Keeping a calendar can change your life. A calendar will keep you from missing meetings and appointments, as well as make your life a lot less hectic. Plus, having all of your appointments on your calendar frees up your brain to work on more important tasks.
In our experience, digital calendars are far easier to manage than paper ones. Still, there are lots of calendar apps out there. Which one should you choose? In this article, we’ll help you decide.
Apple's calendar app comes preinstalled on all iPhones, iPads, Mac computers, and other Apple OS-powered devices. It can also be accessed from a web browser. Jan 06, 2020 Calendar 2 is a Menu bar widget. It stores all of your calendar information on the Menu bar so you can quickly access it. All you have to do is connect your Mac's built-in calendar and you're ready to go. Then, when you want to check your schedule, just click on the icon.
Below, we’ve put together a list of the best calendar apps out there. Whether you’re looking for an app that gives you lots of control, or you just want a simple calendar that stays out of your way, there’s an app for you on this list.
- The Best Calendar App for Mac. You may also like. Apple’s own Calendar (Free) app is the most obvious alternative here, and as a free option, it’s the first one you should try out.
- Put your event on the map. All the information you need about an event at your fingertips. When you add the location of your event—like the name of a restaurant—Calendar fills in the address, shows you a map and the weather, and lets you know when it’s time to leave.
- Jan 03, 2020 Top 10 Calendar Apps for Mac of 2019 #1. Mini Calendar. Fantastical 2. Calendar 366 II.
Google Calendar
Overview: A dependable calendar app that integrates with most productivity apps.
Google Calendar is an excellent cross-platform calendar app. It’s the default calendar on Android phones, and it also works well on iPhones. It’s simple to create new events whether you’re on your phone or computer, and everything always stays synced no matter what time zone you’re in.
Plus, Google Calendar integrates with just about any other productivity app you can think of, so it will readily fit into your existing productivity system.
If you also use Gmail, then it gets even better, as Google Calendar can automatically create events based on emails you receive. This is a lifesaver when booking things like flights or concert tickets.
Price: Free
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Apple Calendar
Overview: A basic calendar app for Apple enthusiasts.
If you’re all in on Apple products, then Apple Calendar is an excellent choice. It keeps all of your events synced across your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and whatever shiny device Apple will dream up next.
As far as calendar functionality, Apple Calendar offers all the features you’d expect, including a strong integration with Siri that allows you to add events with just a few words.
Price: Free
Platforms: iOS, Mac, Web
Outlook Calendar
Overview: A decent calendar app that’s likely the default at your office or school.
Love it or hate it, you’re probably familiar with Outlook Calendar. It’s more or less ubiquitous in large companies and institutions such as universities. In fact, this is the app’s main advantage: lots of people already have it and use it.
The app itself is certainly solid. You can create events and reminders, send meeting requests, and view multiple calendars at once.
There aren’t any additional “fancy” or otherwise noteworthy features, and that’s fine. If you just want a basic calendar for keeping track of your meetings and work events, Outlook Calendar is perfect for the job.
Price: $69.99/year as part of Office 365 Personal, though your employer or school probably provides free access.
Platforms: Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Web
Woven
Overview: Flexible templates and built-in scheduling tools help you save time.
Moving beyond familiar calendar apps, we have Woven. Download free download manager for mac os x. The app markets itself towards “busy professionals,” and it has a lot of interesting features that you won’t find in basic calendar apps.
To start, Woven offers “Smart Templates” to help you save time when scheduling common types of events. For instance, if you regularly have lunch meetings at the same restaurant, you can create a template that includes the restaurant location.
Speaking of meetings, Woven also includes a built-in meeting scheduling tool. This can help eliminate the back and forth emails normally required to schedule a meeting.
Really, the only thing Woven lacks is an Android app, though there are apps available for iOS, Mac, and Windows.
Price: Free
Platforms: iOS, Mac, Windows, Web
Meetingbird
Overview: Schedule meetings without endless email exchanges.
Whether you’re a student or professional, scheduling meetings is the worst. You can spend weeks sending emails back and forth trying to find a time that works for both of you, to the point that you forget why you wanted to meet in the first place.
Meetingbird aims to solve this problem. The app syncs with Outlook Calendar and Google Calendar so that your availability for meetings is always up to date.
When you want to schedule a meeting, all you have to do is send a link with a list of times you’re available. The recipient then picks the time that works best for them, and the meeting they schedule is automatically synced to both of your calendars.
