Co-parenting apps compared: what each one actually does
Shared calendars, expense splitting, and a message record a court will accept. We do not sell one of these, which is why we can tell you the thing the comparisons written by the vendors leave out.
Some of these produce a record designed to be used in court. At least one explicitly disclaims that in its own terms of service. If you are heading for a hearing, or a judge has ordered you to communicate through an app, that difference is the entire decision and it is almost invisible on the marketing pages. Check the terms, not the homepage.
The short version3 points · tap one to jump to it
- The comparison
- Each one, in more detail — The longest-established paid co-parenting communication and coordination platform: messaging, shared calendar, expense tracking/reimbursement (OFWpay), documented calling, and record-keeping for use in custody disputes.
- And the ones that have closed — If a comparison article you are reading still lists these as live products, it is old.
In this subject 4
The comparison
Prices are as stated on each product’s own site when we looked, and blank where they would not say. Prices change and we will get some of these wrong over time — check before you buy, and tell us when we are out of date.
| App | What it does | Price | Ordered by courts? | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OurFamilyWizard | The longest-established paid co-parenting communication and coordination platform: messaging, shared calendar, expense tracking/reimbursement (OFWpay), documented calling, and record-keeping for use in custody disputes. | $9.17+/mo (Basic, $110/yr) to $24.99/mo (Max, $299.88/yr); Essentials $12.50/mo ($149.99/yr); Premium $18/mo ($216/yr). All billed annually or 2-year term. | true – widely referenced in industry coverage and user reviews as the most commonly court-ordered/recommended co-parenting app in the US, 20+ years in the category; site itself markets ‘trusted by millions for over 20 years’ rather than stating a raw court-order count. | Their site |
| TalkingParents | Documentation-first co-parenting communication platform: unalterable, timestamped messaging, recorded/transcribed calling, shared calendar, expense tracking and payments, and exportable ‘court-ready’ records with digital signatures and authentication codes. | $32/mo (annual billing, described as ‘Save 8%’ vs monthly) for the top-documented plan shown, including 50GB Vault storage, unlimited calling, and 1 free printed records package; a 30-day free trial is offered. Lower tiers exist but exact prices were not confirmed on the pricing page as rendered. | unknown – site states records are designed to be ‘court-ready’ and ‘court-trusted’ but does not itself state a court-order statistic; not independently confirmed. | Their site |
| AppClose | All-inclusive co-parenting platform (messaging, calendar, calls, expenses/payments via ipayou, document vault, requests/reimbursements, pet management, and ‘Circles’ for multiple co-parenting relationships) marketed explicitly as the lowest-cost, all-in-one, court-recognized option. | $7.99/mo billed on the web ($8.99/mo via app store billing); prepaid annual $83.88/yr ($6.99/mo equivalent); 2-year $143.76 ($5.99/mo equivalent). 60-day free trial, no credit card required. Free accounts for financial hardship and domestic-violence survivors; discounts for military/veterans. | true, per the vendor – site states ‘court-ordered in every U.S. county’ and ‘recommended and ordered by courts and family law professionals in all 50 states,’ explicitly caveated as ‘based on user supplied data.’ Multiple user reviews quoted on-site describe being court-ordered to use it and having its records accepted in court, but this is vendor-published/anecdotal, not third-party verified. | Their site |
| 2Houses | Shared co-parenting calendar, expense management, and a family ‘Journal’ for sharing photos/notes/updates between two households; used by 370,000+ families per the vendor. | $14.17/mo, billed as $169.99 every 12 months, one subscription per family (either parent can pay). | unknown – not stated on site. | Their site |
| Custody X Change | Software focused on building, visualizing, and calculating custody schedules and generating court-ready written parenting plans; usable solo (without the other parent’s participation) or shared. | Plans start at $6/month, billed annually (per vendor homepage copy). | unknown – not stated as court-ordered; positioned as a self-help planning/documentation tool rather than a communication channel courts mandate. | Their site |
| Fayr | Co-parenting collaboration app covering expenses, scheduling, messaging, and location/GPS check-ins for documenting parenting-time exchanges, with an explicit emotional-support angle. | Free (Lite); Premium starting at $9.99 (monthly or annual subscription; exact annual figure not shown on the pricing page as loaded). | unknown – not stated on site. | Their site |
| Onward (expense-tracking co-parenting app) | Free co-parenting app focused narrowly on shared-expense tracking and secure payments between co-parents (per third-party listings; the vendor’s own site was not fully loaded during this research). | Free, per third-party listing text; not independently confirmed on the vendor’s own pricing page. | unknown | Their site |
