private one-time purchase while OurHome is free but cloud-based. If you want completed chores to pay real money onto a kids debit card, Greenlight and BusyKid do exactly that, but they are financial apps with monthly fees, not simple charts. And if you mainly need a shared family calendar with light chore tracking bolted on, Cozi is the easy free answer.
| Tool | Best for | Price | Subscription | Works offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ChoreOS | A private points-and-rewards chart you own | $23 one-time | No | Yes |
| OurHome | Free points-based chores plus calendar | Free | No | No |
| Cozi | A family calendar with light chores | Free tier; Gold about $29.99/yr | Optional | No |
| Greenlight | Chores tied to a real kids debit card | From about $5.99/mo | Yes | No |
| BusyKid | Allowance paid onto a kids Visa card | About $48/yr | Yes | No |
1. ChoreOS - best for a private points-and-rewards chart you own
ChoreOS is a single offline HTML file you open in your browser and run like an app, built around gamified chores for the whole family. It opens on a Today screen that shows chores grouped by kid, each child’s point total, and a running family-wins count, so the state of the day is visible the moment you open it.
The structure underneath is more complete than most free charts. The Chore List tab is a master library where you create chores with point values and categories and assign them out. The Rotation tab lets you assign chores by day, set a weekly rotation, auto-rotate tasks, and it keeps fair-share stats so you can see, honestly, whether one kid is quietly doing everything. The Points tab holds each kid’s balance, a weekly points chart, and a full transaction history of what was earned and spent. The Rewards tab is a store you stock yourself: you add rewards, kids redeem points for them, and a redeem history keeps everyone honest. There is even a Family Meeting tab for weekly notes, a gratitude round, kid feedback and a chore-of-the-week, plus an archive of past meetings, which turns chores into a small weekly ritual rather than a nag.
The reason to choose it is ownership, simplicity and privacy. It costs $23 once, with no subscription, no renewal and no account. Everything you set up and every point earned stays in your own browser on your own device, and Ecuato never receives it, because there is no server for it to reach. It works on a laptop and adds to the home screen on an iPhone or Android like an app, fully offline after the first load, which makes it a natural fit for a shared kitchen tablet.
Be clear about the honest limit. ChoreOS is a chart, not a payment app. Its points are in-app points redeemed for rewards you stock; it never touches real money and has no debit card, because it has no bank connection at all. It is also single-device by design, so it does not sync live to each child’s own phone the way cloud apps do. If the entire point of your search is chores that deposit real dollars onto a card a teenager can spend, or every kid needs the chart live on their own phone, ChoreOS is the wrong tool and Greenlight or BusyKid or OurHome will suit you better. Pick ChoreOS when a points system on one shared device is exactly what you want.
2. OurHome
OurHome has been the default free answer in this category for a decade, and it earns it. It turns chores into points with a rewards store you stock, adds a leaderboard for a bit of sibling competition, and bundles a shared family calendar, grocery list and meal planning on top, all genuinely free with no premium tier and no paywalled core features. As a free points-and-rewards system with real household extras, it is the closest free counterpart to ChoreOS.
Who should skip it, or at least go in with eyes open: the app has been slow to evolve, the interface feels dated, and parents regularly report that real-time sync is inconsistent, which matters when the whole family relies on it staying current. It is also cloud-based, so your family’s data lives on its servers rather than only on your device. If you want a polished, private, one-device chart and do not need the calendar and grocery extras, ChoreOS trades OurHome’s free sync for ownership and privacy.
3. Cozi
Cozi is the best-known family organizer, and it is worth being precise about what it is: a shared color-coded calendar with grocery lists, to-do lists, a meal planner and a family journal, all in one free app. It is excellent at coordinating a busy household’s schedule, and that is why so many families use it. It does have to-do lists you can point at chores.
Who should skip it as a chore app: anyone who wants real chore mechanics. Cozi’s chore tracking is basic, with no points, no rewards store and no rotation logic, so it is a calendar that happens to have a task list rather than a purpose-built chore system. The free tier carries ads, and a Gold plan at about $29.99 per year removes them and adds extras like birthday tracking. If you mainly need the calendar and treat chores as a simple checklist, Cozi is a fine single app; if chores and motivation are the actual problem, you will want a dedicated chore tool alongside it.
4. Greenlight
Greenlight is not a chore chart, it is a kids-and-teens debit card with chores attached, and that is exactly why some families want it. Parents assign chores with real dollar amounts, and when a chore is marked done and approved, the agreed allowance transfers from the parent’s funding source onto the child’s card. It adds savings with a boost, an investing feature, spending controls, merchant blocks and real-time alerts, so it doubles as a hands-on money-lessons tool.
