What Do Co-Parenting Apps Cost in 2026?

Most price comparisons in this category are useless, for one reason: they quote the cheapest tier, and the cheapest tier usually doesn't include the feature you came for. So here is every major co-parenting app's pricing as of 11 September 2026, with the tier named, the billing basis stated, and the source linked.

One disclosure first: we make Civly. Read our numbers with that in mind, and check any figure against the company's own pricing page — we've linked them.

The prices, with tiers named

| App | Price | Billed | Notes | |---|---|---|---| | Civly | $79/year or $7.99/month | Per parent | One plan; every feature included, no higher tier | | AppClose | $7.99/month, or $83.88/year prepaid | Per parent | Was free for years; ended the free model January 2026 | | TalkingParents | Essentials ~$77/year ($7/mo) · Enhanced ~$177/year ($16/mo) · Ultimate $32/mo (~$353/year on annual billing) | Per parent | Free tier ended 30 March 2026 | | OurFamilyWizard | Tiers from ~$110 to ~$299.88/year; Essentials $149.99/year | Per parent | Writing Assistant starts at Essentials; certified records sit on the $216 Premium tier | | BestInterest | $14.99/month or $149.99/year | Per parent | Free tier since 28 January 2026; Message Shield, Tone Guardian and Solo Mode are paid | | Civil Communicator | $65/month, $150/quarter, or $395/year | Per person | Metered at 30 reviewed-communication credits a month | | Two Paths | $119 or $189/year | Per parent | | | Larkling | Free core plan; Premium £6.99/month | Per family | Early access as of September 2026; advanced AI and PDF exports are Premium |

The three things that actually change your bill

1. Per parent or per family. This is the biggest hidden multiplier in the category. Almost every app in the US market charges per parent, which means the household total is double the sticker price if both of you join. On Civly that's $79 each — $158 a year across two households, and we'd rather you hear that from us than discover it at checkout. Larkling's Premium is the notable exception at per-family pricing.

2. Which tier includes the writing help. If you're shopping for an app because messages keep going badly, the AI or tone feature is the whole point — and it's usually not in the cheapest tier. OurFamilyWizard's Writing Assistant starts at $149.99/year. TalkingParents' Sentiment Scanner and Writing Assist sit on Ultimate, about $353/year. BestInterest's Tone Guardian and Message Shield require a paid plan. Civly includes its rewrite in the only plan it has, which is the single comparison we actually make.

3. What it costs to get your records out. This is the fee nobody shops for and everybody eventually needs. Certified or court-formatted exports are a paid upsell on several platforms — OurFamilyWizard puts certified records on its $216 Premium tier, and reviewers describe paying per-page or per-request fees elsewhere to retrieve their own history. Ask before you sign up: what does it cost to export everything, and can I do it after I cancel?

Civly is not the cheapest, and we say so

On raw sticker price, we lose. AppClose at $83.88/year prepaid and TalkingParents Essentials at about $77/year are both cheaper than $79 — but neither includes AI writing help at that price. The only price claim we make is like-for-feature: Civly is the one that puts the AI rewrite in its entry plan, because de-escalating the message before it sends is the product, not an upsell.

What we'd check before paying for any of them

• Can you export everything, free, including after cancellation?
• Which tier has the feature you came for — not the cheapest tier?
• Is it per parent or per family, and what's the household total?
• What happens if your co-parent won't join or won't pay? (Ask specifically what still works on your side alone.)
• Does your court order already name a platform? If it does, use that one and ask your attorney before switching.

For what parents say about these apps once they're paying, we read every public review of the five biggest ones — all 9,600 of them. Pricing was the single most common complaint in the corpus.

Is there a free co-parenting app in 2026?

Barely. The two apps most people meant when they said "the free one" both started charging this year: AppClose ended its free model in January 2026, and TalkingParents began requiring a paid subscription on March 30, 2026. BestInterest offers a free tier, but keeps Message Shield, Tone Guardian and Solo Mode on paid plans. Larkling advertises a free core plan with basic tone coaching and puts its advanced AI and PDF exports on Premium at £6.99/month per family, and was in early access as of September 2026. Civly has no free tier — it's $79/year or $7.99/month, and we'd rather say that plainly than advertise a free plan that ends at the feature you needed.

Which co-parenting app is cheapest?

On sticker price, TalkingParents Essentials (about $77/year) and AppClose (about $83.88/year prepaid) are the cheapest paid options — but neither includes AI writing help at that tier. If you're comparing plans that actually include a tone or rewrite feature, the entry points are Civly at $79/year, OurFamilyWizard at $149.99/year, BestInterest at $149.99/year, and TalkingParents at about $353/year.

Are co-parenting apps billed per parent or per family?

Almost all of them bill per parent in the US market, which means the real household cost is double the advertised price when both parents join. Civly is $79 per parent, so $158 a year across two households. Larkling's Premium is the notable exception, billed per family.

Do co-parenting apps charge extra to export your records?

Some do, and it's the fee that hurts most because it lands exactly when you need the record. OurFamilyWizard places certified records on its $216/year Premium tier. In the public reviews we read, parents described per-page charges and paid requests to retrieve their own history on other platforms. Ask before you sign up: what does a full export cost, and can I still do it after I cancel? On Civly, exporting is included, and every certified export carries a code anyone can check at civly.com/verify.

Sources

Every figure above comes from the company's own published pricing page, checked on the date noted: OurFamilyWizard · TalkingParents · AppClose · BestInterest · Civil Communicator · Larkling · Civly.

Prices change, and this page will go stale. If you find a figure that's wrong or out of date, email hello@civly.com and we'll correct it — that offer stands for the companies listed here too.

Civly is not a law firm and does not provide legal advice.

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