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Fridge Club vs printable family planner templates

Printable weekly planners are everywhere: Canva, Etsy, free template sites and simple browser tools. Many of them are lovely. Here’s an honest look at what changes when the page remembers your week and lays itself out.

By Ronald & Hans, founders of Fridge Club
Updated

A template is a great fit if…

  • You enjoy designing your own page
  • Your week looks much the same every week
  • You want something free, or a one-time buy

Fridge Club is a great fit if…

  • You’d rather not fill in the same week from scratch every Sunday
  • You want both parents planning together, from their own phones
  • You’d like a page that makes room for a busy Wednesday

A printable weekly planner is one of the simplest ways to get the family’s week on the fridge. There are free ones on Canva and on dozens of template sites, and prettier ones for a few dollars on Etsy. You pick one you like, fill it in, print it, and stick it up.

They get the most important thing right. The week is on paper, where the whole family can see it.

Where templates get harder

A template starts blank every week. Either you fill it in again from scratch, or you keep editing last week’s file and hope you changed everything that moved.

The boxes are also fixed. A quiet Monday and a packed Wednesday get the same amount of space, so a busy day means smaller handwriting, shorter words or a sticky note on top. And usually only one person can edit it, on one device, in whichever app the template was made in.

Free browser tools

There are also free tools that let you add family members and repeating events in your browser, then print the week. They’re a real step up from a blank template, and for some families they’re all they need.

Most of them keep everything in one browser on one device. That’s simple and private, but it also means the plan lives wherever you made it, and only you can change it.

Photo: two parents on the couch, each adding to the week on their own phone

What 75¢ a week pays for

If a free template works for your family, keep using it. Fridge Club is for families who want the planning itself to get easier:

  • Last week is already there, so you only change what changed.
  • Things that repeat carry over by themselves.
  • The page lays itself out, so a full Wednesday still fits and stays readable.
  • Two grown-ups plan together from their own phones, and the kids can get a link to add things.
  • You can type it, or just say it.

What each one costs

Most printable templates are free, or cost a few dollars once. Fridge Club is $39 a year, or $5.99 a month, with two Sundays free to try it. Both use the printer you already have.

So which one should you choose?

Choose a template if you enjoy designing your own page, your weeks look much alike, and free matters most.

Choose Fridge Club if you’d rather spend ten minutes on Sunday than half an hour, you want both parents to plan together, and you’d like a page that handles a busy week for you. You can try it for two Sundays before you decide.

See how Fridge Club works

Side by side

Both end up as a page on the fridge. The difference is how much work it takes to get there.

FeatureFridge ClubA printable template
Cost$39 a year, or $5.99 a monthFree, or a few dollars once
Remembers last weekYesNo, you start again
Things that repeatCarry over by themselvesFilled in again each week
A busy dayThe page makes roomFixed boxes
Who can planTwo grown-ups, plus links for the familyUsually one person, on one device
How you add thingsType it or say itType into a file, or write by hand
Design workNone, it’s designed for youYours, if you want to change anything

Based on popular free and paid printable planners on Canva, Etsy, Gumroad and template sites, checked October 2026. Templates vary.

What’s actually different

It remembers your week.

Sunday starts from last week, not from a blank page. You only change what changed.

It lays itself out.

No text boxes to move. A full Wednesday gets the room it needs.

You plan it together.

Both grown-ups add things from their own phones, by typing or just saying them.

Questions about templates

Still deciding? Write to us. We’ll give you a straight answer, even if it’s the free template.

Is Fridge Club a printable weekly family planner?

Yes. You plan the week on your laptop or phone, and Fridge Club turns it into one printable US Letter page for the fridge. Unlike a template, it remembers your week and lays itself out.

Why pay when templates are free?

You don’t have to. If a free template works for you, keep it. Fridge Club is for families who want the weekly planning to take ten minutes, with two parents planning together and a page that handles a busy week.

Can I still write on the printed page?

Of course. It’s paper. Circle things, cross them out, add a note. For bigger changes, update it and print a fresh page.

Does it work in black and white?

Yes. It reads just as well on an old black-and-white printer as on a new color one.

Can I save it as a PDF?

Yes, or as an image. Print it at the office, send it to Grandma, or share it with the babysitter.

What size is the page?

US Letter, the paper that’s already in your printer.

Skip the template. Keep the paper.

Two Sundays free. See what planning the week feels like when last week is already there.

Try two Sundays freeThen 75¢ a week, billed $39 a year. Cancel anytime.