How much does OurFamilyWizard cost? Plans, prices and alternatives

If a lawyer, mediator or court has mentioned OurFamilyWizard, the first question is usually what it costs. The answer depends on the plan, how long you sign up for, and where you live. The second question matters just as much: who pays, and does the other parent have to join?

This guide sets out OurFamilyWizard’s prices in the US and Australia, compares TalkingParents and AppClose, and explains when one of these apps is the right answer and when a one-sided tool fits better. All competitor prices are taken from each company’s own website as of October 2026. Prices change, so check their site for current pricing before you decide.

OurFamilyWizard plans and prices

In the US

OurFamilyWizard (often called OFW) sells subscriptions by the year or by two years, rather than month to month. As of October 2026, its US pricing page lists these plans:

Prices as of October 2026, from ourfamilywizard.com. Check their site for current pricing.

What each US plan includes

• Entry plan: the core tools, 1 GB of file storage and receive-only calls.
• Essentials: adds 45 minutes a month of documented calls, a Writing Assistant that helps you rewrite your own messages, schedule change requests, first-viewed timestamps, shared expense tracking, GPS-verified exchange check-ins, unlimited PDF record downloads and 5 GB of storage.
• Premium: adds unlimited calls, unlimited storage and unlimited notarised, printed and mailed certified records.
• Max: adds optional call recording and call transcriptions.

OFW also says it offers free or discounted subscriptions to parents in financial need, a greatly reduced rate for military families, and free limited accounts for children, extended family and professionals. Instead of a free trial, it offers a full refund within the first 30 days, though it notes refund policies vary by platform.

In Australia

OFW’s Australian site lists three plans in Australian dollars as of October 2026:

• Essentials: A$199.99 a year, or A$369 every two years.
• Premium: A$299.99 a year, or A$549.99 every two years.
• Max: A$399.99 a year, or A$739 every two years.

The features follow the same pattern as the US plans, with Premium adding unlimited calls and storage, and Max adding call recordings and transcriptions. The same 30-day refund and financial need provisions are listed. Prices from ourfamilywizard.com.au as of October 2026; check their site for current pricing.

The key point: each parent needs their own subscription

This is the part people often miss. OFW says you and your co-parent “will each need to have your own subscriptions”, with your accounts linked in a shared family space. You can choose to pay for the other parent, but there is no single family price.

In practice that roughly doubles the household cost. If both parents choose US Essentials on a one-year term, that is about US$300 a year between you. In Australia, two Essentials subscriptions come to about A$400 a year.

TalkingParents and AppClose prices

TalkingParents

As of October 2026, TalkingParents lists three plans in US dollars, billed monthly or annually (it says annual billing costs less):

• Essentials: US$7 a month, with 30 minutes of calls and 1 GB of storage.
• Enhanced: US$16 a month, with 60 minutes of calls, unlimited PDF records and 15 GB of storage.
• Ultimate: US$32 a month, with unlimited calls, unlimited PDF records, one free printed records package and 50 GB of storage.

Each plan offers a 30-day free trial. Since 30 March 2026, TalkingParents says a paid subscription is needed to use the app, and a fee waiver may be available for financial hardship or for survivors of domestic violence. You and your co-parent must match accounts to use it, though you can be on different plans. Its Sentiment Scanner is a self-help tool for your own messages; TalkingParents says it cannot be used on your co-parent’s messages. Prices from talkingparents.com as of October 2026; check their site for current pricing.

AppClose

AppClose is often described as free, but as of October 2026 its website lists a single paid plan: US$7.99 a month if you subscribe on the web, or US$8.99 a month in the app. It offers a 60-day free trial with no credit card, says there are no feature tiers and no export fees, and offers fee waivers for financial hardship and survivors of domestic violence.

Some AppClose features, such as sharing a calendar or sending a request by text or email, can reach a person who does not use the app. Messaging, however, is between people with active accounts. Its Co-Parent Assist works only when you turn it on, flagging wording in your own message that may seem confrontational and suggesting alternatives. Prices from appclose.com as of October 2026; check their site for current pricing.

Side-by-side comparison

Competitor details are from each company’s own website as of October 2026. Check their site for current pricing and features.

When an app like OurFamilyWizard is the right answer

These apps do a lot, and for many families they are the right choice:

• A court has ordered it. If your orders or parenting plan name a specific app, that comes first, and your lawyer can tell you what it requires.
• You can both cooperate. Shared calendars, expense tracking and payments work best when both parents use them.
• You want everything in one place. Messages, schedules, expenses and calls in a single record can make life simpler.
• You want a record neither of you can change. Permanent messages with read timestamps keep both parents accountable.

Our guide to choosing a co-parenting app walks through the options in more detail. If you are in the US, see our guide to co-parenting apps in the US.

When a one-sided tool fits better

A shared app depends on the other parent signing up, paying and using it. That is where things often stall. A one-sided tool may suit you better if:

• The other parent will not join, or keeps texting and emailing you anyway.
• The hostility is coming at you. Tone tools in shared apps help the writer. They do not change what lands in your inbox.
• You are not co-parenting at all, and need distance from an ex, a family member or someone else who will not stop.
• Cost is a barrier for two subscriptions.

Our guides on when a co-parenting app isn’t the right answer and co-parenting when the other parent won’t use an app cover this in more depth. If you already have court orders naming an app, check with your lawyer before changing how you communicate. This is general information, not legal advice.

How FenceChat works as an alternative

FenceChat is built for the situation where only one of you wants things to change. You sign up; the other parent does not. Every plan includes a FenceChat email address with filtering. The Essential plan is A$14 a month. Protected, at A$29 a month, adds a FenceChat mobile number so texts are filtered too. Legal, at A$59 a month, adds a PDF export of your Archive formatted for use in legal proceedings. Every plan starts with a free 30-day trial.

FenceChat opens in Australia first. If you are in the US or elsewhere, the pricing page shows the plans for your country and lets you know when it opens there. For a closer look at features, see how FenceChat is different from co-parenting apps.

FenceChat gives you a separate email address and, on the Protected and Legal plans, a separate mobile number to give the other parent instead of your own. Their messages are filtered before they reach you: the practical information comes through and hostile language is filtered out. The untouched original is kept in your Archive, timestamped, in case you ever need it. They do not need an app or an account, and you never have to share your real number or address.

If you feel unsafe

No app is a safety plan. If the other parent threatens you or the children, keep the messages and get help.

• Australia: call 000 in an emergency, or 1800RESPECT on 1800 737 732 for confidential support.
• United States: call 911 in an emergency, or the National Domestic Violence Hotline on 1-800-799-7233 (text START to 88788).

See Where to get help for services in Australia, the US and the UK.