One calendar on your Mac for every Google account, and Apple's
Koi's calendar for Mac: week or month, reminders in the dock, things added by voice, and Google Calendar from many accounts beside Apple Calendar and Reminders.
Start here
What BusyCal costs today
BusyCal is a calendar for Mac and iPhone with a menu bar calendar, events typed in plain language in eight languages, an 8-day forecast with sunrise and moon phases, travel time, and to-dos that sync with the Reminders app. Its docs list iCloud, Google, Office 365, Fastmail, Zimbra, Exchange and CalDAV servers.
There are two ways to buy it. From BusyMac's store it's $49.99, a license that never expires with 18 months of updates; after that you keep the last version you got, or renew at 20 to 40% off. The Mac App Store version is free for everyday calendaring, with a 14-day trial of the full app and a subscription of $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year. It also comes with Setapp. BusyMac's page says macOS 12 or later; the App Store version needs macOS 13.5.
We make Koi, so read this with that in mind. Every fact about another app comes from its own site, docs or App Store page, checked October 21, 2026. We didn't run tests.
Why switch
Why people look for a BusyCal alternative
- Updates stop after 18 months unless you pay again, or you're on a subscription anyway.
- They want something free, and the Mac already has a calendar.
- They share booking links, which BusyCal's page doesn't list.
- They need Windows or Android too. BusyCal is Mac and iPhone.
- They'd rather add, move and tick off things by talking.
Stay
When BusyCal is still the better pick
Stay on BusyCal if
- You want to pay once for a calendar app alone. Koi's Lifetime costs more because it's a whole assistant.
- You want a calendar in the menu bar, weather and travel time. Koi has none of those.
- You use Exchange, Office 365, Fastmail or Zimbra directly. Koi connects Google and the Mac's own Calendar.
- You want BusyCal on your iPhone too. Koi has no iPhone app.
- You type events in plain language. Koi's equivalent is speaking to it on a call, which goes online.
The list
5 BusyCal alternatives for Mac
1. Koi
Best for: Google accounts, Apple Calendar and Reminders in one Mac calendar, changed by voice
Koi has its own calendar, one click from its dock: the week or the month, with the day you pick beside it. Connect Google Calendar from as many accounts as you have, and Apple Calendar and Apple Reminders through macOS. Every reminder with a date shows as a task you tick off in Koi, which is the part BusyCal fans usually miss elsewhere. Changes go back to Google, or through macOS to Apple's apps.
Tap Fn + ⌘ and say “set a timer for twenty minutes” or “put the investor call in my calendar for Friday at 3pm New York time”. Times are kept in the zone they were given in, and show in your Mac's own time with the other beside it. Attach files to anything; on a Google event they're uploaded to your Google Drive.
Where it loses: no menu bar calendar, weather or travel time, no direct Exchange, no iPhone app, and Koi's own reminders show in its dock, not Notification Center. It comes with Koi, at $20 a month or $192 a year after a 3-day trial, or Lifetime from $59 once.
2. Fantastical
Best for: The other power-user calendar, on every Apple device
Fantastical has plain-language entry, tasks, 10-day weather on Premium, Openings and Proposals for scheduling, and works with Google, Microsoft 365, Exchange, iCloud, Todoist and CalDAV. Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro and Windows. Free version; the Mac App Store lists Premium at $6.99 and $56.99. See our Fantastical alternatives.
3. Apple Calendar
Best for: Free, with Reminders next door
Free and built in, with iCloud, Google and CalDAV accounts through Calendar, Add Account, synced to your iPhone and iPad. Reminders stay in their own app. Google says email notifications, creating new Google calendars and Room Scheduler don't work there (Google's help).
4. Notion Calendar
Best for: A free calendar with scheduling links
Free on Mac, Windows, iPhone and Android. Connects Google, Outlook and iCloud calendars, several at once, shares scheduling links, shows time zones and joins meetings from the menu bar. It was called Cron until 2024. More in our Notion Calendar alternatives.
5. Morgen
Best for: Tasks from many apps, planned into your calendar
Morgen connects Google, Outlook, iCloud, CalDAV and Fastmail, brings in tasks from Notion, Todoist, Linear, Google Tasks, Microsoft To-Do and more, and has an AI Planner and booking links. Windows, Mac, Linux, phones and the browser. $30 a month or $15 a month billed yearly, no free plan. See our Morgen alternatives.
