An honest look at how we compare.
Every kind of family app gets one thing right and quietly costs you somewhere else. Here's where each tends to land - including, further down, where the others still beat us.
Every kind of family app, side by side
The honest big picture across the three kinds of product families choose between. Pick a name above to go one-to-one.
| Feature | Callunathat's us | Free organizer appsad-supported | Smart displays$300-600 + sub | AI assistantssubscription |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| No dark patterns aimed at kids | ✓ | ✕ | ~ | ~ |
| Never sells your data / no ads | ✓ | ✕ | ✓ | ~ |
| Runs on the kitchen screen - no hardware to buy | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ✕ |
| Adult · child · helper roles + privacy tiers | ✓ | ~ | ~ | ~ |
| Leave-by times & schedule-clash detection | ✓ | ✕ | ✕ | ~ |
| Calm by design - no engagement loops | ✓ | ✕ | ~ | ~ |
| Works offline, syncs in real time | ✓ | ~ | ✕ | ~ |
| Imports your Google Calendar | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Simple paid model, no ad bargain | ✓ | ✕ | ~ | ✓ |
Calluna vs Cozi
Cozi is the best-known family organizer and still good at the basics - though it now caps its free calendar at 30 days. The real difference is how each one is paid for.
| Feature | Callunathat's us | Cozicapped free tier · ad-supported |
|---|---|---|
| No ads in the app | ✓ | ✕ |
| Never sells your household data | ✓ | ~ |
| Leave-by times & schedule-clash alerts | ✓ | ✕ |
| Adult · child · helper roles + privacy tiers | ✓ | ~ |
| Kitchen display & a simple kids' view | ✓ | ~ |
| Shared calendar, lists & to-dos | ✓ | ✓ |
| Phone push notifications | ✕ | ✓ |
| A free plan, not just a trial | ✕ | ~ |
Calluna vs Skylight
Skylight is the best-known family calendar that's a physical wall screen. If you want a dedicated device it's lovely - here's the honest trade.
| Feature | Callunathat's us | Skylightbuy the screen + optional sub |
|---|---|---|
| No hardware to buy - use a tablet you own | ✓ | ✕ |
| Phone, tablet, kids' view & desktop | ✓ | ~ |
| All features without a second subscription | ✓ | ~ |
| No ads, never sells your data | ✓ | ✓ |
| Kid rewards that can't turn manipulative | ✓ | ~ |
| Leave-by times & schedule-clash alerts | ✓ | ✕ |
| Adult · child · helper roles + privacy tiers | ✓ | ~ |
| An always-on kitchen display | ✓ | ✓ |
Calluna vs FamilyWall
FamilyWall packs a family locator, messaging and photo storage around the shared calendar. Calluna is deliberately narrower - no tracking, and calendar sync that isn't locked behind a Premium tier.
| Feature | Callunathat's us | FamilyWallfree tier · Premium upsell |
|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar import, included in the plan | ✓ | ✕ |
| Leave-by times & schedule-clash alerts | ✓ | ✕ |
| Adult · child · helper roles + privacy tiers | ✓ | ~ |
| Kitchen display & a simple kids' view | ✓ | ✕ |
| No location tracking of family members | ✓ | ✕ |
| Shared calendar, lists & chores | ✓ | ✓ |
| Family locator, messaging & photo sharing | ✕ | ✓ |
| A free plan, not just a trial | ✕ | ✓ |
Calluna vs Google Calendar
Google Calendar is free, universal and rock-solid for one person's schedule - but it's a personal calendar bent into a family one. Calluna adds the household layer, and imports your Google Calendar so it isn't either/or.
| Feature | Callunathat's us | Google Calendarfree · personal calendar |
|---|---|---|
| One shared household view, not stacked personal calendars | ✓ | ~ |
| Leave-by times & schedule-clash alerts | ✓ | ✕ |
| Chores, routines & family to-dos | ✓ | ✕ |
| Adult · child · helper roles + privacy tiers | ✓ | ✕ |
| Kitchen display & a simple kids' view | ✓ | ✕ |
| Independent - not run by an advertising company | ✓ | ✕ |
| Free to use | ✕ | ✓ |
| Native push notifications & deep integrations | ✕ | ✓ |
Calluna vs Hearth
Hearth makes a lovely 27-inch family touchscreen - but it's a premium device you buy up front, with its calendar, to-dos and routines behind a paid Family Membership. Here's the honest trade.
