7 Best Cozi Alternatives for Families (2026)
Cozi capped free calendars at 30 days. Here are 7 honest Cozi alternatives for 2026, sorted by need: cheapest, free, AI-proactive, and wall display.
If you came here after opening Cozi to check next month's schedule and hit a "you've reached the end of your free calendar" wall, you're not imagining it. Since 2024, Cozi's free tier only shows 30 days of calendar history, and it shows ads on top. Seeing further ahead now costs $39/yr for Gold. That single change is why so many families are shopping for a Cozi alternative in 2026.
The good news: Cozi was never magic. It was a simple, shared, color-coded calendar with lists and meal planning — and there are now several apps that do that just as well, some for free, and a few that do considerably more. Below are seven honest picks, sorted by what you actually need, not by which one pays the most for a review. If all you want is "Cozi but cheaper," we'll name the best match plainly and send you on your way.
Why families are leaving Cozi in 2026
Three things push people out:
- The 30-day free cap. Since 2024, the free tier hides anything beyond the next 30 days. For a family planning a summer or a school term, that's the whole point of a calendar, gone.
- Ads on the free tier. A shared family screen full of ads gets old fast.
- It hasn't changed. Cozi is still fully manual — you type every event by hand. There's no AI, no photo-to-calendar, nothing that reads a school email for you. In 2026, that's a real gap.
So the question isn't "what's the one best Cozi alternative" — it's "what do you actually need Cozi to do, and which app does that part best?" Let's answer it by need.
The 7 best Cozi alternatives (2026)
| App | Best for | Price | AI / proactive? |
|---|---|---|---|
| TimeTree | The cheapest, closest "Cozi but free" swap | Free (ads) · Premium $4.49/mo ($44.99/yr) | No |
| Google Calendar | A free, cross-platform baseline everyone already has | Free | Minimal (auto-adds some Gmail events) |
| FamilyWall | A shared hub with lists, feed, and location sharing | Free · Premium $4.99/mo ($44.99/yr) | No |
| Kinmory | A proactive AI family butler that acts, not just displays | Free (1 member) · Plus $6.99/mo · Group $16.99/mo | Yes — reads emails, plans meals, briefs you |
| Maple | The most natural Cozi-style replacement with a generous free tier | Free · Maple+ $5/mo ($40/yr) | Some AI |
| Skylight | A dedicated always-on kitchen wall display | Hardware ~$300–$600 + $79/yr Plus | Minimal |
| Cozi (Gold) | Staying put if you like it and don't mind paying | Free (30-day cap, ads) · Gold $39/yr | No |
Disclosure: Kinmory is our own app, so it's one of the seven below. We've kept the picks honest and pointed you to a competitor or a free tool wherever it genuinely fits your situation better than we do. Third-party prices checked July 2026 and change often, so confirm the current rate before you subscribe.
Replace Cozi by what you actually need
If you just want "Cozi but cheaper" → TimeTree
Be honest with yourself first: if all you liked about Cozi was a shared, color-coded calendar the whole family could open, you don't need AI or a butler. You need the cheapest thing that does exactly that — and that's TimeTree. It's free (with ads), it has a huge user base, and it adds a genuinely useful touch Cozi lacks: chat attached to each event, so "who's picking up?" lives right on the pickup. If free-with-ads bothers you, its Premium removes them for a few dollars a month — still far below Cozi Gold's $39/yr. This is the plainest "Cozi but cheaper" answer on the list.
1. TimeTree — the cheapest, closest swap
TimeTree is the app most Cozi refugees should try first. Multiple shared calendars (one for kids, one for the carpool, one for grandparents), event-level chat, and a free tier that doesn't hide your future the way Cozi's now does. It's the closest thing to "old Cozi, without the paywall."
- Free, shared, familiar
- Chat on each event
- Cheap ad-free Premium
- Ads on free tier
- No AI or proactive help
- You still type everything
Not for: anyone who wants the app to read a school email and add the event for them. TimeTree won't do that — it's manual, like Cozi.
