Fantastical comfortably tops the list with the best user interface for any calendar app for the Mac. The animations are smooth, and the whole experience is quick, fluid, and responsive. My favorite function about Fantastical is the ability to create an event from the ‘+’ menu quickly.
- Best Calendar Planner App For Windows 10
- Best Calendar Planner App Iphone
- Best Calendar Planner App For Ipad
- Best Calendar Planner App For Iphone
To-do lists have come a long way since the days of scribbling down notes on scraps of paper and later frantically shuffling through everything on your desk in search of a misplaced Post-It note.
- Best Calendar Apps of 2021 for Windows, Mac, iOS & Android. Check out our list of the best calendar apps below, and find out which ones are best suited to your personal needs. Best Cross-Platform Calendar Apps 1. Google Calendar The best calendar app for GSuite users & in-general use.
- 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.
- Best Planner and Calendar Apps for Managing Your Busy Life No matter who we are, chances are that we all have some pretty hectic schedules. While it would be nice to be able to do just whatever we.
Today, we’re blessed with entire app stores filled with digital to-do lists and day planners. No more scraps of paper or trying to decipher your own handwriting – those problems are a thing of the past.
Yet modern to-do list apps are so much more than digital notepads. You can use them to plan and manage your entire workflow, set due dates for each task and set reminders so nothing gets missed or forgotten. With some of the more complex task planning apps you can manage entire projects, multiple teams and simplify highly complex workloads.
If you’re looking to boost personal or team productivity, this is the first tool you should be adding to your kit. And to help you choose the right app for you (or your team), here are the 10 best to-do list apps and day planners available right now.
Top 10 To-Do List Apps
In this article, I’m going to start by introducing the 10 best to-do list apps and day planners I’ve used (I’ve used a lot of them) with a quick intro and overview of what they have to offer. Then, in the second part of this article, I’m going to compare them in more detail (features, price, UX, etc.) to help you choose the best app(s) for your needs.
We all work differently and require certain things from productivity apps. This is something I was very conscious of when choosing these recommendations and they’ve all got something unique to offer.
Here are the apps we’re going to be looking at today:
- Todoist
- nTask
- Anydo
- TickTick
- Things
- WeDo
- Google Keep
- Trello
- Habitica
WunderList (discontinued)
Some of these are simply great to-do list apps and scheduling tools. Others are more complex, offering a range of project management and productivity features – all of which will be explained throughout this article.
With so many to-do list and task management apps available these days, choosing one can be very difficult. But this is about to get a whole lot easier for you, once you’re done with this article.
Here’s your first recommendation.
#1: Todoist (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari, Firefox)
Free, $3/monthor $5/month
Todoist is more geared towards individuals than entire workforces although you can group tasks and lists into projects, which might work for small teams.
Generally, though, Todoist is going to be a better option for the individual worker who’s looking for something similar to the Gmail interface combined with Google Calendar functionality.
Key features
- Quick Add: Quickly create and organise your tasks in a matter of clicks with Todoists Quick Add feature.
- Deadlines & reminders: Set deadlines, recurring deadlines for repeat tasks and reminders to make sure you keep on top of everything.
- Projects & goals: Create and manage projects with sub-tasks, set goals and keep track of progress.
- Highlight tasks: Highlight the most important tasks with colour-coded priority levels.
- Reports: Keep on track of your progress with reports and earn Todoist Karma points for hitting targets.
There is a “Business” version of Todoist that offers additional features to make project management easier for teams but you’re probably going to go with another app, if that’s what you’re after.
#2: nTask (iOS, Android & web)
Free or $2.99/month
nTask says it’s “more than just a task management tool” and I can tell you that’s no word of a lie. This application is crammed full of features for task management, project management and general business running.
You can run nTask in the browser and its mobile app is available on iOS and Android but there are no native desktop apps for Windows or Mac. While it would be nice to see these native apps available for computers, the nTask web app functions very well.
Key features
- Task management: Create checklists, schedule tasks, set deadlines, repeat tasks and set priorities.
- Project management: Assign tasks to team members, set project budgets and cost estimates, add lists for project risks and issues.
- Time tracking: Monitor how much time is being spent on tasks.
- Activity log: Keep track of all activities on your profile for insights on performance and productivity.
- Gantt charts: View progress on Gantt charts for an overview of entire projects.
- Manage meetings: Schedule meetings, send invitations and share minutes to everyone who needs them.
If you’re looking for more than a simple to-do list app and an all-round productivity suite, nTask will be one of the most feature-rich options you’ll find in this list of recommendations.
#3: Any.do (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web)
Free or $2.99/month
Unlike nTask, Any.do truly is a task management app and it doesn’t try to be anything else. It’s a wonderfully designed app, too, that’s available across all major platforms and the web app means you can access it in-browser on almost any device.