| WeParent | Co-parenting coordination app: shared calendar, task management with due dates, expense tracking/splitting with receipt upload, built around ‘both parents always see the same data in real time.’ | €3.99/month or €39.99/year after a 7-day free trial (prices may vary by country); a distinct ‘WeParent by SupportPay’ Android/iOS product also exists per Google Play/App Store listings, described elsewhere as $9.99/mo, $99.99/yr, or $199.99 lifetime – these appear to be two different products sharing a similar name, which was not fully disambiguated in this research. | unknown | Their site |
| The Coparenting App | A newer entrant positioning itself as an ‘AI-powered, identity-verified’ coparenting platform with messaging, calendar, day-trade requests, check-ins, expenses, and calls, wrapped in enterprise-style security marketing. | Not shown/confirmed (site links to a Pricing page but pricing text was not captured in this research pass). | false, explicitly – the site’s own legal disclaimer states it is ‘not affiliated with, endorsed by, or connected to any court system’ and that ‘records and communications stored in this app may not be admissible as evidence in court proceedings.’ This is a notable contrast to AppClose/OFW/TalkingParents’ court-admissibility marketing. | Their site |
| Cozi | General-purpose shared family calendar and household organizer (not divorce-specific) – color-coded shared calendars, shared to-do/grocery lists, recipes, and agenda email/notification digests. Frequently used informally by co-parents as a lighter-weight alternative to dedicated co-parenting apps. | Not stated on their site when we looked | false – not built or marketed for the co-parenting/legal-documentation use case at all. | Their site |
Each one, in more detail
The longest-established paid co-parenting communication and coordination platform: messaging, shared calendar, expense tracking/reimbursement (OFWpay), documented calling, and record-keeping for use in custody disputes.
What it does that the others do not. Longest track record and highest brand recognition among family court professionals; built-in AI message ‘Writing Assistant’ to de-escalate tone before sending.
- Tiered plans: Basic ($9.17+/mo), Essentials ($12.50/mo) with 45 min/mo documented calling and an AI ‘Writing Assistant’ that rewrites messages for tone, Premium ($18/mo) with unlimited calling and unlimited certified/notarized records, Max ($24.99/mo) with call recording and transcription
- GPS-verified ‘Check-ins’ at custody exchanges
- First-viewed message timestamps
- Free child and third-party (extended family/caregiver) accounts
- Free access for attorneys/mental-health professionals to view account activity
- Unlimited downloadable PDF records; certified notarized/printed/mailed records on paid tiers
Documentation-first co-parenting communication platform: unalterable, timestamped messaging, recorded/transcribed calling, shared calendar, expense tracking and payments, and exportable ‘court-ready’ records with digital signatures and authentication codes.
What it does that the others do not. ‘Sentiment Scanner’ that rates a message’s emotional tone before sending, plus digitally-signed/authenticated unalterable record exports designed specifically as litigation evidence.
- Secure Messaging – timestamped, read-receipted, cannot be edited or deleted by either parent
- Sentiment Scanner + Writing Assist – scans a drafted message’s tone before sending and suggests rewrites
- Accountable Calling – records and transcribes calls, keeps phone numbers private
- Shared Calendar for custody schedules and transitions
- Accountable Payments – logs and tracks child support/expenses, 2% fee on the top plan
- Info Library (medical, school, emergency contacts) and a private Personal Journal
- Vault File Storage with expiring share links
- Unalterable Records – exportable court-ready PDF/printed records with digital signatures and authentication codes
All-inclusive co-parenting platform (messaging, calendar, calls, expenses/payments via ipayou, document vault, requests/reimbursements, pet management, and ‘Circles’ for multiple co-parenting relationships) marketed explicitly as the lowest-cost, all-in-one, court-recognized option.
What it does that the others do not. Lowest price of the major full-feature players plus ‘Solo Mode’ – the only one of these apps built to document interactions and reimbursement requests even when the other parent refuses to join, sent via text/email with tracked responses.
- Co-Parent Assist – built-in AI that reviews draft messages in real time and suggests less escalatory wording before sending
- Unlimited audio/video calling with mutual-consent recording and transcription, no monthly minute cap
- Unlimited Certified Electronic Business Records exports, independently verifiable by attorneys/courts via a verification website; business records affidavit available for subpoenas
- GPS-verified pickup/drop-off Check-ins, with location kept private (not shared with the other parent)
- AppClose Solo – lets a user send requests/expenses/events to a non-connected co-parent via text/email and get a documented response even if the other party never joins the app
- Pet management (vet visits, expenses, care schedules) inside the same ‘Circle’
- AppClose Pro – lets attorneys, GALs, mediators, and courts connect to view case-relevant records with consent or court order; includes an AI tool that summarizes/flags compliance issues for professionals
- 8-language localization
Shared co-parenting calendar, expense management, and a family ‘Journal’ for sharing photos/notes/updates between two households; used by 370,000+ families per the vendor.
