10 Best Planner Apps for Mac
Are you trying to manage the chaos of your daily tasks to stay organized? Well done! Searching for the best planner app for Mac is the right step!
Planning apps for Mac will help you manage your projects effectively. With daily planners, you can create tasks, sub-tasks, and to-do lists, set deadlines, and integrate with other Apple devices, such as your Apple Watch or iPad.
“I’ve doubled my revenue thanks to Timeular and managed to halve how much I work. Timeular helped me understand where I needed to make changes to become more efficient and this has allowed me to cut down my time spent working.” – Valdemar Alfred, Owner of Valdefar
Navigating the plethora of planner apps akin to having a personal assistant is the key to optimizing your daily routine. Whether you’re tackling work commitments, school assignments, personal projects, note-taking, or assisting family members with their tasks, we’ve got you covered.
This article is your compass in the world of best Mac planner apps, paving the way for enhanced productivity and streamlined management. Let’s dive in!
Methodology: How did we choose the top planners for Mac
Amidst the multitude of planner and productivity apps, our emphasis lies in pinpointing key attributes that enhance effectiveness and user utility. Our evaluation centers on features, functionalities, integrations, and usability.
The spotlight is on apps we’ve personally used and rigorously tested, placing a premium on those with stellar user recommendations and reviews. This meticulous approach ensures a robust compilation of top-notch planner apps for Mac users.
- Recommended read: How many work days in a year?
What are the best planners for Mac?
Google Calendar
Nothing beats a good old calendar when we think of planning. Google Calendar is widely recognized and highly useful because it manages schedules, events, and appointments, making it a popular option for both individuals and businesses.
Google Calendar stands out with its multiple calendar views, offering day, week, month, and agenda views for users to adapt their schedule visualization to their preferences. The app also simplifies scheduling with recurring events, allowing users to set up weekly or monthly meetings and automatically update the calendar even in a different time zone.
Integration is also a key strength since it has a very good sync with various productivity apps like Slack, Dropbox, Salesforce, and Timeular. The app is free if you own a Google account.
Read also: Google Calendar time tracking
“I love how robust Timeular is. It’s increased our ability to see what’s going on in the business and helped us understand what changes are needed to maintain profitability.” – Kaitlin Snow Seamons, Executive Creative Director at Harmon Brothers
Notion
Notion is one of the most versatile apps on the list that provides powerful features as a planner and as a project management tool.
With multiple templates and features, the app suits different kinds of demands, from professionals to students, or even if you’re just looking for an app to arrange your to-dos and personal tasks.
Integration is seamless, with Notion syncing with various productivity apps like Google Calendar, Slack, and Zapier. This ensures smooth collaboration and workflow coordination. The app also excels in project management, providing Kanban boards for visual project tracking and timelines for a chronological view of events.
Notion’s page-based interface offers a flexible and customizable workspace. Users can create a hierarchical structure by nesting pages and incorporating diverse content types, such as text, images, tables, checklists, and code, which enhances the organization and accessibility of information within the app.
Notion paid plans start at $15 per user, but you can also use it for free with fewer features.
Read also: Time tracking in Notion
Todoist
Todoist stands out as a practical planner or to-do app because it simply delivers task management. You can plan your daily tasks through a to-do list according to what makes sense to your needs. Todoist’s versatility extends to facilitating effective collaboration among individuals and team members, enabling the assignment of deadlines and prioritization of tasks.
The to-do app’s organizational prowess shines in handling projects and subtasks, simplifying task management with a hierarchical structure. Todoist further streamlines workflow with recurring tasks, automating the addition of repetitive actions at regular intervals.
A key feature lies in Todoist’s rich customization options, with themes, labels, reminders, and integrations with other productivity apps. This flexibility empowers users to personalize the app and each to-do list according to their preferences.
Todoist is not a to-do list app available exclusively on Mac since it’s also available for Android and Windows users. The app offers a free version and paid plans starting at $5 per month.
TIP: Learn our post to learn everything about Todist time tracking.
