The aim of this study was to compare the diagnostic accuracy of the consumer-grade and medical-grade monitors —with very different costs— in breast cancer detection, when using with and without Digital Imaging and Communication in Medicine (DICOM) standard calibration. This was a retrospective study with factorial design and repeated measures, using 70 digital mammograms (40 benign or normal cases and 30 malignant cases), four radiologists, and three displays, with and without display calibration. Film mammograms were also included. Readings were classified according to the Breast Imaging Reporting and Data System. One medical-grade grayscale display and two consumer-grade displays were compared. Receiver operating characteristics curves were plotted for nodules, micro calcifications and the degree of malignancy. The diagnostic accuracy for each device was calculated as the area under these curves and accuracies were compared using analysis of variance.