echocard vs HiHello (2026): the card that follows up, or the card that scans
HiHello is the most generous free card of the three and a sensible pick for a professional who networks. echocard is the better choice for a local business, because the card lands in the customer's Wallet and keeps asking for the booking and the review.
Published 20 October 2026 · Prices and quotes checked 20 October 2026
HiHello calls itself the digital business card app built to replace paper cards for good. You make a card in the app or on the web, share it by QR code, link, text, email, widget or an NFC tag you already own, and the other person opens it in their browser and saves your details. Two cards are free, with a free email signature and virtual background. Professional adds branding, analytics and more scans; Business adds team templates and CRM sync.
echocard is a business card that lives on the customer's phone. The customer scans a code or taps a link, presses Add, and the card sits in their Apple Wallet or Google Wallet with call, book, Google review and save contact on the back. On Pro, the card sends a thank you the next day and a reminder a month on, as lock screen notifications.
Here is how the two compare across seventeen things a local business would ask about, with HiHello's prices as shown on its pricing page on 20 October 2026.
Feature comparison
HiHello's app is rated 4.9 from 45K ratings on the App Store and 4.8 from 16.4K reviews on Google Play. The column on the right is what HiHello's own pages and listings say it does; where a page did not say, the cell says so.
| Feature | echocard | HiHello |
|---|---|---|
| Where the card livesThe one difference that decides the rest | echocard In the customer's Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, next to their bank cards | HiHello On the owner's phone and a web page. The customer saves your details into their contacts |
| The customer needs no appAnd neither does the owner | echocard Scan or tap, press Add. Wallet is already on the phone, and you build the card in a browser | HiHello Yes to receive the card: no app is needed to receive or view it. The owner uses the app or the web |
| Apple Wallet and Google Wallet passesWhose Wallet, and what the pass does | echocard The customer's copy is a pass in their Wallet, with call, book, review and save contact on the back | HiHello The owner's own QR code as a pass in the owner's Wallet, for contacts to scan. Nothing goes into the customer's Wallet |
| QR code and link sharingOn the van, on the invoice, in a text | echocard A QR code and a link on every card, free, plus a card page for desktop | HiHello QR code, link, text, email, WhatsApp, widgets, social media, email signature |
| NFC hardware neededA tag or card you have to buy and carry | echocard No. Nothing to buy, nothing to tap, nothing to lose | HiHello Not needed. HiHello sells no hardware; Professional can write the card to a tag you already own |
| Follow-up messages to the customerAfter they have your card, without you doing anything | echocard Pro. A thank you the next day and a reminder a month on, as lock screen notifications from your card | HiHello Not stated. A contact manager with notes and tags helps you follow up yourself |
| Google review button on the cardOne tap to the review box | echocard On the back of every card, free, beside call, book and save contact | HiHello A link you add yourself among unlimited links. Not a dedicated button |
| Update the card after it has been sharedNew number, new hours, new logo | echocard Change it once and every saved card updates on its own | HiHello Keep your details up to date, no reprints required |
| A message to every phone that has the cardHoliday hours, a new service, a thank you | echocard Pro. One update, sent once, to every phone that has your card, one a week at most | HiHello Not stated. There is no channel to a customer's phone after the save |
| Save to Wallet button for your websiteFor the visitor who is not in front of you | echocard Pro. One line of code, a button in your colour, no developer | HiHello A QR code you can download and place on a website |
| Team cardsCards for staff, managed from one place | echocard No. One business, one owner. Pro adds a personal card beside the company card | HiHello Business, $5 per user a month billed yearly, five-user minimum: templates, directory, SSO, admin dashboard |
| Paper card and badge scannerFor collecting other people's details | echocard No. The card is for your customers to keep, not for collecting contacts | HiHello Five paper card or badge scans a month free, 20 on Professional, 50 per user on Business |
| CRM integrationsSalesforce, HubSpot and the rest | echocard No. There is no contact list to sync | HiHello Business: Salesforce, HubSpot and Microsoft Dynamics |
| Numbers you can seeIs it working | echocard Pro. Saves over time and every tap on book, call and review, card by card | HiHello Professional: card analytics with views, saves and leads |
