What Family Calendar Apps Cost in 2026 (Full Price Guide)

Family calendar pricing is confusing on purpose. "Free" apps cap your calendar at 30 days, "one-time" wall displays bill $79 a year for the features in the ad, and the sticker price on a screen rarely includes the plan you'll actually want. In 2026 a family calendar costs anywhere from $0 (Google or Apple Calendar) to about $1,000 over three years (Hearth Display), with most dedicated apps landing between $39 and $80 a year and most wall displays between $350 and $840 all-in. This guide puts every price side by side, with one-year and three-year totals, and explains what "free" means for each.

Prices are list prices verified in September 2026; sales and regional pricing vary.

The full price table

Arithmetic: three-year totals are hardware plus three years of the required or practically-required subscription (Skylight: $299.99 + 3 × $79; Hearth: $699 + 36 × $9; Calendara: 3 × $39.99 at the annual rate, assuming you join after pricing begins). Calendara is $0 during early access, and families who join during early access keep their access.

What "free" actually means for each app

Google Calendar and Apple Calendar are free with no catch — no ads, no tiers, no caps. What you don't get is family-specific: no per-member colors beyond separate calendars, no shared lists, no photo or PDF import.

Cozi Free is free with ads, and since May 2024 it limits how far ahead you can see to roughly 30 days. For a family with a school calendar, that makes Gold ($39/yr) the real entry price. Our Cozi pricing breakdown and 30-day limit explainer cover the details.

TimeTree Free is free with ads and no forward-view cap; Premium ($4.49/mo or $44.99/yr) removes them. TimeTree has no lists or meals at any price.

FamilyWall Free exists, but external calendar sync, location sharing, and budgeting are Premium-only at $44.99/yr. See the FamilyWall pricing breakdown.

Calendara is free during early access — a 7-day full-access preview, then $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr once pricing begins. There are no ads, no tiers, and no cap; the photo extraction, two-way Google sync, and shared lists are all included.

The hidden costs of wall displays

A display's sticker price is the beginning, not the end.

• Skylight shows synced calendars without a plan, but Magic Import (emails, PDFs, photographed flyers → events), meal planning, chores and rewards, and the photo screensaver require Skylight Plus at $79/yr. Skylight includes a month, then bills yearly. Over three years that's $237 on top of $299.99 or $599.99. Our Calendara vs Skylight comparison breaks down what you get for it.
• Hearth requires a Family Membership (about $9/month) to finish setup and unlock to-dos, routines, and Hearth Helper. That's $324 over three years on top of $699.
• Cozyla is the exception: its displays work without a required plan. An optional Calendar Essential subscription is $79.99/yr.
• Echo Show 15 has no subscription, but it's a general smart display, not a family planner — no member profiles, chores, or meal plans.
• DAKboard is software for a screen you already own; its own 27-inch display is $799.95.

For the whole display category compared on features, not just price, see our Skylight alternatives roundup.

What are you paying for? The data-entry question

Every price above buys a place to hold the schedule. Very few buy a way to get it in without typing — and that's where the real cost of a family calendar hides, in a parent's evenings.

When you compare prices, compare the cost of filling the calendar too. See how photo-to-calendar works for what capture looks like in practice.

Cheapest family calendar setups by household

• $0, mixed devices: Google Calendar with a Google family group (shared Family calendar auto-created), Google Keep for lists. Add an old iPad on the counter as a free display.
• $0, all Apple: Apple Calendar with Family Sharing, shared Reminders lists.
• Under $40/yr, mixed devices, want lists and meals: Cozi Gold at $39/yr.
• Under $40/yr, all iPhone, want photo capture and two-way Google sync: Calendara — free during early access, $39.99/yr at the annual rate once pricing begins.
• Display without a subscription: Cozyla Calendar Neo at $349.99, or Echo Show 15.
• Display with the best software: Skylight Calendar 2 with Plus, about $537 over three years.
• Money is no object: Hearth Display, about $1,023 over three years.

Price versus value: three quick rules

1. Count three years, not one. A $299.99 screen with a $79 plan is a $537 decision. A $39 app is a $117 decision.
2. Check the free tier's cap. Cozi's 30-day window and FamilyWall's Premium-only sync turn "free" into "paid" for most families within a month.
3. Price the typing. If one parent spends an hour a month entering schedules, an app that reads a photo pays for itself in the first season.

Bottom line

Family calendar apps cost $0 to $80 a year; wall displays cost $350 to $1,000 over three years once subscriptions are counted. The free defaults (Google, Apple) are genuinely free but make you type everything; Cozi Gold is the cheapest paid organizer at $39/yr; Skylight is the most polished display at about $537 over three years. Calendara is free during early access and then $4.99/mo or $39.99/yr once pricing begins — and it's the option that removes the one cost nobody lists: entering the schedule by hand. For the questions behind the prices, see our family calendar app FAQ.