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Calendar & Time Management · head to head

Fantastical vs Paymo

Fantastical logo

Fantastical

Calendar & Time Management

The calendar app you'll love to use

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Paymo logo

Paymo

Project Management

Work & project management for teams

From
On request
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; Paymo every advertised price rises after 3 months, with Plus going from $10.90 to $15.90 per user and Pro from $16.90 to $23.90
  • They diverge on capability: Fantastical covers Natural language input, Paymo covers Task management.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Fantastical and Paymo actually diverge.

Attributes where Fantastical and Paymo differ
AttributeFantasticalPaymo
Starting priceFreeOn request
Pricing modelUnknownfreemium
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsmacOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, WindowsWeb, Ios, Android, Desktop
CategoryCalendar & Time ManagementProject Management
Founded20112008

Identical on both: 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
  • Google Calendar
  • Outlook
  • iCloud

Only in Paymo

  • Task management
  • Time tracking
  • Invoicing
  • Gantt charts
  • Resource scheduling
  • Slack
  • Google Workspace
  • Zapier

Both cover

  • Ios support

What people use each for

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

Fantastical

  • Schedulingnot Paymo
  • Appointment bookingnot Paymo
  • Time trackingnot Paymo
  • Resource managementnot Paymo
  • Team coordinationnot Paymo

Paymo

  • Project management with time tracking and invoicing for agenciesnot Fantastical
  • Tracking billable hours and project profitabilitynot Fantastical

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

Paymo

  • Every advertised price rises after 3 months, with Plus going from $10.90 to $15.90 per user and Pro from $16.90 to $23.90
  • The free plan allows 1 user, 1 client and 2 projects
  • The Solo plan is still capped at 3 clients and 5 projects
  • Gantt charts, task dependencies and scheduling require the Plus plan
  • Integrations are excluded from both the free and Solo plans

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

Paymo

On request
  • FreeFree
    • 1 user
    • Basic features
  • Starter$4.95/month
    • Time tracking
    • Kanban
    • Invoicing

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 Paymo if

  • You need task management.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Desktop.
  • You also want time tracking.
Paymo review

Questions people ask

Is Fantastical or Paymo better?
Neither clearly leads. Fantastical starts at Free and Paymo at On request, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Fantastical or Paymo?
Fantastical has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Fantastical and On request for Paymo.
Does Fantastical or Paymo run on more platforms?
Fantastical runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, Windows. Paymo runs on Web, Ios, Android, Desktop.
Can I use Fantastical for free?
Yes. Fantastical has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Paymo starts at On request.
What is Fantastical best used for?
Fantastical is most often used for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management. Of those, scheduling and appointment booking are not what Paymo is typically brought in for.
What can Fantastical do that Paymo cannot?
Fantastical covers Natural language input, Calendar sets, Weather integration, Scheduling. Paymo covers Task management, Time tracking, Invoicing, Gantt charts. Both handle 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
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
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
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
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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