| Free planWhat you get for nothing | echocard One card in Apple Wallet and Google Wallet, unlimited saves, QR code, link, card page, updates | HiHello Two cards, five scans a month, QR, widget, email and SMS sharing, Wallet, email signature, virtual backgrounds |
| Paid plan priceFor one person | echocard US$9.99 a month, cancel any time | HiHello Professional $72 a year ($6 a month billed yearly); $9 a month as an in-app purchase on the App Store |
| Built for local trades and servicesWho the product is for | echocard Yes. A card the customer keeps, so they rebook, call and leave a review | HiHello Built for professionals who network, and for teams; the paid tiers lead with scanning and lead capture |
Pricing comparison
Both sets of prices as shown on 20 October 2026. HiHello’s can change; the references at the end say where to check.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| FreeFree for as long as you like | $0 |
|
| ProCancel any time. | US$9.99a month |
|
Nothing to print and no card details to start. Pro runs to the end of the month you paid for when you cancel.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| PersonalFree forever, no credit card, one user | $0 |
|
| Professional$72 a year, one user; the App Store lists $9 a month monthly | $6a month billed yearly |
|
| Business$60 per user a year, five to 100 users, 14-day trial | $5per user a month billed yearly |
|
| Enterprise100 or more users | Custom |
|
HiHello's pricing page shows different card counts in its comparison table (4, 16, unlimited) from its plan cards (2, 8). We have quoted the plan cards. Annual billing is the only price shown on the site for Professional.
HiHello's card is viewed. echocard's card is kept.
HiHello says no app is needed to receive or view your card, and that is true. The customer opens your link, sees a tidy page with your photo and details, and imports them into their contacts. From then on you are a contact, the same as the last three people they met.
An echocard is a pass in the customer's Wallet. It carries your name, logo and colour on the front, and book, call, Google review and save contact on the back. It is in the app they open at the checkout, not in a list they search when they already remember your name.
A QR code in your Wallet is not a card in theirs
HiHello's Wallet feature is for you. Its help centre says it: you can use your Apple Wallet to show your card's QR code, and your virtual card will appear when scanned. On Android the steps are to download your QR code and add it to Google Wallet as an image. Handy for showing your code with no signal, and the same thing echocard gives you for your own copy.
echocard's Wallet feature is for the customer. They press Add and the pass is theirs, with your buttons on the back, updated whenever you change your number or hours. That difference is the whole product, and it is why the comparison is not really about features.
After the save: nothing, or two messages
HiHello's pages describe no message to the person who received your card. What it has is a contact manager for you, with notes, tags and a timeline of who you met, and lead capture forms on Business. One recent App Store reviewer asks for the free plan to at least show the last few people who saved the card.
echocard Pro sends a thank you the next day and a reminder a month on, to every phone that saved the card, as lock screen notifications from your card. You can also send one update a week to everyone: holiday hours, a new service. Free shows the card; Pro is what happens after the save.
Two good free plans, for different things
HiHello's free plan is the best of the three we compared. Two cards, five scans a month, an email signature and a virtual background, and Wallet for your own code. Reviewers on Google Play call it the best free digital business card they have found, and that is fair. Professional at $72 a year adds eight cards, branding, analytics and twenty scans; it is a plan for someone who meets a lot of people.
echocard's free plan is one card, in both Wallets, with the QR code, link and card page, the four buttons on the back, and updates to every saved copy. Pro at US$9.99 a month adds the follow-ups, the update message, the website button, your numbers and a second card. It costs more than HiHello Professional and does a different job.
Where HiHello is better, plainly
If you collect contacts, HiHello is better: a scanner that reads paper cards and badges with human checking, a contact manager with notes and tags, an email signature and a virtual background for free, custom fonts and branded video on Professional, a team tier with templates, a company directory, SSO and CRM sync to Salesforce, HubSpot and Dynamics. It sells no hardware, which keeps it honest, and it will write your card to any NFC tag you already own.
echocard has no scanner, no contact manager, no email signature, no team tier and no NFC writing. It is a card for the customer to keep, and the parts that make that work.
