Custody Proof vs AppClose (2026): a shared app for two, or a private record for one

AppClose is built for two parents talking through one documented channel. Custody Proof is built for one parent keeping a private record. They solve different problems, and plenty of parents need both.

We make Custody Proof, so read this with that in mind. We have tried to describe AppClose only by what AppClose says on its own website and help center, and we link every page we used at the bottom. Where its site does not say something, we do not guess.

The short version: if you and the other parent need one place to message, call, swap weekends and pay each other back, AppClose is designed for that. If what you need is a night-by-night record of your parenting time, incidents and receipts that the other parent never sees, that is what Custody Proof does. The table below is the quick view; the sections after it are where the decision actually gets made.

	Custody Proof	AppClose
Price	$14.75/month or $144/year	Its pricing page lists $7.99/month on the web or $8.99/month in the app, with prepaid web plans of $83.88 for one year and $143.76 for two years
Free tier or trial	No free tier or trial; money-back guarantee on your first charge. See pricing below	Free to try for 60 days with no credit card, per its pricing page; after that it is a paid subscription. Fee waivers for financial hardship and domestic violence survivors, plus a military discount
Who has an account	Only you. The other parent is never invited or notified	Each user has their own account. Its help center says a subscription covers only your account and a co-parent needs their own to answer calls and see messages
Messaging with the other parent	None	Yes. Its site says messages are time-stamped, show when they were viewed, and cannot be edited or deleted by any user
Calls	None	Audio and video calls; recorded and transcribed only with both participants’ consent, per its site
Shared calendar	No. Your calendar is private	Yes. Calendars are private until you share them; its site lists 15 pre-built schedule templates or a custom schedule
Expenses	Private ledger with receipts, reimbursable or not, and a running reimbursement balance; CSV import	Expense tracking by category, reimbursement requests, and payments through ipayou® (United States only, no transaction fees, per its site)
Evidence and journal	Encrypted evidence vault for photos, screenshots and documents, tagged by child; violation flags on calendar entries	Journaling and notes, kept private or shared; private location check-ins at exchanges; unlimited file storage, per its site
Court and professional access	No professional login. You export PDF and CSV reports and send them yourself	Free AppClose Pro web platform for attorneys, guardians ad litem and others; Certified Electronic Business Records for U.S. users, per its site
Platforms	Works in the browser on your phone or computer today. A mobile app is coming soon	iPhone and Android apps plus AppClose Web
Schedule from your custody order	Type the schedule in plain words or upload your order; you confirm every detail before it saves	Templates or a custom schedule you build; we did not find an order-reading feature on its site
Overnight and visit counting	Overnights counted as nights; timed daytime visits counted separately; plan vs. actual comparison	Its site says you can track parenting time and see stats; it does not describe how nights are counted

The real difference is not the feature list

The real difference is who the record is for. AppClose is a shared space. Both parents are in it, messages go back and forth, requests get approved or declined, and the value comes from everything being in one channel that its site says nobody can edit. That works when both parents show up.

Custody Proof is a private space. Nothing you write is sent anywhere. The other parent does not have an account, does not get a notification, and cannot reply, comment or dispute an entry inside the app. The value comes from you writing down what happened the same day, in a form a lawyer can read.

So the question to ask is not “which has more features”. AppClose has more features, by a lot. The question is whether your problem is talking to the other parent or keeping your own record. Those need different tools.

What Custody Proof is better at

Privacy from the other parent. With Custody Proof the other parent is never invited, never given an account and never notified. There is no circle, no shared calendar to choose to share, no link that can be forwarded. For some parents that is the whole point: they need to write things down without it becoming another place to argue.

Setting up the schedule from your order. You can type your schedule in plain words or upload your custody order, and Custody Proof reads the repeating pattern, holidays, summer periods, exchange times and notice deadlines. It then asks you to confirm anything unclear, including which parent you are and which week is week one, and nothing saves until you confirm. Notice deadlines become in-app reminders. Holiday periods “to be designated” can be saved undated, and we remind you to add the dates.

Counting and comparing parenting time. We count overnights as nights (Friday to Sunday is two), keep timed daytime visits in a separate column so a dinner never inflates the night count, and avoid double-counting nights across several children. Plan vs. Actual lines up the schedule against what you logged, shows every day that differed, and lets you confirm the record through yesterday. Reports include that comparison, plus nights per child.

