What iOS calendar apps offer multiple alerts for events?

September 28, 2021 3:21 PM

My favorite iOS calendar app has been abandoned and I need recommendations for a replacement app. Can you help?

So I have been a longtime user of an iOS calendar app called Calvetica. This app has been around forever and unfortunately it has slowly slipped into the realm of abandonware. With the recent release of iOS 15, the app has stopped working in important ways (for example, I cannot add a new calendar entry for a given day at all without it crashing) and there is little evidence that the developer will be updating the app anytime soon.

I love this calendar app in particular because of one big feature I use all the time - the ability to add multiple alerts ("alarms" in Calvetica parlance) on a given event added to the calendar. In Calvetica, when you enter a new event, it presents a picker for different time durations for these alarms, which looks like this:

Calvetica Alarms Picker

I am now looking for a new iOS calendar app that offers this same functionality (should it exist). Sadly, the built-in calendar in iOS only offers the option for 2 alerts, which is not enough for me.

Here are a few other needs/wants in a replacement calendar app:

- Must work with the main iOS/iCloud calendar. I don't use other 3rd party calendars like Google Calendar, Outlook, etc. so that functionality is unnecessary but if included is not a problem.
- If a paid app, preference is for pay up front rather than subscription model.
- A clean and easy to use interface that makes event entry simple. (Calvetica has this in spades)
- App is actively maintained.

Does anyone know of an iOS calendar app that has what I'm looking for? I appreciate your recommendations. Thanks!

posted by karizma to Technology (8 answers total)

I, too, need multiple alarms to get past my ability to space out even the most obvious appointment. My solution was BusyCal, which I adore on both the desktop where I mainly use it, and also on the iphone. (FYI: Their companion app BusyContacts is also really good!)
posted by Violet Blue at 3:52 PM on September 28, 2021

I use Readdle's Calendars 5, which offers a wide range of alert periods as well as one custom value per event.

I've been using it for years, and it's regularly updated.
posted by Jesse the K at 3:56 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

I use Fantastical across all my Mac and iOS devices. There's a free version that does everything you mentioned, and a subscription version that adds more. It lets you add multiple alerts easily, has great widgets and UI, and is actively maintained and has been around for a while.
posted by duien at 3:57 PM on September 28, 2021 [3 favorites]

I use Gmail on iPhone. My standard calendar appt. always has 3 notifications/alerts. It's easy to add or remove notifications. Notifications can be minutes, hours, days, and I use that, plus tasks, to organize my life. Because it's web-based, I can set appts. on my phone or any browser.
posted by theora55 at 4:06 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

I use the tiny calendar app on iOS. You can put in as many “reminders” as you want; the two options are a pop up notification and an emailed reminder. You can set the reminders as minutes, hours, days, etc before the event starts. I often do an emailed reminder the day before plus 1-3 pop up reminders the day of the event/meeting/whatever. I do use it with Google calendar, but I’m 98% sure it works with the native apple calendar.
posted by insectosaurus at 5:04 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

I think BusyCal iOS does everything you're looking for.
posted by mark7570 at 7:41 PM on September 28, 2021

Response by poster: Thank you for the suggestions so far! It is much appreciated.

I've installed and tried out most of the apps (except BusyCal, as it's $4.99 just to try) and so far I'm seeing a limitation of 5 total alerts for events in the suggested apps. I may not have been super descriptive about that feature in my question, but with Calvetica, I can have as many time-defined event alerts as I want. So, for example, I could choose to have the 5 min, 15 min, 30 min, 45 min, 1 hr, 2 hr, 6 hr, 12 hr, 1 day, 2 day, 3 day, 5 day, 1 week, 2 week, and 1 month alerts all turned on at once for one event if I wanted. Or just 7 of them. Or just 3. There's no limitation to the number I can have selected. That is the functionality I'm trying to match primarily. Maybe that's just a feature that is unique to Calvetica, but I'm hoping not.
posted by karizma at 8:51 PM on September 28, 2021 [1 favorite]

MyCal Pro might be worth a look. It let me put 7 preset alerts before I stopped trying. Not sure about how many custom alerts like 3 min, or 41 day, or 8 month, etc. can be scheduled.
posted by DB Cooper at 9:04 AM on October 1, 2021