If you’re looking for a task management app that’s available on smartwatches, this will also be one of your few options – and, thankfully, it’s a very good one.
Key features
- To-do lists: Create and manage tasks, schedule deadlines and set reminders.
- Project management: Manage projects, assign tasks, create roadmaps and monitor progress .
- Calendar: A sleek calendar app to view and manage your tasks, accessible across all of your devices.
- Daily planner: Manage your workload for the day ahead to make sure everything gets done.
Any.do is a pleasure to use with its sleek interface design and smooth operation. You get all of the basic features you would expect from a tool like this: to-do lists, task management, etc. However, the calendar and daily planner integrations are excellent and the transition between each interface is very responsive.
This is a really great app.
#4: TickTick (iOS, Android & Web)
Free or $27.99/year
TickTick is similar to Any.do in many ways. Although they look very different, they both strive for minimal design and smooth operation. They also keep things simple in terms of task features, giving you everything you need for managing tasks without trying to do anything else.
In both cases, you end up with a streamlined app that does exactly what it says and everything you need is accessible within a click or two. Once again, TickTick has an excellent calendar interface integrated into its app, giving you a wider overview of your to-do lists.
Key features
- To-do lists: Create tasks and set deadlines.
- Folders: Add lists to folders for managing projects or categorising your lists.
- Prioritise tasks: Prioritise your most important tasks.
- Reminders: Set reminders to make sure nothing is overlooked.
- Calendar view: View tasks by day, week, and months.
- Share lists: Share your lists with colleagues, friends or family as needed.
TickTick is another one that doesn’t have native desktop apps but you can access the web app from any connected device. The downside, of course, is that you can’t use TickTick offline.
#5: Things (Mac, iOS)
$49.99 for Mac, $19.00 for iPad or $9.99 for iPhone
Unfortunately, Things is only really an option if you’re an Apple loyalist and it’s a shame there isn’t even a web app available to Windows and other OS users on board. However, there is a benefit to this, if you’re a Mac and iPhone/iPad user: Things is designed from the ground up for MacOS and iOS – and it shows.
Aide from being design and optimised for Apple devices, Things also offers up a few unique features that you end up wishing were more commonplace.
For example, its “Upcoming events” interface constantly reminds you about what you need to do over the next couple of days and this stops you being caught out by tasks you’d forgotten about.
It’s a small feature but it makes a real difference – especially when you’ve a demanding tasks coming up that requires some mental preparation.
Key features
- To-do lists: Create to-do lists for “Today” and “This evening”.
- Checklists: Tick events off your list as they’re completed with checklists.
- Calendar events: Create calendars for work, family, personal and other categories.
- Schedules & Reminders: Schedule tasks and set reminders.
- Upcoming lists: All of your upcoming tasks over the next few days appear in your upcoming list, so nothing catches you by surprise.
- Headings: Use headings to break up and organise tasks on your list.
Another simple but great feature is headlines. This allows you to break up to-do lists with headlines so you can categorise tasks and make larger lists easier to read. Again, simple but effective.
#6: WeDo (Mac, iOS, Android & Chrome)
$4.99/month, $39.99/year or $159.99 one-off fee
WeDo was originally designed for students but it’s developed into a decent work/life task management tools for professionals, too. There’s an emphasis on finding that work-life balance with WeDo and the app aims to make this more achievable for you.
Aside from creating tasks, setting due dates and all the usual things you would expect from a task management app, WeDo wants to help you develop good habits and you can create separate habits lists.
Another interesting feature is the apps asks you how long tasks take you after you’ve completed them and how you felt about them. All of this is added to your reporting data and you can see how your speed/mood about repeat tasks and aspects of life (work, diet, exercise. etc.) improves.
Key features
- To-do lists: Create to-do lists, set due dates, add reminders and prioritise tasks.
- Folders: Group related lists together in folders.
- Rate tasks: Log how long it takes you to complete tasks, how important they were and how they made you feel.
- Habit lists: Create separate lists for new habits you want to develop.
- Sub-tasks: Break tasks up into more manageable sub-tasks.
- Time estimates: Estimate how long tasks will take and plan your schedule accordingly.
If your aim to manage tasks more effectively and improve that work-life balance or develop better habits, WeDo is definitely worth a look.
#7: Google Keep (iOS, Android & web)
Free
While many of the tools in this article are task management apps built around the to-do list concept, Google Keep is far more limited in terms of features. Strictly speaking, Google Keep is a note taking app with a checklist feature that acts as a to-do list.
You can also create bullet point lists, add voice notes, type text notes and add pictures to your dashboard and organise them with colour codes and lables.
Key features
- To-do lists: Create to-do lists, notes, voice notes or add photos to your dashboards.
- Reminders: Set reminders to keep on top of your tasks.
- Labels: Add labels to your lists to categorise and organise them.
- Colour-code: Colour your notes to match categories or prioritise tasks.
