AppClose vs. OurFamilyWizard in 2026: Price, Court Use, and What Neither Records

The Short Answer

AppClose is the cheaper app; OurFamilyWizard is the longer-established one with more plan tiers. As of October 1, 2026, AppClose sells one all-inclusive plan at $7.99 a month on the web ($8.99 in the app) after a 60-day free trial, which works out to roughly $72 to $108 a year per parent depending on how you pay. OurFamilyWizard also charges per parent, from $110 a year for Basic to $299.88 a year for Max. Choose OurFamilyWizard if your order names it or you want free professional accounts for your attorney or mediator; choose AppClose if cost matters most. If a court order names an app, that app wins.

AppClose did not shut down. Its site was operating on October 1, 2026, with subscriptions on sale and no shutdown notice. What ended was the free version, around January 1, 2026. The thing neither app will do, whichever you pick, is record anything from before you both signed up, or any call or text that happens outside it. We come back to that gap below.

This post covers the pairing our other guides don't. For TalkingParents, see TalkingParents vs. AppClose; for the wider field, see our OurFamilyWizard alternatives comparison.

Did AppClose Shut Down? No, Its Free Version Ended

On October 1, 2026 we read AppClose's own pages: its homepage, pricing page, terms, refund policy, and the support-center article on subscriptions and fee waivers (last updated July 9, 2026). All describe a working service with paid subscriptions, messaging, calling, and records exports, and none carries a shutdown notice. The pricing page counts the free accounts AppClose has granted since January 1, 2026, the same date other write-ups give for the end of its free tier. Its pages don't announce the change in so many words, so treat the date as widely reported, not company-confirmed.

Free now means one of two things: a 60-day trial with every feature and no credit card, or an approved fee waiver for people in financial hardship and domestic violence survivors, with discounts for military and veterans. If a trial ends with no subscription, the terms put the account in Read-Only Mode, where you can view and export past records but not communicate.

Why does the shutdown story persist? Our inference, not AppClose's statement: people who used the free app for years hit a paywall, and "it's not free anymore" is easily retold as "it's gone." appclose.com shows otherwise as of October 1, 2026. Companies change course, so check the site the day you buy.

What Each Costs per Parent per Year (Checked October 1, 2026)

Prices are what AppClose's pricing page and support center and OurFamilyWizard's pricing page displayed on October 1, 2026, in U.S. dollars; the per-year column is our arithmetic. Both change, so check current pricing before you buy.

Both apps charge per parent, so if you cover both of you the totals double. AppClose lets you buy your co-parent's annual or two-year subscription from its web app, which removes the cost for them but not the need for them to use it. OurFamilyWizard's tiers matter more than its headline price: its pricing page puts calling minutes, certified records requests, and call recordings on different tiers, so a like-for-like match for AppClose's single plan is Premium or Max, roughly $198 to $300 a year against AppClose's $72 to $108. Both offer a 30-day refund window; AppClose's has conditions, so read its refund policy first.

Court Use: What Each Says, and What an Order Actually Names

What the companies say.OurFamilyWizard says it has served families since 2001 and that judges, justices, and magistrates in all 50 states order families in contested cases to use it; it publishes sample order language, including language for stipulations. AppClose says its records are designed for use in U.S. family courts and, citing user-submitted data, that it has been court-ordered in every U.S. county. Both are the companies' own claims. No independent count of orders by app exists, so treat "most ordered" as marketing from either side.

Certified records.AppClose's terms describe its Certified Records Export as a tamper-evident PDF, certified by the company as business records and intended to meet state equivalents of Federal Rules of Evidence 902(11), 902(13), and 902(14). It is included in every plan. OurFamilyWizard's pricing page lists unlimited certified records requests starting at Premium. "Intended to" is the operative phrase: whether a judge accepts any export is up to the judge, and rules vary by state.

What an order actually names. Orders vary. Some name a specific app, and others describe a documented or recorded platform in general terms. If yours names one, use it, and talk to your attorney about modifying the order before you switch to a cheaper one. If it names none, ask which apps your court accepts. Our guide to whether you have to use OurFamilyWizardcovers what an order does and doesn't require.

Messaging, Calls, Expenses, and Exports Side by Side

Feature notes come from each company's own pages on October 1, 2026; we haven't tested either app's exports, so check the current plan details before you rely on a feature.

What AppClose does better: price, a 60-day trial, and unlimited calling with optional recording, certified records, and an AI tone assistant all in the base plan. What OurFamilyWizard does better:free professional accounts, a longer track record (it dates itself to 2001, AppClose to 2016), and more plan choices, so you don't pay for features you won't use.

What Neither App Records

A co-parenting app is a forward-looking tool. It records what happens inside it once both parents have active accounts, and it can't see anything else.