The trade-off is that it is a paid financial product. There is no ongoing free tier; plans start around $5.99 per month and rise through higher tiers that add features, though some partner banks offer it free to their members. Who should skip it: families who just want a chore chart and have no interest in a debit card, since you would be paying monthly for money features you will not use, and parents of younger kids who are motivated by a points total and a small reward rather than cash on a card. If teaching real spending, saving and earning is the goal, though, Greenlight is built for it in a way a chart is not.
5. BusyKid
BusyKid works on the same idea as Greenlight but leans harder into the weekly-allowance-and-payday model. Kids complete assigned chores and their allowance is direct-deposited each Friday, and the family can add a BusyKid Visa prepaid card so children can spend, with parents seeing every transaction. It also builds in saving, investing and even charitable giving, so it frames chores as the start of a small real-world economy. Pricing is a flat family subscription, commonly cited around $48 per year, with up to five cards included.
Who should skip it: the same group who should skip Greenlight, namely families who want a simple chart rather than a card and money movement, and anyone whose kids are too young to spend. It is also a connected financial app, so it needs an internet connection and holds your data and money-flow on its systems. If a Friday payday onto a real card is the motivation you are after, it is a strong fit; if you want points redeemed for movie night, it is far more machinery than you need.
How to choose
- Pick ChoreOS if you want a private points-and-rewards chart with rotation, a rewards store and family-meeting notes, bought once and kept, with nothing leaving your device.
- Pick OurHome if you want a genuinely free points-based chore system with a calendar and grocery list, and you can live with dated design and occasionally shaky sync.
- Pick Cozi if your real need is a shared family calendar and you only want chores as a light checklist.
- Pick Greenlight if you want completed chores to pay real money onto a kids debit card with saving and investing built in.
- Pick BusyKid if you want a weekly allowance paid onto a kids Visa card with a Friday payday and giving features.
Points chart or real money: decide this first
Almost every disappointed chore-app review comes from a mismatch between what the family wanted and what the app is. So decide the core question before you download anything. If you want to build responsibility and habits, and you are happy rewarding them with screen time, a treat or a small privilege you control, you want a points-and-rewards chart, and ChoreOS or OurHome is your lane. If you specifically want to teach money by moving real dollars your child can spend and save, you want a debit-card app, and that means Greenlight or BusyKid and their monthly cost.
The two are not really competitors so much as different tools, and some families use both: a free or one-time chart for the daily grind of chores, and a card app later when a kid is old enough to handle real money. If you are assembling a broader family toolkit, our baby tracker comparison applies the same private, offline, buy-once approach to the newborn stage, and you can browse the full set of Ecuato planners for budgeting, meal planning and household organization.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best chore chart app for kids?
It depends on what the points turn into. If you want a chart where kids earn points they redeem for rewards you set, ChoreOS and OurHome are the two strongest picks, and ChoreOS is a one-time purchase while OurHome is free with sync. If you want completed chores to pay real money onto a kids debit card, Greenlight and BusyKid do that, but they are financial apps with monthly fees, not simple charts.
Is there a chore chart app without a subscription?
Yes. ChoreOS is a one-time $23 purchase with no subscription, no account and no cloud, and OurHome is free with no premium tier. The apps that charge every month, such as Greenlight and BusyKid, do so because they include a real debit card and money movement, which is a different product from a chore chart.
What is the difference between a chore chart app and an allowance app?
A chore chart app tracks who did what and rewards it with points or screen-stocked prizes, staying entirely inside your family. An allowance app like Greenlight or BusyKid connects to real money and a debit card, so completed chores move actual dollars onto a card the child can spend. ChoreOS is a chart with a points-and-rewards system, not a payment app, so no real money is involved.
Does ChoreOS pay kids real money or use a debit card?
No. ChoreOS uses in-app points that kids earn for chores and redeem in a rewards store you stock yourself, such as screen time, a movie night or a small treat. It never touches real money and has no card, because it is an offline HTML file with no bank connection. If you specifically want chores tied to a spendable debit card, choose Greenlight or BusyKid instead.
Can chore chart apps sync across phones?
Cloud apps like OurHome, Cozi, Greenlight and BusyKid sync across every family member's phone in real time. ChoreOS is single-device by design, so it lives on one main device such as the family tablet or a parent's laptop rather than syncing to each kid's phone. If every child needs the chart live on their own phone, pick a cloud app; if a shared device works, the offline option keeps everything private.
Will a chore chart app work offline?
ChoreOS works fully offline after the first load, because it is a single HTML file with no server. The cloud apps need a connection to sync and, in the case of Greenlight and BusyKid, to move money, so they do not work offline in any meaningful way. If you want a chart that runs on a kitchen tablet with spotty wifi, offline-first is the practical choice.
What age is a chore chart app good for?
Points-and-rewards charts like ChoreOS and OurHome work well from roughly preschool through the tween years, when a visible points total and a rewards store are motivating. Real-money apps like Greenlight and BusyKid tend to fit older kids and teens who are ready to spend, save and learn about money on a card. Match the tool to whether your child is motivated by points or by cash.
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