A household planner app for the calendar, meals, money and the house itself
What a household planner app should hold, from the week's dinners to the wifi password, how The Margin does it, and how Homechart, Cozi and Notion compare.
A household planner app should run the whole home from one place: the family calendar, chores, the week's meals and the shopping list, what the house spends and owes, and the facts everyone keeps asking for. The Margin holds all of that, works offline on every phone and laptop, and puts the day on a wall screen in the kitchen. The free plan has no time limit.
I make The Margin, and I built it for my own household. Below is what it holds, then how it compares with the other household planners people look at, from their own pages, read on November 12, 2026.
What the household planner holds#
| The job | In The Margin | Plan |
|---|---|---|
| The family calendar | A color per person, repeats, reminders, birthdays | Every plan |
| Chores | Repeat, rotate, wait for a parent's yes, earn points | Family |
| Meals and groceries | Recipes from a link or a photo; the week's plan sends ingredients to the list | Recipes and the list on every plan; the meal plan on Family |
| Money | Expenses, income and debts; budgets; allowances | Records on every plan; budgets on paid plans; allowances on Family |
| The household book | Wifi, trash day, doctor, sitter, with a read-only link | Family |
| Routines | Morning and bedtime routines, timetables | Three routines on Free; every one on paid plans |
| Home projects | Boards with cards, notes, checklists | Every plan |
| A screen in the kitchen | The wall display on any tablet | Every plan |
The links for each are at the foot of this page, and the full list of what each plan holds is in plans and limits.
Money that adds up#
The household's money is the part most planners leave out. Every plan records money going out, money coming in and money owed either way. The month's picture measures what's committed against a normal month's income, so a salary paid on the 28th doesn't make the month look spent by the 10th. Budgets come with the paid plans, and on the Family plan the kids' allowances and savings goals sit in the same ledger (expenses and money).
The household book#
The page you'd tape inside a cabinet door: the wifi password, which trash goes out on Tuesday, the pediatrician's number, where the water shut-off is. Anyone in the house can copy a line in one tap, a password stays hidden, and a sitter gets a view-only link that you can stop when they leave (the household book).
Household planner apps compared#
| App | Calendar | Chores | Meals and list | Money | Free plan | Paid price | Offline |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Margin | Yes | Family plan | Yes | Records free; budgets paid | Yes, no ads | Family $25 a month ($20 paid yearly) | Yes |
| Homechart | Yes | Not stated | Shopping lists free; meals and pantry on Household | Budgets and savings on Household | Personal plan | Household $49.99 a year, or $149.99 once | Not stated |
| Cozi | Yes | Cozi Chores | Recipes, meals, lists | Not listed | Yes, with ads | Gold $39 a year | Lists, and calendar days already opened |
| FamilyWall | Yes | Chore checklists | Lists free; meal planner on Premium | Budget on Premium | Yes, with ads | Premium $44.99 a year | Lists |
| Notion | Notion Calendar, separate | A template you build | A template you build | A template you build | Yes | Plus $10 a member a month, paid yearly | Downloaded pages only |
Each row is from that app's own page, linked, read on November 12, 2026. FamilyWall's chore checklists and offline lists are from its App Store listing. "Not stated" or "not listed" means its pages did not say.
Where another app is the better pick#
- Homechart if you want to run it on your own server. It offers a self-hosted option and a lifetime price. The Margin is a hosted service.
- Cozi if a calendar and lists are all the planning your house needs, for less money (Cozi vs The Margin).
- Notion if you'd rather build the planner yourself and enjoy keeping it up (Notion for families).
Getting the house into it#
Start with the jobs that hurt most. For most households that is the shopping list and the week's dinners, then the chores. Recipes import from a link or a photo, a published school calendar can be subscribed to, and notes and boards come in from Notion, Obsidian, Trello and others (importing your life). Margin Intelligence can do the typing: paste a list into the chat and ask it to add the lot.
If the calendar and chores are the main job, the family calendar and chores page goes deeper on those, and the family organizer with AI page covers what the assistant does.
Questions
What is the best household planner app?
One that holds the whole running of the home in one place: the family calendar, chores, meals and the shopping list, the household's money, and the facts a sitter or grandparent needs. The Margin does all of that, works offline on every device, and has a free plan.
Is there a free household planner app?
Yes. The Margin's free plan has no time limit and covers the calendar, one shared shopping list of up to 30 items, 25 recipes, expenses, income and debts, notes and boards, for you and one other person. Homechart's Personal plan is also free; its Household plan is paid.
What should a household planner include?
At least the family calendar, chores, meal planning with a shopping list, a budget or at least a record of what the house spends, and a place for the household's reference facts: the wifi password, trash day, the doctor's and the plumber's numbers.
Can a household planner app track the family budget?
The Margin records money in, money out and money owed on every plan, and budgets are on paid plans. The month's picture compares spending with a normal month's income, so a salary paid on the 28th doesn't make the month look broke until then.
Where do I keep the wifi password and emergency numbers for a babysitter?
In The Margin they go in the household book: what a sitter or grandparent asks for, copied in one tap, with a password kept hidden. You can give a sitter a view-only link, which leaves passwords out unless you include them, and stop it any time.
Is there a household planner app that works offline?
Yes. The Margin keeps a full copy of the household on every device, so the shopping list opens in a supermarket basement and edits sync once you are back online. Margin Intelligence, the assistant, is the one part that needs a connection.
Can I use Notion as a household planner?
Yes, with a template and some upkeep. Notion has no built-in chores, allowance or meal plan, so those are databases you build and maintain. I compared the two on the Notion for families page.