The 8 best calendar apps to get organized

Calendar apps make it easy to manage and organize your schedule, appointments, events, and tasks on the go. These alendar apps offer features like:

• Creating, editing, and deleting events

• Organizing event info like locations and invitees

• Automating event reminders and notifications

• Sharing calendars with others

• Syncing across multiple devices

Many online calendars also include scheduling tools that sync with your personal and professional calendars. You can share your availability with others and find a time to meet in just a few clicks — no back-and-forth emails required.

In this guide, you’ll learn how to choose the right calendar app to help you stay organized and productive. We’ll also walk through eight popular calendar apps — all of which offer free versions!

How to choose a calendar app

Do you need an easier way to schedule meetings and manage your availability? Is this app just for you, or are you looking for something your whole team can use? Or are you just looking for a simple way to see your schedule at a glance?

The best calendar app for someone trying to organize their personal schedule might be different from the top choice for a sales manager looking to make team scheduling easier.

There’s no one-size-fits-all solution — here are a few things to look out for as you consider your options.

Ease of use

The more intuitive the software, the sooner you’ll be able to take control of your busy schedule. Your calendar app should be simple to set up and navigate, so you (and everyone who schedules time with you!) have a great experience. For example, automatic time zone detection makes it easy to collaborate across locations without the hassle of mental math.

Calendar syncing

If you use an Apple calendar for your personal life, and an Outlook calendar at work, how do you avoid double booking? Look for a calendar app that syncs with multiple calendars, so meetings don’t get scheduled over personal obligations (or vacations!).

Flexible scheduling

Some calendar apps only work for scheduling internal meetings, while others are focused on a single use case, like project management or booking one-on-one appointments. If you need to schedule a variety of events with different combos of people, look for a calendar with flexible group scheduling, shared calendars, and multiple event types.

Mobile apps and browser extensions

Mobile apps and browser extensions make it extra simple to manage your schedule and stay connected wherever and whenever you need. Look for a scheduling tool that works across iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows devices.

Customization options

Your calendar app should give you more control over your schedule, not less. Can you customize your calendar, booking page, and event reminders? Some calendar apps built for teams also let admins set templates for calendar events and pre- and post-meeting communications.

Automations and integrations 

Does the tool send automatic event confirmations, reminders, and other notifications via SMS and email? What about follow-up communications? Different apps offer different levels of automation, from simple reminders to more advanced workflows.

Like automations, integrations with the other apps you use every day can help you keep info organized and get more done. For example, if you host meetings on Zoom, look for a calendar app that automatically adds Zoom meeting details to new events.

8 best calendar apps to manage your busy schedule 

1. Calendly

Platforms: Web, Android, and iOS

Calendly is a scheduling app that makes it easy to manage your schedule, share your availability, and find meeting times without all the back-and-forth emails or phone tag.

You connect your Google, Apple, or Outlook calendar(s), and Calendly shows your real-time availability, so invitees can instantly choose from available times. Automatically checking your connected calendars for availability means you never have to worry about double bookings.

For professional teams of all sizes, Calendly’s team scheduling features bring the right combination of people together at a time that works for everyone — whether you’re booking sales calls, internal team brainstorms, product demos, vendor and partner meetings, or all of the above. 

Calendly features

• Automatically block off holidays, avoid back-to-back and last-minute bookings, and set custom schedules

• Share your calendar by adding meeting availability to emails, LinkedIn messages, and more

• Use Calendly wherever you work with Chrome, Edge, Firefox, and LinkedIn extensions and mobile apps for iOS and Android

• Find the best time for one-off meetings with up to 40 people via Meeting Polls. Once everyone votes, you choose the best time, Calendly schedules the meeting for you and automatically sends calendar invites and meeting details to everyone who voted.

• Automate and customize messaging before and after events, including event reminders, thank-you emails, follow-up meeting requests, and more

• Integrate Calendly with the tools you use every day, including calendar apps, video conferencing, marketing tools and CRMs, payment processing, and Zapier workflow automaton

Calendly pricing

Calendly offers a forever-free plan that includes one connected calendar, unlimited event scheduling, and automated event notifications. Paid plans start at $10 per hour per month, billed annually. All users get a 14-day free trial of Calendly’s paid features.

2. Google Calendar

Platforms: Web, Android, and iOS

Google Calendar is the go-to calendar app for Gmail users and teams using Google Workspace. You can access Google Calendar via any internet browser or download a dedicated app for Android, iPhone, or iPad. Google Calendar also offers appointment scheduling features.

Google Calendar features

• See events from different calendars side-by-side, color-code your work and personal events, and view your schedule by hour, day, week, or month

• Automatically add new events from your Gmail inbox to your calendar

• Create group calendars to keep team members on the same page about upcoming events and recurring meetings

• See teammates’ availability side-by-side to find time slots that work for internal meetings

• Automatically add Google Meet or Zoom video conferencing details to virtual events

• Connect Google Calendar with other organization and communication tools, like Slack, ClickUp, and Asana

If you want to add some extra scheduling power to your Google Calendar, consider adding Calendly to the mix. Calendly makes it easier to share your Google Calendar availability, add open meeting times to Gmail messages, book multi-person meetings, and automate scheduling tasks.

(See how Google Calendar compares to Calendly.)

Google Calendar pricing

Basic Google Calendar features are available for free to anyone with a Google account. To access all of Google Calendar’s appointment scheduling options, your business needs a Google Workspace subscription. Plans start at $6 per user per month.

3. Apple Calendar

Platforms: macOS, iOS, and watchOS

Apple Calendar — sometimes called iCal — is the standard free calendar app on Apple devices. With iCloud, you can sync your calendar across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, so you can manage your schedule on the go.