With Google Keep you can set reminders for your tasks – including location based reminders – and that’s about the extent of it. You’re not going to choose Google Keep if you want advanced features but it’s a good option if you need a simple to-do list app that’s accessible on just about every device.
#8: Trello (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android & web)
Free, $9.99/monthor $20.83/mo
Trello does have a to-do list feature under its belt but this won’t be the main feature you choose it for. Trello is a project management tool for individuals and collaborative teams. Essentially, you assign dashboards to projects or large tasks and these dashboards contain lists of cards.
These cards can contain tasks, to-do lists or checklists, which can be assigned to members who are then able to interact with them. You can set due dates, mark tasks complete, add comments, rearrange or reschedule tasks and talk to members via instant messaging through the Trello app.
Key features
- Project management: Trello is a highly capable project management app for collaborative teams.
- To-do lists: Create to-do lists, add due dates, assign them to people and manage tasks as they’re completed.
- Trello boards: Dashboards where you can create and manage lists of cards containing tasks and to-do lists.
- Work with anyone: Invite anyone from around the world to help you make things happen.
- Instant messaging: Talk to team members in real-time to discuss tasks.
When it comes to managing complex projects, Trello is one of the few apps on this list that genuinely simplifies the process – something you won’t get from a standard to-do list app.
#9: Habitica (iOS, Android & web)
Free
I can safely say Habitica is unlike any other tool in this article and unlike any other to-do list app I’ve ever come across. I should make it clear that Habitica isn’t really designed for work but more geared towards developing better habits while you’re away from the computer.
This doesn’t mean you can’t use it for work purposes or as a tool to improve work-life balance, though.
Habitica gamifies the to-do list experience by getting you to create an Avatar, which receives points and bonuses for completing the tasks on your list. The more points you win, the stronger your Avatar becomes and the more in-game features and rewards you unlock.
Key features
- Gamified to-do lists: Habitica turns to-do lists into a mobile game experience.
- Habits: Schedule good habits you want to develop or bad habits you want to overcome.
- Avatars: Create your own Avatar to progress through your gamified to-do lists.
- In-game rewards: Earn points for completing tasks and developing good habits, level up your avatar, unlock new features and earn in-game rewards.
- Battle monsters: Join other Habitica users to fight monsters with your Avatars.
You can create positive habits that earn you points as well as negative habits you want to avoid, in which case points are taken away from you. You can also create habits that have both positive and negative outcomes – for example, eating a healthy dinner. If you eat something healthy, you win points; if you eat something unhealthy, you lose points.
Who says to-do lists need to be boring?
#10: Wunderlist (Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, Chrome, Safari)
Free or $4.99 per user
Update: Following the publication of this article WunderList closed doors!
When you need a truly cross-platform and feature-rich task management tool, Wunderlist is hard to beat. The platform is designed around the concept of to-do lists but there’s so much more you can do with this app.
Key features
- Task planning: Create tasks or larger to-do lists, set your deadlines, prioritise the most important tasks and check them off once they’re done.
- Folders: Group related lists into folders to manage projects or complex tasks into manageable categories.
- Reminders: Set reminders to ensure tasks are never forgotten.
- Notifications: Get updates via push, email and in-app notifications.
- Collaborate: Share your lists with others and collaborate on groups tasks.
- Comments: Communicate with other members within the Wunderlist app for improved teamwork.
Wunderlist is a great option for individuals and entire teams who need to manage their work and personal lives.
Choosing the right to do list app for you
All the apps in this article are great task management tools but they’re also very different at the same time. We all have our own way of working and our own requirements, so the rest of this article is going focus on helping you decide which of these apps meet your needs.
To do this, I’m going to compare each app on the following criteria:
- Best apps for cross-platformability: A comparison table for which platforms each app is available on.
- Best apps for productivity features: A comparison table of key productivity features and which apps provide them.
- Best apps for user experience: A look at the best apps from a UX perspective.
- Best apps for teams: Which of these apps are most suitbale for teams/collaboration?
- Best value for money: How many features are you getting for your money?
I’ve put together some tables for cross-platformability, features and value for money – so you can compare things for yourself – but I’ll also add my own thoughts for each section. As for the best apps for teams section, some of these apps simply aren’t designed for teams and there are a few that really stand out on this aspect – so I’ll just go ahead and mention the apps that win this category and explain why.
Best apps for cross-platformability
The first thing I check when I like the look of an app is which platforms it’s available on. It doesn’t matter how good a tool is if it’s not available on the platforms/devices you need to use it on.
So here’s a quick comparison table to show you what each of the apps in this article are available on.
