Fantastical

Fantastical

8.2

Our Rating

Fantastical Review

Best Features, Review, Pricing & Verdict

Fantastical has been a player in the calendar market for some time, but does it still rule to roost as one of the best calendar apps out there? Is it worth your time? Let's explore.

Fantastical Calendar, Day View, Calendar App

What is Fantastical?

Fantastical is a calendar app for macOS and iOS designed for pro users.

What does Fantastical do?

Fantastical is a powerful calendar tool designed to help users stay organized and on top of their schedules. Formerly known as Fantastical 3 it offers more of an all-round experience for managing your tasks and calendar management.

Fantastical Calendar, Week View, Adding Event

Whilst this won't replace say Todoist (although in premium it does have an integration) it will be a handy way to set reminders, add small tasks and even time-block them into your schedule alongside your events, but at heart this is a calendar app with intention.

The subscription service with a free plan, Fantastical wants to be your macOS and iOS apps for on the go calendar management with a reliable feel, but does it live up to it?

Fantastical Features

In this review, let's explore the best bits and worst bits about using Fantastical as your calendar app on the daily:

Fantastical Pros

The best bits of Fantastical explored.

1. Great Calendar Experience

The feel of the application is fantastic.

Fantastical, Adding Events, Light Mode

Fantastical is well built on all devices, even the WatchOS edition is solid and can be used without many limitations, which is rare for WatchOS apps to be honest. The macOS and iOS versions are fast and with the combination of dark and light mode, with custom icons make the experience super easy to use.

You can connect Fantastical to Exchange, iCloud and Google Calendar but there are some limitations when using their feature calendar sets that we'll dig into a little later in the review but largely, this application oozes quality throughout.

2. Tasks & Time Blocking

Tasks is basic but handy.

Time Blocking Fantastical

Adding tasks to Fantastical is really a bonus, on the free plan they can be connected to Apple Reminders, the reminders service provided by Apple but with the premium you can connect it up to Todoist, a popular to-do list application that is a great all-rounder too.

Time-blocking is technically also possible, once you're int he tasks view, you can add priority, duration and some other task management factors - nothing in-depth - but this will allow you to drag the task into the calendar with ease alongside your calendar events and meetings making it a super lightweight time-blocking tool and you can do this with your Todoist tasks too.

3. Natural Language

One of the other QOL (quality of life) things is adding events.

Natural Language Input into Fantastical Calendar

You can use natural language inputs to add calendar events making on the go capture and manage on the macOS version really easy without the need to overcomplicate how you use your calendar app and no weird processes. Combine this with weather management and good settings pages that allows for nice customizations - this is a huge bonus.

Fantastical Cons

Let's discuss the things that weren't as impressive:

1. Premium Limits

The free mode they offer is good, but to really get into it premium is needed.

Fantastical Premium Option

Fantastical locks their experience mainly under premium, if you want to sync between all your devices, you need premium. If you wanted more than one calendar set, you need premium. This is super common of calendar apps and whilst it won't cost you as much as the premium on apps like Morgen Calendar, it will be something you really won't get all the value from without the use of premium.

2. Speed of Development

Compared to current calendar apps, to be honest, Fantastical doesn't have as speedy of a development cycle. They have built an Apple-centric, reliable way to handle email but with the rise of AI and this is something that many people might find frustrating.

Tools like Vimcal, Morgen and Mayday are ones that are emerging with these AI inside.

Fantastical 3 Pricing

Let's take a look at the Fantastical pricing.

Updated December 2023.

Fantastical Calendar Pricing

How Much Does Fantastical Cost?

Fantastical is $6.99 per month. Annually that's $56.99 per year.

There is a family and team options with higher pricing and a free mode.

Fantastical Verdict

Overall Fantastical still lives up to the name.

Fantastical Dark Mode Access

Reliable, Apple-focused, great for solo users - the free plan is less to be desired but the premium packs a lot in and Fantastical brings a clean design with some power abilities like task management, integrations, more calendars and variety of calendar views.

This is the calendar app to get if you use Apple and love solid tools.

Best Fantastical Alternatives

There are a few Fantastical 3 alternatives to consider, we pick these two new calendar apps. Vimcal and Rise are both solid selections with similar grade features.

Weather

A small but much loved featured is seeing daily and weekly weather forecasts, one for those who like to see in tandem

Tasks

Manage your tasks alongside your calendar, like Morgen Calendar, with an optional Todoist integration too - to see everything in one

Design

One of the best designs out there for calendar, with limitations that it is Apple-centric meaning you can get only on Apple devices

Who is Fantastical 3 For?

Fantastical is great for anyone who wants to gain more control over their schedules and have a better idea of where they are spending their time. With a visual calendar, you can also colour-code and time block your work life and personal life.

This makes Fantastical great for anyone experiencing burnout or wanting to make sure they get more in after work and prioritise the right activities.

Overall, it's one of the best all-rounders, Fantastical is developed well for iOS and Mac users. This is one to get if you're someone who wants a well-structured calendar experience, see the weather, manage Todoist tasks, book meetings and just customise your calendar plenty.

We see this commonly used by Apple lovers who like a well-designed calendar - something in between Apple Calendar complexity and Vimcal - but not as complicated.

Is Fantastical worth it 2023?

Fantastical 3 is worth it because it's a super easy-to-use calendar application that offers a wide range of helpful features when it comes to organising your schedule and planning events. You can also manage tasks in this space which reduces the need for another task management app.

Why is Fantastical better than iCal?

Fantastical 3 has more features than the Apple Calendar. You can check the weather, see travel time, collaborate, customise and much more.

Whereas the Apple Calendar is a lot simpler, allowing for basic event management. So really it depends on what you want and what kind of experience you want from using a calendar app. If you want a more in-depth way to manage everything, Fantastical is a great choice, however, if you just want a simple place to help with reminders, stick with the Apple Calendar.

Can I use Fantastical for free?

Yes, Fantastical 3 is free to use for the basics of the app, you will need to upgrade to unlock abilities such as customisation, travel time, notifications, scheduling and so much more. It's always a good idea to test out apps for free first before you subscribe and pay for any app.

Is Fantastical a safe app?

Fantastical 3 is a safe application to use since all data is stored and secured with end-end encryption inside the Flexibits server. This means no one else can access your data, calendars or information.

It also offers a range of features such as natural language input for quickly creating events and reminders, powerful event and reminder templates, event sharing, a customizable calendar widget, and more.

Additionally, the app integrates with other calendar services, providing users with access to shared calendars and events. All of these features make Fantastical 3 a great choice for those looking for a powerful and user-friendly calendar app.

Understanding Fantastical Calendar

Questions, answered!

Where is Fantastical available?

Fantastical works seamlessly across your Mac, iPad, iPhone, and Apple Watch.

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