Custody Captain vs 2houses
2houses is an all-in-one co-parenting app: a shared calendar, expense splitting, a message board, an information bank for the kids, and a journal. Custody Captain is narrower on purpose. You enter your parenting plan once as rules, and it works out every future day for you, alternates holidays by year, records handoff time and place, holds changes until the other parent approves them, keeps a permanent change history, and publishes a private calendar link your everyday calendar app subscribes to. Pick 2houses if you want one app for everything; pick Custody Captain if the schedule itself is what keeps going wrong.
2houses sells a household subscription with monthly, annual, and multi-year options. Custody Captain is $10 a month or $100 a year for the whole household, with a 7-day free trial. Prices change, so confirm both on their own sites. Accurate as of September 2026.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Custody Captain | 2houses |
|---|---|---|
| Rules-based schedule that fills future years | Yes | Manual entry |
| Alternating holiday rules that move by year | Yes | By hand |
| Changes need the other parent's approval | Yes | Informal |
| Record of changes that can't be edited | Yes | No |
| Live link your calendar app subscribes to | Yes | Export |
| Layer school or sports calendars on top | Yes | No |
| Handoff time, place, and method per day | Yes | In notes |
| Overnight counts and percentage split | Yes | Basic |
| View-only link for grandparents or a sitter | Yes | Limited |
| Ask an AI assistant to update the schedule | Yes | No |
| Expense splitting | No | Yes |
| Messaging between parents | No | Yes |
| Kids' information bank | No | Yes |
When 2houses is the better choice
- You want expenses, messages, and the kids' medical and school details in the same app as the calendar.
- Your schedule is simple and irregular enough that typing days in by hand is not the problem you are trying to solve.
- You prefer a mobile app with a wide feature set over a focused scheduling tool.
Common questions
- What does Custody Captain do that 2houses does not?
- Three things stand out: a rules engine that generates the schedule years ahead instead of asking you to enter days, holiday rules that alternate by year automatically, and a private calendar link that keeps Google, Apple, or Outlook calendars up to date on their own. It also keeps a change record that nothing in the app can edit.
- Can I use both?
- Yes, and some people do. Use 2houses for messages and expenses, and use the Custody Captain calendar link inside it or in your normal calendar app so both parents see the same schedule.
- Do both apps handle alternating holidays?
- Custody Captain models a holiday as a rule — for example the fourth Thursday of November, alternating parents by year — so it resolves correctly every year without editing. In 2houses, holiday time is generally entered on the calendar for each year.
- Is there a free trial?
- Custody Captain includes a 7-day free trial with everything unlocked, and you are not charged until it ends.
Set it up once, stop arguing about Tuesdays
Add your weekly pattern, holidays, and handoff details in about ten minutes. Everything after that is automatic.