# iCalendar vs SimpleCal

The clearest difference is price: SimpleCal at Free against iCalendar's $2.99. SimpleCal also leads on update cadence (fortnightly vs every 3 months) and review sentiment (85% vs 71%). iCalendar's advantage is ads (none vs shown) and chart position (#52 vs unranked). On rating, in-app purchases, monetization model and device support there is nothing between them.

SimpleCal is free to download; iCalendar costs $2.99 up front. iCalendar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $1.99 per year and SimpleCal sells 2 in-app purchases, starting at $0.99 per month. Whichever you choose, the download price is not the number that matters.

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.7 for iCalendar against 4.7 for SimpleCal. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 5.5K and 18K respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 71% of iCalendar's written reviews are positive against 85% of SimpleCal's.

iCalendar ships an update every 3 months, SimpleCal fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 28, 2026 respectively.

## The numbers

| Metric | iCalendar | SimpleCal |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | $2.99 | **Free** |
| Rating | [4.7 (5.5K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/icalendar/id492076105/reviews) | **[4.7 (18K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simplecal-simple-calendar/id1227579630/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | 5.5K | **18K** |
| Positive reviews | 71.4% of reviews | **84.7% of reviews** |
| In-app purchases | Yes | Yes |
| Ads | **No** | Yes |
| Update frequency | Every 3 months | **Fortnightly** |
| Monetization | Free with in-app purchases | Free with in-app purchases |
| Best chart rank | **#52** | — |
| Size | 21 MB | 33 MB |
| Requires iOS | 15.6 | **15.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch** | iPhone, iPad, iPod |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Symfonies, Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/866948270) | [Yohei Fujikawa](https://appshunter.io/developer/1227579629) |

## What reviewers say

### iCalendar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/icalendar/id492076105)

**Currently charting:** #52 Top Paid · Productivity (US App Store)

This app helps you manage your busy schedule with a user-friendly interface. Easily track daily, weekly, monthly, and yearly views, and color-code your events for better organization. It syncs with popular accounts and offers productivity tools for efficient event management.

**Highlights:** Daily, weekly, monthly, yearly views, Customizable event color-coding, Syncs with iCloud, Google, Exchange, Outlook, Yahoo!, Task manager with iOS Reminders sync, Drag and drop event rescheduling, Custom repeating events, Time zone support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Apple Watch app, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Calendar Store | $1.99 | per year |
| Religious holidays | $0.99 | one-time |
| Week Numbers | $0.99 | one-time |
| Moon Phases calendar | $0.99 | one-time |
| Holidays United States | $0.99 | one-time |
| Calendars - Pro Football USA 2014-2015 edition | $0.99 | one-time |
| Calendars - Pro Baseball USA 2015 edition | $0.99 | one-time |
| iOS Reminders | $0.99 | one-time |
| Calendars - Pro American Football Men United States 2015-2016 edition | $0.99 | one-time |
| Weather calendars | $1.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 💻 Excellent calendar app
- 🎨 Customizable color coding
- 📅 Comprehensive monthly view
- 🗓️ Seamless syncing across devices
- 🔍 Detailed event information

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Occasional data loss or sync issues
- 🔍 Difficulty editing recurring events
- 🔒 Concerns about security and privacy
- 💰 Paid features that should be free
- 🕰️ Inconsistent event time display

**Reported bugs**

- Events disappearing or not syncing properly
- Inability to edit or update recurring events
- Incorrect time and location information
- Crashes or freezes when performing certain actions

**Requested features**

- Add ability to attach files to events
- Improve widget functionality and visibility
- Introduce family/group calendar sharing
- Expand color palette and theming options
- Add yearly view and better month-to-month navigation


### SimpleCal

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/simplecal-simple-calendar/id1227579630)

This app offers a straightforward way to manage your schedule, sync events across devices using iCloud or Google Calendar, and stay organized with reminders and weather forecasts. Its customizable interface and simple design make adding and editing events quick and intuitive.

**Highlights:** Cross-platform sync (iCloud/Google), Event reminders (daily, weekly, monthly, yearly), Weather forecast integration, Customizable event and color themes, Simple event adding and editing, Widget for quick event overview, Dark mode support

**Features:** macOS Compatibility, Vision Pro support

**In-app purchases (2)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Ads removal | $0.99 | per month |
| Remove Ads | $49.99 | one-time |

**What reviewers like**

- 😍 Awesome!!
- 👍 Easy to use
- 👍 Well-organized
- 🎨 Helpful color-coding
- ⏰ Useful reminders

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Deleted events/data loss
- 🔒 Requires full access to Apple Calendar
- 🗓️ Can't edit read-only events
- 🎨 Limited color options
- 🗓️ Can't add events on days with existing events

**Reported bugs**

- Calendar stuck on one date
- Home screen widget not working
- Issues with setting recurring events

**Requested features**

- Add more color options
- Ability to gray out past days
- Custom reminder times
- Separate work and personal calendars
- Printable calendar view


## Frequently asked questions

### Is iCalendar free?

iCalendar costs $2.99, and also offers in-app purchases.

### Is SimpleCal free?

SimpleCal is free to download, with in-app purchases available.

### Which has better reviews, iCalendar or SimpleCal?

SimpleCal is rated higher. iCalendar averages 4.7 out of 5 from 5.5K ratings, while SimpleCal averages 4.7 from 18K ratings.

### Do iCalendar or SimpleCal have ads?

SimpleCal shows ads; iCalendar does not.

### Which is updated more often, iCalendar or SimpleCal?

iCalendar ships an update every 3 months, and SimpleCal fortnightly. Most recently, iCalendar was updated on October 26, 2026 and SimpleCal on October 28, 2026.

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*Compared by [AppsHunter](https://appshunter.io/) from daily US App Store data. Review summaries are generated from verbatim App Store reviews.*