These days, a paper diary doesn’t quite cut it. With busy schedules and every hour accounted for, the future of organization is electronic.
Some of us stumble upon inbuilt calendars on our phones and devices, while others continue to rely on handwritten notes. But, seeking out a specific calendar application could change the way you manage your day to day life, appointments, and work events.
Most online or free calendars fulfill a specific niche — giving you the basics without too many bells and whistles.
That said, many business owners or managers may want those bells and whistles. They’ll want automation, integrations, and task management. They’ll want shareable calendars that can be viewed by a whole team.
Either way, if you are looking for calendars that work, you’ve come to the right place.
In the following article, we’ll give you a rundown of the most common options.
We’ll also give you an introduction to monday.com, a Work OS which is so much more than the average calendar app. This is the only project management solution your business will ever need, and it comes with a sweet suite (see what we did there?) of calendar tools.
What makes a great calendar app?
Choosing the right product from the start will help you avoid the hassle of switching later on.
If you really want to get your work and personal life in order — let alone the schedules of a team of people — there are a few features on our must-have list…
- Hourly, daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly views
- Reminders and notifications
- Integrations with scheduling and meeting tools
- Email syncing
- Categorization
By that last one, we mean that you should be able to categorize events with color-coding. For example, red for family, blue for work, and green for health appointments.
Something like this:
Remember, if you are using your calendar specifically for business purposes, you may prefer a team management platform with extra functionality. But we’ll get to monday.com in a minute.
What is the best calendar app?
You only need to do a quick internet search to be bombarded with online calendar options. However, there are a few key players in the industry and most of them have been around long enough to have gained a following.
While monday.com is the bee’s knees, we’ll get to that in a moment. First, we will dissect 5 other calendars that work.
Here are a few leading 5 calendar apps
#1. Google Calendar
Google has a finger in every pie, and you probably won’t be surprised to learn that their calendar is on this list.
The mini organizer has been around since 2006, with 1,000,000,000+ installs from the Playstore. The Google Calendar reminds users of important events and meetings, with the freedom to edit, and share as required.
There are different views to choose from including daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.
Gmail users can sync their calendar and email, and there is the option to add events via SMS. Google Calendar is accessible on Android, web, and iOS platforms.
What are the key features of Google Calendar?
- Scheduling of meetings and events
- Reminders and notifications
- Team sharing
- Attachments
- Customizable color-coding
- Voice control
Who would use Google Calendar?
Google Calendar is a tool designed for individuals, teams, and businesses.
While it works well for Gmail users, Big G doesn’t like to put all their eggs in one basket. This means your calendars can be shared with Gmail-free users, on any device.
The best news of all is that Google Calendar integrates seamlessly with monday.com. With the support of the powerful project management solution, collaboration and scheduling have never been easier.
#2. Apple Calendar
If Google has one, chances are Apple has one too. The tech company best known for iPhones, Macbooks, and sleek white boxes, does indeed have a calendar.
This calendar is designed for personal use and is made specifically for Apple enthusiasts. The app launched in 2002 and was known as iCal until 2012. Now called “Calendar,” the tool is for tracking events and managing other commitments.
You get a range of calendar views, and there are limited sharing options. This helps to keep you connected to those with matching, or conflicting appointments.
Surprisingly, in this scenario, Google and Apple are firm friends. The calendars can sync up, which is ideal for folks who aren’t committed to just one brand.
Calendar is available on macOS, iOs, and the Apple Watch.
What are the key features of the Apple Calendar?
- Color-coded calendars
- Ability to invite external users
- Map and weather views
- Compatibility with the cloud
- Notifications and reminders
- Syncing across different devices
Who would use Apple Calendar?
If you own a device with a bitten apple on the back, then Calendar will probably be preinstalled. Apple users use it because it is convenient, and they stick with it because it does the job.
Calendar is for organizing the home, family, and work-life. But if you want a heavy-duty solution for your organization, this isn’t going to be it.
But, never fear. monday.com is here. Just like the Google Calendar, this one also integrates seamlessly with monday.com.
#3. Outlook Calendar
Outlook is Microsoft’s trademark email management platform, and if Google and Apple have something, Microsoft did it first (and in gray).
Outlook Calendar has two varieties. There is a free version available online as part of the Office 365 web application. If you have an outlook.com email address then this one is for you.
Alternatively, the calendar is included with the subscription-based Microsoft Outlook email platform, this is a solution that complements Word and Excel.
Outlook’s little number is for managing appointments and meetings. Views include today, day, work week, week, and month. You can open shared calendars, and change user permissions.
What are the key features of Outlook Calendar?
- Shared calendars
- Weather forecast
- Address book
- Color-coded categories
- Overlay, time scale, grid, and list views
- Importing and exporting
Who would use Outlook Calendar?
