Comparison

CalendarLife vs BigPlan

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

CalendarLife

Enhance your iPhone's calendar with a classic style interface and numerous customization options. This app syncs automatically with your device's native database, offering a user-friendly experience with multiple views and personalized display settings.

Highlights
  • Classic style interface
  • Customizable display (fonts, colors, pictures)
  • List, Day, Month, Week, Agenda views
  • Automatic syncing with native database
  • Apple Watch and Notification Center Widget support
  • Quick swipe delete and date select
  • Event coloring and descriptions
Features
Read full description

CalendarLife is a vastly improved user experience for your iPhone's calendar. CalendarLife has a simple layout based around the classic original style built in Calendar app, but with many added features, improvements and customisation possibilities. CalendarLife uses your device's native database to display your events in a fully customisable and much more user friendly way. This means your events sync automatically. Simply download the app and all your calendars will automatically be there ready for you. No further set up is required. You will also be able to switch between the native Calendar app and CalendarLife and your events will always be in sync. List, Day, Month, Week and Agenda views. Optional Coloured bars for events (so no more black dots on your month view). Choose your font, colours and add pictures to personalise your display. Swipe motion quick delete and date select. This will quickly become one of your indispensable and most used apps. FEATURES: * Apple Watch * Notification Center Widget * List, Day, Month, Week and Agenda Views. * iPhone, iPad Pro, iPad, iPad mini. * iCloud, Google, Outlook, etc. * Pictures for calendar Month View. * Import your own pictures. * Month View event colours and descriptions (no more black dot). * Choose your font. * Choose your colours. * Choose your start of week. * Quickly go to any date. * View all your calendars. * Swipe motion to change between days, weeks and months. * Quick swipe delete. ( horizontal swipe on event description and select 'Delete' ) * Customise display colour for individual events. ( horizontal swipe on event description and select 'Edit Display') _______________________________________ - THIS IS NOT A FREE APP. DOWNLOAD THE LITE VERSION FOR FREE TO SEE IF YOU LIKE IT BEFORE YOU DECIDE TO PURCHASE. THE LITE VERSION IS FULLY FUNCTIONAL EXCEPT THAT IT CONTAINS ADVERTS AND RESTRICTS THE NUMBER OF EVENTS THAT CAN BE CREATED AND ADDED TO YOUR CALENDARS. A SMALL IN-APP UPGRADE CAN BE PURCHASED TO REMOVE THE RESTRICTIONS AND ADVERTS. THE COMPLETE CURRENT AND NEXT YEAR'S CALENDARS ARE THEN INCLUDED WITH THE INITIAL FULL VERSION UPGRADE PURCHASE. SUBSEQUENT CALENDAR YEARS ARE AVAILABLE AS A SMALL IN-APP PURCHASE. YOU WILL ALWAYS BE DISPLAYED THE COST IN YOUR LOCAL CURRENCY, BEFORE BEING ASKED TO CONFIRM ANY IN-APP PURCHASE. To allow our users to further customise their app to meet their specific needs and interests, there is also a separate Add-on available called the ‘Calendar Store’ provided by SchedJoules. It contains a large selection of great holiday, sport fixtures, weather & lifestyle calendars. These calendars can be set up so they are displayed alongside your other personal calendar events. You can purchase access to the ’Calendar Store’ Add-on for 1 year with a yearly auto-renewable subscription. You get full and ongoing access to the ‘Calendar Store’, including live updates. The 1 year subscription to the ‘Calendar Store’ Add-on starts at $1.99 (Prices may vary by location) and begins with a one-month free trial, so you can try before you buy. Payment will be charged to your iTunes Account at confirmation of purchase after the 1 month free trial. Subscriptions to the Add-on automatically renew unless auto-renew is turned off at least 24-hours before the end of the current period. Cancellation of the current active subscription period is not allowed. You can manage your subscription and turn off the auto-renew for the 'Calendar Store' Add-on at any time from your iTunes Account Settings. Full Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy are available at www.ovalkey.com/terms-of-service and www.ovalkey.com/privacy-policy respectively.

About

BigPlan

This app offers a visual planner to organize tasks, habits, and schedules on a single timeline. It helps users focus, manage projects with nested tasks, and personalize their planning space with custom themes and backdrops. Enjoy seamless synchronization across Apple devices.

