What to buy. Maybe nothing.

Use the tablet you already have. Phones work on their own. Here’s what’s worth adding, and what to skip. No affiliate links.

Three ways to set up

Start free

The phones and tablet you already have.

  • Magnetday on every phone$0
  • An old tablet in the kitchen$0
  • Total$0

A kitchen screen

A proper 10-inch tablet on the wall.

  • Fire HD 10 (2023)$75 to $140
  • Wall or magnetic mountabout $20
  • Right-angle USB-C cable, cord coverabout $8
  • Totalabout $103 to $168

The Magnetday Panel

Color e-ink that sticks to the fridge.

  • Magnetday Panel, steel plate included$199
  • Total$199

Not on sale yet. Join the waitlist

Ranges run from a typical sale price to list price. “About” means an estimate; check before you buy. US prices, checked October 24, 2026. The Magnetday apps are in development.

The kitchen screen

Start with the tablet in your drawer. If you buy one, ten inches is the sweet spot: the week reads from about two meters. Eight inches works on a counter, not across a room.

The tablet you already have Start here

$0

An old iPad or Android tablet makes a fine kitchen screen. Plug it in where everyone walks past.

Amazon Fire HD 10 (2023) Best value

$139.99, often about $75

The right size at the right price. Fire tablets run Amazon’s own web engine, which can lag behind Chrome. We’ll test Magnetday on it and publish the result.

Lenovo Tab M10 Plus (3rd Gen)

usually $190 to $230

Standard Android with Google services. Pick this if you want zero surprises.

A used iPad, 10 inches or larger

about $120 to $200

The best screen of the lot.

Mount and power

about $25 to $40

A magnetic or wall mount, a right-angle USB-C cable and a cord cover. A tablet charging at 100% all day can swell its battery over years; a smart plug that stops at 90% helps.

The fridge panel

A flat color screen that looks like paper. It shows the week, updates on its own, and runs on a battery. No touch. Optional.

Seeed reTerminal E1002 Our pick

$99

7.3 inches, 800 × 480, six-color Spectra 6 e-paper, a 2000 mAh battery and a finished case. Magnetday draws the week at home and sends it to the panel over your Wi-Fi. No cloud. Seeed store

Waveshare 7.3-inch Spectra 6 panel

$59.99 to $79.99, plus a driver board

Cheaper if you enjoy wiring a board and building a case. No battery included.

What to expect. A redraw takes 15 to 20 seconds and flashes while it does. Battery life depends on how often it wakes; until we publish measured numbers, plan to charge it every few weeks. It needs 2.4 GHz Wi-Fi.

Magnets

Don’t count on the panel’s own case sticking. Four strong magnets on the back do the job.

Four N52 discs, 20 × 3 mm

about $12 a pack

One near each corner. A felt or silicone pad over each face keeps them from scratching the door and stops sliding.

Stainless door that isn’t magnetic?

a few dollars

Many aren’t. Test with any fridge magnet. The Magnetday Panel comes with a stick-on steel plate for the magnets to grab (still in testing); building your own, use removable mounting strips or a steel plate.

Careful. Neodymium magnets pinch fingers and are dangerous if swallowed. Keep them away from small children and pacemakers.

Home Assistant, if you run it

Optional. A Home Assistant edition is coming soon for households that already run it. You don’t need it to use Magnetday.

Home Assistant Green

$199

The simplest Home Assistant box, if you want one anyway. Not needed for Magnetday.

Fully Kiosk Browser PLUS

$10.99 per tablet

For a Home Assistant dashboard on an Android or Fire tablet: keeps the screen on and locked to one page.

Home Assistant Cloud by Nabu Casa

$65 a year

Remote access to your Home Assistant. It also funds the project. Tailscale is a free alternative with more setup.

Sources, checked October 24, 2026: Seeed reTerminal E1002, Seeed wiki, Waveshare, Home Assistant Green, Fully Kiosk, Nabu Casa. Tablet sale prices and accessory prices are estimates.

Got a tablet?

That’s enough to start. Setup is scan, sign in, done.