Tool | Desktop | Mobile | Web app |
---|---|---|---|
Wunderlist | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | ✔ |
Todoist | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | ✔ |
nTask | iOS, Android | ✔ | |
Any.do | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | ✔ |
TickTick | iOS, Android | ✔ | |
Things | Mac | iOS | |
WeDo | Mac | iOS, Android | ✔ |
Google Keep | iOS, Android | ✔ | |
Trello | Windows, Mac | iOS, Android | ✔ |
Habitica | iOS, Android | ✔ |
Generally speaking, if there’s a web app and a mobile app for your device, you should be sorted from a personal standpoint. The only downside with web apps is not being able to use them offline – so, if this is important to you, it’s always good to have a desktop app as well.
Just make sure you can actually save things while you’re using the app offline.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that you may move from Apple to other devices (or vice versa) in the future. Having support for Windows, Mac, iOS and Android will give you the freedom to do this without losing your favourite to-do list app.
Finally, if you’re looking for an app that you can use to collaborate with other, you want the broadest support for devices and browsers possible (think about browser extensions as well).
Best apps for productivity features
All of the apps in this article are designed to help you become more productive but they vary greatly in terms of features. Most of them are very good task management tools while some are better than others when it comes to project management, collaboration and reporting.
Here’s how they compare.
Tool | Task management | Project management | Assign tasks | Set goals | Messaging | Reports |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wunderlist | Strong | Average | ✔ | ✔ | ||
Todoist | Strong | Average | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
nTask | Strong | Strong | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Any.do | Strong | Average | ✔ | |||
TickTick | Strong | Weak | ✔ | ✔ | Basic | |
Things | Strong | Basic | ||||
WeDo | Strong | Weak | Habits | ✔ | ||
Google Keep | Average | |||||
Trello | Strong | Strong | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ | ✔ |
Habitica | Strong | Habits |
It all comes down to what you’re looking for from one (or more) of these apps. If you only need a to-do list/day planner then Any.do is an excellent choice that’s available of just about every platform. It may not have all of the productivity features of some other options we’ve looked at but it does to-do lists and task management very well – and that might be all you need.
It’s a similar story with TickTick, Things and WeDo – they’re all great task management apps that don’t put additional features in your way.
That said, if you need to manage projects, teams or collaborate with others, then your list of options narrows. Likewise, if you want to set productivity or habit goals and check your performance with analytics/reporting, then it’s easy to see which apps stand out.
Best apps for user experience
This is a really tricky one because all of these apps offer great user experiences. Google Keep is perhaps the only exception but it’s mostly feature-orientated changes that would improve the experience, in my opinion (although a visual upgrade would be appreciated, too).
While I’m happy to say all of the other apps in this list are very strong UX-wise, there are a number of different experiences offered between them – so this is the angle I’m going to take:
- Best UX for personal to-do lists
- Best UX for personal projects
- Best UX for team projects/collaboration
Here’s the criteria I’ve used to make the call:
- Visual design: Points awarded for clean, minimal designs that make it easy to understand and use the app.
- Navigation: Features always being within a few clicks and navigation that’s easy to understand.
- Features vs usability: More features are great but only if they don’t add unnecessary complexity that’s going to kill productivity.
- Cross-platform experience: Cross-platform support and consistent experience as move between different versions.
- Integrations: Allow you to add features that you need, even if they’re not provided by the app itself.
- Documentation & support: Sometimes things just don’t work as you expect them to and this is where you need documentation and support to back you up.
So, here’s my pick for personal to-do lists.
Best user experience for personal to-do lists
The best to-do list experiences come from the apps that really focus on this role. A lot of the tools in this article are so much more than to-do list apps and, while this is fine if you want the added capabilities, their user experiences aren’t centred around the specific purpose of a to-do list app.
If you’re simply after the best to-do list app as a standalone tool for your personal use, then Any.do, TickTick, Things, WeDo and Habitica are the ones to look at.
Any.do is one of the best to-do list and task management apps I’ve ever tried and it offers a consistent experience across every platform, which you get the same fantastic UX across all of your devices.
If you’re an Apple-only user, Things is the obvious choice and I would say the experience is actually better than Any.do. The only downside is you can only use it on Mac and iOS devices but this also benefits the experience by allowing its developers to truly optimise for Apple’s operating systems.
TickTick is another fantastic to-do list experience and it does actually add some more advanced features into its premium version but they don’t take anything away from its task management credentials – and it deserves credit for that.
Then we have Habitica, which is by no means your typical to-do list app, but what an experience the team behind it has managed to create. The gamification approach isn’t going to be for everyone but, for those who do appreciate it, nothing else will cut it after trying Habitica.
Best user experience for personal projects
If you need to manage personal projects or a lot of different to-do lists, then you’re going to need an app that allows you to organise tasks with more control.
In this case, you really need to be able to schedule tasks, group them together, prioritise tasks and manage them as you progress through each project.
The free versions of nTask and Trello should have everything you need to manage the most complex of projects. You don’t quite get all of the features either app has to offer but the main difference between the free and paid versions is collaboration features, which you probably don’t need if you’re working on projects alone.
