BestInterest is the closest thing to Amicable on the market, and it got there first. Its Boundary Line gives a parent a private number the other parent simply texts, and its Message Shield removes the hostility from incoming messages before the parent reads them. That is the same idea Amicable is built on. So this page is not about whether the approach works; both companies think it does. It is about the differences that remain once you have decided you want a relay: whether you need an app at all, what happens to threats, how the record is sealed, what else is bundled in, and what it costs. We have tried to be as fair to BestInterest as we would want them to be to us.
| Dimension | BestInterest | Amicable |
|---|---|---|
| Other parent needs an app or account | No, with Boundary Line (Connect plan and up) | No. They text a relay number, on every plan. |
| You need an app | Yes. Filtered messages are read in the app. | No. Calm versions arrive as texts on your phone; the web app is optional. |
| Hostile message filtering (incoming) | Yes, Message Shield (Protect plan and up) | Yes, on every plan; the real request is stated too. |
| Tone help on what you send | Yes, Tone Guardian (Protect and up) | Yes. Replies are cleaned on the way out; you may send as written, except threats. |
| Genuine safety threats | Filtered like other hostility; original a tap away | Shown in full at once, never softened, skips any hold |
| Originals kept | Yes | Yes, word for word, time-stamped, hash-chained |
| Export for court | Court-ready report (10 a month on Connect, unlimited on Protect and up) | PDF exhibit with integrity certificate (Exhibit plan) |
| Court-recognized | No claim | No claim |
| Photos | Sending photos on Connect and up | Receiving on every plan; sending on Pro and up |
| Quiet hours | Smart Silence (Protect and up) | Pro and up |
| Calling | 45 min (Connect), 200 min (Protect), unlimited with recording and transcription (Protect Plus) | Calls ring your phone, are declined, or go to a logged voicemail; no in-app calling |
| Calendar, expenses, journal, coach | Yes, on the free plan | No |
| Message allowance | None published | 200 / 300 / 500 a month; add 100 for $5; relaying never stops |
| Countries | US, UK, Canada, Australia (Solo Mode) | US |
| Free plan | Yes (without the private number or filtering) | No |
| Entry price with the private number | $9.99/mo (filtering from $14.99/mo) | $9.99/mo, filtering included |
In practice, the plan that matches what Amicable does is Protect at $14.99.
Only you sign up. The other parent pays nothing and needs nothing.
Extra messages are $5 per 100 and expire at month end. Relaying never stops when you reach your allowance; you are told at 80 percent and 100 percent. A photo counts as two messages. Cancel anytime. No free trial. Sign-ups are not open yet: join the launch list at amicablehq.com.
If you want one app that holds the calendar, expenses, a journal, and an AI coach alongside the filtered messaging, BestInterest is the more complete tool, and its free plan is a real free plan. If recorded, transcribed calls matter to your case, only BestInterest offers them. If you are outside the US, it is the only one of the two that will work. And if you want a product with two years of users and reviews behind it, that is BestInterest today, not us.
If what you need is the relay itself, done as simply as possible: the other parent texts a number, you get the calm version and the actual request as a text on the phone you already carry, threats reach you untouched and at once, and every original sits in a record you can hand to an attorney with its hashes and a certificate. If you do not want to live inside another app to read your co-parent's messages, and you do not want a busy night's texts arriving one at a time, that is what Amicable is for. Be aware of the limits: US only, no calling or calendar, monthly message allowances, and a product that is new.
Yes. Both give you a private number the other parent simply texts from their normal phone, with nothing to download or agree to. BestInterest calls this Boundary Line and includes it on its Connect plan and up. Amicable includes the relay number on every plan. In both cases only you sign up.
No. Amicable delivers the calm version of each message as a text to your real phone, and you can reply by texting your Amicable number from your phone. There is also an installable web app with notifications and a compose screen if you prefer it, but nothing depends on it. BestInterest's filtering lives inside its app, so you read filtered messages there.
Both do. BestInterest keeps the original a tap away and can produce a court-ready report of it. Amicable stores every original word for word, time-stamped, with a SHA-256 hash that chains to the previous message, and the Exhibit plan exports a PDF with an integrity certificate. Neither service is court-ordered or court-recognized, and Amicable makes no claim about admissibility.
On Amicable, a message that looks like a genuine safety threat is shown to you in full and at once, never softened, and it skips any hold or quiet hours you have set. Everyday hostility and legal bluster are cleaned with the real point kept. BestInterest's Message Shield restates hostile messages and keeps the original available; check its documentation for how it handles threats.
Each plan includes a monthly allowance: 200 relayed messages on Starter, 300 on Pro, 500 on Exhibit, with a photo counting as two. Relaying never stops when you reach it; you are told at 80 percent and 100 percent and can add 100 messages for $5. BestInterest does not publish message limits on its paid plans.
BestInterest. It offers in-app calling with recording, transcription, and voicemail on its top plan, plus a journal, calendar, tasks, and expense tracking. Amicable is a text relay: calls to your Amicable number can ring your phone, be declined, or go to a logged voicemail, and that is the extent of it.
Sign-ups are not open yet. Join the launch list at amicablehq.com to be notified when they open. There is no free trial, and we will not claim otherwise.
We are not open for sign-ups yet, but if what you have read here fits your situation, join the launch list and we will let you know the moment we do. No spam, just a notification when the doors open.