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Calendar & Time Management · head to head

Fantastical vs Motion

Fantastical logo

Fantastical

Calendar & Time Management

The calendar app you'll love to use

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Motion logo

Motion

Scheduling & Booking

Your intelligent calendar that prioritizes for you

From
$19/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Fantastical has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Fantastical premium subscription required for advanced features at $56.99/year; Motion no free plan; starts at $19/month per user
  • They diverge on capability: Fantastical covers Natural language input, Motion covers AI auto-scheduling.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fantastical and Motion actually diverge.

Attributes where Fantastical and Motion differ
AttributeFantasticalMotion
Starting priceFree$19/month
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsmacOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, WindowsWeb, iOS, macOS, Windows
CategoryCalendar & Time ManagementScheduling & Booking
Founded20112019

Identical on both: pricing model (Unknown), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Fantastical

  • Natural language input
  • Calendar sets
  • Weather integration
  • Scheduling
  • Tasks
  • iCloud
  • Exchange
  • Todoist

Only in Motion

  • AI auto-scheduling
  • Task prioritization
  • Project management
  • Meeting scheduler
  • Deadline tracking
  • Zoom
  • Zapier
  • Web support

Both cover

  • Google Calendar
  • Outlook
  • Macos support
  • Ios support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Fantastical

  • Scheduling
  • Appointment booking
  • Time tracking
  • Resource management
  • Team coordination

Motion

  • Scheduling
  • Appointment booking
  • Time tracking
  • Resource management
  • Team coordination

Both are used for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management, team coordination, on those jobs the choice comes down to price and fit rather than capability.

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Fantastical

  • Premium subscription required for advanced features at $56.99/year
  • Primarily designed for Apple ecosystem; Windows version is resource-intensive
  • No native Android app, limiting cross-platform usage
  • No web interface for calendar access
  • Shows events but lacks event management capabilities compared to specialized task tools

Motion

  • No free plan; starts at $19/month per user
  • Mobile app is significantly less capable than desktop version
  • Requires adding deadlines, time estimates, and priorities to tasks to function effectively
  • Limited advanced project management features compared to dedicated PM tools like Asana or ClickUp
  • UI can feel cluttered and has a steep onboarding curve

Pricing, plan by plan

Fantastical

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Basic calendar views (day, week, month, quarter, year)
    • Natural language event entry
    • 3-day weather forecast
  • Individual Premium$56.99/year
    • All free features
    • Task management with Todoist and Google Tasks
    • Unlimited calendar sets
  • Family Premium$89.99/year
    • All Individual Premium features
    • Up to 5 family members
    • Shared calendars

Motion

$19/month
  • Pro AI$19/month
    • AI task scheduling
    • 7500 AI credits per month
  • Business AI$29/month
    • AI Employees for teams
    • 15000 AI credits per month

Which should you pick?

Choose Fantastical if

  • You need natural language input.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, Windows.
  • You also want calendar sets.
Fantastical review

Choose Motion if

  • You need ai auto-scheduling.
  • You work on Web, iOS, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want task prioritization.
Motion review

Questions people ask

Is Fantastical or Motion better?
Neither clearly leads. Fantastical starts at Free and Motion at $19/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fantastical or Motion?
Fantastical has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Fantastical and $19/month for Motion.
Does Fantastical or Motion run on more platforms?
Fantastical runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, Windows. Motion runs on Web, iOS, macOS, Windows.
Can I use Fantastical for free?
Yes. Fantastical has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Motion starts at $19/month.
What is Fantastical best used for?
Fantastical is most often used for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management.
What can Fantastical do that Motion cannot?
Fantastical covers Natural language input, Calendar sets, Weather integration, Scheduling. Motion covers AI auto-scheduling, Task prioritization, Project management, Meeting scheduler. Both handle Google Calendar, Outlook, Macos support, Ios support.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Fantastical: Does Fantastical have a free plan?

Yes, Fantastical offers a free tier with basic calendar views (day, week, month, quarter, year), natural language event entry, and 3-day weather forecast. Premium features including task management integrations and family sharing require a paid subscription at $56.99/year or $6.99/month.

Source
Motion: Does Motion work offline?

Motion is a cloud-based platform that requires internet connectivity to access and use its AI scheduling features. Offline functionality is not available.

Source
Fantastical: Can I create events using natural language?

Yes, Fantastical's signature feature is natural language processing, allowing you to create events by typing or speaking in plain English. You can type things like 'dinner tomorrow at 7 pm with Sarah' and it automatically parses the date, time, and attendees.

Source
Motion: Is there a free trial for Motion?

Yes, Motion offers a 7-day free trial that can be canceled anytime. The free trial does not require credit card information upfront.

Source
Fantastical: What calendar services does Fantastical support?

Fantastical integrates with Google Calendar, iCloud, Microsoft 365, Exchange, Office 365, and Fastmail. It supports multiple account types and syncs changes across all connected services.

Source
Motion: What calendar services does Motion integrate with?

Motion integrates with Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCloud for calendar synchronization and automatic event scheduling.

Source
Fantastical: What task management apps can I integrate with Fantastical?

Fantastical supports Todoist, Google Tasks, and Microsoft 365 tasks. Tasks sync bidirectionally, and changes made in Fantastical reflect back in your task service.

Source
Motion: Is there a mobile app for Motion?

Motion offers iOS mobile app and desktop applications, though the mobile experience has been reported as less feature-rich than the web version.

Source
Fantastical: Does Fantastical work on Windows?

Fantastical for Windows was released in October 2024, though it is resource-heavy compared to the macOS and iOS versions. The app is feature-complete but less polished than the Apple platform versions.

Source
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