ForeRun vs Cozi
These two apps are not really competitors, and picking between them on features misses the point. Cozi is a shared family calendar. ForeRun is for when one person is holding all the remembering. If you have the first problem, Cozi is the better app and its free tier may be all you ever need.
We make ForeRun. Cozi's figures below come from its own App Store listing, checked August 1, 2026. We have tried to be straight about where Cozi wins, because a comparison that only flatters the author is not worth reading.
Side by side
| ForeRun | Cozi | |
|---|---|---|
| Best at | One person holding the remembering | The whole family sharing a schedule |
| How things get in | Voice, photo of a flyer, or typing | Typing |
| Main screen | One task at a time | Calendar and lists |
| Price | $9.99/mo or $79.99/yr | Free core; Gold from $29.99/yr |
| Free option | 14-day full trial, no card | Free tier, kept indefinitely |
| Covers the household | Yes, one subscription | Yes |
| Platforms | iPhone, iPad, Mac (M1+), Vision Pro | iOS, Android, web |
| Track record | New, few ratings | 4.8★ from ~395,000 ratings |
The real difference: how things get in
Cozi is manual. Someone types the dentist appointment, the early dismissal, the birthday party RSVP. It is a good calendar and a lot of families run on it happily.
But typing is not the hard part of the mental load. The hard part is noticing that the permission slip needs signing, remembering it at a moment when you can act, and deciding what matters most right now. A shared calendar does not take any of that off you. It gives you somewhere to put it once you have already done the work.
ForeRun's whole design is aimed at that gap: talk and it sorts what you said, photograph the flyer and it pulls out the dates, then it hands you one thing rather than the list.
When Cozi is the better choice
- Anyone in your household is on Android. Cozi runs on iOS, Android and the web. ForeRun is Apple-only.
- You want free. Cozi's core is genuinely free and stays free. ForeRun is $9.99 a month after a 14-day trial.
- You want proven. About 395,000 App Store ratings at 4.8 stars is a track record. ForeRun is new and has very few reviews. That is a legitimate reason to pick Cozi and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
- The problem really is the calendar, and everyone just needs to see the same schedule.
When ForeRun is the better choice
- The load is on one person, and adding a calendar has not changed that.
- The entering is the problem. If things never make it into the app because typing them is one more task, voice and photo capture changes the equation.
- A full list makes it worse. If opening the to-do list is its own small dread, one thing at a time is a different experience.
- Paper is the enemy. Flyers, permission slips, invitations, the folder at the bottom of a backpack.
You can use both
ForeRun works alongside your existing calendar rather than replacing it, so Cozi can stay the family schedule while ForeRun handles capture and deciding what is next. Since Cozi's core is free, running both costs you one subscription.
Common questions
Is ForeRun better than Cozi?
Neither is better in general, because they solve different problems. Cozi is a shared family calendar and is the stronger choice if the household needs one schedule everyone can see; it is free, mature, and has around 395,000 App Store ratings. ForeRun is for the specific problem of one person carrying all the remembering, and it captures by voice and photo rather than typing. Many households would reasonably use both.
Is Cozi free?
Yes, Cozi has a genuinely free tier that includes the shared calendar, shopping lists, to-do lists and a recipe box. Cozi Gold, from $29.99 a year, removes ads and adds month view on mobile, calendar search, extra reminders per event, change notifications, a birthday tracker, and the ability to view and edit further ahead than the free window allows.
Can I use ForeRun and Cozi together?
Yes, and for some households that is the right answer. ForeRun integrates with the calendar you already use rather than replacing it, so Cozi can stay the family schedule everyone checks while ForeRun handles capture and deciding what comes next. You would be paying for one of the two, since Cozi core is free.
Does Cozi have voice or photo capture?
No, Cozi is manual entry. Events, lists and to-dos are typed in by a person. That is fine when the coordination is the hard part, but it does not reduce the noticing and entering work, which for many households falls on the same person every time.
Does ForeRun work on Android?
No, ForeRun is currently iPhone, iPad, Mac with an M1 chip or newer, and Apple Vision Pro. If anyone in your household is on Android, Cozi is the practical choice since it runs on iOS, Android and the web.
If the second problem is the one you have, ForeRun is free for 14 days , no card to begin. Or see the full category comparison.