Best Calendar Apps | List of top 20 calendar apps, key features, prices, pros and cons

The rapidly evolving digital world has made work from home easier than ever. However, working from home can become a herculean task without proper planning. The tendency to take the luxury of time and flexible work hours for granted creeps in. Often, this results in complete confusion, disorganization, and lack of motivation.

Productivity could also be affected immensely. The most efficient solution to this problem is to have the best calendar apps to schedule your day and accomplish your tasks with ease. Keep in mind that the best schedule app for you would depend upon your lifestyle and needs.

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What makes a good calendar app?

The best calendar apps send you reminders about events, give a view of your schedule, and help in using time effectively. The best calendar apps that we have shortlisted have the following characteristics,

Ease of use
Customizable features
Promising design
Sharing options
Presence on many devices

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Best calendar apps in 2021

Here is a summary of the 10 best calendar apps in 2021,

1. Google Calendar – Best free calendar app

Devices – Web, iOS, Android
Cost – Free with a Google Account

The best free calendar app, Google Calendar is very popular. With this app, you can build many calendars in one app with the use of your Google account. These entries could be sent to any other online calendar as well. A major advantage of Google Calendar is that it can be connected to business apps like Trello.

This digital calendar makes it very easy to identify events and their dates through the feature of color-coding. Integration with G Suite apps is also available. A lot of good remote collaboration tools like UnRemot offer google calendar integration.

2. Apple Calendar – Best schedule app for Apple devices

Devices – Web, macOS, iOS
Cost – Free with Apple ID or iCloud

The default scheduling app to store calendar entries made to all Apple devices, Apple Calendar is built into iOS and macOS. You can also update your entries through a web-based app on iCloud.

A very good calendar app, Apple Calendar provides you the option of pulling information from any calendar that makes use of CalDAV, Google Calendar, Yahoo, and Microsoft Exchange. To all new events, you can add locations, titles, notes, invitees, and reminders.

Travel time estimates can also be factored into alerts for events. Integration is available for all Apple devices. Notifications from Apple Calendar can be seen in the macOS and iOS sidebars.

3. Microsoft Outlook Calendar – Best agenda app for businesses

Devices – Windows, Web, iOS, macOS, Android
Cost – Free for iOS and Android; paid plan available from $5.99 per month for Office 365 subscriptions

A personal information manager, Microsoft Outlook Calendar is the best agenda app for businesses. Its desktop app provides the option of combining your email, notes, calendar, contacts, and tasks into a single view.

The mobile apps provide the option of combining your email and calendar. Microsoft Outlook Calendar allows you to share your calendar with co-workers as you work from home. Exchange Server accounts and relevant permissions let you and your co-workers subscribe to and manage each other’s schedules.

There is also an option using which you can drag and drop an email onto the calendar icon to make an appointment. A great feature is that several time zone views are supported in Microsoft Outlook calendar apps.

4. Any.do – Best scheduling app for staying organized

Devices – Web, iOS, Android
Cost – Free; paid plan available from $5.99 per month which gets billed annually

One of the best calendar apps, Any.do is very useful to those people who need to stay organized. Location-based reminders can also be received through this calendar. Travel time estimates can also be added to notifications prior to any event. The mobile app makes great use of the small screen.

It sends notifications to remind you to preview your agenda at the start of every day. Color coding options are available on Any.do calendar app for different events on your calendar. The bottom of the screen shows a snap of the tasks assigned to the date you select.

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5. Thunderbird Lightning Calendar – Best calendar app for Linux users

Devices – Windows, macOS, Linux
Cost – Free

Along with being a fantastic email app, Thunderbird’s calendar app is one of the best calendar apps. The app has a tab for your calendar, email, and tasks. You can conveniently switch between scheduling, communicating, and managing your tasks and events.

The calendar tab in the app shows a summary of your schedule for the day. Four views are offered by the calendar – day, week, multi-week, and month. The app has a very convenient search function that is enhanced with time filters.

