Get the appThe best app depends on what you miss most. Amourly is for everyday back-and-forth, Couple Joy and Love8 for distance and location, Cupla for planning visits, Paired for deep talks, Between for private chat and Locket for photos.
Last checked · Written by the Amourly team
Distance changes what feels hard. Some couples miss the small updates of a shared day, some want to know the other got home safe, and some just need a calendar that works across two lives. Plenty of couples use two of these side by side.
Amourly is for the small stuff you'd share if you lived together: a note between meetings, a tap, your mood, a photo of a terrible sandwich. Love notes wait on your partner's Home Screen or Lock Screen widget until they look, so time zones stop mattering (moods, photos and drawings get their own widgets with Premium). Save your next visit as a special day and you both watch the countdown.
Couple Joy pairs a big library of questions and couple games with widgets that show your days together, the live distance between you and upcoming events. It suits couples who like a shared activity to talk about on the next call.
Love8 shares live location, lets you know when your partner arrives somewhere and shows their battery level, alongside moods, notes and a pet. If knowing they landed safely matters most, it's the one built for that.
Cupla puts both of your calendars side by side, with two-way sync for Apple, Google and Outlook, plus lists and date planning. It's the pick when the hard part is finding a weekend you're both free.
Paired gives you a daily question plus quizzes and expert-led courses on topics like conflict and money. You see each other's answer once you've both replied, which gives your next call somewhere to start.
Between is a messenger just for the two of you, with stickers, voice calls, a shared photo and video album, and a calendar with anniversary countdowns. It also runs on Windows and Mac, handy if one of you lives on a laptop.
Locket puts photos from your closest people straight onto a Home Screen widget, and you can set one up just for your partner. The core photo widget is free.
Candle gives you one short challenge a day (a question, a photo prompt, a drawing or a mini-game) and a streak to keep. Its widgets show notes, photos and doodles, plus a countdown to your next meetup.
Widgetable has dozens of widgets (pets, distance, mood, photos, doodles, plants) and a pet you raise together. It's playful, and it works for friends as well as couples.
| App | Helps at a distance | Platforms | Free version | Premium (US) | One plan for both? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amourly | Love notes, taps, moods and photos that wait on widgets; countdown to your next visit; map of the places you've been together | iPhone | Free: 7 journal entries, 7 love notes, 3 taps a day, 1 story a day, core widgets | $9.99/month or $44.99/year | Yes — one Premium plan covers both partners |
| Couple Joy | Live distance tracker; widgets for days together, distance and events | iPhone, Android | One set of questions per category | Listed at $12.99, $29.99 and $39.99 (plan lengths not shown) | Not clearly stated |
| Love8 | Live location, arrival alerts and battery level; distance and countdown widgets | iPhone, Android | Yes, with frequent upgrade prompts | $9.99/month or $29.99/year; $2.99/week | Yes — sold “for 2 users” |
| Cupla | Shared calendar with two-way sync; key dates and countdowns | iPhone, Android, web (beta) | Limited calendar window | From $4.99/month; yearly $34.99–$59.99 | Not clearly stated |
| Paired | A daily question to talk through on calls; expert-led courses | iPhone, Android | One daily question | From $14.99/month; annual plans listed $39.99–$79.99 | Yes — one partner pays, both get Premium |
| Between | Private chat with voice calls; shared album and calendar | iPhone, Android, Windows, Mac | Chat, album and calendar, with ads | $2.99/month, $24.99/year or $26.99 one-time | Yes — Plus covers you and your partner |
| Locket | Your partner's photos on your Home Screen; reactions and chat | iPhone, Android | Core photo widget is free | Optional Locket Gold subscription | No — individual subscriptions |
| Candle | A daily game; widgets with a meetup countdown | iPhone, Android | Limited; most content needs Premium | $12.99/month or $39.99–$49.99/year; $4.99/week | Reported as one plan per couple (not stated by Candle) |
| Widgetable | A distance widget among dozens of shared widgets | iPhone, Android | Yes, ad-supported, with in-app purchases | $4.99/month or $19.99/year, plus item purchases | No — each person subscribes |
If it's the ordinary updates of a shared day, pick something you can use in a few seconds, like Amourly, Locket or Candle. If it's long talks, Paired gives your calls a starting point. If it's the logistics, Cupla is the calendar.
Love8 shares live location, and Couple Joy and Widgetable show the distance between you. Some couples find that reassuring; others find it too much. Talk about it before either of you turns it on.
Amourly doesn't track location. Its map only shows the places you choose to add to a memory.
Amourly is iPhone-only for now. Couple Joy, Love8, Cupla, Paired, Between, Locket, Candle and Widgetable run on iPhone and Android, and Between also runs on Windows and Mac.
Amourly, Paired, Between and Love8 cover both partners with one plan. Widgetable and Locket bill each person. Couple Joy and Cupla don't clearly say, so check before you both subscribe.
None of these apps is built for watching together. Couples usually add a watch-party tool such as Teleparty next to their usual video calls, and Marco Polo for video messages you answer when you're free.
Short, honest answers to what couples ask before choosing.
There isn't one best app; it depends on what you miss. Amourly is built for everyday notes, taps, moods and photos on widgets. Couple Joy and Love8 lean into distance and location, Cupla into planning visits, Paired into deep talks and Between into private chat.
Yes. Locket's photo widget is free, Between's chat and album are free with ads, and Widgetable is free with ads. Amourly's free plan includes notes, taps, moods, photos and core widgets with limits (for example 7 journal entries and 3 taps a day), with no ads.
Couple Joy has a live distance tracker on its widgets, Love8 shares live location with arrival alerts and battery level, and Widgetable has a distance widget. Amourly doesn't track location or distance.
Apps that don't need you both online at once. Amourly's notes, taps and photos wait on your partner's widget until they wake up, and Cupla's synced calendars help you plan calls and visits around both schedules.
Many couples do: something quick for daily moments, something for planning, and their usual video calls. Start with the app that fills the gap you feel most, and add another only if you need it.
Most do. Couple Joy, Love8, Cupla, Paired, Between, Locket, Candle and Widgetable are on both iPhone and Android. Amourly is iPhone-only for now, so you'll both need an iPhone.
We picked apps that long-distance couples use and that do something specific for the distance, then checked each one's US App Store listing, official website, help pages and published pricing. Last checked .
Disclosure: this list is written by the team that makes Amourly, which is why it's on it. We've described every app fairly and said plainly where another one is the better fit. If something here is out of date, email support@amourly.app and we'll correct it.
Download Amourly, connect with your partner, and leave a note for their morning.
