2.8 Million. That’s how many apps are on Google Play today.
From to-do lists to banking to online shopping, utilizing apps improves and streamlines certain areas of our lives.
So, why not our marriage? What couples app out there can improve your relationship?
These relationship-building, game, therapy, intimacy, finance, organization, and exercise tracking apps (free and paid) for married couples are the best ones for 2023.
the best apps for married couples
For better or for worse, our lives are tied to technology.
While many wish they could unplug from technology, there’s no doubt that we also benefit from the convenience of our phones and the services they provide.
Out of the millions of apps out there, can any phone app help our relationship?
Ryan and I decided to do what we do best: research and study the best apps out there for married couples to improve our relationship.
After almost 3 years of testing, here is what we found: the good, the bad, the ugly. We tell you which apps for married couples are worth it, and which relationship apps you should skip.
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The 14 Best Apps For Married Couples in 2023
1. Hey Ritual
The Best Marriage Therapy App
- With 20% Duo Life Discount it’s $208/month for couples ($128 for individual counseling)
The Hey Ritual couples therapy app is hand-down the best relationship coaching app.
Other paid apps like Relish (recently removed from this list) and Lasting offer great relationship growth instruction, however, they lack the human connection required to make great strides.
“85% of people in couples therapy think their relationship problems are their partner’s fault.”
Ritual is the perfect balance of online learning, partner exercises, and real-life coaching. Meaning a virtual Zoom call with a licensed relationship therapist! Yes, you read that right. Everyone on Ritual is paired with an relationship therapist via Zoom meetings.
When we signed up, we got Shirley and had weekly sessions with her and homework assignments through the app.
Shirley chooses hand-picked lessons based on our real video conference conversations. Our first lesson was learning how to adjust to life after kids. That was right up our alley!
This wasn’t our first time in relationship therapy. We feel like we have a strong relationship but we always want to continue improving, and our therapist and the app completely understood that.
But our therapist really pried some key stuggles out of us. According to Shirley, 70% of recurring arguments have no solution.
We have had the same recurring argument since we started dating 12 years ago. We figured it was solution-less… until Hey Ritual and Shirley solved it in one session.
Over the years we’ve used a variety of couples coaching apps. We’ve recommended several through our newsletter and blog. So while Hey Ritual isn’t the first relationship help app we’ve used, it’s the best. (And we’ve scored a 20% discount code just for you).
Both you and your partner can be on the same subscription, with the app downloaded to both of your phones. Or, if you partner doesn’t want to join, you can sign up as an individual.
Hands-down, this is the best couples therapy app and our most highly recommended app for couples. Additionally, if you are a couple with trust issues, this is the app for you.
After using the app and completing several sessions, we share our full review of the Ritual Relationship app for more details on our story and experience with the service.
2. Love Nudge
The Best Overall Relationship App
Love Nudge is the newly released app by Dr. Gary Chapman, a marriage pioneer and author of The 5 Love Languages.
Hands down, this was the most helpful free marriage app for couples that we tested. It’s well designed, simple to use, genuinely helpful, and totally free app for married couples.
Ryan and I talk often in our Just Duo It program how important it is to express love to your partner in an optimal way.
For example, what’s the point of giving gifts to your spouse if they only care about spending quality time with you? For free marriage counseling, nothing beats the Love Nudge.
This app guides you through a love language quiz, recommends actions that you can do for your partner, and then asks you to set goals to achieve them.
The goals can be pre-scheduled, like giving a back rub or sending an “I love you” text, with alerts. From there, the app tracks how often you meet these goals, plus how satisfied you are that day with your relationship.
The coolest part? Both you and your partner’s accounts are linked, so you can actively see how happy your partner is over time (a weekly, monthly, and yearly calendar of data is shown), and also what your partner’s love language quiz results are.
There’s also a chat section where you can have a private conversation together.
As two engineers, we love this data and the ability to quantify how happy you are within your relationship.
This is a great app for relationship building and it’s an app for every couple, no matter how many years you’ve been married.
3. Lasting
Our Runner-up Choice for a Marriage Therapy App
- Free 7-day trial with $79.99 yearly subscription
- Download on the App Store
- Download on Google Play
Lasting marriage app is the self-proclaimed #1 Couples Counseling app. We’ve placed Lasting as our second-place app of choice.
