Cozi alternatives for UK families, free and paid
Same idea. Fewer adverts. More school.
Read it← The blogFamily calendars · 7 min read
Skylight Calendar v Echo Show 15: which is the better family calendar?
Debs · 2 October 2026
The short answer
A Skylight Calendar is a dedicated touchscreen calendar: big, simple and focused, with a free chore chart and an optional Plus plan. An Echo Show 15 is a 15.6-inch Alexa smart display that can show family calendars, lists and sticky notes, and also does music, timers, video calls and TV. Choose Skylight for a calm, calendar-only screen. Choose the Echo Show if you want voice control and an all-rounder, and don't mind the calendar sharing the screen.
"Skylight calendar vs Echo Show" is one of the questions UK parents type most when choosing a kitchen screen, and it makes sense: they look similar on the wall, both promise to end the era of the fridge calendar, and both need a socket. They're actually quite different things. One is a calendar. The other is a smart speaker with a very large face.
What each one is good at
Both put the family's plans on a screen everyone walks past. The difference is everything else. (If you haven't priced up a Skylight yet, start with our Skylight Calendar UK review.)
- Skylight: calendar first, with large, colour-coded day, week and month views.
- Skylight: a free chore chart, with rewards, meal plans and photos on Plus.
- Echo Show 15: Alexa, so you can ask what's on, add to the shopping list and set timers by voice.
- Echo Show 15: calendar and list widgets, sticky notes, music, video calls and TV.
A calendar that can also play cartoons will, at some point, be playing cartoons.
Left: Skylight shows the calendar all day. Right: an Echo Show shows widgets for the calendar and lists, and Alexa can read today's plans out loud.
Calendar features: Skylight v Echo Show 15
For pure calendar, Skylight is easier to read at a glance. It's built to show a whole family's week in colour, and children can tap to see their day and tick off chores. It syncs Google, Apple, Outlook, Yahoo and Cozi calendars and any calendar share link, all without the Plus plan.
The Echo Show 15 shows the calendars you link in the Alexa app (Google, Microsoft and Apple) in a widget on its home screen, alongside lists, sticky notes and whatever else you've chosen, and you can ask Alexa what's on today. It's less a wall calendar and more a family noticeboard that talks. If you want an Echo Show to work as a proper family wall calendar, a family app with its own Echo Show display helps: Debs has one, with each person in their own colour, today's view by itself and the school-run weather.
Skylight is a calendar that lives in the kitchen. The Echo Show is the kitchen's assistant, and it happens to have a calendar.
Getting school dates onto either screen
Neither screen knows about your school by itself. Both show what's in the calendars you link, so if the INSET day isn't in anyone's calendar, it isn't on the wall. Skylight's Plus plan can turn forwarded emails into events; on an Echo Show, it's the calendars you link or nothing. The simplest fix is a calendar that fills in the school side for you. On a Skylight, sync its calendar link (here's how to get school dates on your Skylight). On an Echo Show, Debs's wall display and its Alexa skill show and read out the school side directly.
Skylight Calendar 15" v Echo Show 15
From Skylight's and Amazon's UK pages in autumn 2026. Prices change often, especially in sales, so we've left them out of this table: compare on the day.
| Skylight Calendar 15" | Echo Show 15 | |
|---|---|---|
| Screen | 15 inches, touchscreen | 15.6 inches, Full HD touchscreen |
| Main job | Family calendar | Smart display with Alexa |
| Calendar syncing | Google, Apple, Outlook, Yahoo, Cozi and share links | Google, Microsoft and Apple, linked in the Alexa app |
| Music, video calls and TV | No | Yes |
| Subscription | Optional Plus, £60 a year | Not needed for calendars |
Mistakes we've all made
- Buying the Echo Show for the calendar and finding it showing a recipe video at 7:45am.
- Buying the Skylight and forgetting that nobody in the house has put the school dates in a calendar.
- Linking every calendar you own, including the one full of work meetings.
- Mounting either one somewhere without a socket, and living with a cable across the kitchen wall.
Make either screen know about school
Debs, your own school admin assistant, reads the school's emails and letters and fills in the family calendar: term dates, INSET days, PE days, trips, clubs and what to pack. On an Echo Show, open Debs's family wall display for today's view in everyone's colour, and link the "our Debs" Alexa skill to ask "Alexa, ask our Debs what we've got on tomorrow". Got a Skylight? Add Debs's live calendar link to it. Debs vs Skylight, side by side.
Questions parents ask
Is the Echo Show 15 good as a family calendar?
Yes, if you want an all-rounder. It shows linked calendars, lists and sticky notes on a 15.6-inch screen, and Alexa can tell you what's on. It's busier than a dedicated calendar screen because it does so much else.
Is Skylight better than an Echo Show?
Skylight is better as a calm, calendar-only screen that's easy for children to read. The Echo Show is better if you want voice control, music, video calls and TV as well.
Can an Echo Show show a shared family calendar?
Yes. Link your family's Google, Microsoft or Apple calendars in the Alexa app and the Echo Show can show them. Family apps with an Echo Show display, such as Debs, can show the whole family's week too.
Which is cheaper, Skylight or Echo Show 15?
Prices move a lot, especially in Amazon's sales, so compare on the day. In autumn 2026 the 15-inch Skylight Calendar was £290 on Skylight's UK shop, with Plus an optional £60 a year on top. The Echo Show needs no subscription for calendars.
Can I put school term dates on an Echo Show?
Yes, if they're in a calendar the Echo Show can show. Debs adds your school's term dates, INSET days and the dates from school emails, and its wall display runs on an Echo Show.