Compare
Marlow compared with what you're probably already using.
Most families coordinating a parent's care already have a system: a chat, a calendar, an app the household runs on. Here is where Marlow fits beside each one, and where it doesn't. The verdict first; the long version is a click away.
Marlow vs the family group chat
The chat is free and everyone is in it. It cannot hold the answer to “who is driving on Thursday”. The answer scrolls away and the question gets asked again.
Read the comparison →Marlow vs a shared Google Calendar
A calendar knows when and where. It cannot record that somebody agreed to drive, and it has nothing your parent can read without operating it.
Read the comparison →Marlow vs Cozi
Cozi runs a busy household: lists, meals, everyone’s week. Marlow does one narrow job: rides for one parent, with a screen of her own. Many families would use Cozi for the house and Marlow for Mom.
Read the comparison →Marlow vs Lotsa Helping Hands
Lotsa rallies a wide circle of volunteers around someone who is ill. Marlow is for the three or four relatives who actually drive, and for the parent.
Read the comparison →Marlow vs CaringBridge
CaringBridge keeps sixty people informed through the worst weeks. Marlow settles who is driving and shows your parent who is coming. Families in a crisis often use both.
Read the comparison →Marlow vs everything else
Ten tools sorted by the job each one does, with what each costs and which to pick for which job.
Read the comparison →The questions people ask
Is Marlow a replacement for the family group chat?
No, keep the chat. Marlow replaces the one thing the chat is bad at: knowing, at a glance, who is driving to which appointment, and telling your parent. Everything else stays in the chat.
Can I just use a shared Google Calendar instead?
You can, and for a family with one driver it is enough. It falls down when several people share the driving: a calendar records when, not who agreed, and a parent who struggles with phones cannot read it without operating it.
Marlow or Cozi?
Different jobs. Cozi organizes a household; Marlow organizes rides for one person and gives that person a read-only screen. If the parent lives with you and you already run the house in Cozi, add Marlow only for the rides and her screen.
Marlow or Lotsa Helping Hands or CaringBridge?
Those are for a wide circle: volunteers, well-wishers, updates. Marlow is for the few relatives who drive, plus the parent. In a serious illness families often run CaringBridge for everyone and Marlow for the rides.
What does Marlow cost compared to these?
The everyday app is free with no cap on family size. Plus is $6.99 a month and optional. Cozi Gold is about $30 a year; Lotsa and CaringBridge are free with donations or premium tiers.