The major advantage of the Thunderbird Lightning App is that it is a calendar, personal email client, and task management app all in one. Although the app is available for Mac and Windows, it is the first choice for Linux users who need a powerful calendar app.

6. 24me – Best calendar app for managing several calendars

Devices – Android, iOS
Cost – Free; paid plan available from $5.99 per month or $35.99 per year for labels, alerts, and customization

Building your schedule with several apps on a mobile phone can be very frustrating and confusing. 24me is an app that exists to get rid of this problem for you. A single mobile assistant provides a uniform interface for notes, tasks, appointments, and meetings.

You can connect your Google Calendar, Yahoo, Outlook, Exchange, and iCloud calendars to this app so that you can view everything in one place. What’s great about this app is that it also connects to financial providers like banks, social networks like Facebook, and utility providers.

You will receive alerts when your bills are due and can make the payment in only a few steps. Being integrated with Siri, 24me allows you access without even opening the app. With the Apple Watch app connection, you can check your upcoming events on your wrist!

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7. Fantastical 2 – Best paid scheduling app

Devices – iOS, macOS
Cost – Free trial available for 21 days; paid plan available from $4.99 for iPhone, $9.99 for iPad, and $49.99 for macOS

Fantastical 2 has everything you need to keep yourself organized on Apple devices. It also has the Apple Watch app companion. Fantastical 2 works best on desktop. It is very appealing with its cheerful colors.

You can make additions of notes, URLs, locations, and invitees to an event with ease. Integrations with the rest of the system allow the app to give you a Today view widget, share sheet extension, and Handoff support.

When you type an event’s name, the app itself parses your words into calendar fields to bring out related information such as the availability of team members and addresses. The creation of events with natural language is the best feature of Fantastical 2.

8. TimeTree – Best calendar app for collaborations

Devices – Web, iOS, Android
Cost – Free

A collaborative calendar app, TimeTree allows you to create useful calendars. It aims to understand what exactly your needs are and creates calendars accordingly. For example, it asks you whether the purpose of your calendar is for personal plans, work, family, friends, or groups.

Every option provided to you has a detailed description so that you can decide your purpose carefully. You can create as many calendars as you want as there is no limit to the number.

When you create multiple calendars, all your events will be shown in an overlay which would give you an idea of what your complete schedule looks like. There is also a color-coding feature for each calendar. You can also import different calendars like those with the list of national holidays.

9. My Study Life – Best agenda app for educators and students

Devices – Web, iOS, Android
Cost – Free

My Study Life is a calendar app that is specifically designed for educational purposes. Schedules in the world of education vary considerably from those of the private sector. Those pursuing education follow the term or semester system instead of the quarterly one.

These educational calendars are filled with unusual situations and exceptions. My Study Life caters to these conditions. You can log your classes, assignments, study times, and exams to this calendar. The app also allows you to track the progress of your task completion which shows up as a percentage.

10. Cozi – Best calendar app for families

Devices – Web, iOS, Android
Cost – Free; paid plan available from $29.99 per year

Family schedules involve many conflicting events, work and study appointments. Made specifically for busy families, Cozi consolidates several calendars, shopping lists, and to-do lists in one app.

Members on the calendar are given assigned colors so that when an event is created by one person, the others know who has created it. Cozi also has journaling and messaging features.

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Best planner apps for work

Planner apps help plan your time properly to enhance productivity. Choose the best calendar app to keep your day organized without missing any deadlines. Here are some of the best planner app you should consider for work,

1. Things 3 – Calendaring software

Things are task manager that combines beauty and power with plenty of flexibility. Unlike other task managers, things are super simple to use and don’t need a lot of time to get accustomed to and start using.

All tasks added to Things can be given a due date, tagged, and have a checklist if required. Everything can be easily moved around in a drag-and-drop fashion. It is also available on iPhone and Mac.

2. nTask – Calendar desktop

nTask is the best calendar app that provides end-to-end tasks and workflow management. It can help you be productive by streamlining tasks, activities, projects, issues on a beautifully integrated in-app calendar.

nTask provides compatibility with both Android and iOS. The user experience at nTask is built in a way that anyone can get started with the calendar and scheduling process with ease. There are several other tools to manage tasks, projects, meetings, etc.

