Everything a Skylight does, no screen to buy.
Plannie is a Skylight Calendar alternative that skips the hardware: the same shared family calendar, chores, rewards and meal planning, running in the browser on the tablet already in your kitchen - one $99/year plan for the whole household.
What a family of four actually pays
Skylight makes lovely hardware - and the hardware is most of the bill. Plannie turns the tablet you already own into the family display, so the only cost is the subscription, and one subscription covers every member on every device.
| Plannie | Skylight | |
|---|---|---|
| Wall display | Any tablet you already own | $299.99 - Skylight Calendar 2, 15″ |
| Kids’ devices | Included - personal mode on their own device | up to $139.99 per Buddy device |
| Subscription | $99/year, whole household | $79/year Calendar Plus |
| AI assistant | Plannie Assistant, included in Premium | Sidekick with Plus · SMS Assistant +$40/yr |
| Year one, 2 adults + 2 kids | $99 | ≈ $639 with two Buddies |
| Every year after | $99 | $79 - or $119 with the SMS Assistant |
Skylight prices from myskylight.com and assistant.myskylight.com, checked 5 August 2026; seasonal sales may be lower. Calendar Plus ($79/yr) includes Sidekick, meal planning, rewards and Buddy Plus; the new text-message Skylight Assistant is a separate subscription - $119/yr standalone, or $40/yr more on top of Calendar Plus. Year-one math excludes it. After year one Skylight's base subscription is $20 cheaper than Plannie - the difference is the hardware.
Kiosk on the wall, personal in every pocket
Every device running Plannie picks a mode. Kiosk makes a screen the family shares - everyone's days, everyone's reminders, mounted in the kitchen. Personal keeps a device to its owner: their own look, and notifications only about them. Switch any time in settings.
- One $99/year plan covers every member and every device
- Kiosk mode turns any tablet into the family display
- Personal mode gives each member their own view and notifications
- Two-way Google & Outlook sync; Apple Calendar as a subscribed feed
- Habits, tickets and rewards for the kids - no extra device
SWITCHING FROM SKYLIGHT
- Create your household at app.plannie.io and give each member their colour.
- Connect Google or Outlook under Settings → Calendar - sync runs two-way, so nothing is re-typed.
- Mount a spare tablet, open Plannie, and switch it to kiosk mode. Phones stay personal.
- Recreate the kids' routines as habits - completions earn tickets toward rewards.
Where Skylight is still the better fit
If you want a purpose-built screen in the box - charged, mounted, one-purpose - Skylight ships that, and the Buddy is a sweet dedicated device for a child's room. Plannie's bet is different: most families already own more screens than they use, and a calendar subscription shouldn't start with $300 of new ones. If that's your bet too, you can try it free in the browser right now.
Frequently asked
Is Plannie a real alternative to the Skylight Calendar?+
Yes. Plannie does the same jobs - a shared colour-coded family calendar, chores and rewards, weekly meal planning and an AI that reads school emails - but as software on the tablets and phones you already own, instead of a wall screen you have to buy. Google and Outlook sync two-way, and Apple Calendar comes in as a subscribed feed.
How much cheaper is Plannie than a Skylight setup?+
A family of four starting with Skylight pays for the hardware first: a 15-inch Skylight Calendar 2 is $299.99, each kids’ Buddy device is up to $139.99, and Calendar Plus is $79 a year on top. That’s roughly $639 in year one for two kids with Buddies. Plannie is $99 a year for the whole household with nothing to buy - after year one Skylight’s subscription alone is slightly cheaper, but the screens are the cost that never pays itself back.
Can Plannie look like a wall calendar in the kitchen?+
Yes - that’s kiosk mode. Mount any spare tablet, open Plannie in the browser, and switch the device to kiosk mode: it becomes a shared always-on family display showing everyone’s days. The same subscription also covers personal mode, where each member uses Plannie on their own phone with their own look and only their own notifications.
What replaces the kids’ Buddy devices?+
Nothing to buy. In Plannie each child is a household member with their own colour, their own habits and routines, and tickets they earn toward rewards and family goals. On any shared kiosk screen they see their day; if they have their own device, personal mode shows just their plans - no per-child hardware.
Does Plannie have something like Skylight’s Sidekick AI?+
Yes - Plannie Assistant, included in Premium. Snap a photo or PDF of a school flyer with Magic Import and every date lands on the calendar, forward emails to your household’s own Family Inbox address, or just ask the assistant in chat. Skylight now also sells a separate text-message AI, Skylight Assistant, at $119/year standalone (or $40/year on top of Calendar Plus) - in Plannie the assistant is part of the one $99/year household plan, though it lives in the app and your inbox rather than in SMS.
How does Plannie reduce mental load for parents?+
By making the family plan something no one person has to carry. Every event, chore and meal lives on one shared, colour-coded calendar both parents and the kids can see - on the kitchen kiosk and on each phone - so nobody is the household’s memory. School paperwork stops being typed in: forward it to the Family Inbox or photograph it with Magic Import. And chores with tickets and rewards move the follow-up from a parent’s nagging to a system the kids actually check.