• Everything before you both signed up. That earlier period is often what a case turns on, and neither company's pricing or feature pages describe importing older threads.
• Calls and texts outside the app. A regular phone call, a FaceTime, or a text in Messages never enters either app. If the other parent keeps texting instead of using it, the app shows your messages and their silence.
• A co-parent who won't join. Both apps charge per parent, and AppClose's terms make each subscription for one user. You can pay for your co-parent's AppClose web subscription, but nothing makes them log in.

That history lives on your phone. Messages are in an iPhone backup; call history is only in an encrypted backup (Apple documents this), so a backup made without "Encrypt local backup" ticked has no call log in it. Exhibit A's browser app asks for the backup password to open an encrypted one.

Which to Choose, by Situation

• Your order names an app: use that one, and ask your attorney before switching.
• Money is the constraint: AppClose, prepaid on the web. If you're in financial hardship or a domestic violence survivor, apply for a fee waiver; both companies have programs.
• High conflict, and you want your attorney or mediator reviewing the record through a free professional account: OurFamilyWizard. (Both apps now offer a tone assistant: OFW's ToneMeter and Writing Assistant, AppClose's Co-Parent Assist.)
• Your co-parent won't join: neither app solves that. Decide what you need documented without them.
• You need the history from before sign-up, or from outside the app: that's the gap below.

Where Exhibit A Fits, and Where It Doesn't

Exhibit A is not a co-parenting app. It doesn't send messages, schedule exchanges, or make anyone reply. It does the one thing the apps above can't: it turns the call history and iMessages already on your iPhone into a court-formatted PDF exhibit with a timestamp on every message, one contact at a time. The Mac app (free at /download) reads the Mac's own call and message records. On Windows or any computer, the browser app at getexhibita.com/app reads an iPhone backup folder locally, with nothing uploaded and no account. For the call log it needs an encrypted backup and asks for the backup password, which it uses to decrypt inside your browser tab. An unencrypted backup gives a messages-only exhibit, and the app tells you so.

The free tier exports the full exhibit with a watermark. A clean copy is $39 for a 90-day Case Pass, $14 a month for Pro, or $149 for lifetime, and every paid plan has a 30-day money-back guarantee. The limits: it covers iMessage, SMS, and calls, not WhatsApp or anything sent inside AppClose or OurFamilyWizard, which each export their own records. Use an app for the future and an exhibit for the past, if you need both.

One rule overrides everything above: verify with your attorney. None of this is legal advice — Exhibit A isn't a law firm — and no app or export is admissible on its own. Rules vary by state and by judge.

FAQ

Did AppClose shut down?

No. As of October 1, 2026, appclose.com is operating, selling subscriptions, and shows no shutdown notice. What ended was the free version, which other write-ups date to January 1, 2026. AppClose's own pages count the free accounts it has granted since that date, and they offer a 60-day free trial and fee waivers. Companies change course, so check appclose.com before you pay.

Is AppClose still free in 2026?

Only in two cases. As of October 1, 2026, AppClose offers a 60-day free trial with no credit card, and approved fee waivers for people in financial hardship and domestic violence survivors. Otherwise it costs $7.99 a month on the web or $8.99 in the app, with prepaid web plans at $83.88 for a year or $143.76 for two. If a trial ends without a subscription, the account becomes read-only: you can view and export past records but not communicate.

Is AppClose or OurFamilyWizard better for court?

Neither can promise a result, and the better choice is usually whichever app your court order or judge names. OurFamilyWizard says courts in all 50 states order it and offers free professional accounts so an attorney can review records with your permission. AppClose says, based on user-submitted data, that it has been court-ordered in every U.S. county, and includes certified records exports in every plan. Neither claim has been independently counted. Rules vary by state and judge, so ask your attorney what your court expects.

How much does OurFamilyWizard cost compared to AppClose?

As of October 1, 2026, per parent: AppClose is $7.99 a month on the web ($8.99 in the app), or roughly $72 to $108 a year depending on how you pay. OurFamilyWizard is $110 a year for Basic, $149.99 for Essentials, $216 for Premium and $299.88 for Max on one-year terms, and two-year terms work out to $110, $138, $198 and $275.88 a year. Both charge each parent and both have fee waivers. Check current pricing before buying.

Do co-parenting apps show texts from before I signed up?

Not on their own. Both apps record what happens inside them once you are both using them, and neither company's pages describe importing older threads. Earlier texts and calls live on your phone. Messages are in an iPhone backup, and call history is only in an encrypted backup, which Exhibit A's browser app at getexhibita.com/appopens when you type the backup password. On a Mac, the Mac app reads the Mac's own call and message records without a backup.