The Best Free Online Calendars 2024: Google Calendar, Outlook & More

Time management isn’t just about writing down what you do when. It’s about optimizing workflow, syncing with your team, coordinating meetings and events, and keeping track of things. In essence, optimizing time management is getting the most out of 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

No wonder everyone is using calendar apps. They’re hands-down the most important time-management tools, instantly bringing results. A well-chosen calendar is a no-brainer for both professional and personal lives.

Today, we present you with five hand-selected and simply best calendar apps that are free of charge. We analyzed their main features, pricing, pros, and cons to give you a clear view of what you get from every app.

Welcome to our roundup of the best free calendars for 2024. Roll up your sleeves, and let’s get to it.

The best free calendar apps in 2024

1. Google Calendar is the best free calendar app for team scheduling

2. Microsoft Outlook Calendar is the best for professional use, and Microsoft users

3. Apple Calendar is the best as a free tool for existing Apple users

4. Calendar is the best solution for team-focused minimal scheduling

5. Zoho Calendar is the best business-focused calendar

6. lemcal is the best for converting more meetings and reducing no-shows

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The Breakdown: 6 Best Free Calendars to use in 2024

1. Google Calendar

‍(Android, iOS, Web)

Google Calendar is a robust and user-friendly scheduling tool that is available for free to anyone with a Google account. It offers seamless integration with various calendar services and other Google tools. Moreover, Google Calendar's integrations extend to AI-powered features. Users praise Google Calendar for flexibility, shared calendar capabilities, and compatibility with mobile apps and third-party apps. Google Calendar offers appointment slots and locations that are great for remote and hybrid workplaces. Overall, Google Calendar is well-recognized and widely used because it genuinely streamlines scheduling for both teams and individuals.

Pricing

• Free with a Google account
• ‍Business Starter for Google Workspace: from $6/user/month + 1 year commitment

Google Calendar: Pros

• Free and Accessible: Available at no cost to anyone with a Google account.
• Extensive Integrations: It seamlessly integrates with a wide range of calendar services and Google tools, like Gmail, enhancing productivity.
• User-Friendly Interface: Simple to use, with an easy learning curve for adding events and switching views.
• Flexible and Customizable: Offers options to share calendars, create multiple calendars, and subscribe to iCal-compatible calendars.
• Powerful Mobile Apps: Robust mobile applications are available, with options for third-party desktop app integration.
• AI-Powered Features: Anticipated integration with Google's AI technologies and current support for AI scheduling apps.
• Supports Wide-Ranging Integration: Highly compatible with third-party apps, allowing extensive functionality expansion through automation and workflows.
• Designed for Modern Work: Includes features catering to remote or hybrid teams, such as work location tools and appointment slots.
• Optimal for Both Personal and Professional Use: It's an ideal calendar solution for managing personal schedules and professional team coordination.

Google Calendar: Cons

• When multiple events are scheduled in a single time slot, the visualization of the events becomes confusing.
• No integration with other video conferencing platforms other than Google Meet.
• The UI of Google Calendar's mobile application gets confusing when working with multiple calendars.

2. Microsoft Outlook Calendar

(Android, iOS, macOS, Windows, Web)

Outlook Calendar is a robust and reliable solution for existing Microsoft ecosystem users. It covers all platforms, including Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS, and features email integrations and contact management capabilities. Users praise Outlook's simplicity in adding events and navigating multiple calendar views. The built-in Scheduling Assistant can also help you find an open meeting spot in everyone's calendar. Outlook Calendar also has AI-powered features, such as Copilot, making it a great solution for personal and professional scheduling needs. Despite dating back to the '90s, Outlook is still considered as one of the best calendar apps on the market.