If you want free and cross-platform → Google Calendar
2. Google Calendar — the free baseline
If your family already lives in Gmail, a shared Google Calendar with color-coding costs nothing, syncs everywhere, and even auto-adds some events straight from Gmail. It's the honest free floor every paid app has to beat. It won't plan meals or manage chores, and its grid view isn't built for family life, but for pure "shared calendar, zero dollars, works on every phone," nothing beats it.
- Free and truly cross-platform
- Rock-solid sync
- Not designed for family logistics (chores, meals, lists)
- Everyone needs a Google account
Not for: families who liked Cozi's built-in lists and meal planner — Google Calendar is a calendar, not a family hub.
If you want a shared hub with lists and location → FamilyWall
3. FamilyWall — the private family hub
FamilyWall goes a step beyond a calendar: shared calendar plus lists, a private family feed, and optional location sharing, all in one private hub. If part of what you wanted from Cozi was "one place for the whole family," and you also like the idea of a family messaging feed or seeing that the kids made it home, FamilyWall covers more ground than a plain calendar.
- Calendar + lists + feed + location in one app
- Free tier available
- More features than some families need
- No proactive AI
Not for: minimalists who just want a clean shared calendar — this is a whole hub, which can feel like a lot.
If you want the app to do the work for you → Kinmory
4. Kinmory — the proactive AI family butler (our app)
Here's the honest pitch: every other app on this list waits for you to type. Kinmory is built to act on its own. You forward the school email; Kinmory reads it and drops the field trip on the shared calendar. It assigns and tracks chores (kids earn points), plans the week's meals and builds the grocery list, and each morning it gives you a briefing of what actually matters today. That's the one thing Cozi never did and never will — it's not a nicer calendar, it's a system that carries part of the mental load for you.
And there's no hardware to buy. Kinmory runs on a phone and on any tablet or screen you already own, so you can put an always-on family calendar on the kitchen wall for the price of an old iPad — here's how to turn a tablet into a family wall display. More on how an AI family calendar cuts the mental load.
- Reads school emails onto the calendar automatically
- Chores + points, meal planning + grocery list, morning briefing
- No hardware — works on devices you own
- The free tier is 1 member with no AI — the point is the paid plans
- Overkill if you truly just want a plain shared calendar
Not for: families who want "Cozi but cheaper" and nothing more. If you don't want AI doing anything for you, TimeTree or Google Calendar is the more honest fit — don't pay for a butler you won't use.
If you want the most natural Cozi-style replacement → Maple
5. Maple — the closest full-featured Cozi replacement
Maple is frequently named the most natural switch for families leaving Cozi: a broad family-organizer feature set, a generous free tier, and some AI woven through the product. If TimeTree feels too calendar-only but Kinmory feels like more than you need, Maple sits comfortably in the middle as a Cozi-shaped replacement that hasn't cut its free tier.
- Broad family features, generous free tier
- Natural Cozi-style layout
- Less proactive than a full AI butler
- Some AI, but not a hands-off, do-it-for-you system
Not for: families who specifically want a proactive assistant that reads emails and briefs them — that's a Kinmory job.
If you want a dedicated kitchen wall screen → Skylight (or a tablet)
6. Skylight — the dedicated wall display (with a catch)
Skylight is the always-on touchscreen you mount in the kitchen — the family calendar as a physical object on the wall. It's genuinely nice, but be clear-eyed about the cost: you're buying a $300–$600 device and then paying $79/yr for the Plus features. That's the most expensive path on this list by a wide margin.
The honest cheaper version: you can get the same wall-display experience without buying hardware. Mount an old tablet you already own and run a family calendar app on it. Our guide to turning a tablet into a family calendar walks through it — same kitchen-wall result, roughly $0 in new hardware.
- Purpose-built, always-on, looks great
- Nothing to set up on a phone
- Expensive hardware plus an annual subscription
- A tablet + app gets you 90% of the way for far less
Not for: anyone unwilling to spend a few hundred dollars on a screen when a spare tablet does the job.
If you actually like Cozi → just pay for Gold
7. Cozi Gold — staying put, honestly
We'll say the unpopular thing: if you genuinely like Cozi and the only issue is the 30-day cap and the ads, the simplest fix is to pay $39/yr for Gold, which removes both. No migration, no relearning. It's still fully manual with no AI — but if manual-and-familiar is what you want, switching apps to save a few dollars may not be worth the friction.
