Waffle Home brings back the family phone for $119
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A child shouldn’t need to borrow your smartphone just to call Grandma. Waffle Home gives that conversation its own place in the house: a colorful handset, a keypad and a list of people a parent has approved.
The Wi-Fi phone is aimed at kids ages 5 to 12, with calls and voice notes but no social media, apps or web browsing. Waffle announced U.S. retail preorders on October 1, with a $119 price and shipping scheduled to begin October 30, 2026. There’s a free service plan, although the number of people your child wants to call could make the $9.99 monthly upgrade part of the real cost.
Price: $119 at Waffle; $119.99 at Best Buy. Free plan or optional $9.99/month Home Plus+
Availability checked October 3: Waffle accepts orders for its October 30 batch; Best Buy lists an October 30 release
Listings: Waffle · Best Buy
A phone that stays in the house
The familiar receiver and keypad give calling its own place in the kitchen or playroom. Waffle’s rounded base and handset come in Mint Green, Graphite Black and Purple Gumdrop. The handset can be used cordless around the house, within Wi-Fi range.
“Screen-free” needs a little explanation here. The phone does have a caller-ID display so kids can see who’s calling. What it leaves out is the app-and-browser experience of a smartphone. Voice notes give children a way to leave a message when a live call isn’t convenient.
The grown-up setup happens in Waffle Hub. Parents pair the device, approve contacts, manage the family’s phones and set quiet hours. That could mean keeping calls out of dinner or bedtime while letting a child arrange a chat without asking to use an adult’s phone every time.
Start with the people they’ll call
Waffle’s free plan includes Waffle-to-Waffle calling, voice notes, the Hub app, emergency calling and one approved outside contact. The plan page lists 400 minutes per month, while the launch announcement describes Waffle-to-Waffle calling as unlimited. The page doesn’t explain which calls count toward that 400-minute allowance, so frequent callers should confirm the details.
One outside contact could be enough if the main job is reaching a parent, especially if friends already have Waffle devices. For a child who wants to call two parents, grandparents and friends on ordinary phones, Home Plus+ costs $9.99 per month and adds unlimited approved contacts and international calling. A 10-day Plus+ trial comes with the phone, so check the plan choice before the trial ends.
Wi-Fi calling has a practical limit
Despite the family-landline styling, calls travel over the home’s internet connection. Waffle Home doesn’t have a cellular fallback or the mobile data and GPS features of the separate Waffle Go. If the reason for buying a phone is pickup changes or getting in touch on the walk home, our guide to first-phone options for kids covers portable alternatives.
Emergency calling needs particular attention. Waffle says a child can dial 911 on the handset even during quiet hours, and a connected emergency call triggers a notification in the parent app. But its U.S. emergency-calling guidance says Home won’t call 911 if the Wi-Fi, internet or power is down. Parents must keep the registered service address current because that address is used to route the call. Keep another working phone available.
What the privacy policy covers
Waffle promises no ads for children and no selling their data. Its published U.S. privacy policy, however, mainly covers the parent-facing website and preorders. It describes sharing website events and hashed preorder contact details with Meta for advertising attribution. That disclosure concerns the shopping experience; the policy doesn’t explain storage or retention for children’s voice notes or call records. Parents will need more detail to assess that part of the phone service.
Price and launch timing
Waffle’s announcement names Walmart, Best Buy and its own store, with shipping starting October 30. At our October 3 check, Waffle’s $119 Mint Green product page accepted orders for its October 30 batch. Best Buy lists the mint-green phone at $119.99, sold by Best Buy, with an October 30 release date. Check your chosen color and retailer for current delivery estimates; the batch shipping date isn’t a promised arrival date.
Price: $119 at Waffle; $119.99 at Best Buy. Free plan or optional $9.99/month Home Plus+
Availability checked October 3: Waffle accepts orders for its October 30 batch; Best Buy lists an October 30 release
Listings: Waffle · Best Buy
For families ready to let a child call friends from home, Waffle Home is an appealingly focused idea. Start with the people they’ll call, then work out whether the free plan is enough and how you’ll handle an internet outage. We haven’t tested its call quality, battery life or day-to-day usability, so there’s still more to learn about how well the hardware delivers.
Images courtesy of Waffle. Lifestyle photography by Julieanne Perara.
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