AppClose is no longer free. Here is what co-parents can do now.

For years AppClose was the free co-parenting app most people recommended. Since January 2026 it is a paid subscription. Its pricing page now offers a 60-day free trial with no card needed, then £5.99 a month if you subscribe on the web or £8.99 a month if you subscribe inside the app, with prepaid options of £64.99 a year or £109.99 for two years (appclose.com/pricing, read 29 September 2026). Prices were shown to us in pounds; other countries see their own currency.

If you set it up when it was free, or someone recommended it to you as the free option, that advice is now out of date. This page covers who can still use AppClose for free, what to save if you are moving, and a genuinely free option for both parents.

AppClose still gives free accounts to parents in financial hardship and to survivors of domestic abuse, and offers a discount for military families. If that is you, apply for its fee waiver before you move anything. Staying where your record already is can be the right call, especially if a court or solicitor already knows the app.

If you are in danger or worried about your safety, a helpline matters more than any app. In Ireland call Women’s Aid on 1800 341 900; in the UK the National Domestic Abuse Helpline is on 0808 2000 247. Both are free and open day and night.

Free, for both parents: secure messages with a tone check before they send, a shared calendar with handovers, documents you can keep private or share, tasks, a journal, packing lists, the child wellbeing check-in, and connecting a mediator or solicitor when you both agree. You can set up your family and calendar before your co-parent joins, then invite them when you are ready.

Premium, one plan for the whole family: expenses and shared costs, maintenance tracking, payment requests, reports and court documents. £10.99 a month or £109.99 a year in the UK, €12.99 a month or €129.99 a year in Ireland, and priced in local currency in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Neither parent pays separately.

Free runs the day to day. Premium is money and evidence. There is no time limit on Free.

1. Save what you have first. Before your AppClose trial or subscription ends, download or screenshot the messages, calendar and expense records you may need later. Check what AppClose lets you export from your account.
2. Install ParenThing from Google Play or the App Store, or use the web app at app.parenthing.ie, and create your family.
3. Invite your co-parent. One invite, one shared space, and it is free for them too.
4. Rebuild the calendar from your parenting plan or court order, and upload the documents you saved.

We are a small company in Ireland, not a big US one. If something does not make sense, email support@parenthing.ie and a person answers.