Zazu vs. Cozi: a family calendar you fill in, or an assistant that fills you in.
Cozi is a well-loved shared family calendar and list app, rated 4.8 from over 400,000 App Store ratings. It's simple, costs little or nothing, and gives the whole family one place to put the plan. The catch is that someone still has to put it there: read the school email, enter the event, add the right parent so the reminder reaches them. Zazu is not a calendar. It is an assistant that reads the family's email and calendars, with permission, notices what changed, works out what it means for your week, and talks to both parents in iMessage and WhatsApp. If you want a shared place for the plan, use Cozi. If you want someone who notices, that's Zazu.
Cozi features and prices checked on October 27, 2026. They change.
The difference in one table.
What it is
An AI family assistant that notices what changed and speaks up first
A shared, color-coded family calendar with shopping lists, to-dos, recipes and a meal planner
Who sets it up
You connect your email and calendar, Google or Microsoft 365. Zazu does the rest
You create the account, add up to 12 people who share one password, and enter the events
Noticing new emails
Reads the family inbox, with permission, and picks out what needs doing
Not on its own. On Max, $79 a year, you forward an email and AI Event Import adds the event
Keeping the calendar in sync
Reads the Google or Microsoft 365 calendars you already use. There's no second calendar to keep
One-way iCal feeds with Google, Outlook and Apple. Changes can take up to 48 hours to reach Google
Understanding what a plan means
Looks at the context, like a weather change or a day off school, and tells you what it means for your week
Shows the events and lists you add. Its AI, on Max, imports events and helps with recipes and meals
Both parents
Talks to each parent, carries messages between them, and makes sure every job has an owner
Up to 12 people share one calendar, each with their own color. Who does what is up to you
Telling the other parent
Messages them directly in iMessage and WhatsApp
Reminders go by push or email, only to attendees you add. Change notifications need Gold
Where it lives
Inside iMessage and WhatsApp
The Cozi app on iPhone and Android, and the website
Taking action
Drafts the reply, the RSVP, the calendar entry, and always asks before it acts
Not something Cozi advertises. It keeps the events, lists and reminders you add
Price
Free for 7 days, then $19 a month
Free with ads, adding events up to 30 days ahead. Gold is $39 a year on cozi.com, Max $79 a year
When Cozi is the better choice.
You want one shared calendar and shopping list the whole family can see, with a color for each person.
One of you already keeps the family calendar up to date and is happy to keep doing it.
You want something free or close to it: the free version runs with ads, and Gold is $39 a year on cozi.com.
Recipes, meal planning and the weekly shopping list are a big part of how your house runs.
When Zazu is the better choice.
Keeping a calendar isn't the hard part. Noticing the school email that changes it is, and Zazu reads the inbox with permission.
There are two of you, and the hard part is who is doing what. Zazu talks to both parents and settles it.
You want something that speaks up first: plans changed, rain on the day of the outdoor party, a day off school nobody noticed.
You want it where you already talk to each other, in iMessage and WhatsApp, not in another app you have to remember to open.
You've tried a shared calendar and found you were still the one typing everything in and reminding everyone.
Can you use both?
Yes, and they fit together well. Cozi is a good place for the plan to live: the shared calendar, the shopping list, the meal plan. Zazu is the one who notices. It reads the school email, works out what changed for the week, and tells both parents. If Cozi shows your Google Calendar as a feed, the entries Zazu adds there, once a parent approves, appear in Cozi within about an hour.
Questions.
Does Cozi sync with Google Calendar?
Yes, one way in each direction. Cozi can show your Google Calendar through a read-only iCal feed, and Google can show Cozi's the same way. Neither side can edit the other's events. Google changes reach Cozi within about an hour, and Cozi says Google can take up to 48 hours to show a change made in Cozi.
Is Cozi free?
Yes, there is a free version. It is supported by ads, and you can add events up to 30 days ahead. Gold removes the ads and adds the mobile month view, search and up to three reminders per event for $39 a year on cozi.com. Max, with the AI features, is $79 a year.
Does Cozi read my email?
Not on its own. Cozi doesn't describe any automatic connection to your inbox. On Max, $79 a year, AI Event Import turns an email you forward, or a photo of a flyer, into an event, in the Cozi app. Zazu reads the family inbox itself, with your permission.
Does Zazu replace Cozi?
No, and it isn't trying to. Cozi is a shared calendar and list app, and a good place for the plan to live. Zazu is an assistant: it reads the family's email and calendars, with permission, notices what changed, and tells both parents. Plenty of families can use both.
Does Zazu act without asking?
No. It asks a parent before it replies, books or messages anyone. It drafts the reply, the RSVP or the calendar entry, shows it to you in the chat, and waits until one of you says yes.
Try Zazu.
Message Zazu and see what it notices by tonight.