Best Google Calendar Mac App

If that describes your feelings about the default Calendar app then, here are some alternatives for you to consider. Google Calendar. While there isn’t an actual desktop app for Google Calendar, this free browser-based calendar syncs up with the corresponding iOS and Android apps.

Keeping a calendar can change your life. A calendar will keep you from missing meetings and appointments, as well as make your life a lot less hectic. Plus, having all of your appointments on your calendar frees up your brain to work on more important tasks.

In our experience, digital calendars are far easier to manage than paper ones. Still, there are lots of calendar apps out there. Which one should you choose? In this article, we’ll help you decide.

Below, we’ve put together a list of the best calendar apps out there. Whether you’re looking for an app that gives you lots of control, or you just want a simple calendar that stays out of your way, there’s an app for you on this list.

Google Calendar

Overview: A dependable calendar app that integrates with most productivity apps.

Google Calendar is an excellent cross-platform calendar app. It’s the default calendar on Android phones, and it also works well on iPhones. It’s simple to create new events whether you’re on your phone or computer, and everything always stays synced no matter what time zone you’re in.

Plus, Google Calendar integrates with just about any other productivity app you can think of, so it will readily fit into your existing productivity system.

If you also use Gmail, then it gets even better, as Google Calendar can automatically create events based on emails you receive. This is a lifesaver when booking things like flights or concert tickets.

Price: Free

Platforms: Android, iOS, Web

Apple Calendar

Overview: A basic calendar app for Apple enthusiasts.

If you’re all in on Apple products, then Apple Calendar is an excellent choice. It keeps all of your events synced across your iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Mac, and whatever shiny device Apple will dream up next.

As far as calendar functionality, Apple Calendar offers all the features you’d expect, including a strong integration with Siri that allows you to add events with just a few words.

Price: Free

Platforms: iOS, Mac, Web

Outlook Calendar

Overview: A decent calendar app that’s likely the default at your office or school.

Love it or hate it, you’re probably familiar with Outlook Calendar. It’s more or less ubiquitous in large companies and institutions such as universities. In fact, this is the app’s main advantage: lots of people already have it and use it.

The app itself is certainly solid. You can create events and reminders, send meeting requests, and view multiple calendars at once.

There aren’t any additional “fancy” or otherwise noteworthy features, and that’s fine. If you just want a basic calendar for keeping track of your meetings and work events, Outlook Calendar is perfect for the job.

Price: $69.99/year as part of Office 365 Personal, though your employer or school probably provides free access.

Platforms: Android, iOS, Mac, Windows, Web

Woven

Overview: Flexible templates and built-in scheduling tools help you save time.

Moving beyond familiar calendar apps, we have Woven. The app markets itself towards “busy professionals,” and it has a lot of interesting features that you won’t find in basic calendar apps.

To start, Woven offers “Smart Templates” to help you save time when scheduling common types of events. For instance, if you regularly have lunch meetings at the same restaurant, you can create a template that includes the restaurant location.

Speaking of meetings, Woven also includes a built-in meeting scheduling tool. This can help eliminate the back and forth emails normally required to schedule a meeting. They even offer an integration with Zoom, allowing you to easily schedule and manage your Zoom meetings from within Woven. And they recently launched an iPad app as well.

Really, the only thing Woven lacks is an Android app, though the company reports that this is in development.

Price: Free

Platforms: iOS, Mac, Windows, Web

Best

Meetingbird

Overview: Schedule meetings without endless email exchanges.

Whether you’re a student or professional, scheduling meetings is the worst. You can spend weeks sending emails back and forth trying to find a time that works for both of you, to the point that you forget why you wanted to meet in the first place.

Meetingbird aims to solve this problem. The app syncs with Outlook Calendar and Google Calendar so that your availability for meetings is always up to date.

When you want to schedule a meeting, all you have to do is send a link with a list of times you’re available. The recipient then picks the time that works best for them, and the meeting they schedule is automatically synced to both of your calendars.

We also like that Meetingbird integrates with Zoom, our video call tool of choice, as well as Zapier, Slack, Trello, and more.

Price: Free

Platforms: Web

Fantastical 2

Overview: A multilingual Mac/iOS calendar app with one of the best Apple Watch apps we’ve seen.

If you’re an Apple user looking for an alternative to the default calendar apps on Mac/iOS, you should check out Fantastical 2.

The main strength of Fantastical 2 is its deep integration with the Apple ecosystem. Whether you’re on your Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple Watch, Fantastical 2 offers a beautiful, simple calendar that always stays synced.

The app has especially strong natural language processing, letting you quickly create events whether you’re at your desk or on the go. You can even do some more sophisticated things such as setting geofenced reminders (allowing you to get reminders only when you’re in a particular location).

Finally, Fantastical 2 also integrates with iCloud, Google Calendar, Outlook Calendar, and a variety of other apps. And the app is fully localized for English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Japanese, making it great for multilingual users or workplaces.

Price:

  • Mac: $49.99 (after a 21-day free trial)
  • iPhone/Apple Watch: $4.99
  • iPad: $9.99

Platforms: iOS, Mac

My Study Life

Overview: A calendar app built for the unique scheduling needs of students.

