The Ultimate Calendar App Guide

The most underrated productivity and time management hack? Use a calendar you love, feel comfortable with, and can trust to guide you daily. 

Sure, other strategies like eating the frog and using the Eisenhower Matrix to prioritize your task list are helpful, but at the root of these time management tips and routines lies your calendar — the one tool you need for time blocking, event management, schedule coordination, and everything in between. 

Hopefully, you already have a calendar (at work and for personal or family use), but you’re in the right place if you don't. We’ve rounded up some of the best calendar app options available in the market and who each calendar will benefit most. Note that all pricing information provided is from November 2024. 

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Why you need a great calendar app

Aside from the fact that a calendar app is the most critical thing you need to elevate your time management and productivity game, there are several benefits an excellent calendar app offers. Consider using a great calendar app because:

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Our brains weren’t made for (and aren’t always good at) holding this information

If you’ve ever actually tried to store all of your appointments, meetings, tasks, family commitments, errands, holidays, and anything else in your brain, you know it’s nearly impossible, overwhelming, and ineffective. In a blog post, Unmistakable Creative wrote, “Just imagine if you had to keep track of every item on your to-do list, appointment on your calendar, and idea you’ve ever had using nothing but your brain. It would be a shit show. You’d forget things, never get anything done, and be stressed out and anxiety-ridden.” A calendar app frees your brain so you can focus on high-impact work.

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They allow you to process your life visually 

One of my favorite parts about using calendar apps is that I can open my calendar at any given moment and quickly understand how many commitments I have today, this week, or this month. There’s something different about seeing your schedule versus running through it in your head. (This works even better if you color code your calendar for quicker at-a-glance looks!) 

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They make it easier to coordinate shared time with others

How else would you coordinate meetings and events with team members, family members, clients, and other humans if you didn’t use a calendar app? Via phone with a paper planner? Technically, you could do it that way, but you’d lose so much of your time scheduling, rescheduling, and attempting to figure out what’s happening in your life. 

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Best calendar app for teams: Clockwise

First, let’s discuss why Clockwise is the best calendar app for teams of varying sizes, especially busy teams with many internal meetings. Clockwise helps individuals, groups, and companies improve productivity and share their time wisely. With Clockwise, individuals can protect sacred Focus Time and enhance their work-life harmony. Teams and companies using Clockwise improve productivity, team communication, meeting coordination, and more.

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Key features: 

• Find time to meet where there is none with Prism, a first-of-its-kind intelligent calendar that lets anyone shortcut manual and complex scheduling. Type your request, let Prism work its magic, and be on your way! 
• Flexible meetings allow Clockwise to optimize the time of your events (great for events that aren’t super time-sensitive!) 
• The ability to automatically hold Focus Time for deep work
• Flexible Holds (for one attendee calendar events) for recurring routines and task management
• Scheduling Links that empower users to share their availability with others in just a few clicks 

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Platform:

• Works with Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook Calendar
• Chrome extension available  

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Pricing:

• Try Clockwise for free! The Teams plan starts at $6.75 per user per month, billed annually 

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Best for: 

• Organizations and teams of all sizes, especially those with heavy internal scheduling (Clockwise works best when your entire team and organization use it!) 

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Free calendar apps

Many free calendar apps, including Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook Calendar, and Apple Calendar, are available for more basic calendaring and organizational needs. 

Google Calendar

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Google Calendar is an excellent option for free, seamless individual and team scheduling without additional time management and productivity bells and whistles. In other words, if you need a place to jot down important tasks and schedule meetings with others, Google Calendar is an excellent option (especially if you already have a Google account). 

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Key features: 

• Create and view multiple calendars at the same time in the Google Calendar app (connected visualization across work, life, and other commitments) 
• Ability to add meeting rooms, locations, and virtual conferencing information (even better if you use Google Meet) to an event in just a couple of clicks 
• Appointment schedule functionality for creating a professional booking page and sharing availability with others 
• Different types of holds: events (meetings), focus time (individual deep work time), out-of-office (with notifications), tasks, appointment scheduling

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Platform:

• Web browser (Google Chrome, Microsoft Edge, Firefox, and Safari) 
• Mobile devices (iOS and Android - download in the app store) 

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Pricing:

• Free with a Google account 
• Google Workspace Business Starter (for access to more Google apps in addition to your calendar) starts at $6 per user per month, billed annually

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Best for: 

• Individuals in need of an easy-to-use online calendar and teams using Google Workspace 

Microsoft Outlook Calendar 

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If you’re a Microsoft > Google team, the Microsoft Outlook Calendar is probably your best choice. Adding events and sending invitations to others is super easy.