If you do need more than the free versions offer, nTask is pretty affordable at $2.99 per month and even Trello’s $9.99/monthshould more than pay for itself if its features are going to save you time on every project and limit the risk of mistakes.
The potential issue with nTask and Trello is they may actually have too many features for managing personal tasks and projects. If you still want that simple to-do list experience, with just enough features to help you manage more complex workloads, then Wunderlist and Todoist are probably for you.
For an even more minimal experience, you may find the paid versions Any.do, TickTick and WeDo have just enough task management features for you to organise your workload.
Best user experience for teams/collaboration
If teamwork/collaboration is a priority, then features and cross-platform availability are the most important things. The standout winners in this scenario are nTask and Trello – but far the best experiences for teams and individuals who need to collaborate.
I’ll explain more about this in the next section.
Best apps for teams
Well, I’ve given the surprise away already but let me show you the specifics of why nTask and Trello are the standout apps for teams.
Teams need to be able to communicate and both of these apps have integrated messaging built into their software. Which means team members can discuss and collaborate on tasks from anywhere, whenever they need to.
nTask and Trello approach project management in different ways (checklist vs cards) but they’re both incredibly effective. With the paid version of either app, you can manage multiple teams, any number of projects and organise the most complex of workloads.
Everyone knows what needs doing, what’s already been done and what the overall progress of each project looks like.
So how do you choose between these?
Well, the biggest difference is going to come down to whether you prefer nTask’s more traditional interface or the card approach Trello takes. It’s not a question of one being better than the other; they’re just different and it probably won’t take long to find out which one you prefer.
One benefit in favour of Trello is the fact it has desktop apps for Windows and Mac, whereas nTask doesn’t. The nTask web app means you can still use the platform on just about any device but you’re going to need an internet connection.
nTask has the upper hand in terms of features, though. You get a lot of project management features to help you calculate budgets, define risks and issues with each project, arrange meetings and some really strong reporting to go with it.
There are also unique productivity features, such as time tracking, which allows you to see how long tasks are taking. It’s an incredible set of features for a very reasonable monthly subscription fee. You can get most or all of these features in Trello by integrating with other tools (and you are going to need other tools anyway) but nTask may be able to reduce your over expenses by offering so much right out of the box.
Best value for money
I can’t tell you what you need from any kind of productivity app, which means I can’t turn around and say which one offers the best value for money – it all comes down to getting what you need for the lowest price.
What I can do is score each app based on the features they offer, their availability across different platforms and the asking price. This way, I can give them an overall score, which at least gives you an idea of how much you’re getting in terms of features and support for your money.
Tool | Cross-platform | Features | Cost | Overall |
---|---|---|---|---|
Wunderlist | 10/10 | 8/10 | $4.99/user* | 8.6/10 |
Todoist | 10/10 | 9/10 | $5/mo* | 9/10 |
nTask | 8/10 | 10/10 | $2.99/mo* | 8.6/10 |
Any.do | 10/10 | 6/10 | $2.99/mo* | 8.3/10 |
TickTick | 8/10 | 7/10 | $27.99/year* | 8.6/10 |
Things | 4/10 | 5/10 | $9.99-$49.99 | 6/10 |
WeDo | 9/10 | 7/10 | $4.99/monthor $159 | 7.8/10 |
Google Keep | 8/10 | 4/10 | Free | 7.3/10 |
Trello | 10/10 | 10/10 | $20.83/mo* | 8.3/10 |
Habitica | 8/10 | 5/10 | Free | 7.6/10 |
Free apps instantly get 10/10 for cost while reasonable one-off payments get a score of 9/10 and monthly fees rated down from 8/10 depending on how high the monthly asking fee is.
I’m using the most expensive plans to score cost as these prices, otherwise you’re not getting all the features that have been awarded their score. Keep in mind there are cheaper or free versions of most of these apps available.
I should also mention that you get a lot of features on the free version of Trello and there’s a $9.99/monthversion that will probably be enough for most users – perhaps not for certain business teams, though.
Meanwhile, TickTick doesn’t give you much at all on its free version but a $27.99/year fee makes its premium version the cheapest paid option on this list.
Get more done with your favourite to-do list app
Hopefully, you now know what you need from a to-do list/task management app and choosing the right tool for your needs is going to be a much easier process now. Even if you don’t end up using one of the recommendations on this list, you should have a better idea of what kind of apps are available and which of them are going to work for you.
Most of the apps in this article have free versions that you can use to get a feel for them yourself – so try out the ones you think have potential and see how you get on.
Once you’ve found your favourite to-do list app, you can manage your way to a more productive workflow and start adding other tools to your productivity toolkit.
We all have so much to organize in both our work lives and our personal lives. And while paper calendars can be useful, it’s impractical to carry them everywhere we go. So in 2021, it’s essential that we all use at least one of the calendar apps.