Like Relish (removed from this list and replaced with Ritual), Lasting offers personalized lessons based on you and your partner’s responses to relationship quizzes.
We began with a 4-minute audio recording on what makes a relationship healthy. We loved it and recognized many of the facts from relationship experts like Dr. John Gottman.
The content was solid, but we felt like we were sitting in a lecture hall instead of engaging in a fun and beautiful app as you do with Relish.
I started on 10 lessons about Conflict and enjoyed what I learned, but I found it harder to concentrate during the audio recordings.
Luckily, the written transcript is available to review afterward.
Overall, Lasting offers the best of the science and data surrounding marriage counseling but is presented in a more formal, school course-style which is why it’s our second-best marriage counseling app after Relish.
Also, it does not offer live coaching as Relish does.
4. Coral
The Best Intimacy App to Spice Things Up
- Free 7-day trial with $59.99 yearly subscription
- Download on the App Store
- Download on Google Play
Coral is everything we want in a couple’s app: science, data, and experimentation. And the fun part? It’s all about intimacy and sex. This is our favorite love app for couples.
Curated by sex therapists, Coral can be downloaded to both you and your spouse’s phones for a shared account.
Take personal quizzes to learn more about your personal sexuality, as well as tackling what you want out of your intimate life with your partner.
The goal is to improve your health and happiness, and exercises are given for you to do together.
As you may be wondering… yes, some of these exercises are sexual.
While our first lesson included a non-sexual exercise recreating a well-known experiment of gazing into each other’s eyes for several minutes (promoting oxytocin), we saw later in the agenda that there were definitely other lessons and activities to spice up your marriage and sex life.
This includes an audio exercise written by their intimacy coaches for topics such as penis massage, vulva massage, and exploring sex positions. And more! This is the best app for couples that lets you touch each other.
We love this couple app’s design and interface, gamifying it and making it fun – not like attending a class.
Another great thing is this app gives you the option to express what you’re looking for, including personal desire as well as non-cisgender preferences.
5. Gottman Card Decks
The Best App to Improve Couple’s Communication
Dr. Gottman is arguably the world’s leading researcher on couples, and this is his app.
Similar to card decks, one person can download this app on their phone and read and discuss the questions together.
We were impressed with the Gottman Card Decks app. The truth is, we were expecting it to be corny, but it wasn’t. It was a great relationship app.
Just like the couple’s card games that we recommend at the end of our article, ‘Board Games for Couples,’ these can be downloaded on your phone, free.
After Love Nudge, this is the next best free, relationship building app for married couples. But this is different because it’s a game app for couples.
The categories span topics like “Date Questions,” “Sex Questions,” and the relationship-building “Love Maps.” Here were some of the questions we got:
Date Questions: “What is something small that really makes your day?”
Sex Questions: “What, for you, is the difference (if any) between making love and having sex?”
Open-Ended Questions: “How have your friendships changed lately? Have you grown closer to some friends? More distant from others?”
Additionally, a few categories like “Give Appreciation” and “Expressing Empathy” are designed for one person to review and see how they can work on incorporating more of them into their day.
What Ryan and I liked so much about this app for married couples is that the questions were surprisingly thoughtful and high quality. It even goes into a “Salsa” series of mild, medium, and hot ideas on how to spice up your sex life.
The purpose of this couple app is to create connections and improve communication, and we think it achieves that. Even as a couple who has been together for nearly a decade, we found the questions relevant, new, and fun.
Plus, it’s free!
6. Cozi
The Best Calendar and Planning App for Couples
Create a free account for the basic version or $29.99 for premium
Ryan and I have tried so many times to sync our Google calendars together and forgotten to share events. Finally, Cozi was our solution.
Cozi syncs the calendars you keep on your phone and laptop all into one and will send alerts to remind you of upcoming events.
The calendar is surprisingly clear and simple to view, giving you a nice daily view, and even a monthly view if you upgrade to a premium subscription.
Additionally, you can create shared grocery lists and to-do lists so that you and your spouse always have the most up-to-date information.
No more piecing together individual texts throughout the week like… Pick up bananas! Don’t forget to clean the windows!
When things are organized like this, the family is more efficient and gets things done faster. This is the best accountability app for couples out there.
If you aren’t already sharing your calendars and lists, it’s time to sign up for a free Cozi account and start using the app as a couple.
