Alternative to Cozi: Custody X Change Co-Parenting App
Cozi and Custody X Change are both excellent apps for scheduling and organizing family life. If your family lives together, Cozi is for you. If you're divorced or separated, Custody X Change is your best choice. Here's why.
Cozi versus Custody X Change
Custody X Change
- Primary use: Organizing parenting in two households
- Target user: Divorced or separated families
- Install from: custodyxchange.com
Custody X Change offers tools for day-to-day co-parenting, like calendars, messaging and expense tracking. It also helps with your custody case, thanks to a parenting plan template, parenting time calculator, and more.
Cozi
- Primary use: Organizing one family household
- Target user: Families who live together
- Install from: App stores
Cozi focuses on organizing the daily agenda for a family that lives together. It also helps with meal planning — you can explore recipes and add them to your Cozi calendar.
Features compared
Both apps have...
- Activities calendar: View activities all at once or by child (plus, in Cozi, by parent). Get reminders about upcoming activities.
- Checklists: Make chore lists, birthday wish lists, etc.
- Syncing with other calendar apps: See your activities in Google Calendar or other calendars.
- Offline access: In Custody X Change, access everything offline. In Cozi, access your lists offline.
- Mobile and desktop views: Move between your phone, computer and tablet.
Only Custody X Change has...
- Custody calendar: Explore popular schedules. Automatically add holiday sharing.
- Expense tracking: See what each parent owes for every purchase.
- Child-info storage: Save details to check on the go, like clothing sizes.
- Messaging: Send and receive time-stamped, printable messages. Get prompted to change hostile language.
- Parenting time calculator: See your percentage of planned time. Compare it to your actual time.
- Parenting plan template: Make a court-ready agreement or proposal.
- Journal: Document what's happening. It stays private from your co-parent.
- Linking with legal professionals: Give your lawyers and mediators free access to your information.
- Exportable evidence: Print or download data for the other parent or the court.
Only Cozi has...
- Recipe planner: Explore recipes, add them to your calendar, and put the ingredients on your shopping list.
- Birthday reminders: Enter birthdays of friends, family, anyone.
Other things to consider
Free versions
Both apps have limited free versions.
For example, Cozi's free version only lets you access the next 30 days on your calendar and has ads. The free version of Custody X Change limits you to scheduling five holidays and doesn't allow printing.
Paid versions
In Cozi, one subscription covers the whole family. You must pay for an entire year up front.
In Custody X Change, each parent needs a subscription to link accounts with each other. Everyone else you link with gets free access. You can pay monthly or annually.
Who gets access
In Cozi, everyone you give access to shares one password. Kids have access to everything parents do, so remind them not to delete anything important.
In Custody X Change, each person gets their own password, and they can access what's appropriate for them. Kids and guests can access only the calendars; co-parents can access everything except each other's journal and calendar of missed or late visits. You can also link with your legal professionals, who get access to everything.
Bottom line
Which app you should use depends on your circumstances. If you're just looking to arrange your family's activities and meals, use Cozi. If you need an app for co-parents, Custody X Change — you'll be able to see your custody schedule years into the future, track expenses and more.