But with so many on the market, how do you choose? To help you out, we’ve tested dozens of calendar apps on a range of devices and platforms. In this article, we’ve explained the 12 best calendar apps in 2021, that we truly think are truly best in class & functionality.
While they all take different approaches and offer different features, all the apps on this list are easy to use, stable, and robust. Plus, each of them offers a few standout features that distinguish them from the rest of the pack.
Table of Contents
- Best Cross-Platform Calendar Apps
- Best Calendar Apps for iOS & Mac
- Best Calendar Apps for Windows
- Best Mobile-ONLY Calendar Apps
Best Calendar Apps of 2021 for Windows, Mac, iOS & Android
Check out our list of the best calendar apps below, and find out which ones are best suited to your personal needs.
Best Cross-Platform Calendar Apps
1. Google Calendar
The best calendar app for GSuite users & in-general use
Google Calendar is free, easy to use, and allows you to plan your life, seamlessly, across all your devices.
Most suitable for: Anyone using G Suite for Business, or using Google apps regularly.
Pricing: Free
Platforms: iOS, Mac OS, Android OS, web browser
Key features
- Easy to set up and use: Google Calendar is very simple to set up and use, and lets you access your calendars on all of your devices easily and quickly; especially if they’re already logged into Google.
- Browse Calendars of Interest: Google Calendar includes prepared lists of dates, such as sporting events and religious holidays, to drag and drop to your calendar at will.
- Add events from Gmail: With Google Calendar, whenever you receive event invitations via Gmail, they’re added to your calendar automatically. Here’s how they’ll look in your Google Calendar:
- Integration with other apps: Millions of apps or websites are already integrated with Google Calendar. So whether you’re using a To-Do list app or a flight reservations service, you’ll be able to add tasks, bookings, etc, without leaving the app or site. Also, with a single click, you can now add a Google Meet Video Conferencing link to your Google Calendar event. Doing so, keep your attendees well informed about the meeting link and description while you send out the invitation via Google Calendar.
Works with Automate.io
Automate.io can help you connect your apps with Google Calendar in many useful ways. For example, you might want to create Google Calendar events from rows on Google Spreadsheet or update a card in Trello when a Google Calendar event is modified.
2. Woven
Best Calendar App for arranging meetings
Woven is a calendar app specifically designed to help business people arranging meetings and other events with others.
Most suitable for: Busy professionals
Pricing: Free
Platforms: iOS, Mac, Windows, Web
For the Woven app, the mobile view doesn’t show the calendar view with each day but does show key dates and recent updates from your plan.
Key features
- Smart Templates: Most professionals have meetings where the details repeat often; for instance, perhaps your marketing meetings always take place in the same building and room. Smart Templates let you create a template for these meeting types, to save you entering the same information each time.
- Scheduling Links: Scheduling Calendar feature allows people to agree on a meeting time without having to get involved in endless email discussions. Instead, you just share a special scheduling link. Guests click on the link and select the most convenient time from those you offer.
- Availability Sharing: The Availability Sharing feature allows other people to see if you are free or busy at a specific time, without letting them see all the contents of your calendar.
- Group Polls: Group Polls are one further way of agreeing on the time of a meeting collectively. Once you activate your poll, Woven collects the votes, and reports back the results, leaving you to make the final decision on when to schedule the meeting.
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3. TimeTree
The best calendar app for your personal life
TimeTree brings together your work and social calendars to help friends and relatives share information and keep track of what everyone is doing.
Most suitable for: Couples, families or small groups
Pricing: Free
Platforms: iOS, Android OS, web browser
Key features
- Contextual calendars: Whenever you create a new calendar, you’re asked whether it’s for personal, family, friends, work, relationship, or group use. This categorization really helps to keep the different aspects of your life organized.
- Chat rooms: TimeTree encourages collaboration, so each event you create is given its own chat room, to allow comments, ideas, questions, and images to be exchanged.
- Map of the event in the view: TimeTree allows you to add locations to each event, and automatically pulls in a Maps view.
- Undecided dates: If you want to plan an event, but don’t want to commit to a date as yet, the ‘Keep’ tab lets you create and store an event to be worked out later on. You can store To-do lists and simple notes around these events.
4. My Study Life
The best calendar app for education
A calendar created specifically for anyone studying or working in education, My Study Life makes it easy to plan your educational activities around the academic year, including classes, exams, holidays, and term times.
Most suitable for: Students and teachers
Pricing: Free
Platforms: iPhone, Android OS, Windows 8, Chrome, web browser
Key features
- Add academic schedules: The minute you open up the app, you’re prompted to add the dates for your academic year, term times, and holidays. This is all incorporated into your calendar automatically, saving you a lot of time.
- Add classes: You don’t have to add every date of each class manually. Just tell My Study Life how your schedule works – for example, class times, start and end dates – and it will work out the rest. My Study Life makes adding classes much easier than with a normal calendar app.