While most calendar apps target busy professionals, My Study Life is different. It’s a calendar app built specifically for students, and it has some features you won’t see in other calendar apps.

To start, My Study Life includes smart scheduling features to help you keep up with your classes and extracurricular activities. If your class schedule varies with the week, My Study Life can account for that, ensuring you don’t forget a class. There’s even a special section for scheduling your exams.

Plus, My Study Life syncs your schedule across devices and works offline. This means you’ll always be able to keep track of your classes and assignments no matter your location or internet access.

Price: Free

Platforms: Android, iOS, Web

Timepage

Overview: A beautiful calendar app with handy weather and travel information.

If you love the design of Moleskine notebooks and planners, then Timepage is the calendar app you’ve been waiting for. This iOS-only app is truly beautiful, featuring an elegant, uncluttered interface that you’d expect from Moleskine.

Beneath the aesthetics, however, Timepage is a powerful calendar app. It includes natural language processing to let you easily type in events, as well as a “heat-map” view that shows how busy your month is at a glance.

Best of all, Timepage integrates with a variety of other apps to show you weather alerts and travel times to events. This way, you’ll not only remember that you have to be somewhere, but you’ll also get there on time.

Price: $1.99/month or $11.99/year (after a 7-day free trial)

Platforms: iOS

Business Calendar 2

Overview: The best calendar app for customizing your calendar’s appearance.

I’ll admit, “Business Calendar 2” sounds like something straight out of Office Space (if they had calendar apps back then, that is). But while the name might be a bit weird, the app is anything but.

Business Calendar 2 is great if you want a lot of control over the way your calendar looks. In addition to the standard day, week, month, and year views, you can adjust the calendar view to show anywhere from 1 to 14 days. And you can quickly swipe between these views so you can always find what you’re looking for.

What really makes Business Calendar 2 shine, however, are its event scheduling features. You can easily drag events around on the calendar and quickly enter event details without excessive swiping.

Plus, the app’s natural language processing lets you enter events just by talking into your phone. The app will even learn your preferences over time, automatically suggesting common locations or attendees.

Price: Free (with ads). Upgrade to the Pro version for $6.99 to remove ads and get additional features such as file attachments and event templates.

Platforms: Android

Calendar Apps Help Keep Your Life Organized

I hope this guide has helped you find the best calendar app for your needs. Whether you stick with a popular calendar app such as Google Calendar or go with a less conventional pick such as Timepage, keeping a calendar is just one part of being productive.

To learn how to build a full productivity system, check out our free course:

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With a proper productivity system, nothing ever slips through the cracks. In just one hour, you'll learn how to set up your to-do list, calendar, note-taking system, file management, and more — the smart way.

Image Credits: Outlook Calendar, Woven, Timepage, paper calendar

Are you a Google Calendar Desktop Mac user? Do you want to use your google calendar on your mac desktop? Informant for macOS is a great way to accomplish that. We have answered a number of questions about setting up google calendar accounts with Informant for macOS. Here is a post that can help you with the best options.

(Download Informant for macOS)

Best Free Google Calendar App For Mac

Two options are presented here. It is important to note that you should not set up both of these options or you will end up with duplicate calendar entries.

Option 1:

Setup Your Google Calendar on your Mac
using Informant for macOS and Informant Sync Service

Step 1: Download & Install Informant for macOS

Step 2: Open Informant for macOS

Step 3: Setup Google Calendar Account within Informant

  1. Click Informant menu>>Add Sync Account…
  2. Click the “+” button on the bottom of the Account list
  3. Select Google Calendar
  4. Follow the setup Instructions in the app

Option 2:

Google Calendar Desktop App Mac

Setup Your Google Calendar on your Mac
using Native Data Option

Informant for macOS can access your native Apple Calendar data on your Mac. If you need to see your Google Calendar data in both Apple Calendar and in Informant (or if, for instance, you want to use Apple Data Detectors for calendar data but still manage your calendar data inside Informant), then you can set up your Apple Calendar to sync with Google and then you can manage your Apple Calendar data from within Informant.

Step 1: Download & Install Informant for macOS

Best Google Calendar Mac App Free

Step 2: Set up Apple Calendar to sync with your Google Calendar.

  1. On your Mac, click the Apple icon in top left corner and choose System Preferences
  2. Click the Internet Accounts option.
  3. On the left side of the Accounts tab, click Add or select Google
  4. Select Google Continue.
  5. To add your Google account information, follow the steps on the screen.
  6. On the Accounts tab, use “Refresh Calendars” to choose how often you want Apple Calendar and Google Calendar to sync.

Best Google Calendar App For Mac

Step 3: Open Informant

Step 4: Go to Preferences and make sure the option to “Include Calendar App Events” is checked

Best Calendar App

Likewise, you can set up Apple Calendar to sync to other services as well (like Exchange) and Informant can read/write that data as well.

Learn more about accessing Google Calendar on your mac desktop using Informant for macOS

Download Google Calendar For Mac

Don’t have a google account? Get a Free Google Calendar account here: