![best calendar app best calendar app](https://cdn.thecollegeinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/TheCollegeInvestor_AllSizes_Best_Calendar_Apps_1200x628.jpg)
Time is the most precious resource for students. There are classes you must attend, assignments you must submit, extracurricular activities you must participate in, and a social life you must maintain.
But how on earth do you keep track of them all? A calendar app can help with that.
Just like investment apps can help you save money, calendar apps are a great way to organize your life, save time, and reduce stress. Manage your schedule and keep everything on track with just a few taps.
This article covers some popular calendar apps to help you find one that fits your needs. We’ll also take a closer look at lesser-known calendar apps and offer recommendations.
apple calendar
![apple calendar Best Calendar App: Apple Calendar](https://cdn.thecollegeinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Apple-Calendar.png)
apple calendar You can find it on all your Apple devices. While this is a solid option, it lacks advanced scheduling and customization options.
Strong Points
- Integrate with emails, links, text messages, and more.
- Cross-sync and automatic calendar suggestions
- convenient and simple
- I can’t see my calendar at a glance
- Limited customization options
For basic scheduling needs, Apple Calendar works well. Best of all, you can add calendar events from emails and text messages, saving you the time and effort of manually entering events.
Like most Apple products, it’s clean, fast, and works great. Other than that, there isn’t much to say about it. The big downside is that you can’t see your schedule at a glance, especially on the iPhone. Having to select individual days to see what events are listed is annoying to say the least.
Overall, this calendar is a good choice if you want basic schedule management, or a free option with useful text and email integrations.
Google Calendar
![Google calendar logo Best Calendar App: Google Calendar Logo](https://cdn.thecollegeinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Google-Calendar.png)
Google’s free online calendar Integrates with other Google Suite tools to provide collaboration capabilities.
Strong Points
- OS independent calendar sharing (iPhone and Android)
- Color-coded scheduling options
- Ability to add repeating events
- Appointment alerts and reminders
- Mobile app has limited user interface (no image uploads)
- Doesn’t work well with non-Google apps like MS Outlook
- Having multiple calendars can clutter the view
Google Calendar is exactly what you’d expect from a tech giant, a powerful free application that works with other Google Workspace apps like Gmail.
The schedule view is especially useful for seeing what you have planned for the day. A busy student can work on her one assignment at a time that fits her schedule. This is especially useful during exam season.
You can even create tasks and reminders to put money into savings, remember to pay your student loan or pay your cell phone bill. The collaboration feature also allows you to share your calendar via a link, making it easy to stay in sync with others.
Unfortunately, the Google Calendar mobile app has a limited user interface (UI). You can’t upload photos or other files to Calendar, which is inconvenient if you’re looking for an all-in-one schedule planner.
Too many calendars can clutter the display when zoomed out. Combined with the lack of color customization options and themes, it can be difficult to see what’s going on at a glance.
Overall, Google Calendar’s sharing features and Google Suite integration make it a great choice for basic calendar needs. However, if you want a more granular scheduling tool, you can also consider other options.
Microsoft Outlook Calendar
![Microsoft Outlook calendar logo Best Calendar App: Microsoft Outlook Calendar Logo](https://cdn.thecollegeinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Microsoft-Outlook-Calendar-Logo.png)
In order not to lose to Apple and Google, Microsoft’s Outlook Calendar is a simple and powerful scheduling tool with a focus on integration and connectivity.
Strong Points
- Integration with MS Office tools
- Powerful scheduling function
- cross-platform compatibility
- Lack of integration with third-party apps such as Google Suite
- Complex UI with steep learning curve
Part of the Microsoft Office suite, Outlook Calendar seamlessly integrates with other tools such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to easily schedule appointments, meetings, and tasks.
The Outlook calendar also comes with a variety of scheduling features, such as recurring appointments, meeting invitations, and the ability to view multiple calendars side by side, making it a powerful scheduling tool.
Calendar is available on multiple platforms including Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android, so you can access and edit your schedule from any device.
That said, its complex UI (especially on mobile) can be intimidating and its inability to integrate or work with Google Calendar or other non-Microsoft services limits its usefulness.
my research life
![my research life logo Best Calendar App: My Study Life Logo](https://cdn.thecollegeinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/My-Study-Life-Logo.jpeg)
my research life is a powerful tool designed specifically for students, a calendar and planning app all in one.
Strong Points
- class reminder
- no ads
- cross-platform compatibility
- Simple and clean user interface”
- Easy to navigate
- Lack of social interaction and sharing
With My Study Life, you can schedule your classes, set reminders for important exam deadlines, and create task lists – all for free.
Cross-platform compatibility allows you to enter your schedule from your computer and check it later on your mobile phone. A simple and clean UI makes time management even more fun.
A major drawback is the lack of collaboration. No easy way to share your schedule, no integrations with popular platforms like Google Drive or Slack.
That said, if you’re a solo planner or just looking for a calendar app to organize your personal classes and schedules, My Study Life is a solid choice for students.
time tree
![time tree logo Best Calendar App: timetree logo](https://cdn.thecollegeinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/TimeTree-Logo.png)
Designed with collaboration and simplicity in mind, time tree Aims to please modern socialites.
Strong Points
- Schedule a shared calendar
- automatic time zone adjustment
- Ability to create and manage multiple calendars
- Attach comments and videos under calendar events
- Live notification of added events
- Hard to use on PCs and tablets, but hard to use
- No email integration for scheduling.Events must be entered manually
TimeTree is a personal favorite for its collaborative nature. Create multiple shared calendars so you can easily sync your schedule with family, friends, colleagues, and more.
Developed with global collaboration in mind, one of the interesting features of TimeTree is the automatic synchronization of events to the user’s timezone. This is especially useful in modern virtual environments where time differences can be confusing.
TimeTree also provides options to attach comments and videos under calendar events, making collaborating with up to 100 users on a shared calendar easy and fun. With live notifications and color coding, you’ll always be up to date with what your family and friends are adding to their calendars and your important events.
However, TimeTree is not without its drawbacks.
The app is primarily designed for mobile devices, with limited support for tablets. Desktop view works, but it’s not intuitive. Integration with other apps is also limited. You can easily import events from Apple Calendar, but there’s no one-tap suggestions for adding events from email or text messages.
All in all, TimeTree is a unique tool that offers great collaboration capabilities for students with busy social lives who need to plan around other people’s schedules.
Fantastic
![fantastic logo Best Calendar Apps: Fantastic Logos](https://cdn.thecollegeinvestor.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/Fantastical-Logo.jpg)
Fantastic is an intuitive and powerful calendar app with amazing features.
Strong Points
- Very sleek design and user interface
- Attach files and photos through iCloud and Google integration
- Templates for creating events quickly
- Seamless sync across all Apple devices including Apple Watch
- Widget compatible for easier viewing
- Paid app; free version is very limited
- Only available on Apple devices
Fantastical’s award-winning design looks great on all Apple devices, including the Apple Watch. Using natural language processing, you can quickly type out basic schedule notes (e.g., “I’m going grocery shopping at 4:00”) and Fantastical will create that note in his calendar entry.
The ‘Focus Filter’ feature allows you to categorize your tasks by personal, school, work-related, etc., making scheduling easier. This is especially useful when you have a lot of promises.
This convenience comes with a price tag of $4.99/month or $39.99/year, but it might not be worth it for those who don’t plan on using the extra features. For example, implementing a weather forecast may be an unnecessary addition for some.
Overall, if you love convenient scheduling tools and are an Apple user on a budget, Fantastical is definitely worth a look.
Which calendar app is best?
So, which calendar app is best for the time-pressed student? All the apps mentioned above come with a lot of features, and in the end, pick the features that make sense to you.
For example, if you have a Gmail account and use several other Google products, Google Calendar may be your best option. However, if you want to use your calendar to collaborate with other students or colleagues, it’s worth trying an app like TimeTree.
Remember, time is your most precious resource, and a good calendar app is the key to maximizing its potential. Whether you prioritize a sleek interface, social collaboration, or strong integrations, we can confidently say that we have something to meet your needs.
With a little effort, you’ll be able to manage your schedule and meet deadlines.
Have a nice schedule!