Free Google Calendar sync, and what the adverts pay for
Free calendar apps are usually free because something else is being sold. It is worth knowing which thing, before you commit your week to one.
What most people assume
That a free tier is a trial, and the real app is behind a paywall.
What free actually covers
Every view, iCloud sync, Google sync, the whole weather hub and in-calendar forecasts, widgets, Meet links on events, and drag-and-drop editing. Not a trial of those things — those things.
If your calendars are Apple's and Google's, which is most people's, the free tier is the app.
What the adverts do and what removing them costs
The free tier carries advertising. Removing it is the cheapest paid tier, and removing adverts is genuinely most of what that tier is for.
Stating that plainly seems better than the usual arrangement, where the ad-free tier is bundled with features you did not ask for so the price looks like it buys more.
The numbers
| What it describes | Value |
|---|---|
| Cost of the free tier | 0 |
| Monthly cost of removing adverts, in dollars | 0.49 |
What it looks like
What to do
- Start free; the sync you need is probably already there.
- Pay to remove adverts if they bother you, not because you expect the app to change.
- Only consider the top tier if your work calendar is Microsoft.