We also like that Meetingbird integrates with Zoom, our video call tool of choice, as well as Zapier, Slack, Trello, and more.
Price: Free
Platforms: Web
Fantastical 2
Overview: A multilingual Mac/iOS calendar app with one of the best Apple Watch apps we’ve seen.
If you’re an Apple user looking for an alternative to the default calendar apps on Mac/iOS, you should check out Fantastical 2.
The main strength of Fantastical 2 is its deep integration with the Apple ecosystem. Whether you’re on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, Fantastical 2 offers a beautiful, simple calendar that always stays synced.
The app has especially strong natural language processing, letting you quickly create events whether you’re at your desk or on the go. You can even do some more sophisticated things such as setting geofenced reminders (allowing you to get reminders only when you’re in a particular location).
Finally, Fantastical 2 also integrates with iCloud, Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, and a variety of other apps. And the app is fully localized for English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese, making it great for multilingual users or workplaces.
Price:
- Mac: $49.99 (after a 21-day free trial)
- iPhone/Apple Watch: $4.99
- iPad: $9.99
Platforms: iOS, Mac
My Study Life
Overview: A calendar app built for the unique scheduling needs of students.
While most calendar apps target busy professionals, My Study Life is different. It’s a calendar app built specifically for students, and it has some features you won’t see in other calendar apps.
To start, My Study Life includes smart scheduling features to help you keep up with your classes and extracurricular activities. If your class schedule varies with the week, My Study Life can account for that, ensuring you don’t forget a class. There’s even a special section for scheduling your exams.
Plus, My Study Life syncs your schedule across devices and works offline. This means you’ll always be able to keep track of your classes and assignments no matter your location or internet access.
Price: Free
Platforms: Android, iOS, Web
Timepage
Overview: A beautiful calendar app with handy weather and travel information.
If you love the design of Moleskine notebooks and planners, then Timepage is the calendar app you’ve been waiting for. This iOS-only app is truly beautiful, featuring an elegant, uncluttered interface that you’d expect from Moleskine.
Beneath the aesthetics, however, Timepage is a powerful calendar app. It includes natural language processing to let you easily type in events, as well as a “heat-map” view that shows how busy your month is at a glance.
Best of all, Timepage integrates with a variety of other apps to show you weather alerts and travel times to events. This way, you’ll not only remember that you have to be somewhere, but you’ll also get there on time.
Price: $1.99/month or $11.99/year (after a 7-day free trial)
Platforms: iOS
Business Calendar 2
Overview: The best calendar app for customizing your calendar’s appearance.
I’ll admit, “Business Calendar 2” sounds like something straight out of Office Space (if they had calendar apps back then, that is). But while the name might be a bit weird, the app is anything but.
Business Calendar 2 is great if you want a lot of control over the way your calendar looks. In addition to the standard day, week, month, and year views, you can adjust the calendar view to show anywhere from 1 to 14 days. And you can quickly swipe between these views so you can always find what you’re looking for.
What really makes Business Calendar 2 shine, however, are its event scheduling features. You can easily drag events around on the calendar and quickly enter event details without excessive swiping.
Plus, the app’s natural language processing lets you enter events just by talking into your phone. The app will even learn your preferences over time, automatically suggesting common locations or attendees.
Price: Free (with ads). Upgrade to the Pro version for $6.99 to remove ads and get additional features such as file attachments and event templates.
Platforms: Android
Calendar Apps Help Keep Your Life Organized
I hope this guide has helped you find the best calendar app for your needs. Whether you stick with a popular calendar app such as Google Calendar or go with a less conventional pick such as Timepage, keeping a calendar is just one part of being productive.
To learn how to build a full productivity system, check out our free course:
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With a proper productivity system, nothing ever slips through the cracks. In just one hour, you'll learn how to set up your to-do list, calendar, note-taking system, file management, and more — the smart way.
Image Credits: Outlook Calendar, Woven, Timepage, paper calendar
The built-in Calendar app on Mac is .. fine. Sometimes though, you need a few different features. That's where third-party calendars can be very useful. Check out my favorite calendar apps for the Mac and let us know which one suits you best.
Best overall: Fantastical 2
Fantastical 2 is a workhorse of a calendar app that can connect to your iCloud, Exchange, Google, Yahoo, fruux, and CalDAV accounts. It then imports all of your daily event information into one unified calendar, which can be displayed as a full month along with daily, weekly, or yearly options. You can also display a daily event list on the left side with detailed information on everything you've got going on today. Better still, Fantastical allows for custom calendar sets with specific accounts tagged in them, time zone support, and more.