Structured
Structured presents a user-friendly and minimalist interface designed for efficient day organization and task management. Its minimalist design prioritizes essential features, making it ideal for those preferring a clutter-free planning experience.
The app integrates Habit Tracking, allowing users to monitor progress toward personal goals, categorize habits for organization, and set target frequencies for effective habit formation. Structured can also silence notifications and distractions during deep work sessions.
One of Structured’s strengths lies in Cross-Device Syncing, ensuring accessibility across Mac, iPad, and iPhone without the need for manual updates, providing consistency and synchronization, which is especially beneficial for Mac users. It also integrates with popular calendars like Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and Outlook, facilitating the importation of events for better planning convenience.
The app offers many features for free, but some advanced ones are premium features that require an upgrade. Prices start at $2.99 per month.
Evernote
Evernote is a robust note-taking app that lets you capture, categorize, and share information effectively. It allows versatile creation of text, audio, images, handwritten notes, and even something simple as a to-do list, which can be easily organized into notebooks, tagged for swift searching, and shared collaboratively.
Task Management is seamlessly integrated into Evernote, empowering users to craft a to-do list, set reminders, take notes, and monitor progress on goals. The app’s collaboration tools enhance teamwork, with real-time editing and commenting features facilitating efficient planning activities and to-do lists.
Evernote’s rich media support, allowing embedded images, audio, and video files within notes, makes it a versatile tool for capturing and storing multimedia content, ideal for a variety of tasks like grocery lists and work assignments. The powerful search functionality ensures quick retrieval of any note or project, even when they contain handwritten text, images, or audio recordings.
Evernote app is available for iOS and Android. It has a free version with limitations on note-taking and uploads and a paid version starting at €8.33 per month.
Mindlist
Mindlist is a good planner for MacOS users and a reliable choice for those who seek a highly organized and customizable approach to managing their plans and new tasks.
Recognized for its adaptability, attention to context-based task management, and integration with other productivity apps, Mindlist is available as a native app for both Mac and iOS devices, which ensures coordination across various platforms and a shallow learning curve.
A strong feature is the focus mode, designed to temporarily conceal all tasks except the one currently selected, promoting distraction-free deep work sessions. Mindlist offers extensive customization alternatives, allowing users to tailor views, set up recurring tasks, and create personalized perspectives according to their specific needs and preferences.
Additionally, the app includes a habit tracker, enabling users to monitor progress toward forming new habits or breaking existing ones, fostering self-improvement, setting reminders, and aiding in the accomplishment of personal goals.
This planner app can be used for free but offers premium features at $6.99.
Any.Do
Any.Do is designed for users who want to organize and customize their plans and goals. Noteworthy for its adaptability, focus on context-based task management, and integration with other productivity apps, Any.Do is available as a native app for iOS devices, ensuring synchronization across platforms like iPhone and iPad.
It also provides a focus mode, which temporarily hides all but the currently selected task, fostering undistracted deep work sessions for your current to-dos. Any.Do software excels in customization, allowing users to tailor views, set up recurring tasks, and create personalized perspectives based on individual needs and preferences.
The app also integrates a habit tracker, empowering users to monitor progress toward forming new habits or breaking existing ones, promoting self-improvement, and helping users organize their plans better and achieve their goals.
The planner app offers a free version with key features and premium plans starting at $5 monthly.
Timepage
Timepage blends the traditional features of a calendar with an emphasis on contextual awareness and intelligent scheduling. Crafted to aid effective day planning, organization, and time management, Timepage sets itself apart by leveraging contextual awareness.
It suggests relevant tasks, appointments, to-dos, and events based on the user’s current location, time of day, and past activities, helping improve focus and productivity throughout the day according to what makes sense to the user.
Incorporating intelligent scheduling algorithms, Timepage recommends optimal times for tasks and events by considering factors such as availability, preferences, and past performance. This ensures users can avoid scheduling conflicts and maintain a well-balanced and effective daily schedule.
