Splitting the kids’ costs with an ex usually starts with a text: “I paid $127 for the dentist, can you send half?” A few months later, nobody remembers which bills were paid back, the receipts are scattered across a camera roll and an inbox, and every reminder feels like a new argument. So you search for the best co-parenting expense app, and the answers name a different set of apps each time.
This page puts the ones that come up most often side by side, using only what each company’s own website said when we checked on October 29, 2026: what’s free, what the paid plans cost, and whether your co-parent has to join. It also covers Splitwise, a plain spreadsheet, and our free co-parenting expense tracker, which needs no sign-up. Prices and plans change, so check the company’s page before you pay for anything.
What does a co-parenting expense app do?
Most co-parenting expense apps do some mix of the same jobs:
- Log each cost. The date, the child, what it was for, the amount and who paid.
- Keep the receipt with it. A photo or file attached to the entry, sometimes read automatically.
- Apply a split you enter. 50/50 or another percentage, sometimes different by category.
- Send a request and track it. What you asked for, when, and whether it was paid back.
- Move money. Some apps let parents pay each other inside the app.
- Export a report. A PDF or spreadsheet of the history, for your own records.
What none of them do is decide which costs are shared or what share each parent pays. That comes from your own custody or support order or written agreement, and the law where you live. An app applies the percentage you type in; it doesn’t check whether that number is right for you.
Co-parenting expense apps compared (October 2026)
These are the apps named most often when parents ask which co-parenting expense app to use. Each fact below is from the company’s own website on October 29, 2026; the link goes to the page we checked.
| App | What it is | Free option | Paid price listed | Does your co-parent have to join? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SupportPay | Expense and payment app for families | Starter: 3 expenses and 2 receipt uploads a month, 6 months of history | $14.99/mo or $99.99/yr for one user; Entire Family $19.99/mo or $149.99/yr | Plans for one family member or the whole family |
| CoBalance | Shared expense and child support tracker (iPhone and Android, U.S. only for now) | 5 expenses per parent a month, last 6 months of history | Premium $5.99/mo | No; in-app payments need both parents on Premium |
| ParentSplit | Expense app for co-parents (iPhone and Android) | Free forever: manual logging, 50/50 splits only, 90 days of history | Pro $4.99/mo or $49.99/yr, per user | No; you can use it solo, and both parents can stay on Free |
| Blended | Money app for co-parents, with expense tracking and invoices | Its homepage says you can manage expenses for free; we didn’t find a public pricing page on the date checked | No paid price found on the pages we checked | No; it says invoices go to your co-parent’s email |
| BestInterest | Co-parenting messaging app with expense tracking | Free plan that doesn’t expire, with expense tracking | Connect $9.99/mo or $99.99/yr adds receipt scanning and recurring expenses | No; Solo Mode, and each parent picks their own plan |
| AppClose | All-in-one co-parenting app with expenses, reimbursement requests and payments | 60-day free trial, no card; free accounts if you qualify | $7.99/mo on the web, $8.99 in the app, or $83.88/yr prepaid | No; Solo Mode works without the other parent |
| OurFamilyWizard | All-in-one co-parenting app; Essentials and up track shared expenses | Fee waiver program for parents in financial need | From $110/yr; Essentials $149.99/yr | Yes; each parent has their own subscription, and one can pay for the other |
| Splitwise | General expense-splitting app for housemates, trips, friends and family | Free on iPhone, Android and the web | Splitwise Pro adds unlimited expenses, receipt scanning and more | For a shared balance, both of you use it |
We left out apps whose terms we couldn’t confirm on their own website. Other apps exist, and a missing name isn’t a judgment about it.
Is there a free co-parenting expense app?
Yes, with limits. The three dedicated expense apps above each have a free plan, but the free plans are built to get you started: SupportPay’s Starter plan allows 3 expenses a month, CoBalance’s free plan allows 5 per parent a month, and ParentSplit’s free plan covers 50/50 splits with 90 days of history. If you log a lot of costs, or want a history longer than a few months, the paid plan is where most of the features are.
