Howay vs WriteTrack: two takes on the same marking pile
The short answer: these are the two most similar tools we compare anywhere on this site. If your school's priority is a skills-tracking record built explicitly around the DfE Writing Framework (2025), with published per-form-entry pricing, WriteTrack is a strong choice. If your priority is the feedback itself — a child-friendly summary and an editable report, starting free and staying teacher-payable — that is Howay's side of the line.
Last updated: · facts checked against writetrackassessment.co.uk
How this comparison was made
This page is written by the team behind Howay, so we have an obvious interest. Every factual claim about WriteTrack was checked against writetrackassessment.co.uk in July 2026, and where we could not verify something we say so or leave it out. WriteTrack is a well-made tool solving the same problem we care about, and this page treats it that way. If we have got a detail wrong, tell us and we will fix it.
How similar are they, honestly?
Very. Anyone comparing these two deserves the overlap stated plainly before the differences:
- Both are built for UK primary writing — WriteTrack for Years 1–6, Howay for KS1–KS2.
- Both read handwritten work from a photograph taken on a phone or tablet, no scanner or typing needed.
- Both ground feedback in national writing expectations — WriteTrack is built around the DfE Writing Framework (2025) and statutory National Curriculum requirements; Howay maps feedback to the UK writing frameworks teachers already assess against.
- Both keep the teacher in the loop: feedback is reviewable and editable before it reaches a child, and both state that pupil work is not used to train AI models.
So the choice is not “which one can do the job” — both can. It is about which emphasis fits your classroom, and what you want to pay to start.
At a glance
| Howay | WriteTrack | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | UK primary teachers (KS1–KS2) | UK primary teachers and schools (Years 1–6) |
| Curriculum alignment | UK writing frameworks (KS1–KS2) | Built around the DfE Writing Framework (2025); National Curriculum |
| Handwriting | Yes — photograph the book | Yes — photo upload, OCR tuned for primary handwriting |
| Teacher review | Every output editable before a child sees it | Teachers can review and edit feedback before it reaches pupils |
| Emphasis | Feedback-led: child-friendly summaries, editable PDF reports | Tracking-led: automatic skills records, moderation-readiness |
| Pupil-facing output | Child-friendly summary; shareable, editable report | Print-ready feedback to trim and stick into books |
| Free to start | Free tier; 30-day full Pro trial, no card | 14-day trial (card details at signup) |
| Pricing | £4.99/month billed annually (£6.99 monthly); school on request | £25/month or £250/year per teacher; schools £1,250–£5,000/year + VAT |
WriteTrack details from writetrackassessment.co.uk, July 2026. Always confirm current terms with the vendor before buying.
When is WriteTrack the right choice?
WriteTrack's centre of gravity is the record the marking leaves behind. It is likely the better fit if:
- Your school wants everyone assessing against the DfE Writing Framework (2025) with the framework's own expectations, language and progression built in.
- Skills tracking matters most: WriteTrack builds a skill-by-skill record automatically as work is marked — no manual data entry — with group patterns (SEND, disadvantaged, greater depth) and whole-class gaps surfaced.
- Moderation-readiness is a priority — its feedback and records are pitched at consistency with moderation, assessment and inspection expectations.
- Your leadership team wants predictable, published school pricing: annual licences from £1,250 + VAT for one-form entry to £5,000 + VAT for four-form entry. That openness is genuinely rare in this market, and to its credit.
When is Howay the better fit?
Howay's centre of gravity is the feedback a child actually receives. It is likely the better fit if:
- You are one teacher paying your own way. Howay has a free tier and costs £4.99/month billed annually (£6.99 monthly); WriteTrack is £25/month or £250/year per teacher. Over a school year that is a real difference at a teacher's own expense.
- You want to trial properly before deciding: Howay's 30 days of full Pro access need no card, against WriteTrack's 14-day trial with payment details taken at signup.
- You care most about the quality and ownership of the feedback itself — a child-friendly summary of strengths and next steps, a criteria-level breakdown for you, and a shareable PDF report you can edit line by line before it goes in a book or home to a parent.
- You want a deliberately feedback-led rather than grade-led tool: Howay surfaces the curriculum standards evident in a piece of writing rather than producing a numeric grade. More on the workflow on the teachers page.
Where Howay fits — and where it honestly doesn't
Both products are young — this is a new category, and neither has a decade of classroom history behind it. Beyond that, the honest trade-off runs both ways. If the main job is a whole-school, automatically-updating skills record built for moderation conversations, WriteTrack is built around that in a way Howay currently is not. And WriteTrack's published per-form-entry school pricing makes budgeting simpler than Howay's school-pricing-on-request.
Equally, if what you want is the best feedback in the child's hands and your own, at a price one teacher can justify, that is the job Howay was designed around. If you are weighing the wider field, our round-up of the best AI writing feedback tools for UK primary schools puts both tools alongside the alternatives.
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between Howay and WriteTrack?
Less than you might expect, and we say so on the page. Both are UK primary tools (Years 1–6 / KS1–KS2), both read a photograph of handwritten work, both return feedback grounded in national writing frameworks, and both keep the teacher reviewing before anything reaches a child. The honest differences are emphasis and price. WriteTrack leans into skills tracking and moderation-readiness — automatic skill-by-skill records, group patterns, whole-class gaps — with published school licences. Howay leans into the feedback itself — a child-friendly summary of strengths and next steps plus an editable, shareable teacher report — with a free tier and a lower per-teacher price.
Which is cheaper, Howay or WriteTrack?
For an individual teacher, Howay: it has a free tier, and the paid plan is £4.99/month billed annually or £6.99/month billed monthly. WriteTrack is £25/month or £250/year per teacher for up to 35 pupils. At school level, WriteTrack publishes annual licences from £1,250 + VAT (one-form entry) to £5,000 + VAT (four-form entry), which is genuinely useful transparency; Howay's school and MAT pricing is on request. Prices as published on each site in July 2026 — always confirm before buying.
Do both tools work with children's handwriting?
Yes, and in much the same way: photograph the work on a phone or tablet, no scanner needed. WriteTrack describes its recognition as optimised for UK primary handwriting, with low-confidence transcriptions flagged for teacher review. Howay reads a photograph of the child's book and the teacher validates and edits the output before it is shared. With either tool, photo quality and handwriting affect accuracy, which is one reason the teacher-review step matters.
Can I try both before committing?
Yes. WriteTrack offers a 14-day free trial with full feature access; at the time of writing its signup asks for payment details, with no charge until the trial ends. Howay starts every account with 30 days of full Pro access, no card required, and keeps a free tier after that. Trialling both against the same class set of books is a fair test — minutes-per-book and whether you would send the feedback unedited are the metrics that matter.
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