Best shared calendar apps in 2026: which one fits who you are sharing with

Start with the calendar you already have

Most people searching for a shared calendar app already have one. Google Calendar and Apple's Calendar both share a calendar with other people and let them add and change events. The catch is the same on both: sharing works between accounts of the same kind. Apple's guide says you share an iCloud calendar with other iCloud users. Microsoft says people outside Outlook.com can accept an Outlook.com calendar invitation only with an Outlook.com or Microsoft 365 account.

So if everyone you want on the calendar already has a Google Account, or everyone has an iPhone and an Apple Account, stop here — the steps are in our guides to sharing a Google Calendar and sharing a calendar on iPhone. Both platforms also create a family calendar automatically if you set up their family features: Google's family group (one manager and up to five members) gets a calendar called Family, and Apple's Family Sharing (you and up to five others) sets up a shared calendar on everyone's devices.

Every published or public link on these platforms is read-only. Microsoft says it outright — HTML and ICS calendars are read-only — and Apple's Public Calendar is the same. A link lets someone look; it never lets them add.

Two people: a couples calendar

Couples are the one case where a dedicated app is built around the relationship itself. Cupla links exactly two accounts — its help centre says it is built around two connected accounts — and pulls the Google, Apple and Outlook calendars already on each phone into one colour-coded view, so neither partner has to move their calendar anywhere.

Cupla's free version limits how far ahead you can see your partner's events and to-dos and how much you can use its AI features; Premium removes those limits and is one subscription per couple. Cupla does not publish a single price: its help centre says pricing varies by region and is shown in the app, with a 14-day free trial on the annual plan.

A whole family: where the free plans differ

Once more than two people are involved, the dedicated family apps earn their place, and the question becomes what each keeps free. TimeTree keeps the shared calendar and event comments free, and a single shared calendar can have up to 500 members. FamilyWall keeps its shared calendar, shopping lists, to-do lists and messenger free, and puts Google and Outlook sync, the budget tracker and the meal planner behind Premium. Cozi is free with ads, and its FAQ says the free version enters events from Agenda view for the next 30 days, with unlimited future calendar access on Cozi Gold at $39 a year.

Our longer comparison of family calendar apps goes through these in more detail, with AnyList added for families whose real problem is the shopping list.

When someone will not create an account

Every option above asks each person to have an account — a Google Account, an Apple Account, a Microsoft account, or an account in the app. For most groups that is fine. For families with a grandparent who does not use email, a teenager who will not install one more app, or a relative abroad on a different platform, it is usually where the shared calendar stops being shared.

We publish Family Magnet, so read this part as the interested party: its calendar is joined with a six-digit code that is valid for seven days, and only the person who creates the family needs an email address. Everyone else types the code into a browser and becomes a full member who can add events — no account, no password, no app store. The trade is integration: it does not sync with Google or Apple calendars, so if everyone already lives in one of those, the first section of this page is the better answer.