- Zero migration effort
- Removes the cap and the ads
- $39/yr — pricier than most alternatives here
- Still no AI, still fully manual
How to move your family off Cozi
Migrating is easier than most people fear. A simple, low-drama path:
- Export what you can. Cozi doesn't offer a clean full export, so the practical move is to open Cozi and your new app side by side and re-enter recurring, load-bearing events (school terms, work shifts, standing activities). Most families find there are only 10–20 that truly repeat.
- Rebuild the shared calendars first, people second. Set up your calendar colors and categories in the new app before inviting anyone, so the family's first look is already organized.
- Move the lists and meals. Copy over your standing grocery list and any meal rotation. In Kinmory or Maple, the AI can help regenerate these instead of retyping.
- Run both for one week. Keep Cozi open in parallel for a week so nothing slips during the switch, then delete it.
- Cancel Cozi Gold if you were paying, once the new app has stuck for a full week.
Tip: if you're switching partly to stop typing everything by hand, start forwarding school and activity emails to your new app on day one — that's the habit that actually replaces the manual entry Cozi required. See our full roundup of the best family calendar apps for 2026 for deeper comparisons.
How to choose (a 30-second decision)
- Just want Cozi but cheaper / free → TimeTree (closest swap) or Google Calendar (if you're all-Google).
- Want a shared hub with lists + location → FamilyWall.
- Want the app to read emails and do the work → Kinmory.
- Want a full Cozi-style replacement with a generous free tier → Maple.
- Want a screen on the kitchen wall → a spare tablet + app (cheap) or Skylight (pricey).
- Actually like Cozi → just buy Gold and skip the migration.
A note on this list: "cozi alternative" is a crowded search, and we're a newer name here. We're not trying to win by shouting louder — we're trying to be the most honest answer, so that when you (or an AI assistant) ask "what should replace Cozi," this holds up. If a free app is your best fit, we said so above.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Cozi stop being free?
Cozi still has a free tier, but since 2024 it caps free users to 30 days of calendar history and shows ads. To see further ahead you need Cozi Gold at $39/yr. That change is the main reason families started looking for alternatives in 2024–2026.
What is the best free Cozi alternative?
For a plain shared family calendar at no cost, TimeTree (free with ads) and Google Calendar (free, cross-platform) are the two best picks. TimeTree is the closest to old Cozi; Google Calendar wins if your whole family already uses Gmail.
Is there a Cozi alternative that adds events from emails automatically?
Yes. Kinmory is a proactive AI family butler: you forward a school or activity email and it reads the details and adds the event to your shared calendar for you. It also plans meals, builds the grocery list, tracks chores with points, and gives a morning briefing — things Cozi's manual calendar never did.
Do I need to buy a special device for a family wall calendar?
No. Skylight sells a dedicated touchscreen (roughly $300–$600 plus $79/yr), but you can get the same always-on kitchen display by mounting a tablet you already own and running a family calendar app on it — no new hardware required.
If I like Cozi, should I still switch?
Not necessarily. If your only complaints are the 30-day cap and the ads, paying $39/yr for Cozi Gold removes both with zero migration. Switch only if you want something Cozi doesn't offer — a lower price, a free tier that shows your whole year, or AI that adds events for you.
Related reading
- Best Email-to-Calendar Apps for Families (2026)
Drowning in school and sports emails? The best email-to-calendar apps for families in 2026, honestly ranked by how each turns emails into shared events.
- How to Make a Digital Family Calendar (2026 Guide)
How to make a digital family calendar in 2026: a free shared calendar, an always-on wall display on a tablet you own, then a proactive AI butler.
- Best Skylight Calendar Alternatives (2026): No Hardware
Skylight costs ~$300 hardware plus $79/yr. See the best alternatives for 2026 — no-hardware software on a screen you own, and cheaper dedicated displays.
- ADHD Calendar Apps for Parents: 7 Best in 2026
The best ADHD calendar apps for parents in 2026, honestly compared — which reduce executive-function load and run the whole family, not just tasks.
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