3. My Study Life – Cute calendars

It is the best planner app for students and teachers. Both students and teachers find scheduling the work and finishing it on time to be the most important. Hence, My Study Life is one of the best calendar apps in the education sector.

It allows students to easily schedule their work and studies making them more productive. This app is available on Android, iOS, and the web. It is free to use.

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Top 3 online calendar planner apps

Online calendar planner apps help schedule events, tasks, meetings, and customer call well in advance to stay on top of your tasks all the time. They allow you to make the most of your time and avoid any delays. Here are the best calendar app you must think of,

1. Todoist – best planning apps

If you are looking for the best calendar app, one that is compatible with all your devices tracks your productivity, organizes and analyzes your tasks, Todoist should be your pick.

This online calendar planner would help you to organize your tasks either by yourself or in collaboration with others. It has both free and paid versions available but few features are only available to their paid subscribers. It works offline.

2. Any.do – pocket life calendar

Any.do is an online calendar planner that is available on nearly all the devices that are available in the market. It is available on iOS, Android, web, Siri, Amazon, Windows Desktop, Slack, Chrome, wearable gears, etc. Any.do helps you to stay on top of your tasks and enhance productivity through an elegant calendar app. It is the best calendar app that also provides location-based reminders and real-time notifications.

3. Google Calendar – computerized calendar

Google calendar is the official calendar app for Android phones and other Android devices. It is available for free on Android devices. The user interface makes it super easy to use and has hundreds of integrations.

It is one of the best calendar apps allowing you to create multiple calendars in one app with your Gmail account. Google Calendar is an online calendar planner that integrates with every other application available.

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Best planner apps for small teams

Best calendar apps and online tools have made it possible to ditch the old pen and paper. We have curated a list of best planner apps for small teams that will help you manage all aspects of your small business effectively and efficiently,

1. nTask – Pic calendar app

nTask is the best calendar app that helps us to stay organized and meet deadlines. It helps users to see all the team tasks to improve visibility and communication.

nTask assists you in completing your tasks successfully whether it is a family event or a work project. nTask is one of the best planner apps that has a free version available. This project management software lets you do more in less time.

2. ZoomShift – Date planner app

ZoomShift is amongst the best planner apps for small teams. It has everything you would need for job scheduling – availability, time offs, shift swaps, etc. There is also a drag and drop option available to move shifts around in the calendar.

The schedule can be easily shared with each other via text message, push notification, or email. This best calendar app has both free and paid plans available based on your business needs.

3. Zoho – Color-coded calendar app

Zoho is the best calendar app for small companies as it is free to set up for up to 10 users. They offer emails, calendars, word processing, and spreadsheets. Zoho Calendars will easily integrate with everything that you are doing.

It has 45+ integrated applications. Zoho has the vision to transform the way people have been working. What makes this the best planner app is the end-to-end, fully customizable user solution.

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Top 3 shared calendar apps

If you are looking for a shared calendar app that can be used companywide to collaborate with the team members, here is our list of the 3 best calendar apps that provide excellent features and are highly recommended by business owners across different countries,

1. Asana – Calendar sharing application

Asana is a lot more than a shared calendar app, it also makes it easy to manage team projects and tasks. Asana is the best calendar app with a hundred different integrations available.

The timeline feature of Asana shows different pieces of the project, how they all fit together, and helps you track all the changes. Asana doesn’t have a free version available but they have free trials and a lite version.

2. TeamUp – PowerPoint maker

TeamUp offers both free and paid versions which can be selected by businesses based on their needs. It offers a live demo and three-day trial, so a user can see if this is a good fit for them or not.

This shared calendar app is for groups to simplify organizing, scheduling, and communicating. TeamUp is the best calendar app as it was built specifically for groups and its calendars are easy to use.

3. Teamweek – PPT presentation online

Teamweek is a shared calendar app that makes it easier for teams to collaborate. Its free plan is suitable for a team of five people and the mobile app lets users collaborate on the go.

