Calendars · alternatives
Alternatives to Apple Calendar
21 calendars tools sit alongside Apple Calendar in this directory. Below is what separates each from Apple Calendar on the figures we hold, price, model, tier count and rating, and a direct comparison for every one.
- Alternatives listed
- 21
- With a free tier
- 15
- Cheaper to start
- -
- Apple Calendar starts at
- Free
Why people look past Apple Calendar
Nothing on the record flags a reason to move. Apple Calendar has a free tier. People still switch over fit and workflow, and those are not things a catalogue entry can measure, which is what the comparisons below are for.
What each alternative does differently
Ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry. Differences are drawn from price, pricing model, tier count and rating, the fields the category listing carries. For a feature-level difference, follow the head-to-head link on each card: those pages read both full records.
Smart scheduling for the modern workforce
Priced and rated the same as Apple Calendar on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Professional calendar management for Microsoft 365
- Publishes an entry price of $6/month, where Apple Calendar does not.
The calendar app you'll love to use
- Publishes an entry price of $56.99/year, where Apple Calendar does not.
Free standalone calendar app from Notion, formerly Cron, usable without a paid Notion subscription
Priced and rated the same as Apple Calendar on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Simple calendar management and booking
- Publishes an entry price of Free, where Apple Calendar does not.
Free time clock and time tracking app
Priced and rated the same as Apple Calendar on the figures we hold. The difference, if there is one, is in the feature records.
Every Apple Calendar alternative at a glance
A dash means the catalogue entry carries no figure, not that the answer is nothing.
| Tool | Entry price | Model | Tiers | Head to head |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apple Calendar (this page) | Free | - | - | |
| Google CalendarGoogle Calendar offers web and mobile access, strong integration with Gmail and Google Workspace, and sharing capabilities. | Free | - | 2 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Outlook CalendarOutlook Calendar integrates with Microsoft 365, Exchange Server, and Teams for enterprise environments. | Free, then $6/month | - | 4 | vs Apple Calendar |
| FantasticalFantastical is a premium calendar app for Mac and iOS with natural language event creation and powerful search. | Free, then $56.99/year | - | 3 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Notion Calendar | Free | Free product, no licence fee | 1 | vs Apple Calendar |
| TidyCal | Free | Freemium | 5 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Jibble | Free | Freemium | - | vs Apple Calendar |
| SavvyCal | Free, then $12/month | - | 3 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Skedda | Free, then $99/month | Subscription | 6 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Clockify | Free | Freemium | 5 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Harvest Forecast | Free, then $5/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Apple Calendar |
| BusyCal | Free, then $4.99/month | - | 3 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Kronologic | Free, then $15/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Cron Calendar | Free, then $10/month | Subscription | 4 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Microsoft To Do | Free | Free | 1 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Morgen | $15/month | Per user per month | 2 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Resource Guru | $5/month | - | 3 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Practice | $40/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Float | $6/month | Subscription | 2 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Rise Calendar | $16/year | Subscription | 1 | vs Apple Calendar |
| OmniFocus | $99.99/year | - | 3 | vs Apple Calendar |
| Google Tasks | Free | - | - | vs Apple Calendar |
Ratings are aggregated from third-party sources and imported with each catalogue entry; Softwr hosts no reviews of these products. How each figure is used is set out on the Apple Calendar badges page.
Cheaper ways to solve the same problem
Free to start (15)
These publish a tier that costs nothing, so they can be evaluated before any money changes hands.
- Google Calendar , Free
- Outlook Calendar , Free, then $6/month
- Fantastical , Free, then $56.99/year
- Notion Calendar , Free
- TidyCal , Free
- Jibble , Free
- SavvyCal , Free, then $12/month
- Skedda , Free, then $99/month
What you would be giving up
Apple Calendar is most often brought in for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management, team coordination. Anything replacing it has to cover the ones you actually depend on, and a cheaper tool that misses one of them is not cheaper.
Two things this page cannot settle. It compares on price, model, tier count and rating, because those are the fields the category listing carries, feature-level differences need both full records, which is what the head-to-head pages load. And the ratings are third-party aggregates imported with each entry rather than reviews written here, so a 0.2 difference between two tools is noise rather than a finding.
If Apple Calendar is broadly right and the question is cost, the Apple Calendar pricing breakdown covers every tier and what each one adds. If you want the whole field rather than a shortlist, the Calendars category lists everything the directory holds, and best calendars tools ranks them.
Apple Calendar runs on ios, macos. Platform coverage is not carried on the category listing for the alternatives, so it is one more thing to check on each head-to-head page rather than here.
Questions about Apple Calendar alternatives
- What are the main alternatives to Apple Calendar?
- 21 other calendars tools are listed in this directory, led by Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Fantastical, Notion Calendar. They are ordered by the aggregated rating on each catalogue entry, not by any Softwr ranking.
- What is the best free alternative to Apple Calendar?
- 15 of the alternatives listed here can be used without paying: Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, Fantastical, Notion Calendar, TidyCal.
- Is there a reason to switch away from Apple Calendar?
- Nothing in the data flags one. Apple Calendar has a free tier. Fit and workflow are the usual reasons to move, and those are not things this record can measure.
- What would I give up by switching from Apple Calendar?
- Apple Calendar is most often brought in for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management, team coordination. Anything you replace it with has to cover the ones you actually rely on, the side-by-side comparisons linked from each alternative below put the two feature records against each other.
- Is there an open-source alternative to Apple Calendar?
- None of the calendars tools listed here are recorded as open source. That is what the licence field on each entry says, and the field is not always filled in, so it is worth checking directly for any tool you are serious about.
- How were these Apple Calendar alternatives chosen?
- They are the tools filed in the same category, Calendars, ordered by the aggregated rating on each entry. There is no editorial shortlist, and nothing on this page is paid: no sponsored placement runs on alternatives pages and the order cannot be bought. Softwr has not used these products.
- Where can I compare Apple Calendar against one of these directly?
- Every alternative below has a side-by-side page against Apple Calendar covering price, platforms, features and what each one is used for. Those pages read the full record for both products rather than the summary shown here.
- Does this list cover every calendars tool?
- No. It covers what this directory holds in the Calendars category, 21 tools beside Apple Calendar. The category page lists the rest of the catalogue as it grows.