Custody Captain vs Custody X Change
Custody X Change is built mainly for producing parenting-plan paperwork: you build a schedule and it generates written plans, calendars, and time-share reports you can file or hand to an attorney. Custody Captain is built for living with the schedule after that paperwork exists. You enter the plan once as rules, and it fills in every future day, alternates holidays by year, keeps handoff time and place attached to each day, holds changes until the other parent approves them, records every change permanently, and publishes a private calendar link that keeps your everyday calendar app current. Use Custody X Change while you are drafting a plan; use Custody Captain to run it day to day.
Custody X Change is sold as a subscription with several term lengths, priced per parent account. Custody Captain is one household price — $10 a month or $100 a year — with a 7-day free trial. Verify current pricing on each site. Accurate as of September 2026.
Feature by feature
| Feature | Custody Captain | Custody X Change |
|---|---|---|
| Rules-based schedule that fills future years | Yes | Yes |
| Alternating holiday rules that move by year | Yes | Yes |
| Generates a written parenting-plan document | No | Yes |
| Time-share and overnight reports | Yes | Yes |
| Changes need the other parent's approval | Yes | No |
| Record of changes that can't be edited | Yes | No |
| Live link your calendar app subscribes to | Yes | No |
| Layer school or sports calendars on top | Yes | No |
| Handoff time, place, and method per day | Yes | Partly |
| View-only link for grandparents or a sitter | Yes | No |
| Ask an AI assistant to update the schedule | Yes | No |
| Court-formatted printouts and calendars | Print view | Yes |
When Custody X Change is the better choice
- You are drafting or negotiating a parenting plan and need a written document and court-formatted printouts.
- Your attorney or mediator wants time-share calculations presented in a specific report format.
- You need the paperwork once, rather than a calendar both households live in every week.
Common questions
- Does Custody Captain produce a parenting plan document?
- No. It assumes you already have a parenting plan or court order and turns it into a working calendar. You can upload the plan and any orders as files so they stay with the schedule, but the app does not draft legal documents.
- Which one keeps a record I could show a mediator?
- Custody Captain records every change to the schedule, holidays, handoffs, and notes permanently, with who made it, when, and the before-and-after values, and nothing in the app can edit or remove those entries. That record is designed to be readable by a third party, not just a debug log.
- Can the other parent approve or reject changes?
- Yes. A proposed swap or override stays pending and does not affect the live schedule, the calendar link, or printouts until it is approved. Rejections stay in the record too.
- Will my custody schedule show up on my phone automatically?
- Yes. Subscribe to your private Custody Captain calendar link once, and your phone's calendar keeps itself current, including reminders before each handoff.
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.