Cloud Calendars vs BusyCal on iPhone, iPad & Mac
BusyCal is the classic power-user toolkit for Apple veterans—offering a standalone ~$4.99 one-time iOS purchase (plus a separate ~$49.99 macOS app), direct built-in CalDAV clients, tags, custom day/week grid counts, and carry-forward tasks. Cloud Calendars is built for iPhone and iPad users who prefer a modern, clutter-free timeline with side-by-side multi-calendar columns, a full Apple WeatherKit station, Lock Screen Live Activities, and $0 free Google + iCloud access ($4.99/year ad-free). Arte Soft develops Cloud Calendars and publishes this comparison.
Feature-by-Feature Comparison Matrix
| Capability | Cloud Calendars | BusyCal (iOS & macOS) |
|---|---|---|
| Calendar views | Day, Week (portrait & landscape), Month, Year, List & Multi-calendar per-source columns | List, Day, customizable Multi-day/Week (2–14 days) & customizable Month (2–8 weeks) |
| Weather detail | Full Apple WeatherKit hub (hourly, 10-day, wind/gusts, UV, rain, pressure) + tap-hour draft | Live daily/hourly forecast icons in List, Day & Month views + moon phases |
| Tasks & Smart Filters | Focused strictly on events & dual alerts; simple per-calendar toggles | Dated, timed & undated tasks with carry-forward, tags & saved Smart Filters |
| Event entry & travel time | Structured fields, drag/resize on timeline & forecast-hour quick draft | Optional natural-language parser, structured fields & live map travel-time lookup |
| Conferencing links | Google Meet (Free) and Microsoft Teams (Premium) | Conferencing link detection and one-tap meeting join (full creation deeper on macOS) |
| Widgets, Live Activity & Watch | 3 Home Screen widget sizes + Lock Screen Live Activity (iPhone & iPad) | Configurable iOS widgets + Apple Watch app (dated/timed tasks & events) |
| Desktop companion | iPhone & iPad only (iOS / iPadOS 18.0+) | Full BusyCal for Mac desktop app with menu-bar mini calendar (sold separately / Setapp) |
Direct Built-In CalDAV Engine vs Native iOS EventKit + OAuth
BusyCal includes its own built-in CalDAV, Exchange/EWS, Office 365, and Google sync engine right inside the app rather than relying solely on iOS Settings—handy when administering delegated CalDAV calendars, Nextcloud, Fastmail, or Fruux with server-level alarms and tags.
Cloud Calendars reads iCloud, CalDAV, and subscribed ICS calendars cleanly through iPhone Settings > Apps > Calendar > Calendar Accounts (EventKit) and pairs them with direct Sign in with Google (Free) and Sign in with Microsoft (Premium) OAuth connections.
Account Sync, Protocol & Platform Support
| Provider / Dimension | Cloud Calendars | BusyCal |
|---|---|---|
| Google Calendar | Sign in with Google OAuth + Meet links in Free tier | Direct Google Calendar + Google Tasks OAuth sync |
| Microsoft 365 / Exchange | Sign in with Microsoft OAuth + Teams (Premium) or iOS Exchange | Direct Exchange / Office 365 Graph & EWS/ActiveSync support |
| iCloud & Custom CalDAV | Via iPhone/iPad Calendar Accounts (EventKit full access); Free | Direct built-in iCloud & arbitrary CalDAV client + iOS system access |
| ICS URL Subscriptions | Via iOS Subscribed Calendars (read-only preserved) | Direct Webcal/ICS subscriptions with custom refresh intervals |
| Supported Platforms | iPhone & iPad (iOS / iPadOS 18.0+) | iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch & macOS (separate Mac license) |
| Offline & Privacy Model | Account-free local calendars + mirrored offline iOS store records | Direct device-to-server sync with local SQLite cache; no relay cloud |
One-Time Purchase vs Free/Subscription Tiers
If you dislike recurring subscriptions on iOS, BusyCal for iOS stands out as an upfront paid app (~$4.99 once on the US App Store, supporting Apple Family Sharing), whereas BusyCal for Mac costs ~$49.99 (including 18 months of updates, or bundled in Setapp).
