Productivity Consultant & Writer
Top 10 Scheduling and Calendar Apps for 2024
10 min read
Published: Jan 23, 2023
Revised on: Mar 1, 2024
- ClickUp
- Flexible and customizable features allow users to tailor ClickUp to their specific needs and workflows.
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface makes it easy to navigate and manage tasks and projects.
- Robust collaboration tools like comments, chat, and assign mentions facilitate team communication and coordination.
- Multiple task views like list, board, Gantt chart provide flexibility to organize tasks.
- Integration with common tools like Google Drive, Slack improves workflows.
- Calendar
- Easy to use interface and navigation
- Syncs well across devices and platforms
- Helpful reminders and notifications
- Analytics provide insights on time spent
- Integration with other tools like Zoom and Google
- Calendly
- Saves time by eliminating back-and-forth emails/calls for scheduling meetings. Allows people to easily book appointments by choosing from available time slots.
- Integrates smoothly with popular calendar platforms like Google Calendar and Outlook to sync schedules. Avoids double-booking issues.
- Customizable availability settings allow users to configure different time slots, durations, and parameters for each event type. Provides flexibility.
- Automated notifications and reminders reduce no-shows and keep everyone organized. Helpful feature.
- User-friendly interface makes the platform easy to use for both hosts and invitees. Very intuitive.
- SavvyCal
- Beautiful and easy to use interface for booking appointments
- Flexible and highly configurable for different use cases
- Fantastic customer support that is very responsive
- Ability to overlay personal calendar to see availability
- Personalized booking links
- Appointy
- Easy to use and intuitive interface
- Helpful and responsive customer support
- Integration with Google Calendar saves time and prevents double bookings
- Customizable features to match business needs
- Automated reminders reduce no-shows
Many business owners and busy professionals sometimes struggle with scheduling and time management. Checking in with appointments, going back and forth to confirm availability, and struggling to remember important tasks can be overwhelming.
The good news is, it does not have to be that way. With great scheduling and calendar apps, you can easily forget about the cumbersome process and simply show up at meetings. But which one is right for you? Whether you need an appointment calendar to help you be more productive at work or want to keep track of everything in your life, there’s one that fits your needs. This article outlines the 10 best scheduling and calendar apps for 2024.
How Does Scheduling Help Increase Productivity?
Scheduling helps increase productivity by enabling you to manage your time, set priorities, reduce procrastination, and work more efficiently. It provides structure, reduces stress, and ensures that you make the most of your available time and resources, ultimately leading to improved outcomes and goal achievement. Here are several ways in which scheduling helps boost productivity:
- Time Management
- Prioritization
- Reduced Procrastination
- Goal Achievement
- Time Blocking
- Stress Reduction
- Resource Optimization
- Accountability
- Better Time Estimation
- Flexibility
- Improved Work-Life Balance
- Long-Term Planning
How Do Scheduling Apps Integrate With Other Productivity Tools?
Scheduling apps often integrate with various productivity tools and services to streamline and enhance the user's workflow. These integrations help users access their scheduling information within the context of other applications and make it easier to manage their time and tasks. Integration options may vary depending on the scheduling app you're using and the services you need to connect. These integrations are designed to enhance your productivity by reducing manual data entry, streamlining communication, and providing a more comprehensive view of your schedule and tasks across various tools and services.
What Security and Privacy Features Should You Consider When Choosing a Calendar App?
Choosing a calendar app depends on your specific needs, and it's essential to balance features with security and privacy considerations. Choose apps from reputable developers with a track record of respecting user data and follows best practices in security such as these:
- End-to-End Encryption
- Data Storage Location
- Permissions and Access Control
- Authentication
- Regular Updates and Security Patches
- Data Synchronization
- Cross-Device Integration
- Backup and Data Recovery
- Location Services
- Open Source
- Third-party Integrations
- Data Export and Deletion
- Data Ownership
- Compliance
- Support and Customer Service
Top 10 Scheduling and Calendar Apps
Although it is a free productivity tool, ClickUp packs a huge punch. It allows users to schedule unlimited appointments and add even the simplest tasks to the calendar. It's great for setting day-to-day reminders.
Features:
- Intuitive and Customizable Interface: This makes it easy to use and gives users a seamless, personalized scheduling experience
- Different View Options: It’s interactive and you can access your schedule from different views such as lists, Gantt, calendar, sublists, and even teamwork
- Me Mode: This lets you declutter piled-up tasks and only see tasks that are assigned directly to you in the ClickUp Workspace
- Customizable Task Cards: You can personalize your task cards and choose how you want them to appear on a calendar view
- Up To 100 Native Integrations: You can choose from 100 native integrations
- Try a full demo here
What Customers Love About ClickUp:
- You can manage and customize your ClickUp based on your needs. Coming from management tools like Jira, that's a great advantage.
- ClickUp exposed me to the project management lifecycle and I love how it can be integrated with the platforms, such as Gmail or Slack.
- The biggest benefit of ClickUp is how it brings the features I need into one program/UI at a very reasonable cost.
Pros
- Flexible and customizable features allow users to tailor ClickUp to their specific needs and workflows.
- Intuitive and user-friendly interface makes it easy to navigate and manage tasks and projects.
- Robust collaboration tools like comments, chat, and assign mentions facilitate team communication and coordination.
- Multiple task views like list, board, Gantt chart provide flexibility to organize tasks.
- Integration with common tools like Google Drive, Slack improves workflows.
Cons
- Steep learning curve due to overwhelm from number of features and configuration options.
- Occasional bugs, glitches and performance issues hamper user experience.
- Mobile app lacks some functionality compared to web/desktop.
- Limitations of free version like number of tasks, features restricted.
- Difficulty finding specific help documentation among extensive support content.
Calendar
Calendar hosts every scheduling feature you can think about on an intuitive interface. It helps users create meetings and edit events with a few taps. The dashboard integrates seamlessly with Microsoft, Apple, and Google calendars.
Features:
- Analytical Tool: This feature helps you track what you and your team spend time on. This insight can help improve your team’s time management.
- Creates Time Slots: It lets you create customized online meeting and event templates. You can also customize your scheduling pages and select what time slots are displayed.
- AI-Powered: Calendar uses machine learning and AI to continually improve user experience and develop a unique scheduling experience tailored specifically to your needs.
- Multi-Person Scheduling: Multiple users can work together on Calendar simultaneously.
- Time Zone Recognition: Calendar can recognize different time zones and sync your schedule to facilitate seamless scheduling across time zones.
What Customers Love About Calendar:
- The most helpful feature of Calendar is notifications; it also syncs smoothly with other platforms. I use it with ClickUp and Google Calendar, so I never miss a thing
- We don’t double-book appointments and we don’t have issues with booking meetings with any of our clients. Calendar recognizes time zone differences and it’s been a joy to use for both us and the clients who book meetings with us.
- The ease of Calendar is what makes this piece of technology so useful. It's bright and easy to navigate, adding your information isn't an issue, and really, almost anyone can use and access it.
Pros
- Easy to use interface and navigation
- Syncs well across devices and platforms
- Helpful reminders and notifications
- Analytics provide insights on time spent
- Integration with other tools like Zoom and Google
Cons
- Mobile app still in development
- Some features like importing can be difficult
- Customization options are limited
- Recurring events don't always recur properly
- Not as well known or used as competitors like Google Calendar
Calendly
Calendly is targeted at helping teams schedule meetings easily without the back-and-forth emails.
Features:
- Buffer Time: This feature lets users include a break between meetings so they can rest and refresh before the next appointment
- Website Embedding: Calendly allows you to embed your booking page on your website. This way, your customers can enjoy a seamless scheduling experience
- Auto Time Zone Conversion: This feature shows a user’s availability to others in their local time zone
- Custom Fields: Calendly lets you include custom fields in your intake form. This helps you ask specific questions that can help you prepare better for your appointments and meetings
What Customers Love About Calendly:
- I love how easy it is to use Calendly and the convenience of ensuring everyone involved in an upcoming event has all the necessary information before the conversation.
- Calendly is most helpful with the ability to schedule calls throughout our team using the Round Robin filter. It is so easy to view details regarding the customer's questions also.
- I enjoy Calendly's integration with Google Workspace so that all my events are on one calendar.
Pros
- Saves time by eliminating back-and-forth emails/calls for scheduling meetings. Allows people to easily book appointments by choosing from available time slots.
- Integrates smoothly with popular calendar platforms like Google Calendar and Outlook to sync schedules. Avoids double-booking issues.
- Customizable availability settings allow users to configure different time slots, durations, and parameters for each event type. Provides flexibility.
- Automated notifications and reminders reduce no-shows and keep everyone organized. Helpful feature.
- User-friendly interface makes the platform easy to use for both hosts and invitees. Very intuitive.
Cons
- Limitations in free version like only 1 event type, lack of advanced customizations. May need paid plans.
- Occasional syncing errors between Calendly and calendars can lead to scheduling conflicts. Reliability issues.
- Steep pricing of paid plans for premium features like team scheduling and advanced integrations. Costly for some users.
- Lack of round-the-clock customer support. Inconvenient for users needing immediate assistance.
- Perception that sending Calendly link is impersonal for some prospects. Can be off-putting.
SavvyCal
This scheduling tool lets you manage your calendar and customize your list of time slots, automatically helping you find mutual availability. It syncs seamlessly with top calendars and scheduling workflow tools to boost time management and productivity.
Features:
- Manage Scheduling Limits: It lets users set limits for the number of meetings that can be booked daily, weekly, and even monthly. This helps manage your time and reduce burnout.
- Ranked Availability: You can present your preferred time and availability to help recipients select the best time for appointments and meetings.
- Prefill Recipient Info: SavvyCal saves the recipient‘s info and prefills it to foster convenient scheduling.
- Multi-Account Access: It allows multiple user access so you can have your assistant or scheduler manage your account.
What Customers Love About SavvyCal:
- SavvyCal feels infinitely configurable. I've had situations I would consider "edge cases," and there seems to be a setting or checkbox I can use to cater to my need.
- The interface is simple and efficient: it's easy to set up your availability and send out a link.
- SavvyCal manages to be friendly to people on both sides of the scheduling dance, with quite a few optional features that say to your recipient: "Hey. I respect and/or cherish you. Let's do this thing."
Pros
- Beautiful and easy to use interface for booking appointments
- Flexible and highly configurable for different use cases
- Fantastic customer support that is very responsive
- Ability to overlay personal calendar to see availability
- Personalized booking links
Cons
- Can be more expensive compared to some competitors
- No easy way to find time slots that work for 3+ people
- Initially having to manually add attendee emails
- Pricing seems high for some users
- No major flaws reported - most cons relate to minor gripes or desired features
Appointy
Appointy lets you schedule up to 100 appointments in a month. It has 4 different plans that offer a variety of essential and unique scheduling and task management services. It also allows over 1,000 Zapier integrations for more streamlined workflow automation.
Features:
- Payment Integrations: Appointy integrates with Point of Sale and Square Payments so users can receive payments immediately
- Auto Reminders: The paid plans let you receive automatic reminders
- Live Chat: Customer support comes in form of live chat and email support for troubleshooting issues in real-time
What Customers Love About Appointy:
- It's easy to use and takes out the hassle of the management of appointments. It's easy to integrate into many different calendars and it just works.
- Their support team is the best. They are fast, respond within 5 minutes, are helpful, and have all gone above and beyond in helping me navigate changes.
- The flexibility of their software and the willingness to adapt it from the top level.
Pros
- Easy to use and intuitive interface
- Helpful and responsive customer support
- Integration with Google Calendar saves time and prevents double bookings
- Customizable features to match business needs
- Automated reminders reduce no-shows
Cons
- Steep learning curve to understand all features
- Limited customization options for calendar design
- Occasional bugs and glitches
- Restrictions in free version like no recurring bookings
- Lack of native integrations with other software like CRMs
This flexible, easy-to-use tool is one of the most popular calendars and scheduling apps available. It lets you add and keep track of your events with its simple calendar interface.
Features:
- View Switch: It lets you switch from week view to day or month view.
- One Touch Video Conferencing Access: With just one click, you can easily invite contacts for a Google Meet video conference right from the calendar app.
- Team Collaboration: Google Calendar lets you share your entire calendar with your team; fostering collaboration and teamwork.
- Automated Workflow Creation: Google Calendar connects seamlessly with other productivity workflow apps like Todoist and Trello.
What Customers Love About Google Calendar:
- This is one of my favorite products from Google. I never felt so powerful with any other calendar app. It helps me manage tasks, set events, reminders, Out of Office everything.
- I first started using Google Calendar at the age of 12. Being 25 now it has made scheduling, remembering, and managing multiple schedules effortless.
- It's free, and it gets better and better. There's lots of clever functionalities included.
Pros
- Easy to use interface and intuitive design
- Integration with other Google products like Gmail, Drive, etc.
- Ability to share and collaborate on calendars with others
- Useful features like reminders, notifications, recurring events
- Availability across devices like mobile, tablet, desktop
Cons
- Privacy concerns around Google collecting user data
- Reliance on internet connectivity to function
- Limitations around customizing views and layouts
- Not seamlessly integrated with non-Google apps and calendars
- Some find the interface cluttered when multiple calendars are in use
This is one of the best calendar and scheduling apps for macOS and iOS devices. It also has an Apple Watch companion. It works great as a mobile app and on a desktop.
Features:
- Agenda View: The left panel of the interface displays an agenda view for easy access.
- Lock Screen Widgets: It integrates with your entire iOS system and displays lock screen widgets for easy viewing and calendar management. This lets you create events and appointments from other apps.
- Multi-App Syncing: Fantastical syncs seamlessly with Office 365, Google, Exchange, Yahoo, MeetUp, and tons of other apps.
What Customers Love About Fantastical:
- I like how easy it is to make recurring events and how it can decode plain English into a title, date, time, and location.
- My favorite feature is natural language processing for events. "Lunch with mom tomorrow at 1" perfectly translates into an appointment.
- It's incredibly easy to intuitively schedule a calendar invite. By simply typing into the invite bar, I can tell the app that I want an event to recur every Tuesday at a particular location and it will not only create an event with that name but will set it up as recurring and invite the proper people. Magic!
Pros
- Easy and intuitive to create events/appointments with natural language processing.
- Clean, visually appealing interface.
- Good integration with other calendar apps and services like Google, Outlook, iCloud.
- Useful features like weather forecast, travel time, calendar views.
- Ability to add reminders, attachments, and notes to events.
Cons
- Subscription pricing model can be expensive.
- Syncing issues between devices and platforms.
- Limited functionality in free version.
- Some bugs and reliability issues.
- Lack of cross-platform support on Android and Windows.
Setmore
With an easy-to-use interface, this powerful scheduling software lets you manage your calendar with just a few taps of the button. It allows for unlimited bookings and multiple account use.
Features:
- Free Staff Logins: This software allows up to 4 members of staff to log in and use it for free.
- Online Payments: You can receive online payments on Setmore.
- Intuitive Set-up Wizard: Setmore’s set-up wizard ensures that you don’t miss a step when using the software.
- Desktop App: This allows you to see your appointments even when you’re offline.
What Customers Love About Setmore:
- Easy to use and very well implemented with an Android and iOS cell phones. Also, there is enough settings in Setmore so you can adapt to your needs.
- Setmore is easy and very intuitive to work with. The support is the best I have come across - always very helpful and they are all for service.
- It's easy to set up and run and does everything I need. it's been my clinical diary for about four years now. Very rarely there is a glitch or issue, and the chat people are always very helpful and quick to respond.
Pros
- Easy to use and intuitive interface
- Automated appointment reminders via email and text
- Integration with other platforms like Google Calendar
- Customizable booking pages to match branding
- Excellent and responsive customer support
Cons
- Limited customization options in free version
- Syncing issues with Google Calendar
- Occasional bugs and glitches
- Expensive paid plans for small businesses
- Lack of features like client notes, gift cards, membership management
Doodle
Mostly used by freelancers, educators, recruiters, and nonprofit organizations, Doodle’s premium plans offer unlimited booking pages, diverse meeting styles, and robust Zapier integration.
Features:
- Custom Branding System: It allows you to customize your scheduling and appointment booking system to suit your brand.
- Calendar Sync: Easily synchronizes with Google Calendar (and any other calendar app you have) across devices.
- Free Trial Plan: It offers a 14-day free trial plan.
- Video Conferencing Integrations: Doodle integrates with top video conferencing platforms like Webex, Zoom, and Microsoft Teams.
- Multi-Person Scheduling: This software allows you to schedule appointments on behalf of someone. This feature is great for people who have assistants or schedulers.
- Analytics: It features activity reports and analytics that can help managers see who their top performers are.
- Multilingual Support: Doodle offers customer support services in different languages.
What Customers Love About Doodle:
- I love Doodle's simplicity. It is a great way to collaborate with my friends, which I use to get a sense of their availability.
- As a manager, Doodle simplifies my work. Initially, I use it for planning our weekly conferences.
- It's honestly foolproof. Super easy to use from an administrator and user!
Pros
- Easy to use and intuitive interface. Many reviews mentioned how simple Doodle is to use, even for non-technical users. The interface is straightforward.
- Saves time scheduling meetings/events. Doodle eliminates the back and forth emails and calls required to find a meeting time that works for everyone. It streamlines the process.
- Convenient calendar integration. Doodle can integrate with Google Calendar, Outlook, etc. to sync scheduled events and avoid conflicts.
- Flexible scheduling options. Doodle provides various options for scheduling like selecting specific dates/times, limiting responses, setting time zones.
- Accessible for participants. Doodle doesn't require participants to have an account. They can simply access via a link and provide availability.
Cons
- Limitations in free version. The free version has limited features and lots of ads. Premium provides more advanced options.
- Confusing interface at times. Some reviews mentioned the interface can be confusing with many options to scroll through.
- Lack of customization. Doodle offers limited ability to customize the look and feel with logos, branding etc.
- Dependent on participant response. Doodle relies on participants responding promptly to be effective.
- Not optimized for mobile. The mobile app and site aren't as functional as the desktop site as per some reviews. Navigation is tougher.
Zoho
This online scheduler helps streamline your appointment booking process by letting customers self-schedule and make payments for appointments. This solves the problem of being overbooked, helps curb delayed payments, and reduces that endless stream of emails we all hate.
Features:
- Free Essential Features: Unlike other scheduling and calendar apps, Zoho Booking offers all essential features in its free version. These include availability settings, customizable notifications, a list of services, and a booking page.
- Cancellation Window: This feature enables users to manage the time window during which people can cancel their appointments. This way, you can avoid last-minute cancellations.
- Last-Minute Booking Window: This helps reduce last-minute bookings by letting you manage the time window between your booking dates and appointment dates when people can’t book your services anymore.
- Time Off Status: Signifies when you’re on leave or vacation and are unavailable to take appointments and meetings.
What Customers Love About Zoho Bookings:
- Extraordinarily easy to set up for multiple users working at different times, even different time zones. Easy to tweak and customize for unexpected or planned schedule changes.
- Zoho booking software is great because it allows me to manage all our needs & provide personalized email replies, even with different templates for different events.
- It was fairly easy to set up. It has a clean appointment page that was just enough customizable to not make things complicated.
Pros
- Affordable pricing compared to competitors
- Easy to use and intuitive interface
- Lots of customization options
- Good integration between different products in the suite
- Helpful customer support
Cons
- Steep learning curve for some products
- Limitations in functionality compared to specialized tools
- Some bugs and glitches
- Slow performance at times
- Lack of native integrations with major third-party apps
Conclusion
There are a lot of ways to keep track of your schedule, whether you're organizing a business trip, monitoring a workload that's been heavy lately, or just looking to make sure you don't forget another anniversary. While there are other tools that do similar jobs, we believe that the above 10 apps are a great starting point for anyone attempting to organize their life.