Digital, electronic, shared — they're all the same thing.
A digital family calendar (or electronic family calendar, or family calendar display, or shared family calendar) is an app or device that keeps the whole household in one color-coded view — calendar, meals, chores, shopping lists — visible to everyone, updatable from anywhere.
The category splits two ways. Hardware-led options (Skylight, Hearth) sell a touchscreen for $299–$699 and charge a yearly subscription on top. App-ledoptions (HomeHQ, Cozi, Mango Display) run on devices you already own and charge less. This guide walks through the main options and helps you pick. If you already know you want software rather than a screen, see our best family calendar app guide instead.
Every option, compared.
The same family-calendar features, dressed up in different boxes. Prices verified June 2026.
HomeHQ
HomeHQ is the family command center we wished existed — so we built it. It runs on the iPad you already own plus everyone's iPhone, on one $12/month (billed annually) subscription, and it's built on the Google Calendar your family already uses: connect once and everything syncs two-way — color-coded per person, automatically.
On top of the calendar it adds the parts families actually run on: chores with points and a weekly recap, meal planning with AI-generated dish photos, per-person kid views, and an always-on kitchen display that changes with the time of day. New at launch: photograph a school flyer and HomeHQ turns it into calendar events you approve in one tap (the photo is never uploaded), a parents-only Family Insights card flags conflicts and lopsided chore weeks, and meal plans respect allergies and learn from what actually gets cooked. If you don't want to buy a dedicated $300–$700 display, this is the right choice. If you want a screen that ships in a box, look at Skylight or Hearth below.
Skylight Calendar
Skylight is the market leader for dedicated family calendar displays — over a million households use it. The hardware is good: a 10" or 15" touchscreen, wall-mountable, with chore charts, meal planning, color-coded family members, and Sidekick AI. "Magic Import" — forward an email or photograph a flyer, the events appear in the calendar — is the feature most reviewers point to.
The catch is the math. The 15" Calendar 2 is $379. Skylight Plus is $79/year and gates the features most families buy it for. First-year cost is $458; five-year cost is $774. A four-month return window is generous; many families use it.
Hearth Display
Hearth Display was co-designed with child development specialists, and you can feel it. Visual routines with age-appropriate icons, star-powered rewards for completing them, a "Family Rhythm Summary" that tells you how the week went. The hardware is the most beautiful in the category.
It's also the most expensive: $699 for the display plus $9/month for the Hearth Helper AI, meal planning, and photo screensaver. First-year cost is $807. The Membership is required for the features the marketing leads with.
Cozi
Cozi has been the default app-first electronic family calendar for over a decade. Color-coded calendar, shared shopping list, recipes, basic chore tracker. The shopping list — multiple family members adding and checking off in real time — is still one of the best in the category.
In May 2024, Cozi added a 30-day calendar limit to its free tier, which sent many longtime users looking for alternatives. The app itself is still capable — but if you want two-way Google sync, HomeHQ is an easy switch.
Mango Display
Mango Display is philosophically closest to HomeHQ: no hardware sales. The app runs on a smart TV, $40 Fire TV Stick, Echo Show, old iPad, or Raspberry Pi. If you already own one of those, you can have a "$300 Skylight" for free.
The tradeoff is polish. Mango is a genuinely capable family calendar display, but it doesn't add chores, meal planning, or per-member kid views — and the design language is closer to a productivity app than a calm family object.
Google Calendar
A real family-calendar setup using Google Calendar — one shared family calendar plus per-person calendars, color-coded, shared with edit permissions, subscribed on every phone — is genuinely free and works fine. We wrote a step-by-step guide.
What you lose: meal planning, chore rotation, an always-on kitchen display, kid-friendly views, multi-user updates from one screen. Google Calendar is a calendar. A family command center is the calm layer most households graduate to when calendar-only stops being enough.
Three ways to mount the iPad in your kitchen.
If you want the Skylight setup without the Skylight price, here's the play. Counter, wall, or fridge — none cost more than $120 in hardware.
Counter
A weighted stand on the kitchen counter near the coffee machine. Five minutes, no drilling.
Wall
Flush wall mount with the cable run behind the wall or a cabinet. Looks intentional — the closest analog to a $300–$700 dedicated family calendar display.
Fridge
Magnetic fridge mount with a USB-C charger snaking up. No drilling, no commitment.
Each person sees only their slice.
A digital family calendar fails if a 9-year-old has to scroll past their parent's standup. HomeHQ shows each family member the version they need.
Sees everything: work calendar, kids' schedules, partner's commitments, school events.
Sees her schedule and her chores. Can add events; can't see her parents' work.
Sees only his schedule. Simpler kid-friendly interface; chores shown as pictures.
The family display, morning to night.
HomeHQ's display mode changes with the sun. Morning is warm and gentle, midday is bright, golden hour fades into a calm dusk. Schedule, family, and chores stay legible the whole time.
One calendar. Everyone sees it.
HomeHQ runs on the Google Calendar your family already uses. Connect it once and every change shows up everywhere — the kitchen iPad and every iPhone show the same plan. Nothing to migrate, nobody to convince.
- ✓Change it on any phone — it's right everywhere, including Google Calendar itself.
- ✓Color-coded per person, automatically.
- ✓Add an event on your phone; the kitchen display updates in seconds.
- ✓Or snap a paper flyer — the events land on the shared calendar without typing.
- ✓It's your real Google calendar — your data stays in your own account.
A quick decision tree.
Three questions narrow this down faster than another comparison table.
Do you want chores and meals on the same screen as the calendar?
If yes, HomeHQ is the clearest choice — one $12/month (billed annually) subscription, built on your Google Calendar, with chores, points, a weekly recap, and meal planning included. If you only need a shared calendar, a well-set-up Google Calendar may be enough.
Do you specifically want a wall screen in a box?
If you want a touchscreen that ships ready-to-mount with no setup, choose Skylight (better price) or Hearth (better design). If you have an iPad already, mounting it gets you the same outcome for $0 extra.
Are chores and kid routines the main job?
Hearth Display is purpose-built for this with child-development experts. HomeHQ covers the same ground without the $699 upfront. Cozi is the budget option.