Comparison
AppClose alternatives for co-parents (2026)
AppClose shut down in January 2026, leaving co-parents who relied on it for messaging, expense tracking, and their shared calendar looking for somewhere to go. If you're reading this because your app stopped working, here's what matters when you pick the next one — and what to get out of AppClose first.
First: get your records out
Export or screenshot anything you might need later: your message history, expense records, and your calendar. A record you can't retrieve is a record you don't have.
What actually matters when you pick the next one
AppClose was free, which is why it was popular and, ultimately, why it closed. Any replacement that intends to stay open has a business model — the question worth asking is whether it's one you can live with.
- Records you can rely on. If a message history can be edited or deleted, it isn't evidence. Look for append-only records and a way to verify an export is genuine.
- What it costs both of you. Per-parent pricing is the most common complaint about every paid app in this category — the parent who didn't want the app resents paying, and often simply doesn't.
- Whether your court or attorney expects a specific one. If there's an order naming an app, that settles it — ask your attorney before switching.
Where Connecting Nests fits
We're building the full toolset — records, calendar, expenses — with one price covering both parents. It isn't finished yet, and we'd rather say so than oversell it. What's live today is genuinely useful on its own: free state-specific parenting plan templates, schedule guides, and a parenting-time calculator.
Build my parenting plan — free