What it does that the others do not. One account/one price covers the whole family (both parents, kids, and mediators) rather than charging each parent separately.
- Shared/synced co-parenting calendar
- Expense tracking between two households
- Custody ‘Journal’ for sharing news, photos, videos between homes
- Single subscription covers both parents, children, and third parties (mediators, family)
- 14-day free trial
Software focused on building, visualizing, and calculating custody schedules and generating court-ready written parenting plans; usable solo (without the other parent’s participation) or shared.
What it does that the others do not. The only major player in this list built around schedule visualization and generating an actual parenting-plan legal document, rather than around ongoing messaging.
- Visual custody schedule builder with premade holiday schedule templates
- Automatic parenting-time percentage calculations
- Generates a written, court-ready parenting plan document
- Usable entirely solo – no agreement or co-parent participation required to start
- Expense tracking with receipt uploads
- Data persists even if a subscription lapses and is later resumed
Co-parenting collaboration app covering expenses, scheduling, messaging, and location/GPS check-ins for documenting parenting-time exchanges, with an explicit emotional-support angle.
What it does that the others do not. Free forever entry tier plus a mechanism to get Premium free by referring your own divorce attorney into Fayr’s professional network – a growth-loop not seen on the other apps reviewed.
- Free-forever ‘Lite’ tier
- Geo-location check-in feature for court-admissible parenting-time records (per site’s own demo copy)
- Private Journal, File Vault, PDF exports on paid tier
- Free Premium access available to users whose attorney joins Fayr’s professional referral network
- Content/community angle – blog content framed around emotional co-parenting growth, not just logistics
Free co-parenting app focused narrowly on shared-expense tracking and secure payments between co-parents (per third-party listings; the vendor’s own site was not fully loaded during this research).
What it does that the others do not. Narrow single-purpose tool (expenses only) rather than a full communication/calendar suite – a lighter-weight alternative to OFW/AppClose.
- Shared expense tracking for child-related costs
- Secure payments between co-parents
- Marketed as free
Co-parenting coordination app: shared calendar, task management with due dates, expense tracking/splitting with receipt upload, built around ‘both parents always see the same data in real time.’
What it does that the others do not. Euro-denominated, low-cost subscription explicitly capped at 2 family members – a much smaller/cheaper footprint than OFW or TalkingParents.
- Shared custody/school/pickup calendar
- Task management with assigned responsibilities and due dates
- Expense tracking with automatic split calculations and receipt uploads for tax/legal record
- Encrypted, private family data
- Family accounts support up to 2 members per subscription
- 7-day free trial
A newer entrant positioning itself as an ‘AI-powered, identity-verified’ coparenting platform with messaging, calendar, day-trade requests, check-ins, expenses, and calls, wrapped in enterprise-style security marketing.
What it does that the others do not. The most AI-forward of the co-parenting apps reviewed (live tone monitoring shown in-product), but the vendor itself disclaims court admissibility – unusual candor in a category where competitors lead with court-readiness.
- AI ‘tone monitoring’ shown live inside the messaging UI on the marketing site
- Identity-verified parent accounts
- ‘Trade Days’ schedule-swap requests, check-ins, routines, and expense splitting in one dashboard
- Security marketing: SOC 2 aligned, AES-256 encryption, HIPAA-aligned, GDPR-ready, claimed 99.9% uptime
- Separate professional-facing tools for attorneys, mediators, and therapists
General-purpose shared family calendar and household organizer (not divorce-specific) – color-coded shared calendars, shared to-do/grocery lists, recipes, and agenda email/notification digests. Frequently used informally by co-parents as a lighter-weight alternative to dedicated co-parenting apps.
What it does that the others do not. Not divorce-specific; included only because divorced parents commonly adopt it as a free, low-conflict scheduling tool with no litigation framing attached.
- Shared color-coded family calendar across devices
- Shared to-do and grocery lists, recipes
- Automatic notifications and agenda emails
- Named a ‘must-have app’ by the TODAY show, per vendor site
And the ones that have closed
Worth knowing, because they are still recommended all over the internet by pages nobody has updated. If a comparison article you are reading still lists these as live products, it is old.
- Coparently. Formerly a co-parenting communication/scheduling app; as of this research the domain is a parked GoDaddy placeholder page with no live product.
If communication is working, no. These are not free and a shared calendar you both already use is not worse. The case for one is specific: when the communication itself is the problem, when you need a record you did not have to assemble by hand, or when a court has told you to. If it is the first of those, this page is the more useful one.
People ask why The Cusp does not have its own version of this. The honest answer: a court-usable message record means storing years of a family’s private communications, and this site is built on not holding anybody’s data at all. We would rather point you at the people who do it properly than become a worse version of them. How we make money.