Everyone needs an effective way to manage appointments, meet deadlines, and remember birthdays and anniversaries. Juggling all this in your head is impossible, but thankfully you’ll find tons of mobile apps that help you keep it all straight.
So let’s have a look at some of the free calendar apps for Android that are currently available in the Google Play Store.
1. Google Calendar
The obvious starting point for any list of free calendar apps, Google Calendar comes pre-installed on most Android devices and is available from the Play Store for everyone else. If you use Google’s other productivity services (such as Gmail or Keep) this should unquestionably be installed on your device.
Google revamped the app in 2014 to align with Android’s new Material Design philosophy. The web app also got a design overhaul in 2017, so now both versions are slick and feature-rich.
Browsing the calendar from month to month is a simple swipe away, and you can set it up to automatically pull events (such as hotel reservations, flights, and event tickets) directly out of your inbox and add them to your schedule.
Finally, Google also added a schedule view. This shows you a continuous list of upcoming entries, rather than offering a daily or weekly display.
Download: Google Calendar (Free)
2. Business Calendar
Don’t let the name fool you. This calendar is just as appropriate for students, retirees, and freelancers as it is for people who work in an office.
The main selling point of the app is its alternative approach to usage and displays. Instead of the typical dropdown menu that gives access to day, week, and month views, the app uses an intuitive swipe and tap approach to navigation.
Other features that make Business Calendar a worthy contender include:
- A task view for managing to-do lists.
- Live search.
- Custom event templates.
- A new and improved user interface, including a dark theme.
It also makes use of Android calendar sync, which allows it to synchronize with other popular calendar services like Google Calendar and Exchange.
Download: Business Calendar (Free, premium version available)
3. ZenDay
ZenDay is both a calendar app and a to-do list app for Android.
Its standout feature is its 3D timeline of events. The timeline aims to make it easier for you to see what you can accomplish in a given day. If you wish, ZenDay can even populate each day for you automatically. You just need to tell the app how much free time you have and when it falls.
The app also offers a retrospective feature. It shows you what you achieved alongside what you could have achieved. In theory, reviewing what you’ve done should make you more productive in the future.
The other typical calendar features are all present, including syncing with Google and Outlook, priority events, and reminders.
Download: ZenDay (Free, premium version available)
4. Jorte
Jorte is another big hitter in the free calendar world and is one of the most popular downloads in the Play Store.
It stands out from some of its rivals thanks to its cloud sync service that lets you manage calendars directly from the web. Its biggest attraction, however, is its incredible level of customization. You can alter aspects like colors, backgrounds, themes, and widget size. It also provides a store that lets you purchase additional backgrounds and a vast range of icons.
Further features include the ability to download sports teams’ schedules, a clickable location that takes you directly to a map app, and a more detailed day-by-day view than Google Calendar offers.
Download: Jorte (Free, subscription available)
5. aCalendar
With some great calendar widgets for Android, more colors than Jorte, and easier navigation than Cal, aCalendar is yet another leading contender for the title.
One productivity feature particularly useful to power users is the presence of small monthly calendar on the day and week views. It allows you to organize yourself more efficiently without the need to constantly hop between different screens.
Swiping sideways allows you to quickly navigate between its monthly, daily, and weekly planners, while flicking up and down moves you through the calendar in increments based on your current planner selection. This feature isn’t quite as smooth as Google Calendar, and unfortunately, it lacks the Tap to Expand feature of Business Calendar.
It can also sync photos from your address book for birthdays and anniversaries, and it features NFC sharing for quickly disseminating information among large groups.
Download: aCalendar (Free, premium version available)
6. Informant
Informant provides four useful productivity tools—calendar, notes, contacts, and tasks—in a single app interface.
Visually, it’s not as pleasing as some of the other apps on the list. But it’s clearly laid out and easy to follow; the developers have clearly prioritized functionality over form.
Aside from the standard features such as multiple views and ICS support, users can enjoy some other important benefits. They include attachable notes, natural language entry for events (for example, you can type “Meet Ben at 12 for lunch tomorrow” and the app will recognize it), time zone management, and integrated weather forecasts.
The $ 25 per year premium version unlocks the sync tool. If you’re planning to access your calendar on more than one device, it’s a must-have.
Download: Informant (Free, subscription available)
7. DigiCal
DigiCal offers the usual suite of features, including:
- A daily planner
- Seven different agenda views
- Global weather forecasts
- Syncing with Google Calendar, Outlook, and Exchange
- A dark theme
However, the app earns its place on this list of best calendar apps for Android thanks to its downloadable extra calendars. We’re all used to seeing holiday calendars and some sporting calendars available, but DigiCal steps it up a level.
It offers more than 500,000 event calendars for download. They cover everything from finance and lifestyle to TV and astronomy. As you can imagine, some seriously obscure content is available if you poke around.
Download: DigiCal (Free, premium version available)
8. Simple Calendar
As the name suggests, this app is… simple. However, the accessibility is what makes the app so great. It doesn’t connect to Google Calendar or any of the other big-name cloud-based calendar services.
Instead, all the app’s data is locally saved on your device and the app’s code is open source. It will only ask for two permissions: Contacts (to import birthdays and anniversaries) and Storage (for exporting ICS files).
Given we live in an age where Google knows almost everything about you, this level of privacy will undoubtedly appeal to security fanatics. Bottom line: Simple Calendar is one of the leading calendar apps for Android.
Download: Simple Calendar (Free)
What’s the Best Free Calendar App for Android?
When comparing similar apps, it’s difficult to choose one clear winner because it all depends on what you want your calendar app to do. I am hugely reliant on the Google suite of services, and as such, I use Google Calendar. There is no denying, however, that some of the other options are more feature-rich and less clunky.
For productivity and organization junkies, Business Calendar is the clear winner, For those who value personalization above everything else, you need to look no further than Jorte.
And remember, just because you use a calendar app, don’t discount the benefit of a trusty notebook. A pen and paper is still an essential productivity tool.
Read the full article: The 8 Best Free Calendar Apps for Android
