A shared family calendar, without another subscription
We make Magnetday. Check the sources at the bottom. As of October 24, 2026.
Apps for iPhone, Android and the web are in development. No date yet.
Family calendar apps have quietly become subscriptions. Here’s what the common options cost each year, which free ones work today, and what we’re building.
What you pay each year
| App or device | Free version | Paid version | What the paid version adds |
|---|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar (family group) | Free, no ads | — | — |
| Apple Calendar (shared iCloud calendar) | Free, no ads | — | — (iCloud only) |
| Cozi | Free, with ads | Cozi Gold, $39/yr | No ads, month view on mobile, calendar search, change notifications, birthday tracker |
| TimeTree | Free, with ads | Premium, $44.99/yr or $4.49/mo | Ad-free, file attachments, vertical calendar view, pinned events, dedicated support |
| Skylight Calendar 15″ | — ($299.99 screen) | Plus, $79/yr | Rewards, Meal Planning, Photo Screensaver, Magic Import, Disney Mode |
| Magnetday | Free, no ads (in development) | No subscription. Optional Magnetday Panel, $199 one-time | A color e-ink screen for the fridge |
Prices checked on each vendor’s own page on October 24, 2026, in US dollars. Prices can vary by region.
If you need one today
- Everyone’s on Google: use Google’s family calendar. Free, no ads, and it’s on every phone already.
- Everyone’s on iPhone: share an iCloud calendar in Apple Calendar. Free, no ads.
- You want lists and meal plans too: Cozi’s free version does a lot, with ads.
None of those is a bad choice. They’re what we used before we built this.
Get one email when it’s ready.
No ads in the app, and no spam in your inbox. One email.
Why we don’t charge a subscription
Our rule: if it runs on hardware you own, it’s free. The Magnetday app talks to your Google Calendar straight from your own phone and tablet. There’s no Magnetday server in the middle holding your events, so a free family costs us nothing to run, and there’s nothing to charge you for.
So there are exactly two options:
- Bring your own screens: free. Phones, and the tablet you already own.
- Get the Magnetday Panel: $199. A color e-ink screen that sticks on the fridge. It’s a physical thing we ship, so it costs money. Not on sale yet.
No ads, ever, in any version.
What it does
- Everyone gets a color. The whole week reads at a glance.
- Type it the way you’d text it.
soccer every tue 4pm leobecomes a weekly event, shown in Leo’s color in Magnetday. - Built on your Google Calendar, with two-way sync. Nothing to move into, and nothing to move out of if you leave.
- On the screens you already own: everyone’s phone, and the old tablet in the kitchen.
- Open source. Everything that runs on your devices is Apache-2.0.
Where something else wins
- You need it today. We’re in development.
- You’re iCloud-only. We start with Google Calendar. iCloud and Outlook support is planned.
- You want recipes, meal plans and chore charts first. Cozi and Skylight are further along there.
Questions.
Is it really free, or free for now?
The rule is written down: anything that runs on hardware you own is free. That code is open source (Apache-2.0), so once it’s out, anyone can keep running it.
How do you make money?
By selling the optional Magnetday Panel, $199. That’s the only thing for sale.
Are there ads?
No. Not in the free version, not ever.
When can I use it?
When it’s ready. Join the waitlist and we’ll email you once.
Get one email when it’s ready.
No ads in the app, and no spam in your inbox. One email.
Sources
- Use a family calendar on Google (Google Help).
- Share calendars on Mac (Apple Support).
- Cozi: free plan and Cozi Gold, $39/yr.
- TimeTree: Premium, $44.99/yr or $4.49/mo.
- Skylight Calendar: $299.99, Plus $79/yr.
- All checked October 24, 2026. Cozi, TimeTree, Skylight, Google Calendar and Apple are trademarks of their owners. Magnetday is not affiliated with any of them.