6 Best Free Online Calendars in 2026: Top Picks Compared

An online calendar is often the backbone of how your business runs day to day.

A client books a meeting with you? That goes into your calendar.

Need to block time for admin work, catching up on emails, or doing some marketing for your small business? That goes into your calendar, too.

Your calendar is where all your meetings, events, and tasks live. At a bare minimum, you need a calendar tool that lets you create and manage events, set reminders, share your availability, and stay in sync across devices. Some calendars also double as lightweight scheduling apps, allowing you to share availability and book meetings in just a few clicks instead of long email threads.

If you haven’t found your perfect calendar yet, we’ve put together a roundup of the six best free online calendars for different needs. We’ll compare key features, pros and cons, and pricing, though all of them offer free plans.

Not all online calendars are built the same. Before choosing one, it’s worth understanding which features are actually important for you and which ones just add complexity.

Here are the key things to look for.

• Core functionality: At a minimum, your calendar should handle the basics reliably. That includes creating and editing events, setting reminders, managing recurring meetings, and switching between day, week, and month views. The interface should feel intuitive, so you are not fighting your calendar every day.
• Sharing and collaboration: A good online calendar makes it easy to share your schedule with others, whether that’s teammates, clients, or family members. Look for clear permission settings and the ability to view or combine multiple calendars without creating scheduling conflicts.
• Calendar syncing: If you use more than one calendar, syncing is essential. Two-way sync ensures updates made in one calendar automatically appear everywhere else, helping you avoid double bookings and manual updates.
• Integrations and compatibility: Your calendar should work well with the tools you already use, such as email, video conferencing, account management software, or scheduling tools. Strong integrations reduce context switching and keep your workflow connected.
• Customizations: Custom views, color coding, and availability rules can make a big difference in how manageable your schedule feels.
• Smart features: Features like automatic time zone detection, buffer times between meetings, and availability logic can quietly save hours over time. These are especially useful if you work with clients or teams across different locations.
• Privacy and controls: Your calendar often contains sensitive information, so security matters. Look for clear privacy controls, data protection standards, and the ability to control who can see what on your calendar.

To be honest, there are quite a few calendars out there. Finding the right one depends on how you work and who you share your time with.

Here are the best online calendars available on the market, each designed to support different needs, workflows, and priorities.

YouCanBookMe (YCBM) is a scheduling tool that makes it easy to manage your availability, share booking options, and get meetings booked without back-and-forth emails.

You simply connect your calendar—whether that’s Google, Outlook, Apple, or Fastmail—set your availability rules, and share a scheduling link wherever you want. Bookers can instantly choose from times that actually work for you, and real-time calendar syncing helps prevent double bookings. With flexible controls and built-in automation, YCBM gives you more control over your time while creating a smooth, professional booking experience.

Years of service from a brilliant product, very intuitive, including taking clients payments, saves so much time. I now have time for a G&T in the evening instead of wrestling with timetables and reminders. The automatic links to Zoom, Teams and Google Meet, mean being able to accommodate clients preferences. On the odd occasion I have asked for advice, response has been prompt and efficient.”

– Luke Aspden

YCBM pros and cons

Core features

• Advanced availability controls: Set booking limits, buffer times, minimum and maximum notice, and request-only meetings to protect your time.
• Video conferencing integrations: Automatically add Zoom, Google Meet, or Microsoft Teams links to bookings so meetings are ready to go without manual setup.
• Time zone detection: Automatically detects each participant’s time zone so everyone sees the correct dates and times without manual conversion.
• Automated notifications and workflows: Send meeting confirmations, reminders, and follow-ups via email or SMS, all fully customizable.
• Meeting analytics: Uncover the data behind your bookings to understand your top-performing booking pages, cancellation, reschedule, and no-show trends, and revenue generated from bookings.
• Payments at booking: Collect payments upfront using Stripe, including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and major credit and debit cards. Plus, generate unique promo codes with expiration dates and usage limits.

Pricing

YouCanBookMe offers a generous free plan that includes one calendar connection, one booking page, customizable availability, booking form questions, and confirmation emails.

If you need more advanced features like connecting multiple calendars, creating multiple booking pages, setting booking limits and buffer times, automating reminders and follow-ups, tracking no-shows, or managing team scheduling, paid plans start at $8.10 per month (billed annually).

If you’re looking for a reliable calendar that handles all the basics well, Google Calendar is a solid choice. And if your business already relies on Google Workspace for email, meetings, and file sharing, it makes even more sense to use Google Calendar.

With Google Calendar, you can easily manage events, set reminders, and share your calendar with clients or collaborators. While it covers the basics effectively, it offers limited customization and works best when your workflow stays within Google’s ecosystem.

​​If you want to get more out of Google Calendar, you can easily connect it with YouCanBookMe. That way, you get not just a calendar, but also a scheduling assistant to automate your bookings.

I have been using Google Calendar for both my personal life and business needs for over a decade. I use it daily and couldn't imagine life without it. Google Calendar keeps my life and head organized, ensuring I don't miss due dates, deadlines, or engagements and commitments.”

– Jessica R.

Google Calendar pros & cons

Core features

• Event creation with reminders and recurring schedules: Create one-time or repeating events and get automatic reminders so nothing slips through the cracks.
• Calendar sharing with permission controls: Share your Google Calendar with clients or collaborators and control who can view details or make changes.
• Automatic event detection from email: Flights, hotel bookings, and reservations sent to Gmail can be automatically added to your calendar, saving manual entry time.
• Built-in appointment booking pages: Workspace users can create simple booking pages inside Google Calendar so others can book time based on real availability.
• Automatic syncing across devices: Changes update instantly across web and mobile, keeping your schedule consistent everywhere.

Pricing

Google Calendar is free with a standard Google account. Appointment scheduling and advanced features are available through Google Workspace plans, starting at $7 per user per month when billed annually.

If your business already runs on Microsoft tools, Outlook Calendar is a natural fit. It’s designed to keep email, calendars, contacts, and tasks in one place, making it easier to plan your day without jumping between apps. With Outlook Calendar, you can manage multiple calendars, schedule meetings, and share your calendar directly from your inbox.

Just like Google Calendar, Outlook integrates with YouCanBookMe to simplify and automate your scheduling.

I really like how Outlook brings everything together in one place: emails, calendar, contacts, and tasks. The interface feels clean and easy to navigate, and I love how I can schedule meetings directly from my inbox without switching apps.”

– Maulik P.

Outlook Calendar pros & cons

A loyal Apple user through and through? Then it makes perfect sense to use Apple Calendar for your schedule.

Apple Calendar comes preinstalled across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple Watch, making it an easy choice if your workflow already lives inside the Apple ecosystem. It lets you manage events, set alerts, and combine calendars from multiple accounts in one place. You can even connect your Apple Calendar to other calendars, like Google Calendar, for near-instant updates.

Want to take it even further? Consider syncing your Apple Calendar with YouCanBookMe, so you never get double-booked!

I use iCal because the reminders app integration is terrific. I color code my calendar according to family members, and I also color coordinate reminders/tasks according to them as well.”

– Reddit user

Apple Calendar pros & cons