| Feature | Callunathat's us | Hearthbuy the screen + membership |
|---|---|---|
| No hardware to buy - use a tablet you own | ✓ | ✕ |
| Every feature in one plan, no membership on top of a device | ✓ | ✕ |
| Leave-by times & schedule-clash alerts | ✓ | ✕ |
| Adult · child · helper roles + privacy tiers | ✓ | ~ |
| Runs on phones, tablets & a desktop view | ✓ | ~ |
| Shared calendar, chores & routines | ✓ | ✓ |
| A purpose-built, always-on 27-inch touchscreen | ✕ | ✓ |
| Built-in AI planning helper | ✕ | ✓ |
Calluna vs Cozyla
Cozyla is a no-subscription, do-everything smart display - a family calendar that's also a photo frame, a smart-home hub and a streaming tablet. Here's the honest trade against a focused family calendar app with no screen to buy.
| Feature | Callunathat's us | Cozylabuy the screen · no subscription |
|---|---|---|
| Family calendar with no screen to buy | ✓ | ✕ |
| Leave-by times & schedule-clash alerts | ✓ | ✕ |
| Adult · child · helper roles + privacy tiers | ✓ | ~ |
| Focused family calendar, not a do-everything display | ✓ | ~ |
| Independent, app-first privacy model | ✓ | ~ |
| Shared calendar, chores & routines | ✓ | ✓ |
| No subscription - pay once | ✕ | ✓ |
| Syncs Google, Apple, Outlook & more today | ~ | ✓ |
Compare Calluna to a specific app or device.
The full-length head-to-heads - each with a line-by-line table and an FAQ, including where the other option still wins.
Calluna vs Cozi
The ad-free, private take on the best-known family organizer - now that its free calendar is capped at 30 days.
Read the comparison →Calluna vs Skylight
The same always-on kitchen display on a tablet you already own - no screen to buy, and no Calendar Plus on top.
Read the comparison →Calluna vs FamilyWall
Focused and private, where calendar sync isn't locked behind Premium - and there's no location tracking.
Read the comparison →Calluna vs Google Calendar
Keep your Google Calendar - Calluna imports it and adds the household layer a personal calendar leaves out.
Read the comparison →Calluna vs Hearth
A 27-inch family hub without the device or the paid Family Membership - one plan on screens you already own.
Read the comparison →Cozyla alternative
A focused family calendar with no screen to buy - though Cozyla wins if you want a no-subscription dedicated display.
Read the comparison →Deciding between the others? We compared them to each other too - honestly, bias disclosed: Skylight vs Hearth and Skylight vs Cozi.
What you're really choosing between.
A fair read on each kind of product - what it's genuinely great at, and the catch that comes with it.
The ad-supported incumbents
Mature, familiar, huge user bases. A solid shared calendar and lists, free to start.
"Free" is paid for by ads - some are rated for selling personal data and serving targeted ads. Chore tools lean on leaderboards and pressure.
No ads and no data selling, and kid rewards that can't turn manipulative.
The $300-600 wall screens
A beautiful, dedicated, always-on family hub in the kitchen. Lovely for households that want a fixed screen.
Real hardware money up front, often a subscription on top, and it's one screen - your phones and a kids' view are a separate story.
The same shared-display experience on any tablet you already own - bundled with the phone and kids' apps, no device to buy.
The "mental load" apps
Clever input - snap a school flyer, forward an email, and it tries to sort your week for you. Genuinely impressive when it works.
To do that, they're data-hungry by nature, usually subscription-gated, and you're trusting an AI with your family's whole life.
Calm and deterministic. The smarts (leave-by, conflicts) are predictable and private - no model reading everything to be useful.
And the real default: Google Calendar + a whiteboard
Most families don't use a family app at all - they use a shared calendar and a fridge whiteboard, free and already there. That's genuinely fine until the household gets busy enough that "who's taking who, and when do we leave?" stops fitting on a whiteboard. That's the moment this is built for.
Where the others still beat us.
We're independent and early. Telling you this is the whole point - a family app that hides its gaps isn't one you should trust.
Apple & Outlook calendars
Your Google Calendar syncs in today. Apple and Outlook don't yet - they're next on the list.
Phone push notifications
We send a calm daily email; we don't yet do native push alerts. Deliberate for "calm," but some families will miss it.
Meal planning & money
Some rivals bundle meal planners or kids' debit cards. We don't - we'd rather nail family logistics than spread thin.
Decide for yourself in five minutes.
The honest comparison only gets you so far - open it and see if the calm fits your family. A 7-day free trial, then $12/month or $100/year.