Cheaper than OurFamilyWizard: the real cost for two parents

OurFamilyWizard is a capable app with a long track record, and for some families it is the right choice. But its pricing has a feature that is easy to miss until after you have signed up: each parent needs their own subscription. The price on the pricing page is not what your family pays. It is what one of you pays.

This page sets out the current numbers for Ireland, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and Canada, what two parents actually end up paying, where OurFamilyWizard genuinely earns its price, and what the cheaper options cover.

One difference worth knowing if you are in Ireland. The Irish site carries a fourth, cheaper entry plan called Basic at €99.99 a year that does not appear on the UK site at all. Irish Premium, on the other hand, is priced higher than UK Premium in its own currency. So the cheapest way in is available in Ireland, and the middle of the range is not. We have quoted each market in its own currency rather than converting, because the exchange rate is not the point and converting would only blur it.

As in the UK, there is no Basic plan in these three countries, so Essentials is the cheapest way in. The same per-parent rule applies word for word on all three sites: each parent needs their own subscription, although one parent may pay for both.

This is the part that changes the maths, so it is worth quoting rather than paraphrasing. From the OurFamilyWizard pricing FAQ:

"You and your co-parent will each have your own accounts, and these accounts will be linked together within a private family forum. Once you sign up, we will reach out to your co-parent with the information they need to get started and activate their subscription. You will each need to have your own subscriptions, but you are able to pay for your co-parent if you would like."

Two things follow from that, and the second is often misreported. First, the family needs two subscriptions, so the real cost is double the advertised price. Second, that does not necessarily mean two people paying: one parent can pay for both. It is still two subscriptions and still double the money, but it can come from one card, which matters if the other parent will not or cannot pay.

A comparison that only lists the cheaper option is not much use, so here is the honest other side. There are real reasons families choose it.

• Documented calling, recording and transcription. Calls made inside the app are logged, and at Max they are recorded and transcribed. Nothing on the cheaper end of the market does this, and in a genuinely high-conflict case it can matter.
• Twenty years and familiarity. It has been used by family professionals for a long time, and a solicitor or mediator is more likely to have seen its exports before. Familiarity is not the same as approval, and no court in Ireland or the UK approves any app, but it is worth something.
• Free accounts for other people. Child accounts, extended family accounts and professional accounts carry no extra charge.
• Fee waivers. They state plainly: "We offer free or discounted subscriptions to parents in financial need", and there is a separate discount for military members. If cost is the only thing stopping you, ask before you rule it out.
• A 30 day refund. There is no free trial, but there is a full refund within the first 30 days, with the caveat on their own page that refund policies vary by platform.

If you need recorded, transcribed calls, or your solicitor has specifically asked for OurFamilyWizard, the price is the price and this page will not talk you out of it.

Most families are not running a high-conflict case with recorded calls. Stripped back, the recurring needs are a shared calendar so handovers are not in dispute, written messages with dates attached, somewhere to keep documents, and a way to track money.

The first three of those are free in ParenThing, for both parents: calendar, messaging, documents, tasks, the child wellbeing check-in, a private journal and packing lists. Connecting a professional such as your mediator or solicitor is also free on every plan, and you can withdraw their access at any time.

Money tracking is the one that is not free. Expenses, maintenance and payment tracking, along with reports and court documents, are on Premium at €12.99 a month or €129.99 a year in Ireland, £10.99 a month or £109.99 a year in the UK, and A$23.99, NZ$29.99 or C$20.99 a month in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. That is one subscription for the family, not one each, which is the whole point of this page.

• AppClose used to be the usual answer when cost was the only consideration, but it ended its free tier in January 2026 and now charges a subscription after a 60-day trial, with fee waivers for parents who qualify. It is US hosted, which matters more to some families than others.
• 2houses charges one fee per family rather than per parent, so it avoids the doubling even though it has no free tier.
• ParenThing is free to start for both parents, one subscription per family if you upgrade, and your data is held in the EU.

If where your data lives is part of the decision, we go into that on GDPR and your co-parenting data. If it is the court question that is on your mind, see whether co-parenting app messages count as evidence, which explains why no app is court approved here.

• Take the advertised price and double it. That is your household cost on OurFamilyWizard.
• Ask whether you need recorded or transcribed calls. If you do, the premium tiers are doing something the free options do not.
• If money is tight, ask about the fee waiver before ruling anything out.
• If your co-parent will not join anything, see what to do when your co-parent refuses to use a co-parenting app, because paying twice for a tool only one of you opens is the worst of both.
• Start free where you can. The essentials are the part you will actually use every week.