You aren’t going to use this calendar unless you’re an Outlook user.
This is a product you might get automatically, but are unlikely to still be using. You do have to seek it out, even if you have Outlook installed it doesn’t stare you in the face.
And, you guessed it! Outlook Calendar integrates seamlessly with monday.com.
#4. Fantastical
Fantastical is a bit of a wildcard because it doesn’t come preloaded with any other software. It’s owned by parent company Flexibits, which is based in California.
It comes with an average rating of 3.9 in the app store, and the “free” is only for 14 days, after which you need to upgrade to a premium version. This mobile calendar app has the usual views, including day, week, month, and year.
It caters to different time zones, and you can set appointments and reminders with a few keystrokes.
There is some compatibility with Google Hangouts and Meets, as well as Zoom.
Fantastical is available in multiple languages and can be downloaded to Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch.
What are the key features of Fantastical?
- Event lists
- Event templates
- Sync calendars on multiple devices
- Weather forecast
- Add attachments
- Notifications and alarms
Who would use Fantastical?
Fantastical is for users who want a calendar that isn’t directly affiliated with Microsoft, Apple, or Google. Right now, it is only available on Mac and iOS.
It is a bit fancier than the others on our list but it does lack a monday.com integration. At the end of the day… it’s night, and this is just another base calendar.
#5. Calendar.com
We don’t want to confuse you, but we have another app on this list that goes by “Calendar.” For the sake of clarity, we will refer to this one as calendar.com.
Calendar.com is for individuals and small teams. It is for those who get out and about and fill their days with meetings and appointments. You aren’t limited to an hour by hour schedule, as you can set timeframes at shorter intervals.
It has been in action for over 10 years, and can now sync across mobile devices. There is color coding for different categories, for example, gym sessions could be red, and work activities could be green.
Calendar.com is in the Apple Store and Google Play Store.
What are the key features of Calendar.com?
- Adaptable with AI
- Team meeting scheduling
- Color-coded appointments
- Syncing on multiple devices
- Quick event add
Who would use Calendar.com?
Calendar.com is for Apple and Android users.
You can connect it to your Google or Outlook calendars. But, we do ponder the question, “why would you download Calendar.com if you already have access to a preinstalled alternative?”
If it is because you want a business solution for managing teams and tasks, we would steer you in the direction of monday.com instead.
What about a group calendar that can be shared?
We live in a connected world, and the cloud has given us the power to share, share, share!
Whether you want to share a calendar with your family to maximize your home organization, or are working in a team from different locations and devices, a shareable calendar is vital to making it all come together.
So what is the best calendar that can be shared?
All of the options on our list can potentially fill this need. Keep in mind, though, these calendars are basic. They will store your events and appointments, and give you reminders when they are due.
If you want a calendar that can manage a workforce, with calendar and timeline views — which show dependencies — and task management options, then monday.com is for you. Everything you get with these other options is included, and a lot more.
What is monday.com all about?
monday.com is a Work OS suitable for anyone looking to manage teams, tasks, and projects.
It is also a calendar that works.
Regardless of whether you are a freelancer or a large enterprise, our calendar and management platform will change the way you schedule, plan, and execute workflows.Simple to use with customizable templates, multiple views, and advanced collaboration opportunities, you can easily assign tasks and track their progress.
You’ll be able to see your calendar — a clear schedule of what needs to be accomplished and when (for you and your entire team, if you like) — as well as a snapshot of those tasks in a spreadsheet view. At the same time:
We also have 7 customizable calendar templates ready to go, with more coming out every week.
- Social media calendar template
- Content calendar template
- Marketing calendar template
- Editorial calendar template
Can you use an online calendar tool with monday.com?
If you are already using that little calendar application that came with your Apple or Android device, you can still use monday.com.
Choosing monday.com as your project management software allows you to have your cake and eat it too. Sure, keep your calendar if you want to, but amp it up with the backing of a powerful business solution.
monday.com comes with hundreds of integrations. These are boosters you can use to enhance your experience and customize the way you manage your projects.
While monday.com comes with intelligent calendar capabilities, you can add other goodies like Google Drive, video chat, email, communication and intranet apps, and marketing and CRM tools.
Let’s wrap this up
Most calendars are basic scheduling tools and your options depend on your operating system. 5 of the apps on our list are similar to paper diaries, but in a virtual format.
Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, Calendar.com, Fantastical, and Outlook Calendar sit in the background until you need them. But, unlike monday.com, they aren’t going to allow you to have your cake and eat it too.
You’ll get a calendar, but you won’t get the tools that make a calendar truly impactful — the shareability, automation, task assignment, visualized dependencies, and all the rest.
monday.com is an advanced project management solution with all the calendar features you will ever need.
Want to learn more? Sign up to monday.com.