Comparison

When vs InstaCal

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

Head to head
About

When

Quickly set reminders with a single tap by interacting with a clock face. Customize your reminders with notes, colors, icons, and sounds. View all your upcoming tasks in a comprehensive list.

Highlights
  • One-tap reminder setting
  • Clock face time adjustment
  • Add notes to reminders
  • Customizable colors and icons
  • Select reminder sounds
  • View all reminders list
Read full description

Set reminders in one tap! Tap the clock face at the time you want — and your reminder is ready. • Move the reminder around the clock face to change the time. • Add notes. • Customize the color and icon. • Choose a sound. • View the full list of reminders. Give it a try!

About

InstaCal

This comprehensive calendar app offers multiple views and integrates events with Apple Reminders. It features natural-language event creation in 12 languages and includes native apps for Mac and Apple Watch with a single purchase.

Highlights
  • Six touch-optimized calendar views
  • Integrates events and Apple Reminders
  • Natural-language Quick Add in 12 languages
  • Native Mac and Apple Watch apps
  • Customizable widgets and Live Activities
  • One-time purchase, no subscription
Features
Read full description

Your events, reminders, tasks and countdowns, together. Plan your day on iPhone and iPad, check what is next in interactive widgets and keep important dates close. ONE PURCHASE. FOUR PLATFORMS. One purchase includes four native apps: • Mac: a menu bar calendar and full calendar window. • iPhone: your agenda, widgets and Live Activities. • iPad: calendar, agenda and event details side by side. • Apple Watch: upcoming plans, tasks, countdowns and complications. No subscription, separate mobile unlock or InstaCal account to create. BUILT FOR IPHONE AND IPAD Move between Agenda, Day, Week, Month, Quarter and Year views. On iPad, see your calendar, agenda and event details side by side. Use notification controls to choose which calendars alert you and when. YOUR PLANS GO WITH YOU Check your next event, daily agenda, tasks and countdowns on Apple Watch. On your Mac, keep your calendar one click away in the menu bar. EVENTS, REMINDERS, TASKS AND COUNTDOWNS • See calendar events and Apple Reminders together. • Organize tasks in lists with tags, priorities and checklists. • Keep trips, birthdays and milestones in view with countdowns. • Join online meetings and respond to supported invitations. • See weather and moon phases alongside your plans. • Get travel-time and leave-by guidance for your next event. ADD PLANS IN YOUR OWN WORDS Type "Lunch with Sam tomorrow at noon" to create an event. Quick Add understands dates and times in 31 languages, with processing on your device. Use Quick Edit to move, rename or cancel events, or search from the same field. WIDGETS THAT KEEP PLANS CLOSE Browse dates and check off reminders in interactive widgets. Keep your agenda, next event and countdowns on your Home Screen, Lock Screen or Mac desktop, with options for supported devices. On supported iPhones, Live Activities keep upcoming plans in view on the Lock Screen and Dynamic Island. MAKE ROOM FOR YOUR DAY Switch between calendar views to see the details or the bigger picture. Use calendar sets, choose colors and display a second time zone. Your settings sync through your own iCloud. Add plans with Siri, Shortcuts or the Quick Add control on iPhone and iPad. WORKS WITH THE CALENDARS YOU USE Use calendars available through Apple Calendar, or connect Google and Microsoft accounts directly for richer event and invitation support. IN YOUR LANGUAGE The interface and natural-language Quick Add support English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, Dutch, Brazilian Portuguese, Russian, Japanese, Korean, and Simplified and Traditional Chinese. Dates, week starts and time formats follow your region. PRIVACY No advertising, tracking or usage analytics. Natural-language entry is processed on your device. Calendar connections use the providers you choose. Optional feature-request submissions and image generation send the content you provide to online services; see our privacy policy for details. WELCOME BACK InstaCal has been rebuilt for today's devices. Every previous purchaser gets the upgrade at no extra charge, however long ago they bought it. Thank you for giving us another chance. Questions? Visit instacalapp.com/support/. Some features require supported devices or services.

Screenshots

When4 screens
InstaCal4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is price: When at $9.99 against InstaCal's $19.99. When also leads on review sentiment (75% vs 57%) and iOS requirement (15.0 vs 18.0). InstaCal's advantage is update cadence (weekly vs every 3 weeks) and device support (4 vs 2). On rating, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases 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

When costs $9.99 and InstaCal $19.99 up front. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 5.0 for When against 5.0 for InstaCal. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 1 and 2 respectively. Written reviews are what separate them: 75% of When's written reviews are positive against 57% of InstaCal's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

When ships an update every 3 weeks, InstaCal weekly. The most recent releases landed on November 6, 2026 and November 2, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
When versus InstaCal: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterWhenInstaCal
Price$9.99 — better$19.99
Rating5.0 (1 ratings)5.0 (2 ratings)
Positive reviews75.0% of reviews — better56.6% of reviews
Number of ratings12 — better
Update frequencyEvery 3 weeksWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationPaidPaid
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, Mac, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better18.0
Further details — not scored
Size7 MB113 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperMikhail SolomonovHigher Bar, LLC

Customer experience

When

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%
Written reviews40 reviews
Positive75.0%
Neutral10.0%
Negative15.0%

InstaCal

Written reviews99 reviews
Positive56.6%
Neutral10.1%
Negative33.3%

In-app purchases

None

When

No in-app purchases

None

InstaCal

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is When free?
When costs $9.99, with no in-app purchases.
Is InstaCal free?
InstaCal costs $19.99, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, When or InstaCal?
When and InstaCal are both rated 5.0 out of 5 on the App Store, from 1 and 2 ratings respectively.
Do When or InstaCal have ads?
Neither When nor InstaCal shows ads.
Which is updated more often, When or InstaCal?
When ships an update every 3 weeks, and InstaCal weekly. Most recently, When was updated on November 6, 2026 and InstaCal on November 2, 2026.

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