Pricing

• Free: Outlook.com and Outlook apps are free
• Microsoft 365 Personal: from $7/month with Microsoft Office desktop apps
• Microsoft 365 Business Basic: from $6/user/month + annual commitment
  

Outlook Calendar: Pros

• Organize and create meetings and events
• View group schedules    
• View calendars side-by-side  
• View calendars on top of one another in overlay view     
• Send calendars to anyone through email   
• Link to calendars on Microsoft SharePoint sites  
• Subscribe to Internet Calendars
• Manage another user's calendar
• Powerful enterprise features (for companies that use Microsoft's apps)
• Snooze emails for a later date and schedule future emails
• Pin essential emails at the top of your list
• Simplified calendar scheduling view with suggested times and toggling between meeting types

Outlook Calendar: Cons

• Limited RSS feed support
• Inability to open PST (Personal Storage Table) files in Outlook, restricting access to older data
• Some users face difficulty accessing shared mailboxes or departmental calendars
• Limitation on having an overlay or side-by-side calendar view, not a mix of both
• Discontinuation of support for Outlook add-ins unless web-based
• Occasional bugs

3. lemcal

lemcal is a feature-rich, value-packed solution with an innovative scheduling and time management approach.

lemcal is a scheduling and productivity app focused on solopreneurs, salespeople, and SMB businesses. But it takes streamlined scheduling and calendar functions to a whole new level. The tool is not only about managing time and booking meetings; it's about creating a unique experience for your prospects, customers, colleagues, and all contacts.

lemcal works by creating an unforgettable impression and irresistible offer from the first moment your prospect schedules a meeting with you. It packs value, gives social proof, enhances your brand, and represents you in the best way.

Thanks to its ultra-personalization capabilities, you can build your lemcal booking page as a personal website or a company profile. lemcal features beautiful template designs and allows users to add and embed widgets, videos, LinkedIn, and social media posts in one booking page. lemcal's tailoring capabilities, immersive experience, and cool design are something no other scheduling app in the market can offer.

The best part is that lemcal actually works to get you more meetings. In fact, lemcal users report that the number of no-shows is down to 30%. This is especially beneficial for sales prospecting, where every single lead matters.

Pricing

lemcal offers two pricing plans:

• Free: Start reducing no-shows for solopreneurs and founders. It's a free plan with multiple features to optimize your time and appointment management.
• Pro Plan: 9$/month billed monthly or 7$/month billed annually. This plan unlocks advanced features like advanced meeting types, unlimited scheduling, and even more customization capabilities. It's excellent for teams and groups, salespeople, and businesses. You can try the Pro Plan free of charge for 14 days. After 14 days, you get automatically added to the Starter Plan unless you decide to continue.

Both plans are value-packed, and users report great return of investment when using them.

lemcal: Pros

• Easy registration: Onboarding takes less than 3 minutes, and you have your personalized and connected booking page ready to roll. It can’t get easier than this.
• Instant switch from Calendly. It takes one click to import all your configurations to lemcal.
• Ultra-customized page: A fully customizable lemcal booking page allows you to build and enhance your personal and company brand.
• Intuitive and user-friendly interface
• Personalized booking: Add context to your meeting invitation and make it irresistible.
• Excellent customer support for all users
• 🔥 HOT booking page features
• No-shows reduced by up to 30%
• Great value for money

lemcal: Cons

• The free plans connects to one calendar and gives you three meeting types.
• No native HubSpot integration, you must use webhooks

4. Apple Calendar

(iOS, macOS, Web)

Apple Calendar is a straightforward calendar with minimalistic design that emphasizes event details in a clear, intuitive interface. It's built into macOS, iOS, available on iCloud. Naturally, it has a powerful integration within the Apple ecosystem that gives users seamless synchronization across devices. (iCloud, Google Calendar and Microsoft Exchange.) Apple Calendar's features are focused on Apple device users that benefit from ease of use, natural language input for creating events and Siri integration. If you are outside of the Apple environment, you may encounter limitations when syncing across different operating systems.

Pricing

• Free: included with macOS and iOS devices, or available via iCloud with an Apple ID

Apple Calendar: Pros

• Powerful Integration with Apple Ecosystem: If you're already invested in the Apple ecosystem, Apple Calendar integrates seamlessly with your other Apple devices (iPhones, iPads, Macs) and services (iCloud, Reminders).
• Simple and User-Friendly Interface: Apple Calendar is known for its clean and intuitive design. It's easy to navigate, add events with details, and view your schedule in different formats (day, week, month).
• Natural Language Processing: Apple Calendar allows you to create events using natural language.
• Sharing and Collaboration: Apple Calendar allows you to easily share your calendar with others or create shared calendars for group events.
• Reminders and Notifications: Apple Calendar integrates with Apple Reminders, so you can easily set reminders for your upcoming events.