Getting a grasp on your finances as a couple is an important step in every relationship.
As we discuss in our Couple’s Finance Guide, transparency, and getting debt-skeletons out of the closet allows for opportunities to get on a track together and refocus your life goals.
Even for couples who already manage their finances on similar apps like Mint, Honeydue pulls double-work by allowing you link accounts and giving a better overall view of your finances as a couple.
Additionally, Honeydue has couple-centric features like setting budgets, bill reminders, and splitting expenses where you can settle up later.
Even if you don’t like discussing money, it’s important to optimize your spending habits and take a look at the big-picture of where your money goes every month.
This free app for married couples is a no-brainer.
8. Couple Game
The Best Relationship Quiz App
- Free but extra packs are $1.99 each or for $9.99 all
- Download on the App Store
- Download on Google Play
Couple Game is similar to the Gottman Card Deck we discussed in #5, but a bit more automated and more topical.
It takes the form of a quiz where you link accounts. It asks both you and your partner questions, individually, and then you need to guess what the other person said.
This turns it into a great game for married couples, and you can get points based on how well you know your partner.
At the time of writing this, the Couple Game app only has 24 packs (with only 3 for free) meaning you could go through all of them in a day.
So while it’s fun, this wouldn’t be the best investment compared to our other couple’s game app, the Gottman Card Decks, unless you really needed an ice breaker to talk about specific topics.
The card decks include topics like politics, our home, sex and intimacy, future kids, philosophy & ethics, friendship, and more.
So, if you’ve been wondering what your partner thinks about kids, this might be a non-aggressive way of bringing it up. Also, this is a good app for couples with trust issues.
Overall, this is a fun app but don’t expect it to dive too deeply into the relationship or go beyond a couple of days worth of content, even when purchasing all of the packs.
9. Beachbody On Demand
The Best Fitness App for Couples
- Start a free 14-day trial or buy an annual membership for $99/year
The Beachbody On Demand app. Even with a free account, you have access to these options (although the workouts are limited to just sample workouts and one 7-day beginner program).
You can also start a free (you’ll need to enter your credit card information) 14-day trial of Beachbody On Demand where you’ll get unlimited access.
We’ve made it no secret that we love following Beachbody’s workouts and nutrition tools. Their app works great and you can download workouts for offline use.
This is the most effective way to work out, both for your results and your wallet. Plus, as a couple, you can easily share a membership.
Did we mention there is a new meditation and bedtime stretch series on Beachbody?
10. Walk The Distance
The Best Walking Competition App
- Free with the option to upgrade or extend routes for $0.99-$2.99
- Download on the App Store
How could we not include a fitness-style app into this mix? Walk The Distance is one of the best free apps for married couples who are active, outdoorsy, and adventurous.
I discovered this app a few months back when I was looking for information on hiking the Appalachian Trail. This app is for a walking or running competition between friends.
Invite your spouse and select an actual trail, like the Appalachian Trail (2,200 miles), Boston Marathon (26.2 miles), Paris (18 miles), or the Grand Canyon (9.6 miles) among many others.
The app links to your step data from Apple Health, so this app is only available to Apple users, whether with an iPhone or Apple Watch.
The map is then populated with how far you’ve gone, where you both are on the trail, and how far you’ve got left.
Plus, along the way, information about famous sites pop up, giving you smaller goals to reach and an actual, historic tour of your trail!
As we share during our 30-Day Weight Loss Challenge, you should be targeting 12,000 steps a day.
A recent study published in the journal, The Obesity Society, concluded that adult dieters who lost 30 pounds and maintained or continued to lose weight tracked 12,000 steps per day.
Overweight adults only tracked 6,500 steps.
For over-achievers with a weight loss goal, view our ‘Walking to Lose Weight Chart‘ to set your weekly mileage target. Then, get on the trail!
The quality of teaching is unsurpassed as only celebrities and world-renowned experts are recruited, and there are plenty great topics for couples.
The Sex and Communication MasterClass with Emily Morse is one that will improve every intimate relationship.
The app itself allows for lessons to be downloaded for offline viewing, and access to workbooks if you want to take the course more seriously.
For us, we love it because it watches like Netflix except is far more enriching. To learn more, read our full review, “Is MasterClass Worth It?”
