# Fantastical Calendar vs Microsoft Planner

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: Microsoft Planner at none against Fantastical Calendar's 10. Microsoft Planner also leads on rating (4.6 vs 4.2). Fantastical Calendar's advantage is review sentiment (47% vs 29%) and chart position (#133 vs unranked). On price, ratings volume, ads and iOS requirement there is nothing between them.

Both are free to download. Fantastical Calendar sells 10 in-app purchases, starting at $6.99 per month. Microsoft Planner asks for nothing beyond the download.

Microsoft Planner holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 4.2. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 25K and 13K respectively. Written reviews complicate that: 47% of Fantastical Calendar's written reviews are positive against 29% of Microsoft Planner's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

Fantastical Calendar ships an update every 3 weeks, Microsoft Planner every 6 weeks. Both last shipped on October 17, 2026.

## The numbers

| Metric | Fantastical Calendar | Microsoft Planner |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | [4.2 (25K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fantastical-calendar/id718043190/reviews) | **[4.6 (13K ratings)](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/microsoft-planner/id1219301037/reviews)** |
| Number of ratings | **25K** | 13K |
| Positive reviews | **47.1% of reviews** | 29.1% of reviews |
| In-app purchases | Yes | **No** |
| Ads | No | No |
| Update frequency | **Every 3 weeks** | Every 6 weeks |
| Monetization | Freemium | **Free** |
| Best chart rank | **#133** | — |
| Size | 185 MB | 158 MB |
| Requires iOS | 17.6 | **17.0** |
| Devices | **iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Vision Pro** | iPhone, iPad |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | [Flexibits Inc.](https://appshunter.io/developer/435003924) | [Microsoft Corporation](https://appshunter.io/developer/298856275) |

## What reviewers say

### Fantastical Calendar

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/fantastical-calendar/id718043190)

**Currently charting:** #133 Top Grossing · Productivity (US App Store)

This powerful calendar and task management app offers intuitive natural language input for event creation, multiple calendar views, and robust task integration. It provides weather forecasts and advanced features like meeting polls and video conferencing integration for premium users.

**Highlights:** Natural language event and task creation, Multiple calendar views (day, week, month, year), Integrated task management (Todoist, Google Tasks), Weather forecasts, Meeting scheduling and polls, Video conferencing integration

**Features:** Apple Watch app, iMessage stickers

**In-app purchases (10)**

| Purchase | Price | Billing |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Premium (2020 Upgrade) | $6.99 | per month |
| Flexibits Premium | $6.99 | per month |
| Premium (2020 Upgrade) | $6.99 | per month |
| Premium for Families | $10.49 | per month |
| Premium Family (2020 Upgrade) | $10.49 | per month |
| Premium (2020 Upgrade) | $56.99 | per year |
| Flexibits Premium | $56.99 | per year |
| Premium (2020 Upgrade) | $56.99 | per year |
| Premium for Families | $89.99 | per year |
| Premium Family (2020 Upgrade) | $89.99 | per year |

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Intuitive and easy to use
- 👍 Excellent natural language input
- 💡 Helpful calendar integration features
- 🚀 Smooth syncing across devices
- 👍 Beautiful and clean UI design

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Inconsistent behavior with reminders and event management
- 💰 Expensive subscription model
- 🤖 Overly aggressive upselling of premium features
- 🤔 Concerns about forced account creation
- 🐛 Sync issues between iOS and Mac versions

**Reported bugs**

- Apple Watch sync problems
- Events disappearing or changing unexpectedly
- Freezing and crashing on certain user actions

**Requested features**

- Option to disable predictive input features
- Improved calendar set management
- Enhanced integration with third-party apps and services
- Ability to customize app icons and themes


### Microsoft Planner

[App page](https://appshunter.io/ios/app/microsoft-planner/id1219301037)

Organize teamwork visually with a simple, interactive board. Assign tasks, track progress, and collaborate with your team through integrated conversations and file sharing. Stay updated on all your tasks across different plans and devices.

**Highlights:** Visual task boards, Task assignment and tracking, Team collaboration and chat, File sharing, Cross-device synchronization, My Tasks view

**In-app purchases:** none

**What reviewers like**

- 🚀 Great for team collaboration
- 👍 Easy to use and intuitive
- 🚀 Helpful for personal organization
- 👍 Good integration with Microsoft 365 suite

**What reviewers complain about**

- 🐛 Buggy and unstable
- 🔒 Limited to work/school accounts only
- 🔒 Lack of customization options
- 🐛 Slow performance and sync issues
- 🔒 Missing key features like calendar view

**Reported bugs**

- Freezing on login screen
- Inability to create or edit plans
- Tasks disappearing or not syncing properly
- Compatibility issues on older devices
- Comments not saving or editable

**Requested features**

- Recurring tasks and calendar integration
- Ability to copy/move tasks between plans
- More flexible labeling and filtering options
- Offline mode and export/import functionality
- Deeper integration with Outlook and Teams


## Frequently asked questions

### Is Fantastical Calendar free?

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

### Is Microsoft Planner free?

Microsoft Planner is free to download, with no in-app purchases.

### Which has better reviews, Fantastical Calendar or Microsoft Planner?

Microsoft Planner is rated higher. Fantastical Calendar averages 4.2 out of 5 from 25K ratings, while Microsoft Planner averages 4.6 from 13K ratings.

### Do Fantastical Calendar or Microsoft Planner have ads?

Neither Fantastical Calendar nor Microsoft Planner shows ads.

### Which is updated more often, Fantastical Calendar or Microsoft Planner?

Fantastical Calendar ships an update every 3 weeks, and Microsoft Planner every 6 weeks. Most recently, Fantastical Calendar was updated on October 17, 2026 and Microsoft Planner on October 17, 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.*