- Add holidays: When you add holidays to your schedule, not only can you see which days you have off but you can also shift rotation schedules. Usefully, you won’t get reminded about your classes while you’re on holiday.
- Track your homework and revision: Often you’ll start a study task but not finish it the same day. So My Study Life lets you specify how much of a task has been completed. You can also set reminders for unfinished assignments.
Below is the clean mobile view of the My Study Life Calendar app:
Best Calendar Apps for iOS & Mac
5. Apple Calendar
A powerful and lightweight calendar app for iOS and Mac
Installed for free on Mac and iOS, Apple Calendar is a great option for keeping your calendars synced across all your Apple devices.
Most suitable for: Apple users.
Pricing: Free
Platforms: macOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Key features:
- Built into Apple: Apple Calendar is pre-installed on all Apple devices, so there’s nothing to download, and it’s easy to sync your calendars across all of them. Plus, you can view and update your calendars via the iCloud web app.
- Clean and simple design: The beauty of the Apple Calendar lies in its simplicity. As with almost all Apple software, the interface is super-elegant, the features work smoothly and the app is very intuitive to use.
- Colour coding: Apple Calendar allows you to create multiple calendars for different areas of your life, and color-code them accordingly. That way, you can glance across your work, family, and personal events without fuss.
- Travel Time: Travel Time calculates when you need to leave for an event based on the likely length of your journey, using Apple Maps, and what mode of transportation you’ll be using to get there. Apple Calendar syncs with Apple Maps, although not with Google Maps.
6. Fantastical 3
The best calendar app for Mac
Fantastical 3 has long been the best calendar app for Mac, and the latest version brings even more improvements.
Most suitable for: Mac power users.
Pricing: $4.99 a month
Platforms: macOS, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch
Key features
- Streamlined interface: While Apple Calendar is nice and simple, Fantastical (now on version 3) has an even better looking and more streamlined interface, particularly on desktop and iPad.
- Events and tasks templates: You may have a recurring event or task that doesn’t always happen at the same time; eg, you visit the dentist every six months, but not always on the same day. For this, Fantastical lets you create templates to save you adding all the information each time.
- Weather forecast: When you attach a location to an event, weather forecast information, up to 10 days ahead, is automatically pulled in, and updated on a minute-by-minute basis.
- Event time proposal management: Need to get people to agree on a time for an event, such as a meeting? Fantastical 3 lets you suggest multiple dates and time options in an invite email. Invitees don’t have to reply to the email (saving your inbox from getting cluttered), but just click on the options within it. If there are date and time that works for all of them, that’s set and added to your calendar automatically.
7. BusyCal
A very customizable Mac calendar app for business use
BusyCal is a Mac calendar app aimed at people who need to stay on top of a lot of events, meetings, and tasks. Its flexible and customizable features allow you to do so with a minimum of effort.
Most suitable for: Busy professionals
Pricing: $49.99
Platforms: macOS (iOS app sold separately)
Key features:
- Customizable views: BusyCal doesn’t just offer day, week, month, year, and list views; it lets you customize these views precisely. For instance, you can choose the number of weeks shown in the month view and the number of days shown in the week view.
- Customizable info panel: Redesigned for version 3, the info panel that appears in the sidebar helps you view and edit event details quickly and easily. And if you want it to show different information than the presets, the panel itself also customizable.
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- Integrated To-Dos: To-Dos are integrated into your calendar, display on the date they are due, and carry forward until completed. Alternatively, you can add Timed To-Dos, which are set to occur at a specific time of day.
- Travel Time: Similar to the Apple Calendar, BusyCal has the Travel Time feature to let you block out time for travel to an event or location. You can add your own estimate for how long to block out, or ask Location Services and Apple Maps to calculate it automatically. With this, you can ensure to build enough space into your schedule to get places on time.
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Best Calendar Apps for Windows
8. Microsoft Outlook Calendar
The best calendar app for Windows and Outlook users
Outlook Calendar ties in nicely with both Windows and Outlook, and helps these systems work together efficiently and seamlessly.
Most suitable for: Windows and Outlook users.
Pricing: Free
Platforms:Web browser, Windows, Windows Phone, Android, iOS
Key features
- Integration into Windows and Outlook: Outlook Calendar is integrated smoothly into Windows and Outlook. So if you use either, you’ll find Outlook Calendar very simple to use. For example, in your Outlook email inbox, you can launch Outlook Calendar from the icon in the bottom left-hand corner.
- View side-by-side calendars: Outlook lets you view multiple calendars side-by-side, as well as calendars shared with you by other Outlook users. You can also view calendars on top of one another in the overlay view. Outlook Calendar lets you create multiple calendars and control their look and feel.
- Share only part of a calendar: Outlook Calendar allows you to share your calendar via email without sharing everything. The other person can open it in Outlook, but you control how much information they can see.
