Free calendar programs for Mac and Windows: where each free plan stops

The best free calendar program depends on where the calendars already live. For most people that is Google Calendar in a browser, Apple Calendar on a Mac, or Thunderbird on Windows and Linux, and all three are free with no paid tier hiding the basics. Free desktop apps such as Notion Calendar and the free tier of Fantastical add a nicer interface on top of the same accounts, and each stops being free at a specific, documented point.

Most roundups list names and features. This guide sorts the free options by why they are free, because that predicts where the free plan ends, and lists the exact limit for each one as published on the vendor's own page on October 18, 2026. This site is published by the developer of a calendar app for Mac, which is mentioned once near the end.

The quick answer by situation

Situation	Free program to start with	Where free ends
Calendars are in a Google account, any computer	Google Calendar in a browser	Not a feature limit, it comes with the account
A Mac, calendars in iCloud, Google, or Exchange	Apple Calendar, already installed	Mac only, no Windows app
Windows or Linux, wants a desktop program	Thunderbird	No paid tier, funded by donations
Google Calendar plus a Notion workspace	Notion Calendar for macOS or Windows	Free to download, built around Google Calendar
Wants natural language entry on Apple devices or Windows	Fantastical Free	One calendar set, 3 day weather, paid features locked
A family or group sharing one calendar on phones	TimeTree	Ads on the free plan, some views and attachments paid
Privacy first, end to end encrypted	Proton Calendar on the Proton Free plan	3 personal calendars

The table covers the common cases. The sections below explain each kind of free and what to check before committing to one.

Free because the account already pays for it

The first kind of free is a calendar that comes with an account people already have. Google Calendar is free with any Google account and runs in any browser on Mac, Windows, or Linux. Apple Calendar ships with every Mac. Neither has a paid upgrade for personal calendaring, so neither will start asking for money after a trial.

The trade off is that these calendars are shaped around their own account. Apple Calendar reads iCloud, Google, Exchange, and other CalDAV accounts on the Mac, but there is no Apple Calendar program for Windows. Google Calendar works everywhere, but on a computer it is a browser tab. That has a practical cost: Google's notification help describes desktop notifications as appearing while the calendar is open in the browser. Close the tab and the reminders stop.

Moving between these two is mostly free too. Both can export to the standard .ics format, and Apple's guide to importing and exporting calendars on Mac covers the Mac side step by step. In practice, though, few people move events between them. They add the Google account to Apple Calendar so both show the same server data.

For many people this first kind is enough. It is worth trying for a week before installing anything, because every other option on this list reads these same accounts and adds a layer on top.

Free because volunteers and donations fund it

The second kind is open source. Thunderbird, from the Mozilla family, is an email program with calendars and contacts built in. Its site describes it as free forever, funded by user donations, and open source, and says it does not sell ads in the inbox. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux.

This kind of free has no upgrade path because there is nothing to upgrade to. All features are available to everyone. Thunderbird can show local calendars as well as calendars from online accounts, and it is often the first choice on Windows for people who want a desktop calendar program rather than a web page.

What to expect in exchange: the calendar is one part of a larger email program, so the interface is built around mail. There is no built in booking page or meeting scheduling link. Support comes through documentation and community forums rather than a paid help desk. For people who want a single free program for mail and calendar, those trade offs are usually acceptable. For people who only want a calendar, it can feel like more program than needed.

Free because a larger product pays for it

The third kind is a free app offered by a company whose main product is something else. Notion Calendar is the clearest current example. Its page offers it free for macOS and Windows, with mobile apps, and describes connecting Google Calendar with an existing Notion workspace, with Google Meet available by default.

The free price is real. The catch is fit rather than cost. Notion Calendar is designed around Google Calendar and Notion, so it is a strong choice for teams that already work in Notion and keep their schedules in Google. For someone whose calendars are in iCloud or Exchange, or who does not use Notion at all, much of the value is not there.

Before choosing an app of this kind, check two things. First, which accounts it reads, because a calendar that cannot show a work Exchange calendar or a family iCloud calendar forces a second app. Second, whether the features that make it attractive depend on the parent product. A calendar that links events to documents in a workspace is only useful if the workspace is where the documents are.

