Calendr is a free, open-source menu bar app for macOS that puts your calendar events, reminders, and a month-at-a-glance view one click away from the right side of your screen.
What is Calendr?
Calendr is a lightweight macOS utility that replaces the default clock-click calendar popover with a genuinely useful panel showing your upcoming events, a full month grid, and reminder badges — all without ever opening the Calendar app. It lives in the menu bar, stays out of your Dock, and pulls from the same system calendars and reminders you already maintain in iCloud, Google Calendar, or Exchange.
The project is fully open-source (MIT licence) and actively maintained on GitHub by its author, pakerwreah. Because it talks to the native macOS EventKit and Reminders frameworks, there is no account setup, no subscription, and no external server involved — your event data never leaves your Mac.
What does Calendr do best?
Calendr's strongest suit is giving you ambient time-awareness without switching context. The menu bar icon itself shows today's date and, optionally, the time until your next event — so you can feel the shape of your day before you even click.
- Event countdown in the menu bar. A live label like "Meeting in 23 min" sits beside the clock. I stopped missing video calls once I installed this.
- Month grid with event dots. At a glance you can see which days are heavy and which are clear — far more useful than Apple's tiny popover.
- Reminders integration. To-dos from the Reminders app appear alongside calendar events in the same timeline, something macOS's own widgets still don't do elegantly.
- Calendar filtering. Toggle individual calendars on or off with a single click. If you share a family calendar but don't need it cluttering your work view, a quick toggle handles it.
- Keyboard-first navigation. Arrow keys move between days; pressing Enter opens the system Calendar app focused on that date. Minimal mouse dependency throughout.
The panel design is clean and respects macOS conventions — it adapts to both Light and Dark mode automatically and uses native fonts and spacing. Nothing looks bolted-on.
Is Calendr free?
Yes, Calendr is completely free. There is no paid tier, no in-app purchase, and no donation nag screen. You can install it via Homebrew Cask (brew install --cask calendr) or download the DMG directly from the GitHub releases page. Because the source code is public, you can also build it yourself from Xcode if you prefer to audit what you run.
Who should use Calendr?
Calendr is an excellent fit for anyone who finds themselves constantly switching to the Calendar app just to remember what time their next meeting is. That describes most knowledge workers and developers on tight schedules.
It is particularly compelling if you already live in the menu bar — alongside tools like Bartender, iStat Menus, or Fantastical's menu bar mode — and want calendar access that matches that philosophy. Unlike Fantastical, which charges a subscription for its full feature set, Calendr does one job and does it for free. It is not a replacement for a full-featured calendar client like Fantastical or BusyCal if you need drag-to-reschedule, natural-language event creation, or travel-time alerts. But as a read-only situational-awareness layer, it is hard to beat.
Developers and students who spend long hours in a single app will find the persistent countdown especially valuable — it acts like a silent alarm that's always visible without ever demanding your attention.
How does Calendr compare to Fantastical?
Fantastical is the gold standard of Mac calendar apps: natural-language input, weather integration, full scheduling UI, and iOS/iPad sync. It also costs a recurring subscription. Calendr does none of those things — it is a read-only display layer, not a scheduling tool.
The honest comparison is narrower: Calendr vs. the little popover you get when you click the system clock. Against that baseline, Calendr wins decisively — richer month view, event countdown, reminders integration, calendar filtering, and a much more readable upcoming-events list. If you already pay for Fantastical, you probably don't need Calendr; its menu bar mode covers the same ground. If you do not, Calendr fills that gap at zero cost.
Other menu bar calendar alternatives worth knowing: Dato (€5, one-time) adds time-zone clocks and a meeting joiner; Mango (free tier) focuses on Google Calendar power users. Calendr beats both on simplicity and price.
What are the best Calendr alternatives?
If Calendr's read-only approach feels limiting, here are the most credible alternatives:
- Dato — one-time purchase, adds world clocks, meeting join links, and upcoming-event notifications. Closest in spirit to Calendr but with more features.
- Fantastical — subscription, full scheduling client with the best natural-language engine on Mac. Overkill if you just want a glanceable view.
- BusyCal — one-time purchase, full desktop calendar with a menu bar companion. Heavier than either of the above.
- Mango — free, Google Calendar-centric, cleaner if your entire calendar life lives in GSuite.
