Side by side
What each one costs and does, as of November 2026. Cozi details come from its own site; the links are at the bottom of this page.
| Feature | Kettle | Cozi |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Kettle7 days free, then $190 a year on the annual plan, or $19 a month ($228 a year), for the whole family. | CoziFree, with ads. Gold is $39 a year (no ads, month view on mobile, calendar search). Max is $79 a year and adds AI tools. |
| How you use it | KettleText it in Messages, on its own or in your family group. Nothing to download. | CoziAn app on iPhone, Android and the web, with one account for the whole family. |
| Group chat | KettleJoins your family iMessage group. Say its name and it answers; it also speaks up when it can clearly help, and leaves everyday chat alone. | CoziLives in its own app. The family checks Cozi rather than the chat. |
| Calendar | KettleA family calendar you add to by text that follows school and team calendar links. With Google Calendar connected, it can share a calendar you pick with the family and texts you when someone else changes one of your events coming up soon. | CoziA shared calendar, color-coded by person. Shows Google, Outlook and Apple calendars and school or team schedules as read-only feeds that refresh about hourly (Google can take longer). |
| Lists | KettleRunning lists by text, shared with the family or just yours. An item can wait on someone and get one nudge on its follow-up date. | CoziShared shopping and to-do lists that update for everyone. Gold adds a shopping mode. |
| Meal planning | KettlePlans a week of dinners around your schedule and who eats what, then fills your H-E-B cart for you to check out. Other stores get the list sorted by aisle. | CoziPlan dinners on the calendar, save recipes, and send ingredients to the shopping list. Max adds an AI meal planner and recipe creator. |
| Reminders | KettleTexts you or the family group, once or on repeat, and re-sends a few times until someone says done. | CoziReminders on events. Gold allows up to three per event and adds calendar change notifications. |
| Daily summary | KettleA morning text with the day ahead for each person. | CoziAgenda emails. |
| School email | KettleIf you connect Gmail, it reads new mail, saves the dates and texts you what matters today. | CoziMax’s AI Event Import turns emails into calendar events. |
| AI | KettleBuilt on it. You ask in plain words, and it remembers details like allergies, teachers and sizes. | CoziIn Max ($79 a year): event import, meal planner and recipe creator. |
Where Cozi is better
- It’s free
- Cozi’s free plan has the shared calendar, lists and recipes. Gold is $39 a year, about two months of Kettle paid monthly.
- You can look at the whole month
- Cozi is a calendar you open and scan, color-coded by person. Kettle is built around asking, not scrolling.
- It’s been around
- Cozi’s homepage shows 4.8 stars from 399K App Store ratings. Kettle is new.
- Any store, same list
- Cozi’s shopping list works wherever you shop. Kettle’s cart building is H-E-B only.
Where Kettle is better
- Nobody has to open an app
- It’s in the group chat you already use. Say its name and it answers; everyday chat it leaves alone.
- It follows through
- Reminders go to you or the family group and come back a few times until someone says done. The cart gets filled. The morning brief arrives on its own.
- It remembers more than dates
- Allergies, teachers, shoe sizes, what the dentist said. Tell it once, and share it with the family when you want everyone to know.
- One price, everything in it
- No ads and no AI tier. $19 a month covers the whole family.
Which to pick
Pick Cozi if
- You want a family calendar that costs nothing.
- Your family likes looking at the week together on a screen.
- You shop somewhere other than H-E-B and only need a shared list.
- Someone in the house would rather tap than text.
Pick Kettle if
- Your family already runs on a group chat.
- You want reminders that chase, not ones that get swiped away.
- You shop at H-E-B and want the cart built from the week’s dinners.
- You’re tired of being the one who keeps the app up to date.
You don’t have to choose. Cozi can share each person’s calendar as a read-only link, and Kettle can subscribe to calendar links like that, so those events can show up when you ask in the group chat.
Questions
Is Kettle free like Cozi?
Kettle
No. Kettle is 7 days free, then $190 a year on the annual plan, or $19 a month ($228 a year), for the whole family. Cozi has a free plan with ads, and as of November 2026 Gold is $39 a year and Max $79 a year.
Can Kettle read my Cozi calendar?
Kettle
Cozi can share each person’s calendar as a read-only link, and Kettle can subscribe to calendar links like that. Text it the link and it checks for changes every hour.
Does Kettle work with stores other than H-E-B?
Kettle
Kettle builds carts at H-E-B only. For other stores it gives you the week’s list sorted by aisle, and you shop or order it yourself.
Does everyone in the family need to sign up?
Kettle
Add each person once, then they text Kettle so it knows who’s who. There’s no app to install and no account to share.
Does Kettle answer every message in our group?
Kettle
Not every one. Say “Kettle” and it answers. In your family group it also speaks up when it can clearly help, and leaves everyday chat alone.
Sources
Cozi prices and features as listed on these pages when we checked them on November 11, 2026. Prices change; check before you buy.
- Cozi: Compare plans (Free, Gold $39/year, Max $79/year)
- Cozi: homepage (features, platforms, App Store rating)
- Cozi: Cozi Gold features
- Cozi: Using Cozi with other calendars
Also comparing? Kettle vs Skylight Calendar · What Kettle does
Put the kettle on.
Text hi to (205) 243-9463. 7 days free, then $19 a month for the whole family.