It works without the other parent. Everything in Custody Proof is useful on day one with one parent. AppClose has a Solo mode for sending requests by link to someone not on the app, but its shared messaging and calls need the co-parent to have their own paid or fee-waived account, according to its help center.

Where AppClose is stronger

Communication. Its site describes secure messaging, group chats, read times and documented audio and video calls.
Court-ordered use and professionals. It publishes court order language, and its free AppClose Pro lets professionals follow invited chats.
Certified records. Its site describes Certified Electronic Business Records for U.S. users.
Money between parents. Reimbursement requests and in-app payments through ipayou® in the United States.
Price and trial. Its pricing page lists a lower monthly price, a 60-day free trial and fee waivers, plus iPhone and Android apps.

If one of those is the reason you need an app, AppClose is the better choice.

What “free” means on AppClose

AppClose’s pricing page offers every feature free for 60 days with no credit card. After that it is a paid subscription: $7.99 a month on the web or $8.99 a month in the app, with cheaper prepaid one- and two-year plans on the web. Its help center adds that a subscription covers only your own account, and that you can buy one for your co-parent on the web.

Its refund policy says a first-time web subscription payment can be refunded within 30 days in specific cases, such as your co-parent not subscribing or getting a fee waiver in that time, and that renewals are not refundable; refunds for subscriptions bought in the app go through Apple or Google. When a subscription ends, the policy says the account goes into read-only mode, and its homepage says records can be exported any time, including after a subscription ends. Read those pages yourself before you sign up, because terms like these change.

A note on “court-ready” claims

Both AppClose and we talk about records for court, so it is worth being plain. AppClose’s own site says that whether a record is admitted is always decided by the court. That is true of every tool, including ours. A tool can make a record easier to keep and easier to hand over. It cannot decide what a judge accepts, and Custody Proof is not a law firm.

Can you use both?

Yes, and for many parents that is the right setup. If a court ordered AppClose, keep every message and request there, because that is the channel the order names. Use Custody Proof alongside it for the private side: the nights you actually had, the exchanges that went wrong, the photos and receipts, and the plan-vs-actual comparison your attorney will ask for.

The two records do different jobs. AppClose shows what the two of you said to each other. Custody Proof shows what actually happened, night by night, in your own words. If you want to see how parenting time is usually counted, read how courts count parenting time.

Questions

Is AppClose free?

AppClose’s pricing page offers every feature free for 60 days with no credit card. After that it lists $7.99 a month on the web or $8.99 a month in the app, with cheaper prepaid web plans. It also offers fee waivers for financial hardship and domestic violence survivors and a military discount. Check its pricing page for current terms.

Does the other parent need an AppClose account?

For messaging and calls, yes. AppClose’s help center says a subscription covers only your account and a co-parent needs an active subscription to answer calls and see messages. Its Solo mode lets you send requests by link to someone who is not on the app. With Custody Proof the other parent never has an account at all.

Can Custody Proof replace AppClose if a court ordered AppClose?

No. If your order names AppClose, use AppClose for communication with the other parent. Custody Proof has no messaging and no shared calendar. You can use Custody Proof alongside it as your private record.

Can my attorney log in to Custody Proof like AppClose Pro?

No. Custody Proof has no professional login. You export PDF and CSV reports and send them to your attorney yourself. AppClose describes a free AppClose Pro web platform for attorneys and other family law professionals.

Which one counts overnights?

Custody Proof counts overnights as nights, so Friday to Sunday is two nights, keeps timed daytime visits separate, and compares your schedule to what actually happened. AppClose says you can track parenting time and see stats on its calendar; its site does not describe how nights are counted.

Is there a phone app?

AppClose has iPhone and Android apps plus a web version. A Custody Proof mobile app is coming soon; today it runs in the web browser on your phone or computer.

Try Custody Proof

A private record for one parent. The other parent is never invited and never notified. Documentation is $14.75/month or $144/year. If it isn't right for you, refund yourself from Settings within 30 days of your first charge.

Start your record

AppClose details on this page come from AppClose’s own website, checked in October 2026. Products and prices change, so check AppClose’s site before you decide. Sources:

All trademarks belong to their owners and are used here only to identify the products being compared. Custody Proof is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by any company named on this page.

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Custody Proof is a documentation tool, not a law firm. Nothing on this page is legal advice. Whether and how a record is used in a case is a question for your attorney.