Comparison
BusyCal alternatives compared
From each app's own site, docs or App Store page, checked October 21, 2026. “Connects” is what each names.
| Koi | BusyCal | Fantastical | Apple Calendar | Notion Calendar | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Comes with Koi: $20 a month, Lifetime from $59 | $49.99 once, or $39.99 a year on the App Store | Free version; Premium in-app | Free | Free |
| Connects | Many Google accounts, Apple Calendar and Reminders | iCloud, Google, Office 365, Fastmail, Exchange, CalDAV | Google, Microsoft 365, Exchange, iCloud, CalDAV | iCloud, Google, CalDAV | Google, Outlook, iCloud |
| Reminders on the calendar | Yes, Apple Reminders | Yes, synced with Reminders | Yes, its tasks | No, separate app | No |
| Runs on | Mac | Mac, iPhone | Apple devices and Windows | Mac, iPhone, iPad | Mac, Windows, iPhone, Android |
| Add events | Click, drag, or by voice | Plain-language typing | Plain-language typing | Click or type | Click or type |
| Menu bar calendar | No | Yes | Yes | No | Joins meetings |
How to
How to see your reminders on Koi's calendar
- Open Koi's Settings and choose Connections.
- Connect Apple Reminders and allow it when macOS asks. Do the same for Apple Calendar.
- Connect Google Calendar too, and choose Add another account for each other Google account.
- Click Calendar on Koi's dock. Reminders with a date show as tasks; click one to tick it off.
Ticking off a reminder in Koi goes through macOS to Reminders, which syncs it to your other devices. Reminders keeps alerting as usual and Koi's dock doesn't, so nothing alerts twice. More on Koi's calendar.
Privacy
Where your calendar lives
BusyMac says BusyCal syncs only with the services you control, like iCloud or Google. Koi works the same way for your accounts: Google Calendar goes only between your Mac and Google, never through our server, each sign-in is kept in your Mac's Keychain, and Apple Calendar and Reminders are read on your Mac through macOS. Events from both are held in memory while Koi runs and aren't written to its database.
Koi's own calendar and its reminders stay on your Mac. The difference is the AI: when you ask Koi about your day on a call, that day's events go along with the question, and they're kept nowhere.
Pay once
BusyCal's license vs Koi's Lifetime
BusyCal's $49.99 buys the app for good, with 18 months of updates. Koi's Lifetime is paid once too, $59 for the first 25 buyers and climbing as it sells. It keeps the calendar, documents, unlimited dictation and recorded calls for good, with Koi credit worth a fifth of the price for the AI. That credit never expires, but it does run out, and asking Koi by voice uses it.
If the calendar is all you want, BusyCal is the better buy. Koi's Lifetime makes sense if you'd use the rest.
Head to head
BusyCal vs Koi
- Adding things: BusyCal parses what you type. Koi adds what you say on a call, or what you click and drag on the grid.
- Accounts: BusyCal connects Exchange, Office 365 and Fastmail directly. Koi connects Google accounts, and everything else through the Mac's Calendar.
- Extras: BusyCal has weather, travel time and a menu bar calendar. Koi has a brief before meetings from your own notes, and dates offered from recorded calls.
- Invites: BusyCal creates and joins conference calls. Koi sends invitations through Google with a Meet link.
- Devices: BusyCal is Mac and iPhone. Koi is Mac only.
Koi's extras come from the rest of the app. Tap Fn + ⌃ to record a call, and when it ends with notes, Koi offers the dates the call agreed on for your calendar.
Choosing
Which BusyCal alternative should you pick?
- A calendar alone, paid once, with weather and a menu bar? Stay on BusyCal.
- Every Apple device and scheduling tools? Fantastical.
- Free and built in? Apple Calendar.
- Free with scheduling links? Notion Calendar.
- Tasks from many apps, on any computer? Morgen.
- Google accounts, Apple Calendar and Reminders in one Mac calendar, by voice? Koi.
See our list of the best Google Calendar apps for Mac or Koi's plans.
Keep exploring
The best Fantastical alternatives for Mac
Fantastical alternatives for Mac compared: Koi, Apple Calendar, Notion Calendar, BusyCal, Morgen and Vimcal, on price, accounts, booking links and voice.
The best Notion Calendar alternatives for Mac
Notion Calendar, formerly Cron, is free. Its alternatives for Mac compared: Koi, Apple Calendar, Fantastical, Vimcal, Morgen and BusyCal, on price and accounts.
The best Morgen alternatives in 2026
Morgen alternatives compared: Koi, Akiflow, Notion Calendar, Fantastical, Vimcal and Apple Calendar, on price, task apps, AI planning, booking links and Mac.
Support
Frequently asked questions
$49.99 from BusyMac, a license that never expires with 18 months of updates. The Mac App Store version is free for everyday use, with a $4.99 a month or $39.99 a year subscription for the full app.
Bought from BusyMac, yes: the license never expires, and updates come for 18 months. After that you can renew at a discount or keep the version you have.
Yes. BusyMac's page says BusyCal is available through Setapp.
BusyCal syncs its to-dos with Reminders. Koi shows every Apple reminder with a date as a task beside your Google and Apple calendars.
No. Koi's calendar opens from its dock, in the middle of the screen, as a week or a month.