Cloud Calendars lets you download and use all 5 views, iCloud, Google sync, Meet links, widgets, and the full WeatherKit hub for $0 (with ads), remove ads for $0.49/month ($4.99/year) in Advanced, or add Microsoft Calendar and Teams in Premium ($49.99/year).
Pricing & Best Choice by User Scenario
| User Scenario | Cloud Calendars | BusyCal | Recommended Choice |
|---|---|---|---|
| Try full Google + iCloud + 10-day weather for $0 | $0 Free plan (or $4.99/yr ad-free) | Upfront paid download (~$4.99 on iOS) | Cloud Calendars |
| One-time payment for iOS Microsoft Exchange + CalDAV + Tasks | Microsoft requires $49.99/yr Premium; no tasks | ~$4.99 one-time iOS purchase covers Exchange, CalDAV & tasks | BusyCal (iOS) |
| Calm, modern UI with side-by-side per-calendar columns | Multi-calendar Day columns + high-contrast aurora UI | Information-dense utilitarian inspector & filter menus | Cloud Calendars |
| Meteorological detail (wind gusts, UV, feels-like, pressure) | Dedicated Apple WeatherKit hub + tap hour to draft event | Compact weather icons in List, Day & Month | Cloud Calendars |
| Carry-forward tasks, boolean Smart Filters & Mac menu bar | iOS/iPadOS events only | Deep Smart Filters, rolling tasks & full macOS counterpart | BusyCal |
| Sharing a single event via link/QR/App Clip preview | Built-in Reader/Writer/Owner single-event & calendar sharing | Standard CalDAV/provider attendee invites | Cloud Calendars |
Interface Philosophy: Modern Glanceability vs Deep Knobs
BusyCal exposes dozens of toggles—font sizes, custom 5-week month grids, tag colors, and alarm defaults—which technical users love and casual iPhone planners sometimes find overwhelming.
Cloud Calendars focuses on fast touch legibility: switching between Day, Week, Month, Year, List, and Multi-calendar columns takes one tap, and hourly weather sits naturally beside your appointments without setup.
Testing CalDAV and Provider Permissions Safely
Whether you connect a CalDAV server directly in BusyCal or through iPhone Settings for Cloud Calendars, server ACLs still decide whether you can edit an event.
Always test with one solo, non-recurring sample appointment before moving shared family or team calendars.
What it looks like
What to do
- Decide whether you want deep configuration knobs, tags, and tasks (BusyCal) or a streamlined weather + multi-column viewer (Cloud Calendars).
- Check if you need a native macOS app alongside iPhone/iPad.
- Compare upfront iOS pricing (~$4.99 once for BusyCal) vs $0 Free / $4.99-per-year Advanced in Cloud Calendars.
- Verify your CalDAV, Google, or Exchange write permissions with a harmless test event.
- Check notification settings so two apps do not alert you simultaneously.
Questions
- Does Cloud Calendars support CalDAV accounts like Fastmail or Nextcloud?
- Yes, via iOS: add your CalDAV account in iPhone Settings > Apps > Calendar > Calendar Accounts and grant Cloud Calendars Full Access to Calendars. BusyCal additionally includes its own in-app CalDAV client.
- Does Cloud Calendars have Smart Filters or rolling tasks like BusyCal?
- No. Cloud Calendars lets you toggle individual calendar sources on or off and compare them in side-by-side columns, without task checklists or boolean tag filters.
- Is BusyCal for Mac included when you buy BusyCal for iOS?
- No. BusyMac licenses BusyCal for iOS and BusyCal for Mac separately (with Mac also available in Setapp). Cloud Calendars is for iPhone and iPad only.