BestInterest lists expense tracking on its free plan, with receipt scanning and recurring expenses on its paid Connect plan and up. AppClose and OurFamilyWizard don’t list a free plan for parents, but both offer fee waivers or free accounts to parents who qualify, and AppClose has a 60-day free trial.
Can you use Splitwise for co-parenting?
You can. Splitwise says it is free on iPhone, Android and the web, and its core features include percentage splits, recurring expenses, categories and recording cash or online payments. Splitwise Pro adds unlimited expenses, receipt scanning, charts and expense search.
The tradeoffs are about fit, not quality. Splitwise describes itself as a tool for housemates, trips, groups, friends and family. It is built to keep a running balance between people who both use it. Its own site focuses on shared balances, rather than a co-parent reimbursement workflow with the receipt and repayment kept together in one printable record. If your co-parent won’t use it, the shared balance doesn’t work. And a running balance only reflects the splits you set; it doesn’t say what your order requires.
If Splitwise works for both of you, it can be a good, low-cost choice. Export the history now and then, and keep the receipts somewhere you control.
Is a spreadsheet enough?
For many parents, yes. If you mainly need a clear record (what was paid, the receipt, what you asked for and what came back), a spreadsheet does that for free, and your co-parent doesn’t have to join or install anything.
Our free co-parenting expense tracker is an Excel file with twelve columns: date paid, child, what it was for, category, amount, who paid, where the receipt is kept, share requested, request sent, amount reimbursed, date reimbursed and notes. A Total row adds up the money columns. It opens in Google Sheets and Numbers, and there’s a printable PDF to fill in by hand. There’s no sign-up and no email, and nothing is uploaded.
BestInterest also offers a free Google Sheets expense template on its site, which it sends by email. Either way, the spreadsheet is yours to keep.
A spreadsheet has limits. It doesn’t move money, send reminders, or show your co-parent a live balance, and it only works if someone fills it in. If you need payments inside an app or both parents approving each cost, an app may suit you better.
How to choose a co-parenting expense app
Start with what you actually need, then pick the simplest thing that does it.
- Read your order first. If your custody or support order names a specific app, use that app. If it lists which costs are shared, or how soon to ask and to pay, keep those terms in front of you.
- Ask whether your co-parent will use it. Apps that need both parents only help if both of you join. If not, choose one that works solo, or a spreadsheet.
- Decide whether you need payments. If you only need a record of what was asked and paid, you may not need an app that moves money.
- Check the free plan’s limits. Count how many costs you log in a typical month and how far back you might need to look.
- Check the export. Make sure you can get a PDF or spreadsheet of your history, and save a copy now and then.
- Think about privacy. Some apps link a bank card or account. Share only what you’re comfortable sharing.
Whichever you pick, short, factual money requests are easier to log than long ones. Our co-parenting text message examples show sample wording some parents use to keep a clear written record.
What an expense app or tracker can’t do
An app or spreadsheet is a record-keeping tool. It can’t tell you which costs your co-parent should share, what percentage applies, whether a cost counts as child support, or what to do if a request isn’t paid. Those depend on your own order or written agreement and the law where you live. For general background only, see how child support is calculated and when child support isn’t being paid. For your own situation, a court self-help center or a licensed attorney where you live can explain what your order means.
Where Custody Commander fits
Custody Commander isn’t an expense app. It doesn’t split costs, calculate balances or send payments. It is a private case organizer for one parent, and it can sit alongside whatever you use for expenses.
A spreadsheet row points to a receipt that lives somewhere else. The free plan keeps receipts, statements and other files together in one private place, where you can date, describe, tag and search each item, and download a numbered PDF list (watermarked on the free plan). It needs no card, never expires, and your co-parent is never notified. Paid plans and a hardship program are on the pricing page.
Start the free planFree plan, no card · Full Suite free for 7 days
If you just need the spreadsheet, download the free expense tracker. It’s free, needs no sign-up, and works whichever app you choose, or none.