All these features mean it comes with a $50 price tag, but the extra money's worth it.
Bottom line: Fantastical 2 is a robust, full-featured calendar with dozens of useful features for any and all productivity.
One more thing: It comes with a mini-calendar that sits in your Menu bar for quick access.
Google Calendar App For Mac
Why Fantastical 2 is the best
Does everything a calendar app should do!
Fantastical 2 works exactly the way a calendar app should work on your desktop: It's got a beautiful interface with customizable options for viewing daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly events. You can even set up customized calendar sets that only show certain events. Those different sets can be toggled to activate at different locations, too: When you get to work and open your laptop, you'll only see your work calendar, but when you take it home, you will only see your personal one.
When you select an event, you'll get the details, including a map for events with locations. You can also toggle between light or dark mode any time you like.
Fantastical's natural language event creation is where it shines. All you have to do is type out your phrasing as if you were talking, and Fantastical will automatically set dates, times, locations, and more for you. 'Have dinner at Morton's with mom tomorrow at 7' is transformed into an event, complete with location mapping.
Fantastical 2 works with a number of different calendar services, including iCloud, Google, Yahoo, and more. It also syncs with your Mac's built-in Reminders app so you can keep track of daily tasks while making sure you aren't late to any appointments.
Best Cal organizer: BusyCal 3
BusyCal 3 has a great setup feature: It automatically syncs up with the accounts you have stored in the Mail app on Mac. Any calendars you use with those email accounts will be updated in the BusyCal calendar. So, if you use Yahoo, iCloud, and Gmail, you'll be able to connect them all just by entering the account password when you open the app for the first time.
My favorite feature of BusyCal is the Smart Filter, which makes it possible for you to create rules for what events are shown. For example, you could set a filter that will only show you birthdays or only events that repeat. You can create multiple filters and then switch between them. It is ideal for keeping your calendar events organized.
Bottom line: If you have a lot of different types of events, or multiple calendars, BusyCal 3 will help you filter out what you don't need to look at right now so you can stay focused on what is important.
One more thing: There is a mini calendar that sits in your Menu bar so you can see a quick glance of the month ahead and current day's events without having to open the full app.
Best Cal companion: Calendar 2
Calendar 2 is a Menu bar widget. It stores all of your calendar information on the Menu bar so you can quickly access it. All you have to do is connect your Mac's built-in calendar and you're ready to go. Then, when you want to check your schedule, just click on the icon. You'll see a monthly view with dots next to dates that have events, plus a sidebar with a list of events taking place. If you want to see more details of an event, click on it to open your Mac Calendar app.
Bottom line: If you are happy with the built-in Calendar app on your Mac, but just want a different way to see what's on your schedule, check out Calendar 2.
One more thing: There is a premium upgrade that includes a lot more features, like the ability to connect your Google calendar and get cool looking backgrounds.
Best for productivity: Informant for macOS
Informant for the desktop is more than just a calendar app. It's a task manager and note taker, all rolled into a clear and concise calendar. You can organize your calendar to see your to-do list on the same screen as your schedule and tasks are combined with daily events.
You can keep your to-do list right on top of the screen with upcoming and completed tasks clearly identifiable. You can create tasks using either GTD, Franklin Covey, or Simple mode, making your lists work for you.
Filters allow you to hide events from specific calendars. You can have multiple filters saved in your favorites and switch between them at any time. It makes it easy to keep your work and home life separate.
Best Calendar App For Apple Mac 10
Bottom line: If having your to-do list and calendar grouped together are important and your daily schedule is the top priority, Informant for macOS is for you.
One more thing: It features a tabbed interface so you can work in multiple task windows without making a mess on your screen.
Conclusion: Fantastical 2 is the best
When it comes to desktop support, Fantastical 2 wins the day. It's a straightforward app with a beautiful interface and plenty of customizable features. The mini calendar, which sits in your Menu bar, is perfect for checking upcoming events at a glance and you can add appointments without having to open the full app. The natural language event creation makes it easy for you to simply jot down what you need to do and when. Fantastical takes care of the rest for you. If you just lost Sunrise and are looking for a replacement, try Fantastical 2 for Mac.
March 2019: Updated pricing and links.
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