Cozi alternatives without adverts (2026)

Why people are leaving Cozi

Cozi has been going since 2005, it's American (now owned by OurFamilyWizard), and tens of thousands of families still run their week on it. Two things changed the deal. The free version has always carried adverts, which Cozi's own FAQ is upfront about. Then in May 2024 the free calendar was restricted so that events can only be added about 30 days ahead, with the month view and anything further out moved behind Cozi Gold, which costs $39 a year (about £29 in the UK). Plenty of long-time users on the review sites describe that change as a bait and switch, because years of family plans effectively sat behind a new wall.

To be fair to Cozi: if you're happy paying for Gold, it remains a polished, proven organiser with a shared calendar, shopping and to-do lists, a recipe box and meal planning. The search that brought you here is for people who want what Cozi's free tier used to be: a proper family organiser with no adverts and no calendar cap. That does still exist.

The alternatives, honestly compared

OurSpace (free, no adverts, and mine)

OurSpace is a free shared household app for couples and families: both partners' own Google Calendars shown side by side (connected read-only, nothing retyped), shared shopping lists and tasks, an AI meal planner that drafts the week's dinners and sends the ingredients to the list, budgets and a net-worth view, contract renewal reminders, bin-day reminders, birthdays with gift ideas, an optional kids' week, and a short AI-written digest each time you open it of what your partner added or ticked off. There's no advert anywhere in it, no paid tier, and no calendar cap; it began as an app for my own household and costs little to run, which is the whole business model.

Where Cozi beats it: Cozi is twenty years proven at scale, and its calendar is its own (anyone can type anything in), whereas OurSpace's calendar view is built around each adult connecting a Google account. If nobody in your house uses Google Calendar, or you want a big shared family diary that grandparents post into, OurSpace is the wrong shape for you. It's also built household-first for two adults (plus kids' schedules), rather than giving every family member their own login.

FamilyWall (the closest like-for-like swap)

FamilyWall, from a French firm going since 2011, is the nearest thing to Cozi's shape: shared colour-coded calendar, shopping and to-do lists and chore checklists on the free tier. The free version carries adverts, though, so it doesn't answer the "without adverts" part on its own: for that you need Premium at about £4.99 a month (about £39.99 a year), which also adds the meal planner, a budget section, location sharing and Outlook/Google calendar sync. If what you want is "Cozi, but I'll pay one fee and get everything", FamilyWall Premium is a fair answer and the free month lets you check it fits.

TimeTree (best if the calendar is all you want)

TimeTree, from Japan, is a shared-calendar app rather than a full organiser: unlimited shared calendars, each with its own members, chat under every event, and a notes area (Keep) that people bend into shopping lists. It's very good at the one job. The free version shows adverts; TimeTree Premium removes them at about £3.50 a month or £35 a year. There are no proper chores, meals or money features, so it replaces Cozi's calendar rather than Cozi.

OurHome (free and advert-free, but dormant)

OurHome, an Australian app, was the answer to this exact search for years: completely free, no adverts, with chores and rewards for kids, a shared grocery list and a family calendar. The honesty is that it appears to have had no visible development for years, its Google Play availability has been patchy, and reviewers report sync problems. It never had a revenue model, which is presumably why. If it still installs for you and the chores-and-points system is what your kids need, it costs nothing to try; I just wouldn't build the household on an app that nobody seems to be maintaining.

Google Calendar on its own (the no-new-app option)

If the calendar was the only part of Cozi you used, you may not need a family organiser at all: Google Calendar's own sharing puts each other's diaries in one view, free, with no adverts and no caps. I've written an honest step-by-step of three ways to see your and your partner's Google Calendars together, including where the native method falls short. You'll still need somewhere else for lists and meals.

Side by side, in pounds

For a wider look that isn't framed around leaving Cozi, including the other British option, see the round-up of best family organiser apps for UK households.

OurSpace vs Cozi, feature by feature

Since this is the comparison I'm asked about most, here it is in one table. The Cozi column describes the free tier, with Gold noted where paying changes the answer.

The honest summary: Cozi with Gold is a mature organiser with a recipe box and a two-decade track record, and if every member of a big family needs their own colour on one shared calendar it's still the safer pick. OurSpace is the one that's actually free, carries no adverts, shows the two of you your real diaries rather than a retyped one, and covers the money, renewals and bin days that Cozi doesn't touch.