It has a wide variety of impressive features such as team timelines, zoom levels, project roadmaps, and a shared timeline. Teamweek is the best calendar app available for $39 per month for up to 10 people.

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3 best calendar app for Mac

If you are a Mac user trying to find the best calendar app which can help you stay productive and organized, we have found the best ones for you. Let us have a look at the 3 best calendar app for Mac users,

1. Google Calendar app for mac

Google Calendar is a more popular option for Android devices but it can also be integrated easily with your Mac Device. It is a very simple and effective calendar app that works across platforms.

The different features that make Google Calendar indispensable are different color palettes, easy calendar invite, smart title and text suggestions, Gsuite and a hundred other integrations, etc. It can easily be listed as the best calendar app for Mac.

2. Woven – Aesthetic calendar

Woven is the best calendar app for Mac as it helps in bringing personal, work, and family calendars all in one place. It provides smart features to control your calendar such as scheduling links, templates, tags, analytics, insights, group polls, calendar sharing, etc.

Woven can be easily synced up with other accounts such as Gmail and Outlook. The group poll feature is unique to Woven where you can take a poll on everyone’s availability.

3. Apple Calendar – Mac calendar application

Apple Calendar is the best calendar app for Mac as it is specially built for Apple users. It is the default app for Mac and iOS products. The clean and simple user interface lets users focus on upcoming events and get organized with its calendar app.

It adds integration with several other iOS apps through the drag and drops functionality. Apple Calendar is available for free on Mac and iOS devices.

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3 best planner app for iPad

Are you an iPad user looking for the best calendar app available in the market to enhance your productivity? Several apps are specially designed for the Apple ecosystem. Let us look at the 3 best planner app for iPad,

1. Fantastical app – Best planner apps for iPad

The Fantastical app is undoubtedly the best calendar app for iPad. The app provides a wide variety of calendar views to choose from, has natural language parsing, power-user features like templates, weather forecasting, etc.

The Fantastical app is available at a $40/year annual subscription fee. The visual design of Fantastical is great to look at, making it easier for the users to understand their schedule at one glance.

2. Spark – Geek calendars

Spark helps to manage your email a much easier task. It allows you to add multiple email accounts and you can manage all of them at once with Spark’s Smart Inbox System. The email can be categorized into Personal, Notifications, and Newsletters.

Spark allows you to add smart notifications that alert you only when the mails are from a particular sender and saving you from unnecessary interruptions. It is available for free.

3. Calendly – Diary calendars

Calendly is automated scheduling software that integrates with your calendar to automatically check your availability. The program easily integrates with Google, Outlook, Office 365, and iCloud Calendar.

It is the best planner app for iPad as it lets users schedule meetings without a lot of back-and-forth emails. There are other features such as time zone detection, ability to schedule buffer time between meetings that make it one of the best calendar apps.

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Top 3 alternatives to Google calendar

There are more than 100 alternatives for Google calendar that will work on a variety of platforms. These apps have almost the same features as the Google calendar and sometimes more. Let us look at the top 3 alternatives to the Google calendar app,

1. Microsoft Outlook – Google calendar alternative

If you’re looking for an alternative to Google Calendar, Microsoft’s outlook is the perfect option. It is available for free and you can schedule meetings, create multiple calendars, share schedules, set email reminders, etc.

It comes with a lot of integrations and can be teamed up nicely with other services. It is available for free for both iOS and Android. It even works perfectly well with an Apple watch.

2. TimePage – Best planner app for iPhone

This calendar app is impressively robust and manufactured by the Italian company Moleskine. They are known for notebooks and journals. This elegant and stylish app is the best calendar app for people who value aesthetics.

TimePage has a very unique feature called heatmap. It generates circles around the days in your agenda, the more colorful the circle, the busier is the day. It is free to download.

3. Teamup Calendar – Calendar management

Teamup calendar has both free and paid versions available. The Premium version will get you access to a lot more features but the free version is perfectly suitable for a small team. It allows you to create and manage a calendar without even requiring you to sign up.

