19 Helpful Co-Parenting Apps for Divorced Parents

The best co-parenting apps help with communication, child support and custody schedules after divorce. Separated parents can make life easier for their kids with these great co-parenting apps.

Elisa Cinelli

Updated: February 20, 2023

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When you and your spouse divorce or split up, you don’t divorce your kids.

Whether your divorce was messy or amicable. If you have shared custody, it’s important both parents remain civil and put the kids’ best interests first – even if you’d prefer to never speak to each other again.

Co-parenting can be complicated and communication is essential. There’s a lot to keep track of, between the custody schedule, two different houses with two different toys or closets of clothes, and coordinating drop off and pick up.

Guess what? there’s an app for that.

We rounded up the 20 best co-parenting apps out there. Take a look through our list to find one that fits your family’s needs.

The Best Apps to Make Co-Parenting Easier on Kids

Especially if you’re newly divorced, figuring out all your new routines can lead to disagreements about who gets what time with the kids and how best to divide up the costs of childcare, field trips, school supplies, etc.

All this confusion adds even more stress to a stressful situation for both you and your kids. Experiencing their parents separating and adapting to traveling back and forth between different households is already difficult for children. It falls on you and your co-parent to make this transition as easy as possible for them.

There are many great apps designed to solve common co-parenting problems like communication, finances, and coordinating schedules. Using these digital tools can help divorced couples stick to a parenting plan that works.

What to Look For

The type of co-parenting app you need is going to depend on your family’s unique situation. If you have a complex custody schedule or your ex-spouse has trouble sticking to it, look for apps with calendars that not only plan out your schedule but also record what actually goes down.

Mother and father taking their daughter to school

If your parent and you do not have strong communication, consider an app with a messenger that allows you to set boundaries, or at least one that keeps records of all interactions.

Kids are expensive — if you find that the two of you are always trying to figure out whether you split your kid’s clothes, sports gear, school supplies, and whatever else look for an app that lets you record all this and request payments. Some apps will let you send money through them as well.

Best Co-Parenting Apps After a Divorce

AppClose is our all-around top pick for the best co-parenting app! It’s super simple to use and includes everything from calendars to documented communication opens to digital payment features and more. Plus, it’s free!

AppClose

Features:

Shared calendar
Messenger where you can communicate with your former partner or your attorney, or both in a shared chat
Voice and video calling
Communication is documented, including unanswered calls
Ability to make requests, such as payments or schedule swaps.
You and your former spouse can even make payments to each other through the app — again, all documented.

You can download AppClose for free on the App Store and Google Play for Android users.

Apps for Divorced Parents to Communicate

Communication is not always easy after separation. You might not want to talk to your ex, or they might be the type who turns everything into a long-winded argument that goes nowhere. There’s something about keeping all communication in the parenting app that helps people stay focused on the kids.

Couple in conflict sitting on sofa at home, using smart phones.

Additionally, going through a third-party app makes it easier to avoid giving your ex your current phone number or email address if that’s something you’d prefer to avoid.If your former spouse is a particularly difficult or toxic communicator, look into features that limit communication and set boundaries. You can set some of these apps so that you only receive messages at a certain time of the day, for example.

Amicable Co-parenting

Features:

Color-coded calendar
Co-parenting schedules
Private messaging

The Amicable Coparenting App is available in the App Store and Google Play.

coParenter

Features:

Messenger
Shared calendar
Access to live mediators that you can access on-demand, any time to deal with conflicts

coParenter is available in the App Store.

Coparently

Features:

Color-coded child custody calendar
Documented messaging
Expense management tool that calculates everything for you and keeps track of who paid for what
Shared contacts

Coparently is available in the App Store and Google Play.

Peaceful CoParenting Messenger

Features:

Boundaries in communication, such as limits on message length, time of day to receive messages or total daily messages. This can be very helpful if you want to avoid those lengthy arguments.
Ability to highlight important or offensive messages
A menu of pre-written messages to choose from that help keep communication focused
Messages cannot be altered and records may be used in court

Peaceful CoParenting Messenger is Available in the App Store.

Talking Parents

Features:

Voice calls available without having to share your phone number
Voice calls are recorded and transcribed
Expense reports
Shared calendar

Talking Parents is available to download in the App Store and Google Play.

Scheduling Apps for Divorced Parents

Kids’ schedules tend to be overwhelming in the first place, and it can get even more confusing when you’re trying to get them where they need to go when they need to be there, from two separate households.

Custody agreements can be difficult to remember or keep track of as well.

The following apps have great shared calendars and other features that can help make this easier.

Cozi Family Organizer

Features:

Tracks activities
Color-coded calendar
Includes to-do lists
Applicable for any family, including co-parenting families

You can download Cozi in the App Store and Google Play.

Custody X Change

Features:

Helps you create a shared custody schedule
Generates graphs based on time spent with each parent
Allows you to track what actually happens
Generates reports you may be able to use in court

Custody X Change is currently only available as a paid subscription desktop version for both Windows and Mac.

Google Calendar

Features:

Color-coded custody and visitation calendar
Shared calendar with notifications and reminders that allow each parent to share their schedule with whomever they choose.

Google Calendar is available on the App Store and Google Play.

Parentship

Features:

The dashboard displays upcoming events
Shared calendar
Profiles for each child, including secure vital information such as birth certificates, social security numbers, and passport information

Parentship is available on Google Play.

Best Apps for Co-parenting Expenses

Got an ex who won’t pay up? If they’re just forgetful, an app can help remind them and keep track of any child support or funds they owe you. And if they’re being difficult, these apps help you keep track of what you’re owed and whether it’s been paid up.

Happy mother and daughter shopping at a store and buying stationery - school supplies concepts

Plus, many of these co-parenting expenses apps include easy-to-use budget tools that allow each parent to see exactly what they are contributing to each child across different areas from food to clothing to extras like vacations and electronics.

DComply

Features:

Expense tracking tool that allows you to request payment and upload proof of payment
Payment through the app
Ability to pay and receive child support through the app, directly to your bank
Autopay and recurring payment options
Ability to dispute payments or nonpayments through the app

DComply is available in the App Store and Google Play.

Fayr

Features:

Shared calendar that tracks custody
Easy communication through messages
Ability to add, categorize, and monitor expenses
Invoices and receipts can easily be uploaded

You can download Fayr in the App Store and Google Play.

Onward - Co-Parenting Expenses

Features:

Expense tracking tool
Notifications to improve communication ease and response times, especially if communication is sometimes strained or infrequent from one parent.
Visual spending data to help you know what each parent is spending on the kids across different categories.

Onward is available in the App Store and Google Play.