Skylight vs Cozi: wall screen or free app?
They're the two names families hear first, and they're opposite answers to the same problem: Cozi is a free, ad-supported phone app; Skylight is a purpose-built calendar screen you buy for the kitchen. Here's the honest line-by-line — plus the third option that's neither.
Bias, disclosed: we make Calluna, a family calendar app that competes with both. The facts below are the same ones we publish on our one-to-one pages — including where Cozi and Skylight beat us.
Three different deals, honestly stated.
Choose Cozi if…
The budget is zero and you mainly need shared-calendar basics on phones. It's mature, widely used, sends push alerts, and bundles recipes and meal planning. The price is ads in the app, a free calendar now capped at 30 days, and a business model built on advertising.
Choose Skylight if…
You want a dedicated, always-on screen in the kitchen and don't mind paying for hardware. It's a polished device with a star-based chore system kids respond to. Advanced features sit behind the optional Skylight Plus, and the companion app is limited.
Choose Calluna if…
You want the always-on kitchen display without buying a screen, and a calendar with no ads anywhere. One household plan — $12/month or $100/year — covers every phone, a tablet display, a kids' view, and desktop, with leave-by times and privacy roles built in.
Skylight vs Cozi vs Calluna, line by line.
An honest read. No option wins every row — that's the point of comparing.
| Cozifree tier · ad-supported | Skylightbuy the screen · optional sub | Callunathat's us · one paid plan | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free to start using, no hardware to buy | ~ | ✕ | ~ |
| No ads in the app | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Never sells your household data | ~ | ✓ | ✓ |
| An always-on kitchen display | ✕ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Leave-by times & schedule-clash alerts | ✕ | ✕ | ✓ |
| Adult · child · helper roles + privacy tiers | ~ | ~ | ✓ |
| Recipes & meal planning | ✓ | ~ | ✕ |
| Phone push notifications | ✓ | ~ | ✕ |
| Established and widely used | ✓ | ✓ | ✕ |
Skylight vs Cozi, answered.
Is Skylight or Cozi better for a family calendar?
They're different kinds of product. Cozi is a free, ad-supported phone app that's mature and great at shared-calendar basics — though its free calendar is now capped at 30 days. Skylight is a purpose-built wall screen you buy up front: always on and glanceable in the kitchen, with advanced features behind the optional Skylight Plus. If the budget is zero, Cozi; if you want an always-on kitchen display and don't mind paying for hardware, Skylight.
Is Cozi really free?
There's a genuine free tier, but it's ad-supported, and Cozi's once-unlimited free calendar is now capped at 30 days. Removing the ads means paying for Cozi Gold. So it's free the way ad-funded products are free — you pay with attention and data rather than money.
Does Skylight show ads like Cozi?
No. Skylight is a hardware business — you pay for the screen, not with your attention. Its trade-off is different: the device cost up front, and an optional Skylight Plus subscription for advanced features.
Is there an option that's neither a screen purchase nor an ad-supported app?
Yes — that's the gap Calluna sits in. It's a paid app ($12/month or $100/year for the household, after a 7-day trial) with no ads and no data selling, and its kitchen-display mode turns a tablet you already own into the same always-on screen Skylight sells. You skip both the hardware cost and the advertising.
Why trust this comparison from Calluna?
Fair question — we make a family calendar app that competes with both, and this page says so up front. The facts here are the same ones we publish on our one-to-one comparison pages, including the rows where Cozi and Skylight beat us. If we're wrong about something, email us and we'll fix it.
Want the deeper one-to-ones? Read Calluna vs Cozi, Calluna vs Skylight, or the full comparison index.
The third option: no screen to buy, no ads to ignore.
Start a 7-day free trial and turn the tablet you already own into the family's kitchen display. Then it's $12/month or $100/year — every feature included.
No ads · No data selling · No tricks aimed at your kids.