Highlights
  • Visual timeline for tasks, habits, and events
  • Habit tracking and progress visualization
  • Nested tasks for project breakdown
  • Customizable themes, colors, and backdrops
  • iCloud sync across Apple devices
  • Drag-and-drop interface
  • Quick search and multi-edit capabilities
Features
Read full description

An intuitive visual planner that helps you focus every day on what you want to do, organize your time, and follow good habits. Find calm and focus in your day. Make plans and see all your tasks, habits, and schedule come together on a single timeline. Struggling to focus, juggling all the important stuff, or just keeping your head clear? Reclaim your headspace from all the distraction. – Simplify Your Day – Designed to bring you focus and clarity at a glance: - See Your Schedule Beautifully: Map out your entire day on an intuitive timeline that combines your to-dos, habits, and events. - Build Lasting Habits: Create and track repeatable tasks to build momentum and visualize your progress over time. - Never Miss a Thing: Stay on top of deadlines, meetings, and birthdays with custom reminders. – A Planner Just For You – Make your planning space a place you love: - Custom Colors: Personalize with a color palette that fits your style. - Big Themes: See the entire app transform with special color palettes that magically adapt to your chosen theme. - Serene Backdrops: Set your productive scene with beautiful backgrounds. – Easy Organization – From grocery lists to big projects, have the tools to handle it easily: - Tackle Projects: Break down big things into smaller, manageable steps with nested tasks and lists. - Gain Powerful Perspectives: Use Labels to categorize and quickly filter everything from work assignments to personal errands. - Capture Every Detail: Add notes quickly to your tasks so important information is always right where you need it. – Built For Your iPhone and iPad – - Widgets: See plans at a glance and seamlessly complete your to dos. - iCloud Sync: Your data is always saved and syncs automatically and securely across all your Apple devices. - Drag & Drop: Fluidly plan your day and reorganize with interactive drag-and-drop. - Quick Search: Swiftly find what you need - any task, note, or project. - Multi-Edit: Save time by editing multiple lists and tasks at once. - Dark mode Ready to focus? Get BigPlan now and start easily.

Screenshots

CalendarLife4 screens
BigPlan4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is ads: BigPlan at none against CalendarLife's shown. BigPlan also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 80%). CalendarLife's advantage is ratings volume (545 vs 4). On price, update cadence, in-app purchases and monetization model there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. CalendarLife sells 13 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per year and BigPlan sells 1 one-off in-app purchase. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

BigPlan holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: CalendarLife has 545 ratings behind it against 4, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 80% of CalendarLife's written reviews are positive against 100% of BigPlan's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

CalendarLife ships an update every 6 weeks, BigPlan monthly. The most recent releases landed on September 22, 2026 and June 11, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
CalendarLife versus BigPlan: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterCalendarLifeBigPlan
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.7 (545 ratings)5.0 (4 ratings) — better
Positive reviews80.0% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings545 — better4
Update frequencyEvery 6 weeksMonthly — better
AdsYesNo — better
In-app purchasesYesYes
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree with in-app purchases
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPad
Requires iOS17.6 — better18.5
Further details — not scored
Size29 MB35 MB
Age rating4+12+
DeveloperOvalKey Ltd.Jesse Spencer

Customer experience

CalendarLife

All ratings545 ratings
Positive92.7%
Neutral2.8%
Negative4.6%
Written reviews345 reviews
Positive80.0%
Neutral6.7%
Negative13.3%

BigPlan

All ratings4 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

CalendarLife

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Calendar dates not updating correctly
  • Reminders/alerts not working as expected
  • Color settings not persisting after updates
  • Inability to restore previous year's events

Requested features

5 requests
  • Ability to schedule recurring events (e.g., first Monday of every month)
  • Option to add notes/comments to events
  • Integration with maps for event locations
  • Contrast-reducing filter for uploaded images
  • Ability to delete unwanted holidays/events

BigPlan

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

13 purchases

CalendarLife

Subscriptions2
  • Calendar Store Add-On1 Month trial$1.991 Year
  • Premium Unlimited Access1 Month trial$9.991 Year
One-time11
  • Holidays United States$0.99
  • AR Calendar Add-on$1.99
  • CalendarLife Upgrade$4.99
Show 8 more
  • CalendarLife 2020 Calendar$4.99
  • CalendarLife 2021 Calendar$4.99
  • CalendarLife 2022 Calendar$4.99
  • CalendarLife 2023 Calendar$4.99
  • CalendarLife 2024 Calendar$4.99
  • CalendarLife 2025 Calendar$4.99
  • CalendarLife 2027 Calendar$6.99
  • CalendarLife 2026 Calendar$6.99
1 purchases

BigPlan

One-time1
  • Nova$12.00

Questions

Is CalendarLife free?
CalendarLife is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is BigPlan free?
BigPlan is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Which has better reviews, CalendarLife or BigPlan?
BigPlan is rated higher. CalendarLife averages 4.7 out of 5 from 545 ratings, while BigPlan averages 5.0 from 4 ratings.
Do CalendarLife or BigPlan have ads?
CalendarLife shows ads; BigPlan does not.
Which is updated more often, CalendarLife or BigPlan?
CalendarLife ships an update every 6 weeks, and BigPlan monthly. Most recently, CalendarLife was updated on September 22, 2026 and BigPlan on June 11, 2026.

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