This is one of the best calendar apps as it allows sharing individual events as standalone web pages. The different features make it suitable for business.

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Top 3 work calendar app for large teams

The work calendar app helps in managing team availability and workloads. They allow managers to plan better and avoid employee burnout. Below we will look at the 3 best calendar apps that are suitable for a manager who is handling a large team,

1. Google calendar Apple watch compatibility

Google Calendar comes with all Android devices and is specially designed for Google’s ecosystem. It automatically pulls in events from your Gmail and sends notifications to you.

It offers five main views: schedule, day, three-day, week, and month which is sufficient for most of the situations. For most users, Google calendar is the best calendar app. It can even sync with the Apple watch if required by the user.

2. Trello – Smart calendars

Trello is one of the best calendar apps for large teams to keep track of different tasks and projects. While Trello is used mostly for to-do tasks, you can do a lot more by assigning a due date to any Trello card.

The Trello calendar gives a view of the entire calendar with Trello cards sitting on their respective due dates. This work calendar app lets people collaborate, discuss tasks, and track everything.

3. Toggl Plan – E-calendars

Toggl Plan is the best calendar app with all the features that make managing work easier. It offers timelines, Kanban boards, custom task flows, and much more. Toggl allows you to track important deadlines with color-coded milestones.

It provides easy integration with popular tools such as Google Calendar. The Toggl Plan work calendar app helps in managing teams on the go. It has both free and premium plans available as per need.

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Comparison of some of the best calendar app features

Below is the comparison of some of the best calendar apps,

1. Google Calendar vs Apple Calendar

The verdict between Google calendar vs Apple Calendar is a subjective one. But as Google calendar is supported by multiple devices, it is shared and accessed by more people. Whereas, Apple calendar is not shared easily outside the Apple ecosystem. Ultimately, it is based on individual preference.

2. Google Calendar vs Outlook

Let us see Google Calendar vs Outlook, which one is the best calendar app? It depends on which app is more suited to your business needs, and your lifestyle. Both of them are free to use and are available both online and offline. Calendar sharing is common to both.

3. Cozi vs Google Calendar

Cozi vs Google Calendar, which one is the best calendar app? While Google Calendar is useful to manage all kinds of tasks from personal to professional, the Cozi calendar is more commonly known as a family calendar app. The Cozi app is like a personal assistant on your mobile devices.

4. iCal vs Google Calendar

While assessing iCal vs Google Calendar, the majority of people have found Google calendar easier to use, set up, and administer. Google calendar was found to meet the need of businesses better than iCal making it the best calendar app. iCal is more suited for the Apple ecosystem.

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Concluding thoughts and FAQs on best calendar apps in 2021

Here are some of the most frequently asked questions on best calendar apps of 2021,

1. How does Outlook calendar app for Android works?

Open the calendar app on your Android device
Go to the Settings option
Tap on “Add New Account”
Select “Microsoft Exchange”
Enter your credentials and tap “Sign in”
Your Outlook email will now show under “Calendars” to confirm you have successfully synced Outlook with Android

2. How does Google calendar on Apple watch works?

Google calendar can be accessed through all devices including Android, iOS, and windows. To get google calendar requirements on apple watch, sync your google account with your apple watch paired iPhone. You can sync your google calendar with your apple calendar on a paired iPhone.

3. What are some Google calendar alternatives?

Google Calendar is one of the best calendar app but if it isn’t suitable for you here are the top alternative to Google Calendar that will help you manage your time,

iCal
Spike
Calendar
Microsoft Exchange Online
Microsoft Outlook
Teamup Calendar
TimeTree
TimeBlocks
Fantastical 2

4. How does Fantastical for PC works?

The Fantastical app is a very powerful calendar app developed specifically for Apple users by Flexibits. The Fantastical calendar app is available for download in the Apple store and can only be used across Apple devices such as iPad, Macbook, and iPhone.

Megha Goel

Megha is a content writer with sharp technical skills, owing to her past experience in networking and telecom domains. She focuses on various topics including productivity, remote work, people management, technology, market trends, and workspace collaboration.