What HiHello users complain about
These are recent public reviews of HiHello, quoted as written, from the App Store and Trustpilot. Each one has what echocard does about it, including where echocard has the same limit.
The customer is sent to a website and an app
“It shouldn't take them to a 3rd party website, to download an app, setup that app with login information”
echocard: HiHello does say no app is needed to view a card, so this reviewer may have hit the exchange flow. Either way, the echocard customer sees one page and one button, Add to Apple Wallet or Add to Google Wallet, and never an app or a login.
An ad shown to the people you share with
“anyone that chooses to share their contact details with me is then forced to view an advertisement.”
echocard: An echocard pass shows the business's name, logo and colour, and the back is the business's buttons. The customer never sees echocard's brand compete with yours, on Free or on Pro.
Saved by QR, then nowhere to be found
“Easy to use, hard to find”
echocard: The reviewer says people who scanned the code could not find the details in their contacts. An echocard sits in Wallet as a card with your logo on it, not as an entry in a contact list, and Save contact is one of the buttons on the back for anyone who wants both.
Free, but not enough to see who saved the card
“the free version should let you review at least 2-5 people who saved your card”
echocard: echocard has the same limit, in a different shape: numbers are part of Pro. On Free you have the card and the sharing; Pro shows how many phones have the card and what they tapped. Neither plan shows who, because echocard does not collect the customer's name.
The card looks wrong on the other platform
“When someone who has a platform that is not Apple opens my business card formatting is incorrect”
echocard: An echocard is drawn by Apple Wallet on iPhone and by Google Wallet on Android, not by a web page, so the layout is the Wallet's own. The two differ in small ways (Google Wallet lays the buttons out as a list) and both are the real pass, which is also what the preview shows you while you build it.
Bottom line
HiHello is a generous free networking card with a scanner, an email signature and a team tier, and it sells nothing it does not need to. echocard is a card for the customer's Wallet, with a Google review button on the back and follow-ups on the lock screen for US$9.99 a month. If you meet people and want to keep their details, choose HiHello. If you want customers to keep your card and come back, choose echocard.
References
- HiHello pricing (checked 20 October 2026)
- HiHello digital business cards (sharing, no app for recipients) (checked 20 October 2026)
- HiHello help centre: how to share your card with Apple Wallet (checked 20 October 2026)
- HiHello: how to add your digital business card to Google Wallet (checked 20 October 2026)
- HiHello: NFC business cards (no hardware sold) (checked 20 October 2026)
- HiHello: Digital Business Card on the App Store (checked 20 October 2026)
- HiHello: Digital Business Card on Google Play (checked 20 October 2026)
- HiHello on Trustpilot (checked 20 October 2026)
Frequently asked questions
Is there a HiHello alternative for a local trade or service business?
Yes. echocard is a digital business card that goes into the customer's Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, with call, book, Google review and save contact on the back. Pro follows up on the customer's lock screen. It is free to start and needs no app or NFC tag.
Is HiHello free?
Yes. HiHello's Personal plan is free forever for one user and includes two digital business cards, five paper card or badge scans a month, QR, widget, email, SMS and WhatsApp sharing, Apple and Google Wallet, an email signature and virtual backgrounds. Professional is $72 a year, as of 20 October 2026.
Does HiHello put the card in the customer's Wallet?
No. HiHello's help centre describes adding your own card to your own Apple Wallet so it can show your QR code for contacts to scan, and on Android adding your QR code image to Google Wallet. The person who scans it opens your card page. echocard puts the card in the customer's Wallet.
Does HiHello send follow-up messages?
Not that its pages describe. HiHello has a contact manager with notes and tags for the owner, and lead capture forms on Business. echocard Pro sends a thank you and a reminder to every phone that has your card, as lock screen notifications.