Free because it is the entry tier of a paid app

The fourth kind is freemium: the app is free, and a defined set of features is reserved for a subscription. Three widely used examples, with limits as published on October 18, 2026:

Fantastical Free

Flexibits' pricing page lists a Free plan with no time limit. It includes adding existing accounts such as iCloud, Google, or Exchange, sentence style event entry, notifications, and day, week, month, quarter, and year views. Fantastical is available for Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, Windows, and Googlebook. The free plan is limited to one calendar set and a 3 day weather forecast, against unlimited sets and 10 days on Premium. Scheduling features and the rest of Premium require the Flexibits Premium subscription, which has a 14 day free trial.

TimeTree

TimeTree's Premium page describes Premium at 4.49 USD a month or 44.99 USD a year, with the first month free, and notes that pricing may vary by region. The free version shows ads and does not include the vertical view of up to three days, event priority, file attachments beyond photos in comments, or dedicated support. TimeTree is built for sharing one calendar among family members or a small group, so the free plan suits households that mainly need everyone to see the same events.

Proton Calendar

Proton's pricing page shows a Free plan that includes Proton Calendar with end to end encryption and 3 personal calendars, compared with 25 on the paid Mail Plus and Unlimited plans. Sending and receiving invitations is included on every plan. The free plan also comes with 1 GB of storage across Proton services.

The useful habit with freemium apps is to read the comparison table before installing, then ask which paid feature would be missed first. If the answer is none, the free tier can last indefinitely.

What free calendar programs usually do not include

Across all four kinds, the same few features tend to sit behind a paid plan or be missing entirely. Knowing them in advance avoids a migration halfway through a busy month.

• A booking page. Letting other people pick a time from available slots is usually paid. Fantastical puts it in Premium as part of Fantastical Scheduling.
• Travel time between events. Most free calendars treat each event on its own. Leaving enough time to get from one location to the next is either manual or a paid feature.
• Many calendars or calendar groups. Switching between work and family views with one click is limited on several free tiers, such as one calendar set on Fantastical Free.
• Attachments. Files on events are often paid, as on TimeTree.
• No ads. Some free plans are supported by advertising.

None of these matter for everyone. A student with one Google calendar needs none of them. A consultant who books calls with clients every day needs at least the first.

How to choose in ten minutes

A short process works better than reading more lists.

1. List where each calendar lives. Open the current calendar and note the account behind each calendar: Google, iCloud, Exchange, or something else.
2. Pick the platforms. Mac only, Windows only, both, plus which phones.
3. Start from the account's own calendar. Use Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, or Thunderbird for a week, depending on the first two answers.
4. Write down what was missing. Not features from a review, but moments in the week when the calendar was slow, wrong, or ignored.
5. Only then try a freemium app that fixes those specific moments, and check its comparison table for the exact free limit.

This order keeps the choice tied to real problems. It also means the data stays on the account's server the whole time, so trying a second app never risks losing events. Every app on this list reads the same accounts, so installing or removing one does not change the calendar itself.

A free option for Mac users on Google Calendar

For people who keep their calendars in Google and plan the day on a Mac, a native calendar app for Mac is another kind of freemium worth knowing about. One example offers a free version with no time limit after a 14 day trial. The free version covers creating and editing events, typing or speaking an event as a plain sentence, any number of Google accounts, calendar sets, weather, travel time between events with a leave now alert, and meeting links. A license is needed only for importing events in bulk from documents, a booking page, and adding one event to several calendars at once. The limits are listed on the Buy page, and how sentence entry works is shown under Entering events.

The constraint is the same kind discussed above: it syncs with Google Calendar only and requires macOS 14 or later, so iCloud and Exchange users, and Windows users, should look elsewhere on this list.

What to do next

Start with the calendar that comes with the account the events already live in, use it for a week, and write down what it fails at. Then install only the free app whose free tier fixes those failures. For Google Calendar users on a Mac, Caltimate is one free option to include in that test.