Stay on top of your schedule and tasks with these great calendar apps
- feb
- 23
Managing your schedule has never been easier, thanks to these great apps.
Let's face it — life is hectic, and managing your schedule can be quite a chore in itself. While your favorite iPhone already has a built-in Calendar app, sometimes it just isn't enough. Thankfully, the App Store is filled with plenty of the best calendar apps for iPhone from third-party developers. If you're looking for something that can do more than Apple's default app, then check out some of our current favorites right here!
Fantastical
Fantastical is one of my most-used apps daily. Simply put, I love the user interface of Fantastical the most out of all of the calendar apps that I've tried, and I've tried many! The UI is fast and fluid and packs in a lot of information in a single glance. And there is both a Light and Dark mode to match whatever you're using system-wide on your best iPhone.
With Fantastical, it can pull your calendars natively from the iOS calendar, or you can add them manually from iCloud, Google, Microsoft, Yahoo, Zoom, and other CalDAV services. Once you have all of your calendars in Fantastical, you can view them all at once or even toggle just the ones you need to see. In addition, adding events in Fantastical is super easy because it uses natural language input to automatically fill out all relevant fields for an event, including location. And for those who like to use iOS Reminders, Fantastical integrates seamlessly with those, too, so you can see your schedule and reminders in a single place.
While Fantastical is free to download on your iPhone, you'll only get the basic feature set, which includes the DayTicker and monthly views, as well as a three-day weather forecast. However, those who previously had Fantastical 2 should have access to some premium features, with the rest locked behind Flexibits Premium. A Flexibits Premium subscription gives you full access to all features in Fantastical (as well as Flexibits' other app, Cardhop), including unlimited calendar sets, 10-day weather forecast, full task support with Reminders and Todoist, collaboration features like scheduling and conference call detection, and more.
Most of our staff at iMore have been using Fantastical for years across our iPhones, iPads, and Macs to manage our meetings and other work events. It's one of our favorite must-have apps for anyone who wants a better way to manage their calendars.
Fantastical
A beautiful calendar app that makes your schedule more efficient.
Calendars 5 from Readdle
If you aren't a fan of Fantastical's subscription feature, you may want to look into Calendars 5 from Readdle. This is a one-time purchase, so you pay once and can access all of the features without needing to pay every year. And Calendars 5 is one of the most powerful calendar apps out there, though it may not be as "pretty" as Fantastical.
With Readdle's Calendars 5, you're getting a smart calendar app that can handle both your tasks and schedule with ease. The interface of Calendars 5 is focused on events first, so you get a complete overview of what your day, week, or even month are going to look like. There's also a list view of your events if that works better for you. The built-in task manager doesn't just sync with Reminders, but it acts like its own full-on task manager, similar to something like Things. Calendars 5 also uses natural language input for easy event and task creation, supports multiple online accounts (and even pulls from the native iOS calendar accounts you have), has video call integration, and so much more.
Not sure if Calendars 5 is for you? There is a free version simply called Calendars that you can also download with limited features. You can purchase just the features you need in this version, which may be cheaper than buying Calendars 5 upfront. But keep in mind that any in-app purchases made in the free version of Calendars won't work with others if you're using Family Sharing — if you want to share the app and all features with others, you'll need to do so with Calendars 5.
Calendars 5 by Readdle
Calendars 5 is a powerful calendar and task management app in one.
Informant 5 Calendar
Want a calendar, reminder, and project manager app all-in-one? Then Informant 5 Calendar is a good option to consider. Think of it as your digital planner in your pocket.
With Informant 5 Calendar, you can set up your current calendar accounts or set up a paid Informant Sync account. Once that is good-to-go, you'll be able to use both your local and iOS calendars at the same time with online syncing services. In addition, your tasks and events will be together in a single view, and projects include tasks, subtasks, and even checklists. And if you tend to create frequently used appointments and tasks, Informant has a template option that can trigger automatically when you type in an event or task name, saving you the trouble of going through the same thing every time. These are just a few of some of the more popular features in Informant 5 Calendar.