The cost of an Annual MasterClass Membership is $214.20 or $17.85/month billed annually. Sometimes, they have a 2-for-1 offer.
12. 1Password
The Best Password Manager for Couples
- Free 30-day trial with $59.88 yearly Family subscription
- Download on the App Store
- Download on Google Play
While not as sexy as a couple’s truth or dare app, we had to share 1Password with you, as it’s been a huge help to us since we started using it years ago.
With 1Password, you can rest at ease with cybersecurity and identity theft. If you’re like me, you either have repeating passwords.
And if you’re not, then you have some document or piece of paper floating around with all of your passwords in one place.
It’s time to move into the next century and secure your passwords the smart way. And, it will make your life easier, simpler, and just plain better.
Create private and shared “vaults” with all of your passwords in one place as well as your credit cards, passports, insurance cards, and other important information.
It’s highly secure and syncs across all of your devices, so you never need to look for a password again. All you have to do it remember one “master password” and it unlocks the vault to all of your passwords.
Secure your data, generate highly complex passwords, and share this with your spouse on a family plan, where you can include up to five family members.
If you don’t have a secure password manager, you’re not protecting your family.
We log into hundreds, if not thousands, of websites every year. Our information is everywhere. This is the first step in securing it.
13. Google Maps
The Best Location Tracking App for Couples
Google Maps?! You may be asking why we included this one on the list. We did it because odds are, you already have this app on your phone. And we wanted to bring one free feature to your attention: location tracking and sharing.
We disagree fundamentally with the apps that track your location all of the time, but there are times when we do want to know where the other person is. Namely, when one of us goes on a long jog or takes a walk in a new city.
With the Google Maps app, you can share your real-time location for a specified amount of time (1-hour, 3-hours, until you manually turn it off, etc.). You also specify who you share your location with.
As someone who has thoroughly freaked out her husband multiple times when I decided to run 12-miles instead of the 3-miles as originally stated, this feature comes in handy.
14. Venmo
The Best Money Transfer App for Couples
While you may already know of Venmo for transferring money to and from friends, it’s an easy and helpful tool that we use weekly in our marriage.
Many of our married friends do as well. So, we’d be remiss not to include it!
Ryan and I have both personal accounts and joint bank accounts, so our money is spread everywhere. We also have personal and joint credit cards (we share our personal finance strategy in our article, ‘Couple’s Finance Guide.’)
While the Honeydue app above helps split the bill, Venmo makes it easy to transfer money across bank accounts.
These transfers can be kept private, each written with a descriptive note, and a record of all transactions is emailed monthly.
Helpful, convenient, and secure. No more writing checks to each other or trying to pay different balances on different credit cards. Everything can be settled up then and there.
Enjoy your new apps for couples
What apps for married couples have transformed and improved your relationship?
Write us a comment below on your favorite apps for married couples that have helped your relationship. Tell us why and we’ll add it to the list!
We Passed On These Apps For Couples
Throughout writing this article, I researched and used many, many apps, including apps with 16k 5-star reviews. Honestly, I didn’t love most of them.
Many apps for married couples seem too corny or basic. For example, I didn’t like the “My Love” app which tracks how long you’ve been together.
After being married, hopefully, you and your spouse can remember your anniversary dates.
I also didn’t like the app “Between,” which appears on many people’s lists of favorite couple’s apps.
To me, it’s worse than the messaging apps you likely already have on your phone (with our favorite being Whatsapp) and the clear typos in English made me worried about security.
Other apps like “Happy Couple” are cute and center on relationship quiz games, but they’re geared towards new couples and not married couples.
I would presume you already know your spouse’s favorite color by now!
I have questions. What do I do?
Ask away in the comments section and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible and address your question in this article accordingly.
For more great marriage and relationship tools, such as the best online couples massage class or our list of couples quizzes to take together, please visit our Healthy Couples page.
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Hey we're Ryan and Alex
The creators of Ryan and Alex Duo Life. We are a husband-wife duo and “lifestyle engineers.”
After eight years working in the corporate world as engineers, we left our high-powered jobs to tackle our true passion — helping couples engineer their best lives.
The synergy of our engineering minds and ten years of health coaching experience produced Ryan and Alex Duo Life. Our mission is to help you transform your bodies, minds, and relationship as a couple.
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