civlyStart tonight — $79/yr
One parent, day one

If your co-parent
won't join.

It's the first question everybody asks and the one nobody answers straight. So: your calendar, documents, journal and record work alone, from day one, with nothing sent to anyone. Messaging and expense splits need both accounts. Here's exactly where that line falls.

Set up your side — $79/yearCompare every app
Works alone, day one

Your side, without their permission.

Upload the order or the parenting plan and the custody weeks fill in. Keep the documents in one place. Keep a dated journal. Paste a school email and the dates land on the calendar. Export any of it with a code the other side can check at civly.com/verify without going through us. None of that requires a second account, and none of it notifies anyone.

Switches on when they accept

Messaging and the money split.

A Civly message is a timestamped delivery between two accounts — that is what makes it a record rather than a note to yourself, and it is why it needs someone on the other end. Expense splitting works the same way: the receipt has to land on two houses. Both switch on the day your co-parent accepts, and your calendar and journal carry over untouched.

What we don't do

We don't message a non-user.

Some apps will relay to a co-parent who never signs up. BestInterest's Solo Mode routes messages and calls through their app so your own number stays private, and Larkling includes a Solo Mode on its free core plan. Civly does not route to a non-user. If your co-parent will never install anything at all, that is a genuine reason to choose one of them over us, and we would rather say so here than have you find out after paying.

Before you pay for any of them

Four questions worth asking.

  • What still works on my side alone? Get the feature list, not a yes or no. Every app in this category draws the line somewhere different.
  • Does signing up notify my co-parent? This matters a great deal if you are still in the same house and have not filed.
  • Is it billed per parent or per family? Almost every US app bills per parent, which doubles the household cost when the second parent joins. Civly is $79 each. Larkling's Premium is the notable per-family exception.
  • What does it cost to get my records out, and can I still do it after I cancel? This is the fee nobody shops for and everybody eventually needs. On Civly, exporting is included.

We wrote up every app's real price, with the tier named and the date checked, in what co-parenting apps cost in 2026.

Does Civly work if only one parent signs up?
Partly, and here is the line. Your custody calendar, your documents, your journal and your exportable record all work from day one, alone. Messaging and expense-splitting need both accounts, because a Civly message is a timestamped delivery between two accounts.
Will my co-parent know I signed up?
Not unless you invite them. Setting up your own side sends nothing to anyone. You choose if and when an invite goes out.
Can I use a co-parenting app before I file?
Yes. Nothing about Civly requires a filed case or a court order. Many people set up their calendar and start their journal while still living in the same house. Ask your attorney how a contemporaneous record is treated in your state before you rely on it.
Which apps work if your ex never joins at all?
BestInterest's Solo Mode routes messages and calls through their app to a co-parent who never joins, which keeps your own number private. Larkling's free core plan also includes a Solo Mode. Civly does not route to a non-user. If your co-parent will never install anything, that is a real reason to look at those two.
What does it cost to start on my own?
$79 a year or $7.99 a month, per parent. There is one plan and every feature is in it. If your co-parent joins later they pay their own $79 — Civly is priced per parent, not per family.

Set up your side · $79/yr

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