A cheaper alternative to Skylight, Cozyla and Hearth
Prices checked October 2026
Digital family calendars like Skylight, Cozyla and Hearth are each a new screen that costs $300 to $700, and most want a yearly plan for the best features. If you have an old iPad, an Android tablet or a computer at home, you don’t need any of that.
FridgeBoard turns the iPad you already have into the family calendar on your fridge. The calendar, chores and pocket money, the shopping list, meals, routines and reminders, where everyone can see them. No iPad? An Android tablet or the web browser on a computer works too. It’s US$24 once (A$39 in Australia, GST included). No subscription, no ads, no new hardware.
The cost, side by side
| Screen | Initial cost | Yearly plan | After 3 years | After 5 years | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FridgeBoard | The device you already have | $24 | None | $24 | $24 |
| Skylight Calendar | A new 15″ screen | About $300 | $79 for Plus | $537 | $695 |
| Cozyla Calendar+ 2 | A new 15.6″ screen | $349.99 | $69.99, optional | $350 to $560 | $350 to $700 |
| Hearth Display | A new 27″ screen | $699 | $86.40, needed to set up | About $958 | About $1,131 |
| DAKboard | Your own, plus a small computer | Parts | From $60 | From $180, plus parts | From $300, plus parts |
FridgeBoard has no yearly fee and no time limit, so its total stays the same however many years you use it. US dollars, list prices on each company’s US website in October 2026, before sales and tax. Prices change, so check them before you buy.
FridgeBoard vs Skylight Calendar
Skylight is the best-known family calendar screen. The calendar works without a subscription, but meal planning, chore rewards and Magic Import need Skylight Plus at $79 a year, on top of the screen.
FridgeBoard includes all of that for one payment: a calendar in everyone’s colour that syncs with Google Calendar and Outlook, chores that earn coins for a rewards shop, a meal planner with a recipe book, and the shopping list on everyone’s phone. You just use your own iPad instead of a new screen.
FridgeBoard vs Cozyla
Cozyla’s Calendar+ 2 starts at $349.99 for the 15.6-inch screen and goes up to $899.99 and more for 32 inches. Most features are free, with an optional $69.99 a year plan for extras like its AI assistant.
With FridgeBoard the screen is the iPad, Android tablet or spare laptop you already own, and every feature is included in the one payment.
FridgeBoard vs Hearth Display
Hearth is a big 27-inch touch screen at $699, and its membership ($9 a month, or $86.40 a year) is needed to set it up. Routines, tasks, lists, meal planning and rewards are part of the membership.
FridgeBoard has routines too, with a full-screen step-by-step player for bedtime and mornings, plus chores, rewards, lists and meals. All for US$24 once.
FridgeBoard vs DAKboard
DAKboard is software you put on your own screen, usually with a small computer like a Raspberry Pi behind it. Its Essential plan is $5 a month billed yearly, or $6 a month.
FridgeBoard needs no extra parts: open fridgeboard.me in Safari on the iPad, scan a code with your phone, and it’s on the fridge in five minutes. And there’s no monthly fee.
What FridgeBoard does
- Family calendar in each person’s colour, syncing both ways with Google Calendar and Outlook. iCloud calendars can be shown too.
- Chore chart and rewards: chores earn coins, coins buy treats from a shop you set up, and the family can save towards a shared goal.
- Shopping list and other lists, on the fridge and on everyone’s phone.
- Meal planner with a recipe book.
- Routines for bedtime and mornings, step by step on the fridge.
- Messages from your phone that ring on the fridge until someone taps Got it.
- Medicine and pet reminders, weather, countdowns, world clocks and a clock screen for the night.
- Works on any iPad from the iPad 2 on, and on Android tablets and laptops. 3 shared screens around the house included, and phones don’t count towards them.
No iPad? Use a screen you already have
FridgeBoard runs in any web browser, so you don’t need an iPad at all. Open fridgeboard.me on an Android tablet, or a laptop or computer with a touch screen or a mouse, and connect it from your phone the same way. A spare laptop on the kitchen bench makes a great family calendar.
Already have a family calendar screen? Keep the screen, drop the subscription
Why run FridgeBoard on a screen that already has its own calendar? So you can stop paying for its yearly plan. If your Skylight, Cozyla, Hearth or other wall screen can open a web page full screen, FridgeBoard can run on it. A Cozyla, for example, has Google Play, so you can add Chrome and open fridgeboard.me. The screen stays on the wall, and chores, rewards, meals and routines are all included with no subscription. Not every one of these screens has a browser, so check yours with the free trial.
Try it free for 5 days on whatever screen you have. You never put a card in to start.
Skylight, Cozyla, Hearth and DAKboard are trademarks of their owners, and iPad and Safari are trademarks of Apple Inc. FridgeBoard isn’t made by, affiliated with or endorsed by any of them. Their prices and features come from their own websites and help pages in October 2026.