- Manage another user’s calendar: With the Delegate Access feature, you can manage another person’s Outlook Calendar once they give you permission. A personal assistant, for example, would be able to create, move, or delete appointments on their employer’s calendar.
9. OneCalendar
Best calendar app for Windows users & managing multiple calendars
OneCalendar is a great way to manage multiple calendars from different providers, bringing them all together in one, beautifully designed place.
Most suitable for: Windows power users.
Pricing: From free
Platforms: Windows 10, Windows, Windows Mobile, Android
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Key features
- View all your calendars at once: OneCalendar lets you pull in calendars from a range of platforms, including Google, Live, Outlook, iCloud, Exchange, Office365, Facebook, and more.
- Multiple views: OneCalendar offers a variety of ways to view your calendars, including day view, week view, month view, year view, and list view. We especially like how all the views display week numbers.
- Customize your calendars: OneCalendar lets you choose different colors for each calendar, and select different colors for specific appointments.
- Lock screen and glance screen: To save time, you can quickly view all your upcoming appointments on the lock screen. For Windows Mobile, they can also be shown on Glance.
Best Mobile-ONLY Calendar Apps
10. ACalendar
The best calendar app for android users to customize calendars
If you’re an Android user but don’t like the way Google Calendar displays your information, then ACalendar can let you customize how your calendar looks, in several different ways.
Most suitable for: Android users.
Pricing: Free
Platforms: Android OS
Key features
- Easy interface: ACalendar’s interface is brilliantly intuitive. Switching between day, week, month, and agenda view using swipe and tap feels so natural that there’s virtually no learning curve.
- Colors: Many calendar apps only offer a limited range of colors, but ACalendar provides a generous 48 colors for each case type.
- Synchronized photos: ACalendar allows you to synchronize photos from your contact lists and social networks, to add an extra visual reminder on your calendar for birthdays, anniversaries, and other special days.
Special mention to its Charity donation: When you upgrade to a paid-for version of ACalendar, the makers of ACalendar will donate 10% to environmental groups such as the World Land Trust and the Rainforest Trust.
11. Calendars 5
Calendar app for iOS users to view events at-a-glance
Calendars 5 is a powerful, feature-rich calendar app that’s comparable to Fantastical, for iPhone and iPad.
Most suitable for: iOS users.
Pricing: $2.99 for 3 month subscription; $8.99 one-time purchase
Platforms: iOS
Key features
- Natural language input: Natural language processing makes adding events easier. For instance, if you just type “Meet Tom at Starbucks on Sunday”, the event will be created automatically.
- Drag and drop to reschedule: Calendars 5 lets you reschedule events with drag and drop. You can do this online and offline.
- Set up to five reminders: You can set up to five reminders for an important event like a meeting, dinner, or a birthday, by alarm or email.
- Timeline view: The simplified Timeline view just shows you colored dots for events and colored checkboxes for reminders. This is great for getting a quick sense of your day at a glance.
12. Cozi
The most suitable calendar app for family activities
Cozi is specifically designed to help everyone in your family to keep track of each other and take part in activities together.
Most suitable for: Families
Pricing: From free
Platforms: iOS, Android OS
Key features
- Family schedules in one place: Your color-coded calendar makes it easy to see the whole family’s schedules at once, or to filter by an individual. Reminders go out to each member of the family so that everyone stays on track.
- Shopping lists: Create online shopping lists that every member of the family can access, and add to. You can cross items off the list, and add others, whenever you like. You can also email your shopping lists to other people outside of your family.
- Recipe Box: Save recipes from the ‘Cozi Picks’ tab, and transfer the ingredients into your shopping lists. You can also drag and drop recipes onto specific days in your calendar to help with your weekly meal planning.
- Family Journal: The Family Journal feature allows you to write quick notes and store photos, to help build up a store of memories that you can look back on in years to come. You can share your journal updates via email or as a private family website.
Final Thoughts on Choosing the Best Calendar App
So, that was all about the 12 Best Calendar Apps of 2021 based on the ease of use, pricing, platforms they support, best features that make them stand out, and who is it the most suitable for. To sum it up for you, the below infographic can give you all this at a glance.
Frequently Asked Questions
The best free calendar app is Google Calendar. It’s free, easy to set-up and can be used on any device syncing it with multiple other apps. Some lesser-known free calendar apps are
- Woven
- Timetree
- My Study Life
- Apple calendar
- Microsoft Outlook Calendar
- ACalendar
The best calendar apps for Windows 10 are
- Microsoft Outlook Calendar (free)
- OneCalendar
The best calendar apps for iOS and Mac are
- Apple Calendar (Free)
- Fantastical 3
- BusyCal
The best calendar apps for android users are
- ACalendar
- Cozi
Yes, you can use the integration platform – Automate.io to integrate your Google Calendar with other apps for easy workflows and event notifications on apps like Trello, Slack or Google Sheets, for example.