Apps you need
The best shared calendar apps in 2024
Keeping track of the million things you’ve got going on in your life is hard. So, here’s the list of the best shared calendar apps out there for all aspects of your life, so you can get in your organised era 💅
The 5 best shared calendar apps depending on what you’re after are…
- Best for friends: Howbout
- Best for work life: Asana
- Best for life with kids: FamCal
- Best for couples: TimeTree
- Best for structured groups: Meetup
And here’s why…
1. Howbout
Best for sharing your time with friends 👯♀️
On Howbout, you can easily share your calendar with friends and get your plans out of the group chat 🕺
From uni friends to work colleagues to your core circle, it’s tricky to arrange to see one of these groups a month let alone multiple!
But Howbout’s got all the features you need to get your social life organised without any of the stress.
🗓 Share calendars - Howbout is the social calendar to share your time with friends - keep up with everything they’ve got going on and make more plans together. On the app, you can share calendars with all your friends. Don’t worry, you have full control what they can see.
🔄 Calendar syncing - You can sync any of your existing calendars directly into Howbout and keep track of it all in one place. Choose whether you want each calendar to be shared or kept private, making it super easy for friends to know when you’re free or busy or what you’ve got on.
🎉 Customise your plans - On Howbout, you can make plans with anyone. Every plan & invite can customised with pictures and gifs, keeps all the details together and lets you share the plan with anyone, whether they’re on Howbout already or not!
📊 Send polls - You can easily make a poll within the app to help throughout the decision-making process. Whether it’s to find out which dates work best for your friends or to decide whether you want to go axe throwing or play crazy golf, and which bar you want to get drinks at afterwards.
💬 Group and plan-specific chats - Best part? No more millions of new group chats or details getting lost in side conversations. Every plan and group on Howbout has its own built-in chat!
🙌 100% free - The app is totally free and available on both iOS and Android.
2. Asana
Best for work colleagues and project management 💻
When it comes to managing your work life and syncing with your colleagues, Asana is a great shared calendar app for boosting productivity.
It enables teams to plan, manage and visualise their workflows in a shared team calendar. Upcoming deadlines are clearly marked so you know who needs to do what - and, most importantly, when.
You can view tasks by due date on a calendar or you can sort and filter them in a list layout. The calendar view has drag-and-drop functionality so you can move due dates and timelines according to changing project demands.
Asana can also integrate with Google Calendar, iCal and Outlook so you can sync multiple calendars together.
The focus here is very much on work life and project management, so if you’re looking to share calendars for your life outside of work, this probably isn’t the best option for you.
3. FamCal
Best for managing life with kids 👪
FamCal is a practical shared calendar app for families who need to keep track of where the kids need to be and when. Lily has a football match after school? Jack has a dentist appointment Friday afternoon? No problem - you’re on top of it.
Once you’ve added your family members to the app - you can share events, shopping lists, recipes, memos, important dates and contacts.
FamCal allows you to combine calendars, events, tasks and notes in one place so that you can easily keep everyone in sync and organised.
However, only some functions are available with the free app and you’ll need to pay a subscription to get additional features like shared contacts or birthday and anniversary tracking. The free version of the app is filled with a lot of ads so you’ll need to sit through the promo videos to get to the main features, which could get frustrating for busy parents!
4. TimeTree
Best for couples syncing schedules 👩❤️👩
Whether you’re finally trying to arrange a much-needed date night, find time for a weekend away, or just need to know who will be in for a delivery, TimeTree is a great app for syncing calendars with your partner.
You can categorise different calendars for different areas of your life, as well as sync it with your other existing calendars, like Google Calendar or Outlook.
However, like FamCal, the free version of TimeTree is filled with ads and many of the advanced features fall within the paid version - which, of course, you’ll need to pay a subscription for!
5. Meetup
Best for structured groups 🎾
Meetup is primarily an app for those who are looking to find and join structured groups near them, maybe trying out a new sport or restarting an old interest. You can find existing groups or start your own new one!
It has a shared calendar feature specifically for groups so you can keep track of any and all upcoming group events (although keep in mind that only Hosts can post plans). You can also chat to people within your group to keep the social interaction up between events.
Most features are kept behind Meetup’s paywall, but if you don’t need the full set of features or don’t want to pay the hefty subscription fees, you can also host your group on Howbout for free.
Howbout has a simple groups feature with all the basics - you can add events specific to your group, share group calendars, send polls, and chat. Every member can share plans and events too.
What to look for in a shared calendar app
Before you go and download a new calendar app, make sure you’ve picked the one that is right for you.
Shared calendar apps suit us all in different ways - which is why we’ve picked our favourites depending on what you’re after.
Lots of traditional shared calendars - the Outlooks, Google Calendars and iClouds - have been built with the simplest of scheduling in mind. However, their features are not always right for busy, social lives!
If you’re looking for a group calendar app for your friends or different social circles, here are some features you can look out for:
- Ability to sync with your other calendars.
- Lets you check peoples’ availability or their full calendars.
- Lets you easily share and send invites - whether they’re on the app or not.
- Creates chats that are specific to each event.
- Lets you share polls to help you decide on the best date or sort out any details.
- An app that isn’t overrun with ads.
- An app that allows you to access the key features that you’re after without a paywall.
We hope this guide to shared calendar apps has got you feeling inspired to get organised! If you’re looking to share calendars with friends, Howbout’s no doubt the best option. Why not download it and give it a go? 🤷