With recent updates, Informant has become even better. There is now the ability to create new tasks in Informant with Siri, a new weather feed, improved time selector with button pad input, and email-to-task.
Like many other apps nowadays, Informant 5 Calendar is free to download and use, with limited features: essential calendaring, no tasks or projects, no contacts, and no Connect bundle. However, if you subscribe to Premium, you'll get access to all features, including full calendaring with tasks and contacts, Connect bundle (email, sync, and weather), and more.
Informant is the way to go if you need a complete all-in-one solution for your schedule, tasks, and project management.
Informant 5 Calendar
Manage your schedule, tasks, and even projects with this powerful digital planner.
Google Calendar
Those who prefer to use Google Calendar over iCloud calendars definitely want to grab the free Google Calendar app. With Google Calendar, you'll automatically log in to all of your Google accounts, and you'll be able to see all of your calendars in one place.
The Google Calendar app has an interface that feels like the web version you may be familiar with. You can view your calendar in month, week, and day views with ease. All of your events from Gmail can be found right in Google Calendar, no extra work required! Creating new events brings up smart suggestions as you type for event titles, places, and people, saving you valuable time. And if you prefer to use Google for your tasks, too, then you can manage those right in the Google Calendar app as well. The Google Calendar app even syncs with Apple Health, so you can see and track workouts and mark your Goals as done without ever leaving the app.
Google Calendar
Manage your Google Calendar with ease with this feature-packed app.
Timepage by Moleskine Studio
For those who love an elegant and unique interface, then Timepage by Moleskine Studio will be right up your alley. If you've ever used a Moleskine notebook, then you'll definitely appreciate the design of this app and how it makes scheduling smoother than ever.
With Timepage's uncluttered interface, you can see your entire week at a glance and even scroll into the future. A week view can be between five to 10 days, and the heat map feature lets you easily see when you're going to be busy and when you're free. Adding events is easy thanks to the natural language input. Timepage also has animated weather forecasts, so you know how to plan for the day ahead. And if you have to be somewhere, Timepage gives you travel time estimates for every transportation method you may use. You can also personalize your Timepage with authentic Moleskine theme colors.
While Timepage is free to download and try, you'll need a paid membership to get the most out of it. If your membership expires, your data isn't deleted from the app, but it will just be in read-only mode, and you won't get weather features. But all calendar data will remain in sync with your provider's account. Membership starts at $1.99 a month, which isn't bad. For those who like the aesthetic that Timepage offers, it's worth the cost.
Timepage by Moleskine Studio
View your calendar in a gorgeous new way with Timepage.
BusyCal
BusyCal is definitely one of the calendar apps for power users. With BusyCal, you get an amazing set of powerful features while still retaining a ton of flexibility.
You can sync BusyCal up with any of your calendars from CalDAV providers, such as Google Calendars, Exchange, Office 365, iCloud, and more. There are multiple calendar views, and you can pinch to zoom in and out as needed to view your entire schedule. It's also completely customizable — change calendar colors, weather, moons, birthdays, anniversaries, event times, week numbers, and so much more. BusyCal works with you, not the other way around. And when you add events, you can choose to do it manually or use natural language input. BusyCal also has built-in meeting scheduling features, time zones, tags, to-dos, maps, and more.
It's the perfect companion for busy folks, and it is a one-time purchase as well. If you have BusyCal on your best Mac, then BusyCal is a no-brainer.
BusyCal: Calendar & Todos
BusyCal works with you, not against you, when it comes to your calendaring needs.
Want to stick with Apple's calendar?
While the iMore team does love all these calendar apps, the Calendar app on your iPhone is an option for anyone who wants to stick with Apple. You can plan events; it integrates with Siri and automatically syncs your schedule across all your devices linked to your Apple ID.