DAKboard vs Google Calendar (2026): which should you pick?

Pick DAKboard if

• Fits if you want the family schedule on a wall screen
• Works for an office that wants meeting rooms and photos on a display

Look elsewhere if

• Not for you if you want to plan or book anything, since it only displays
• Tight if you stay on Free: 1 predefined screen, 2 calendars and DAKboard branding
• Watch out: calendars refresh every 60 minutes on Free and every 30 on Essential
• Watch out: extra screens cost $4 to $6 a month, and screens and hardware are sold separately

Pick Google Calendar if

• Fits if you already have a Google Account and want a calendar that costs nothing
• Works for companies putting mail, files and meetings on Google Workspace anyway

Look elsewhere if

• Skip it if you want a desktop app, as it's web, Android and iPhone only
• Pricey if you just want several booking pages, since that takes Business Standard at $14 a user or an eligible Google One plan
• Not for you if you want to pay for Calendar on its own: the paid version only comes inside Google Workspace
• Not for you if you want Time Insights on a personal account, as it's for work and school accounts, on a computer
• Watch out: the 14-day Workspace trial needs billing details and stops at 10 users, and the lower prices need a 1-year commitment

DAKboard

• The free plan is limited to 1 predefined screen and 2 calendars, and keeps DAKboard branding.
• Calendars refresh only every 60 minutes on Free and every 30 on Essential.
• Extra screens cost $4 to $6 a month depending on plan and billing, and the trial is only for users who have not tried Essential or Plus.
• DAKboard also sells its own displays and hardware separately, which these plans do not include.

Google Calendar

• The paid version is only sold as part of Google Workspace, which also includes Gmail, Drive and Meet.
• Personal accounts and Business Starter get one booking page; extra schedules, payments and reminders need Business Standard or higher, or an eligible Google One plan.
• Time Insights and working hours and location are limited to work or school accounts, and Time Insights can only be viewed on a computer.
• No desktop app is listed; Google offers it on the web and as Android and iOS apps.

DAKboard

Drag-and-drop screens

Arrange blocks for calendars, photos, weather, news and more on a custom screen. The free plan offers predefined layouts only.

Calendar sources

Add Google, Apple iCloud and Microsoft Office 365 calendars, Facebook Events, or any ICS feed, and show them as monthly, weekly, agenda or up-next views.

Any display

Runs in a browser on smart TVs, tablets and monitors, as a native app on Fire TV and Android, or on a Raspberry Pi with DAKboard's downloadable OS.

Screen loops and scheduling

Plus can chain screens into a loop and schedule when blocks or whole screens show or hide. Both are listed against the Plus plan.

Refresh speed by plan

Calendars refresh every 60 minutes on Free, 30 on Essential and 15 on Plus; Plus also has an instant display refresh.

Integrations

Essential and Plus open every integration, including Home Assistant, SmartThings, Todoist, stock quotes and external JSON data.

Google Calendar

Appointment booking pages

Publish a page where others pick a time on your calendar. Eligible paid plans allow several schedules, Stripe payments, email verification and up to 20 co-hosts.

Shared and layered calendars

Create calendars shared with a team or a whole organization, and view several calendars together, color-coded by category.

Scheduling from Gmail with Gemini

On Workspace plans, Gemini in Gmail can suggest meeting times and add events detected in an email with one click.

Google Meet and attachments

Events can carry a Google Meet video link and attached files, so the call and its documents open from the invitation.

Time Insights and working location

Work and school accounts can see how much time goes to meetings and who they meet most, and can share working hours and location.

Tasks on the calendar

Items from Google Tasks appear on the calendar next to events.

DAKboard

• Free$0

  1 predefined screen layout, up to 2 calendars, TouchHub, photos, weather and news.

• Essential$5

  per month, billed annually ($6 billed monthly)

  2 custom screens (extra $4 a month), up to 5 calendars, all integrations, templates and custom CSS.

• Plus$8

  per month, billed annually ($10 billed monthly)

  3 custom screens (extra $5 a month), unlimited calendars, 500 MB media library, screen loops and scheduling.

Google Calendar

• Personal Google Account$0

  Calendar for personal use with a single appointment booking page and no premium booking features.

• Business Starter$7

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($8.40 flexible)

  Google Workspace with 30 GB pooled storage per user. Calendar is still limited to one booking page.

• Business Standard$14

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($16.80 flexible)

  2 TB pooled storage per user, plus premium appointment schedules: multiple booking pages, payments and reminders.

• Business Plus$22

  per user / month, 1-year commitment ($26.40 flexible)

  5 TB pooled storage per user, with the same premium appointment schedule features as Business Standard.

• EnterpriseCustom

  For organizations beyond the 300-user limit of the Business editions; priced through Google sales.

DAKboard

• Annual discount

  Cheaper per month on yearly billing

  DAKboard's pricing page lists Essential at $5 a month and Plus at $8 when billed annually, against $6 and $10 billed monthly.

Google Calendar

• Annual discount

  Lower rate with a 1-year commitment

  Business Starter costs $7 per user per month on the Annual/Fixed-Term Plan versus $8.40 on the Flexible Plan. Standard drops from $16.80 to $14 and Plus from $26.40 to $22.

• Nonprofit

  Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0

  Verified nonprofits get Google Workspace for Nonprofits at $0 per user, or Business Standard at $3.50 and Business Plus at $6.16 per user per month on a 1-year commitment.

• Education

  Education Fundamentals at no charge

  Google Workspace for Education Fundamentals is available at no charge to qualifying institutions.

• By country

  Lower price shown to buyers in India

  On 9 October 2026 Google's Workspace pricing page showed Starter at ₹270 per user a month to a reader in India. Google's help page gives the US rate for Business Starter as $7, or $8.40 without a 1-year commitment.