Digital Calendar Review of Three of the Most Popular Brands (Skylight, Hearth & Amazon Echo Show)- Pros & Cons, Prices and More
- Brooke Amidei
- Jul 28
- 5 min read
Updated: Aug 18
Why Every Woman Needs a Digital Calendar (and What Real Moms Really Think)
Trying to juggle school drop-offs, soccer practice, work meetings, grocery runs, and maybe—just maybe—a moment to yourself? You’re not alone. Today’s digital calendars like Skylight, Hearth, and Amazon Echo promise to take the chaos out of your schedule and bring some sanity back to your home. But do they really deliver?
We asked all the questions you're probably wondering—Is it easy to use? Will my partner actually look at it? Does it really help?—and got the scoop straight from three Babblers who put these popular devices to the test in their own homes. Their real-life experiences and honest opinions just might help you decide which digital helper (if any!) is right for you.
There are 3 sizes available
We have the 15 inch! **Tip: I bought mine on Black Friday for 40% off!
This is a Wi-Fi connected TOUCHSCREEN digital frame/calendar with a MOBILE APP!Â
You can subscribe for Plus which allows you to send and receive videos, calendar, meal planning, lists, and rewards! You can also magic import all of the crazy sports schedules and you can sync with work calendars!
Easily syncs with Google, Outlook, Apple, Cozi, and Yahoo!
Calendar:
Assign a color to each person so they can easily identify their events on the calendar. We also assigned a color that is for events that is for all of us together!
Meal plans:
Add meals in and save the recipe for next time. You can also import groceries from your recipes into your lists.
Pros:
Sits on counter for family to have access to. No more kids asking- What are we doing today!
We all have access from the mobile app too!
Magic import and syncing with outside calendars
Meal plans- Again, kids can see and don’t have to ask what’s for dinner!
Chores check off for kids with rewards!
We can manage more than one frame. We bought grandparents frames and we can manage them from our account.
Cloud storage
Cons:
Paying a subscription yearly-$39.99. It does work without but looks like without the subscription it is just a calendar and chore chart. No pictures, meal planning, magic import, or rewards.
Can be hard to find a convenient spot in the kitchen that is not in the way on the counter/wall.
Can be awkward setting the time for events on calendar day
Could be a pro or a con but you have to put the ending time for your event. (I personally prefer to just input the start time.)
There has really been very few things that we have found for our family that is a dealbreaker! We love our Skylight Calendar!
Tanita
We have the Hearth Display. I was sold by Instagram adds frankly, and I did compare to the Skylight calendar. At the time I purchased the Hearth, I don't think the larger sizes of the Skylight were available. Also the aesthetic of the Hearth sold me - in my opinion it's prettier, and that shit is important to me as a designer- ha. I know and accept this about myself now, and just pay more for things like this, vs. still pay a lot of money and just look at my less ideal option with regret daily. There is this nice frame around the Hearth, and it mounts to the wall. We have it mounted in our kitchen.Â
Here is a reddit thread comparing the Skylight and Hearth that I found helpful.
I received mine for Christmas last year from my parents. We did have to wait 5 months for it to arrive, which was a negative. Not sure they are still that slow to deliver. I think they are only doing limited production runs.Â
I use google calendar to organize our family, set up along the Kelly Nolan plan. Everyone in my family has a calendar, so that imported directly from Google calendar and was a breeze to set up. If someone didn't have this set up ahead of time, I am not sure how easy of a set up it would be in Hearth. And I rarely plug in events from the Hearth - its usually from my phone. So I am the calendar manager...Â
You do have to pay for the subscription, which I feel like is a standard thing for a lot of tech now. You can set up chore charts and routines (we don't use these a ton yet). You can access all of this from the screen, a mobile app or a desktop app. I still use google to calendar everything though, because that is my process.Â
Pros:
Wall mounts easily
Beautiful - has a great frame and you can put artwork or images as the background when not in use
Mobile app and desktop app
Imports and syncs with other calendars
task/chore list per person, with option to repeat tasks based on calendar
routines
Cons:
Requires a subscriptionÂ
If you don't have calendars set up like I do, I am not sure how challenging this would be
Expensive!
Potential long wait time after ordering
Calendar organization is a fucking beast.
Stacey
We have had the Echo Show for a few months now. I have to say, it's pretty slick! My family loves it and it's doing all the things I had hoped it would.Â
There are a total of 4 size options for the Echo Show-
Echo Show 5 $89.99
Echo Show 8 $149.99
Echo Show 15Â $299.99
Echo Show 21 $399.99
We purchased the largest one, the 21 and LOVE that size! Â
Pros:
Large in size so an easy to see screen
Completely integrated with our Amazon and Alexa accounts
Can listen to our Amazon music, great speakers
Is also a smart TV so has Netflix, Youtube, etc so we can watch TV in the kitchen- comes with a remote too!
Weather app- Alexa pulls up the weather and reads it out loud
Has so many more app/widgets that make it easy to add to my to-do list, grocery list, and post it notes for easy reminders
Integrated with our Ring camera at our front door so we can see who is there from the kitchen, I especially LOVE this feature!
Integrated all of our Google calendars
From my Alexa app on my phone, I can go to the Echo Show 21 camera and see what's going on in the kitchen if I need to. I can talk through that as well, say if no one is answering my calls!
NO extra monthly charge!!!
Cons:
It has a calendar, but that's not its primary purpose. The calendar app is a smaller widget that you have to press on to make it full screen. I have tried to see if it will go full screen but it does not. So I think it kind of gets lost and the kids don't always think to look at the calendar
Doesn't have a meal planner app/widget- I can add groceries to my grocery list, and I could add the meal for the day on the calendar.....but would be nice to have a meal planning app
Large and not everyone can find a spot for it.Â
ONLY comes with a bracket to hang it. If you are wanting it on your counter, you must purchase a separate stand.Â
Amazon suggests a stand for $124.99 that is compatible with the Echo Show 21...DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT, purchase that one. I ordered this one for around $40 and it works PERFECT!
Anissa
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