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Key features: 

• Seamless integration with Mail and contacts for an integrated experience
• Organize your calendar events with custom color categories for grouping related items 
• “My Day” pane in the new Outlook for a look at upcoming calendar events and tasks

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Platform:

• Web browser 
• Mobile devices  (iOS and Android - download in the app store) 
• macOS

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Pricing:

• Outlook.com is free
• Explore Microsoft 365 Personal ($69.99 per year, billed annually for one user) or Microsoft 365 Business Basic ($6 per user per month, billed annually) 

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Best for: Microsoft users or those with experience using Microsoft products previously 

Apple Calendar

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If you’re deep into the Apple ecosystem like me and use a Mac, iPhone, Apple Watch, or any other Apple device, Apple Calendar might be the way to go.  (And it’s a super simple calendar to use!) 

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Key features: 

• Integrates with other Apple apps like Apple Maps and Reminders for efficient workflows
• Cross-platform accessibility across Apple devices (great option for those immersed in the Apple ecosystem)
• Add travel time to an event to factor it into event alerts

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Platform:

• iOS, macOS, iPadOS, and watchOS
• Sign in to iCloud Calendar on the web

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Pricing:

• Free for Apple users

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Best for: 

• Apple users across all devices 

Best shareable calendar apps

If your primary goal is to have a calendar that you can easily share with others (like your family), consider OurCal or Cozi. 

OurCal

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OurCal helps groups and families stay connected and on top of each other’s schedules. This works well for calendar consolidation, so if you and your loved ones or friends use different calendar platforms, check this out. 

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Key features: 

• Share appointments, plans, important dates, and events with imports from Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook Calendar, and more (easy to share calendars even if you and your people use different platforms)
• Ability to comment on events 

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Platform:

• Mobile devices  (iOS and Android - download in the app store) 

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Pricing:

• Free for users 

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Best for: 

• Families, couples, friends, and groups coordinating calendars in one shareable, centralized place

Cozi

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Like OurCal, Cozi is a calendar organizer primarily geared toward family calendar syncing. 

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Key features: 

• A color-coded, shared calendar for a quick visual overview of family events and commitments 
• Add to-do lists, like a shared family list, honey-do list, or chore chart for kiddos 
• Store your shopping lists and recipes for easy access

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Platform:

• Mobile devices  (iOS and Android - download in the app store) 

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Pricing:

• Free for users 

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Best for: 

• Families 

Scheduling calendar apps

Finally, if scheduling is your top priority and use case for a calendar app, check out Acuity Scheduling and YouCanBookMe. 

Acuity Scheduling

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Scheduling client appointments and bookings seamlessly, all while controlling your availability with a tool like Acuity Scheduling. 

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Key features: 

• Multiple location appointment management 
• A customizable branded scheduling page to highlight services and real-time availability with the option to gather payment and intake information 
• Client self-scheduling (so you can get more time back in your day!)

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Platform:

• Add to any Squarespace website
• Mobile devices  (iOS and Android - download in the app store) 

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Pricing:

• The Emerging tier (for one calendar) is $16 per month, billed annually 

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Best for: 

• Service providers and business owners looking for a scheduling solution

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YouCanBookMe

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YouCanBookMe is another shareable scheduling calendar app for those serving customers worth considering. 

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Key features: 

• Customizable notifications for events, including confirmation emails and SMS reminders, calendar event appearance, and automated follow-up emails
• Fully customizable booking options that enable users to showcase their brand colors, logo, profile images, and more
• Team availability consolidation and sharing capabilities 

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Platform:

• Integrates with Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook Calendar, and Apple Calendar
• Chrome extension 

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Pricing:

• The Free plan with one calendar connection and one booking page
• The Professional plan starts at $11.70 per month, billed annually for six calendar connections and ten booking pages

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Best for: 

• Solopreneurs, service providers, teams, and small business owners in need of customer-focused scheduling

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Cheers to your calendar

With one or more calendar apps mentioned above, you’ll be more in control of your time at work, at home, and in all the spaces in between. While Clockwise works best for teams and organizations with a heavy internal meeting focus, keep in mind that we also make it easy to share your availability, sync your personal and work calendars in one place, and help you block time for your tasks. And you can try Clockwise for free, so why not try it? 

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