Custody X Change is built for the calendar side of a custody case: the schedule, a written parenting plan that includes that schedule, and a count of parenting time. People look for an alternative when their records are text messages, when the other parent will not use an app, or when they want those texts numbered and kept with the rest of their files.
Here is a fair look at what it does, when it is the better pick, and what else fits. The facts come from Custody X Change's homepage, its calendar page, and its messaging page, checked October 16, 2026. Check again before you buy. Prices and features change.
What Custody X Change does well
- The custody calendar. You can start from a template, add holidays and a summer schedule, and see who has parenting time on a given day.
- Parenting-time totals. The schedules feed a parenting-time report for a period you choose. You can also mark time that did not happen as planned and see the totals change.
- Use it alone, or with the other parent. The homepage says you do not have to coordinate with the other parent to use it. If they join, you can share schedules, expenses, and updates.
- A low starting price. The homepage says plans start at $6 a month, billed annually. This page stops there, because the plan list is behind sign-in.
If you need the calendar and the parenting-time math, or a court order names Custody X Change, it is a strong choice. You may not need a different calendar.
When another tool may fit better
| Your situation | Why Custody X Change may not be the whole answer |
|---|---|
| Your history is in phone texts or WhatsApp | The calendar does not turn an export from your phone into a numbered message log |
| The other parent will not join an app | You can still keep your own calendar. In-app messages need both parents on paid, linked accounts |
| You do not want the other parent notified | Linking accounts is how their shared calendar and in-app messages work. A private log never sends that invite |
| A court order names a different app | Keep using the app the order names. A new tool does not replace it |
Calendar, messages, and the texts you already have
These are three different jobs. Mixing them up is how people pay for a tool that does not hold the record they actually have.
The calendar
Custody X Change's calendar page describes templates, holidays, a summer schedule, reminders for exchanges, and export to another calendar such as Google Calendar or iCalendar. A linked parent can view calendars you have not marked private. Subscribers can edit, and you get a notification when they do. That is the right shape for a schedule. It is not a printout of old text messages.
Messages sent inside Custody X Change
Their messaging page describes messages between two linked parents. It can warn about hostile language before a message is sent, and it can mark that language when a message is printed. Read receipts apply when the other parent views the message in Custody X Change. Both parents need a paid, linked account. Those are messages you send in their app, not the thread already sitting in your phone.
Texts, iMessages, and WhatsApp you already have
Those stay on your phone until you export them. A log tool starts from that file. Our guide to printing text messages for court covers what the printout should show, and the Decipher TextMessage comparison covers the desktop program many people use for iPhone texts.
What a printed text log still needs
Whichever tool you use for messages, judge the page by what it shows:
- Who: each sender's name or number on every message.
- When: a date and time on every message.
- Both sides, in order, for the stretch you print.
- Page numbers, so a person can find one page quickly.
- The originals kept on your phone.
Courts differ on exhibit format. The clerk, a self-help center, or a licensed attorney where you live can tell you what yours expects. Nothing on this page tells you what to file, or how a judge will see it.
A private option when the record is texts
Custody Commander takes an export you already have, from an iPhone, an Android phone, or WhatsApp, and turns it into a chronological, numbered PDF log (MSG-00001 onward) with an index page. It runs in a web browser. The other parent does not create an account and is not notified. It does not build a custody calendar, and it does not write a parenting plan.
- Free preview first. The free text message log preview numbers the texts in your browser. Your texts never leave your device.
- One log for $39, no subscription, when you need the full PDF.
- Or the Full Suite, $24.99 a month or $199 a year, which keeps the log with your evidence, timeline, and hearing prep. The Full Suite is free for 7 days and a card is required for that trial. The free plan does not require a card.
It is self-help software. It organizes the messages and files you provide. It does not decide what to file or how a court will treat them.
Pick the calendar when you need the schedule and the parenting-time count, and keep it if a court order names Custody X Change. Pick a private log when the record is texts you already have. Neither tool does the other job.
Try the free text log previewFree plan, no card · Full Suite free for 7 days
