Spacepad vs Joan: Which Meeting Room Display Is Right for You?

Joan and Spacepad are both popular meeting room display solutions, but they take fundamentally different approaches to the same problem. Here's an honest breakdown to help you decide which fits your situation.

The core difference

Joan builds proprietary e-ink displays. To use Joan, you buy Joan hardware: purpose-built e-ink devices designed to be mounted outside meeting rooms. Joan devices are wireless (battery powered), have a paper-like display that's easy to read in bright light, and look polished.

Spacepad works with any tablet you already have. An iPad you're not using, a budget Android tablet, a Samsung device. All work. No proprietary hardware required.

This single difference drives most of the pricing, flexibility, and trade-off conversation between the two.

Hardware comparison

Joan's battery-powered design is a genuine advantage: no cables running along walls, a cleaner installation, and very low ongoing power cost. But you're paying for that convenience upfront.

Spacepad's full-color touchscreen is more capable for interactive features like booking on display and schedule views.

Pricing comparison

Spacepad is significantly cheaper, particularly if you use existing tablets or buy affordable Android devices.

Calendar integrations

Both Spacepad and Joan integrate with Microsoft 365 and Google Workspace. The key difference:

Spacepad also supports CalDAV, meaning it works with Nextcloud, Baïkal, ownCloud, and any other CalDAV-compatible server. This is important for schools, non-profits, and organizations that self-host their calendar infrastructure or use solutions outside the Microsoft/Google ecosystem.

Joan's CalDAV support is limited.

Feature comparison

On features, both platforms are well-rounded for core meeting room functionality. Spacepad adds advertisement display and broader calendar support.

Setup experience

Joan's setup involves:

• Purchasing and shipping hardware (lead time varies)
• Charging devices and connecting them to your Wi-Fi
• Configuring each device and connecting to your calendar system

Spacepad's setup:

• Create an account
• Connect calendar via OAuth (takes minutes with admin credentials)
• Install the app on a tablet and enter a connect code

Spacepad typically takes 5–10 minutes per room, compared to 30–60 minutes for Joan.

Privacy and data sovereignty

Spacepad is hosted in the EU and is fully GDPR compliant. It also offers a self-hosted option (open source), giving organizations complete control over their data.

Joan is not EU-hosted by default.

For organizations with strict data residency requirements (hospitals, law firms, government bodies, schools), Spacepad's EU hosting and self-hosted option are significant advantages.

When to choose Joan

• A completely wireless, cable-free installation is a hard requirement
• You prefer the aesthetics of e-ink and are willing to pay the hardware premium
• Battery life and low power consumption matter more than color displays and fast touch response

When to choose Spacepad

• You want to use existing tablets or more affordable hardware
• You need CalDAV or Nextcloud integration
• You want EU-hosted data and GDPR compliance
• You want a self-hosted option for complete data control
• You need a free tier to test before committing
• You want simpler setup and management

Bottom line

Joan is an excellent product if the premium wireless, e-ink aesthetic is your top priority and budget is less of a concern.

For most offices, particularly those that value flexibility, lower cost, and GDPR compliance, Spacepad is the stronger choice.

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