Family calendars used to feel like spreadsheets.
Ours feels like a Sunday morning.
We love what Cozi, Maple, FamilyWall, and Nori have built. Each of them moves the category forward in real ways. Here's where we genuinely believe Our Life does it better — and where they're stronger than us. You decide.
What we actually believe about family software.
Every product reveals its values through its defaults. Here are ours, next to the alternatives we respect — and where we draw the line.
They pioneered it. We rebuilt it for 2026.
Cozi made the family calendar mainstream — and that brand recognition is real. But the free tier shows ads, mobile month view is paywalled, and the design hasn't meaningfully changed in years. We start from "modern, ad-free, generous" as our floor.
They optimize the household. We make it feel like home.
Maple and Nori are doing serious AI work — email triage, trip planning, automation pipelines. Powerful. But families aren't startups, and a calendar shouldn't feel like a productivity console. We lean into joy: cook-with-kids mode, photo cookbook, member-color warmth, kid view.
The most delightful family hub that still feels powerful.
AI as the front door, not a buried menu. Real-time sync under 200ms so a co-parent edit lands before the other looks up. Sitter share with drive times. Cook-with-kids with auto-timers. All of it given away in a free tier richer than what others charge $40+/year for.
The honest scorecard.
Apples to apples on the dimensions we hear families talk about most. We acknowledge competitors where they're stronger — that's how comparisons should work.
| Capability |
Our Life
|
Cozi | Maple | FamilyWall | Nori |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AI natural-language quick-add "Soccer every Tuesday 4pm for Leo" | ✓ Primary entry point | — | Partial | — | ✓ via voice |
| Cook-with-kids mode Full-screen step player, auto-timers, photo cookbook | ✓ Built in | — | — | — | — |
| Sitter Share with drive times One link · expires automatically | ✓ With ETA + leave-by | — | — | Basic share | — |
| Kid view mode Hand the phone to a child safely | ✓ One-tap toggle | — | — | — | — |
| Real-time co-parent sync One edits, the other sees it instantly | <200ms | Minutes | Minutes | Minutes | Cloud-sync |
| Ad-free experience Even on the free tier | ✓ Always | Paid tier only | ✓ | Paid tier only | ✓ |
| Mobile month view The view families actually use | ✓ Free | Paid tier only | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Reminders per event Multi-stage nudges before the event | Unlimited | Up to 3 | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| External calendar sync Google · Apple · Outlook | ✓ Free read-in | ✓ | Paid tier only | Paid tier only | ✓ |
| AI meal planning + grocery list "5 kid-friendly dinners, no nuts" | ✓ One sentence → 7 days | — | ✓ | Templates | ✓ |
| AI recipe import (URL or photo) One paste · structured cookbook | ✓ | — | URL only | — | ✓ |
| Member photo avatars + color Every chip member-tinted | ✓ | Initials only | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Built-in text resizing + reduce-motion Accessibility controls inside the app — not just in iOS Settings | ✓ 4-step text scale + motion override | — | — | — | — |
| Founders' Lifetime One payment · launch year only | ✓ $149.99 once · while open (Pro included) | — | — | — | — |
The free tier most families never need to leave.
Real published 2026 numbers, side by side. Our Plus is competitive, our free tier is the most generous in the category, and we offer a Founders' Lifetime during the launch year — pay once, keep Plus Pro forever, while seats last.
Our Life Plus
Cozi Gold
Maple+
FamilyWall Premium
Bring your calendar with you. Keep the simplicity.
You don't need to start from scratch. Most families are moved over in under five minutes — and the muscle memory transfers perfectly because we kept what Cozi got right.
Export from Cozi
Cozi → Settings → Subscribe. Copy your iCal feed URL. Takes 30 seconds.
Paste into Our Life
Settings → Imported calendars → Paste URL. Your whole family's history reads in immediately.
Invite your partner
One family code. Real-time sync from the first edit. No more "did you see my message?"