Apple Calendar: Cons

• ‍‍‍Limited Customization: Apple Calendar offers a clean interface, but this can come at the expense of customization options. Compared to other calendars, Apple Calendar offers fewer ways to personalize the look and feel of your calendar, like color-coding events or applying different views for specific calendars.‍
• Fewer Features: While Apple Calendar offers the core functionalities you need in a calendar app, it might lack some features that power users might find important. These can include things like recurring meeting templates, advanced scheduling options, or integration with project management tools.‍
• Limited Platform Availability:  Apple Calendar is primarily designed for the Apple ecosystem and works best on Apple devices. If you use a Windows PC or an Android phone, you won't have the same level of functionality and ease of use.

5. Calendar

(Android, iOS, Web)

Calendar is a web app that helps you manage your appointments on a site with modern design. The problem with Calendar is that its name can be deceiving. It’s not quite a calendar app but rather an appointment scheduler. Calendar allows you to set up availability times and share a meeting link. It integrates with Stripe, allowing paid meetings and eliminating email ping-pong when scheduling. On the other hand, there are other meeting scheduling apps with a smaller price tag for paid plans and bigger value on the market. So, whether Calendar can be your go-to calendar app and scheduling tool, you must try it yourself to make a decision.

Pricing

• Free: limited to 1 calendar connection, 5 events and up to 2 guests
• Standard: $10/month per user, billed annually
• Pro: $12/month per user, billed annually
• Enterprise: custom pricing

Calendar: Pros

• Integrates well with the rest of the calendar features
• Nice, modern web and mobile apps

Calendar: Cons

• Limited free plan
• Not a stand-alone calendar app
• Average value for money

6. Zoho Calendar

Zoho Calendar is an online business-focused calendar that makes scheduling easy. You can use it to stay on top of your schedule and also share calendars with your team to keep everyone in sync. Zoho Calendar is a part of the Zoho Suite and offers great team collaboration features, such as group calendars and appointment scheduling. Zoho Calendar integrates with Zoho apps, which makes it a solid option for businesses already in the Zoho ecosystem.

Pricing

• Free for Zoho users

Zoho Calendar: Pros

• Sharing and embedding functionality
• Google Calendar Access
• Contacts Birthday Calendar
• Group Calendar
• Send and Receive invitations
• Unified calendar view
• Invitee status notification
• Embed multiple calendar
• Zoho CRM – Zoho Calendar Sync
• Embedded event description
• Different Time zones
  

Zoho Calendar: Cons

• Frequently reported bugs and glitches
• Design can be confusing

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Which digital calendar should I use?

Our advice is to consider your goals and needs before choosing a calendar app for your daily life. Some calendars are built into your mobile device, while others do not just manage your time but get you more meetings. Sales teams look for conversion-generating solutions, while individuals want to merge personal and professional lives into one tool. All these calendar apps have free versions, so it's best to give a couple of them a good try and see how they work.

Is free calendar enough for me?

It depends on the app. Some free calendars offer very rich features, while others are very average. Some people prefer only popular and well-known calendars; others look for more innovative and fresh solutions. If you feel like basic calendars are not enough and want to try something new, try new-age productivity apps lik

I have been using Google Calendar all my life. Why should I switch?

Today, calendars can do much more than tell you what you do and when. New calendars that freshly entered the market can serve as productivity enhancers, conversion boosters, no-show reducers, deal closers, workflow managers, and brand builders. There's a lot to explore!

What is the easiest free calendar app?

lemcal, SimpleCal, and Apple Calendar (for Apple users) are super easy to get started with. Users praise their intuitive interfaces and overall user-friendly experience.

What calendar app comes with Android?

The official Google Calendar app for Android is clean, simple, and easy to use, so it's a face choice.

Which calendar is the best value for money?

It depends on what value you want from the online calendar. For example, lemcal offers advanced scheduling and personalized booking, which converts more meetings and helps you make sales. All this is free, or $7 per month for unlimited features. Since lemcal offers much more than streamlined scheduling, we can conclude that it has the best value for your money.

What are the best online calendars apart from the most popular ones?

There are many options out there. You may want to take a look at:

• lemcal - more productive meetings and reducing no-shows
• Notion Calendar - productivity
• Todoist - planner
• Any.do - simple to-do list
• ClickUp
• Calendly
• TickTick
• Miro