Apple Calendar features

• Create and color-code calendars for work, personal, family, and more

• Automatically add events from emails and text messages to your calendar

• Connect Google, Outlook, or Yahoo calendars to see all of your events at a glance

• Invite attendees from your Contacts app

• Customize event reminders for set intervals and/or based on travel time

You can also connect your iCloud calendar to Calendly, so your scheduling link only shows times when your connected calendar(s) are open.

Apple Calendar pricing

Apple Calendar is available for free on iOS and Mac devices and iCloud.com.

4. Microsoft Outlook Calendar

Platforms: Web, Windows, Android, and iOS

Hundreds of thousands of individual users, businesses, and educational institutions use Microsoft Outlook email client and calendar as part of the Microsoft 365 (formerly Office 365) ecosystem. If you use a Windows computer for work or school, chances are you’re using Outlook.

Outlook Calendar features

• Create dedicated calendar folders for specific teams or projects

• Automatically add events from your Outlook email to your calendar

• Sync with Microsoft Teams channel calendars for team events and project deadlines

• Share calendars with people inside or outside your organization

• Set permissions for other users to edit your events and appointments

You can make scheduling via Outlook even easier with the Calendly Outlook add-In. Share available times and schedule meetings right from your inbox — no app-switching or jumping between tabs required.

Outlook Calendar pricing

If you don’t need any professional team scheduling features, you can sign up for a free personal email and calendar via Outlook.

Microsoft 365 for business starts at $6 per user per month, billed annually. All paid plans include a one-month free trial.

5. DigiCal

Platform: Android devices only

DigiCal is a free calendar app that helps Android users manage their schedules via a user-friendly interface. The app is only available via the Google Play Store, where it has over 10 million downloads.

DigiCal features

• Sync with Google Calendar, Outlook, and Exchange calendars, so you can see all of your events in one place

• Choose from seven customizable calendar views: agenda view, day view, week view, week agenda view, month view, text month view, and year view

• Personalize your home screen with six customizable widget views, including weather forecasts

• Automatically add events from your favorite sports teams or TV shows to your calendar

• Get automatic event notifications with shortcuts for snooze, maps, and navigation

DigiCal pricing

An ad-supported version of DigiCal is available for free on the Google Play Store. If you want to remove ads and access extra features, you can purchase the DigiCal+ app for $5.49.

6. Fantastical

Platforms: macOS, iOS, and watchOS

Fantastical is an easy-to-use scheduling and time management app for Apple users. The app syncs across Mac, iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch to keep your events, tasks, and meetings organized.

Fantastical features

• Integrate with popular calendar providers (Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, Outlook) and task management apps, so you can see everything on your agenda in one place

• Create event and task templates for quick scheduling

• Filter your calendar and task views — based on your time, location, or device’s Focus settings — to only show the most relevant items 

• Add widgets and weather forecasts to calendar views

• Automatically add online meeting links to your invites

Fantastical pricing

The free version of Fantastical includes basic features like calendar syncing, notifications, and home screen widgets. For more advanced features (including Apple Watch support), you’ll need to upgrade to one of these paid plans:

• For individuals: $4.75 per month, billed annually 

• For families of up to five people: $7.50 per month, billed annually

• For professional teams: $4.75 per user per month, billed annually

All paid plans come with a 14-day free trial.

7. Any.do

Platforms: Web, macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, watchOS, and Wear OS

Any.do is an organizational app that features a calendar, daily planner, to-do lists, and project management features. With over 40 million users, it’s one of the most popular to-do list apps for both personal and business use.

Any.do features

• See all of your events, tasks, and deadlines in one place by integrating Any.do with Google Calendar, iCloud, Outlook

• Add your calendar as a widget on your phone for an on-the-go look at your events and priorities

• Get smart suggestions for task prioritization in your daily planner

• Set one-time, recurring, or location-dependent task reminders — including the option to set reminders using voice commands via Siri.

• Collaborate with teammates in a shared workspace, featuring remote collaboration features like in-app chat, color-coded organization, mentions, and more

• Integrate with popular apps like Gmail, Slack, and Zapier

Any.do pricing

Any.do offers a free plan for individuals looking to get more organized. Premium plans start at $5 per month, billed annually. For businesses looking to collaborate via Any.do, the Teams plan costs $8 per member per month, billed annually.

8. ClickUp

Platforms: Web, macOS, Windows, Android, iOS, and watchOS

ClickUp is popular project management software that comes with calendar features that help teams stay on top of project timelines.

ClickUp features

• Organize projects and visualize deadlines with Calendar, Gantt, Workload, and Timeline calendar views

• Drag-and-drop tasks across a date range to instantly (re)schedule time for any task

• Build customized timesheets to see where your team’s time was spent

• Share a project calendar with teammates in just a few clicks, or easily get a URL to share public calendars

• Sync with iCloud calendar, Google Calendar, and Microsoft Outlook calendar to get a complete picture of your schedule

• Connect over 1,000 other work tools, including Calendly, Slack, and Loom

ClickUp’s calendar functionality gives you a timeline of projects, tasks, and due dates, but there’s no real-time scheduling feature. Good news: You can integrate ClickUp with Calendly for the best of both worlds! Plan, prepare for, and follow-up on meetings scheduled via Calendly alongside your ClickUp projects and tasks.

ClickUp pricing

ClickUp offers a free plan designed for personal use. Paid plans start at $7 per member per month, billed annually. All plans come with a 14-day free trial.

Take control of your calendar

Whether you're coordinating team meetings, scheduling client calls, or just trying to get organized, finding the right calendar app can be a game-changer. Take Calendly, for example: A study conducted by Forrester Consulting found that Calendly saved a composite organization more than 9,000 hours over three years.

That means less time spent on admin tasks and cross-referencing calendars, and more connecting and collaborating with the people who matter.