Kitchenboard, compared honestly
Written by the maker of Kitchenboard, so read it with that in mind. Prices checked on the companies' own sites in September 2026 and linked below; they change, so check before you buy.
Families looking for a calendar on the kitchen wall usually land on one of a few things: a touchscreen frame like Skylight or Hearth, a phone app like Cozi, Google Calendar on a tablet, a paper planner, or something like Kitchenboard that runs on a screen you already own. Each is a fair choice for someone. Here is the difference in plain terms.
| Kitchenboard | Skylight Calendar | Hearth Display | Cozi | Paper planner | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hardware to buy | None. Any TV, tablet or old iPad with a browser. | Their frame: A$299.99 for 15 inch, A$599.99 for 27 inch, on their Australian site. | Their 27 inch frame, about US$599 to US$699, shipped from the US. | None; it lives on phones. | The planner, and a pen. |
| Ongoing cost | Free, or Plus at A$4.99 a month or A$39 a year. 30 days of Plus free. | Free basics; Skylight Plus A$124.99 a year for chore rewards, meal planning and screensaver photos. | Free basics; membership about US$9 a month. | Free with ads and a 30-day calendar limit; Cozi Gold US$39 a year. | A new one each year. |
| Where it lives | On the wall, and on everyone's phone. | On the frame, and in their app. | On the frame, and in their app. | On phones. No wall unless you prop a tablet up yourself. | On the wall only. |
| Touch | No. The wall is read; phones do the adding. | Yes, on the frame. | Yes, on the frame. | Phone only. | Pen. |
| Google, Outlook, iCloud | Shown read-only on the wall (Plus). Kitchenboard never writes into them. | Syncs with them. | Syncs with them. | Imports. | Copy by hand. |
| Reminders in your own calendar | Yes (Plus): each person subscribes their calendar to their own feed, one-way. | Via their app. | Via their app. | In-app. | No. |
| Kids | Names on the wall, no accounts. Chores and events by colour. | Profiles and chore rewards on Plus. | Profiles, routines and star rewards on membership. | Family members share one account. | Whatever you draw. |
| Your data | Australian-made. Each household in its own database file. No ads, no tracking, export or delete any time. | Their servers, their policy. | Their servers, their policy. | Free tier is ad-supported. | The fridge. |
| If the screen breaks | Pair another screen you own in a minute. | Warranty or repair through Skylight; check their terms. | Warranty or repair through Hearth; check their terms. | Not applicable. | Buy another planner. |
Who each one suits
- A frame (Skylight or Hearth) suits a family that wants a single polished object, touch on the wall, and photo screensavers, and is happy to spend several hundred dollars plus a yearly subscription for the full feature set. Ships from overseas; support is in their time zone.
- Cozi suits a family that lives on phones and does not want a wall at all. The free tier now limits how far ahead you can see.
- Google Calendar on a tablet suits a family already living in Google Calendar who is happy to leave a tablet unlocked on the bench. It shows one calendar view well; chores, meals and the shopping list need other apps.
- A paper planner is visible, familiar and needs no power, and many families love it. It cannot be updated from the bus, and the person holding the pen tends to become the person holding everything.
- Kitchenboard suits a family that already owns a TV or a retired iPad, wants everyone adding from their own phone, cares where the data lives, and would rather spend A$39 a year than A$300 up front. It does not do touch on the wall or photo screensavers, on purpose: the wall is for reading at a glance.
What we do not claim
We have not tested the frames ourselves. We do not have chore rewards, star charts or a photo mode, and we are a small Australian maker, not a venture-funded company. Kitchenboard also asks a little more of you at the start: a screen to set up and phones to install on. If a frame is what you want, buy the frame.
Sources
- Skylight Calendar 15 inch and Calendar Max prices, and Calendar Plus at A$124.99 a year: au.myskylight.com and Calendar Plus, September 2026.
- Hearth Display price and membership: hearthdisplay.com, September 2026 (US dollars).
- Cozi free tier and Cozi Gold: cozi.com, September 2026 (US dollars).
Try the other way for 30 days. No card, no hardware, and if it is not for you, export your data and delete the household from Settings.
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