The app can also sync with Apple Calendar, providing a centralized hub within the app for users to view, manage, and edit all their events and tasks. This integration enhances accessibility and streamlines the overall scheduling experience.
Trello
Trello is a very solid alternative for a good planner. It is very effective for overall project management activities and planning since it allows you to be more visual through the use of Kanban boards, share tasks, customize, track, and arrange them.
Businesses and organizations drawn to Trello for its simplicity, flexibility, and collaboration features find it a popular choice across various sizes.
In Trello, tasks are represented by cards containing descriptions, due dates, attachments, and checklists for detailed breakdowns. The use of labels and due dates helps users categorize and prioritize assignments, ensuring timely completion.
The platform further supports collaboration through comments and attachments, allowing users to share ideas and add tags and files seamlessly. Trello’s efficiency is complemented by pre-built templates for various projects, such as marketing campaigns or product development, saving users time and effort when setting up new boards.
Both teams and individuals can use Trello for free, but you can always have an upgrade starting at $5 per month.
Read also: Does Trello have time tracking?
OmniFocus
OmniFocus is designed for those who need a highly organized and customizable way to manage their plans and goals. It is known for its flexibility, focus on context-based task management and integration with other productivity apps.
OmniFocus excels as a native Mac and iOS app, ensuring seamless synchronization across iPhone and iPad devices.
The focus mode is a standout feature of the app, which temporarily hides all but the selected task, fostering undistracted deep work sessions. OmniFocus stands out for its extensive customization and appealing design, allowing users to tailor views, set up recurring tasks, and create personalized perspectives.
Additionally, the app integrates a habit tracker, supporting users in monitoring progress toward forming new habits or breaking existing ones, facilitating self-improvement and goal achievement.
The app offers a free trial period and paid versions according to the chosen plan. Prices start at $4.99 per month.
Features to look for when choosing a good planner for Mac
Overall usability and interface
One of the strongest features to look for when choosing a planner app is usability. The app should have a clean and easy-to-use user interface that is intuitive and straightforward to help users quickly add, edit, and view appointments, dos, reminders, and notes without unnecessary complexity.
Integrations
Consider apps that can integrate seamlessly with other productivity tools and apps you already use daily. When we talk about apps for Mac, look for those that have better integrations with the iOS system. This can help you streamline your workflows, stay organized, and avoid switching between multiple apps while adding tasks to your planner.
Syncing across devices
As mentioned before, integrations are very important, especially for Mac users, so ensure the app you choose allows you to sync your schedule and tasks seamlessly across your Mac, iPhone, iPad, and other devices. This ensures you always have access to your information, regardless of your device.
Task management capabilities
A good planner app should be able to integrate task management features, such as the ability to categorize tasks into a different project, assign due dates and priorities, and enable you to create, access, and manage lists, set reminders, and track your progress. It is a strong feature to help you stay on top of your commitments.
Conclusion
Hopefully, this list will help you decide when choosing the right planner app for Mac.
Choosing the most suitable one will improve your routine, daily tasks, and to-do lists. Remember to consider the factors we mentioned above, from interface and usability to multiple integrations, but more importantly, the one that suits you perfectly.
Of course, many other apps didn’t make it to this list. However, we strongly believe that the preselection provided in this article will help you make the right choice.
FAQ
How can I plan time manually?
If you don’t want to automate planning your schedule with a planner app, use one of the free schedule templates provided by Timeular. They are available in three different formats: in Google Sheets, Microsoft Excel, and as a printable PDF file.
What is the best planner app for Mac and iPhone?
There isn’t a right answer because the best app planner for Mac and iPhone will depend on your personal needs and what makes more sense in your routine and daily tasks. It is important to analyze the app’s core features, how it can help you organize daily tasks and complex projects, and how it can sync with apps and lists you may already use.
Is Microsoft Planner available for Mac?
Yes, it is. Microsoft Planner is a collaborative task management tool that facilitates teamwork, task organization, and progress tracking. It is part of Microsoft 365 and is available for Mac users.
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