Dato vs In Your Face

Dato

• Mac users who want their schedule one click away in the menu bar
• People who keep missing the start of video meetings
• Anyone working across time zones who wants several clocks in view
• Buyers who want a one-time purchase and no subscription

In Your Face

• People who miss meetings because banner notifications are easy to ignore
• Remote workers who want to join a video call straight from the reminder
• People with ADHD, hyperfocus or time blindness, the audience the developer names

Dato

• Mac only. The current version requires macOS 26 or later; older macOS releases get older versions of the app.
• The vendor calls it a read-only view of your events: it can create events, but editing one or answering an invitation opens Apple's Calendar app.
• It has no sync of its own. Google, Outlook and other accounts must first be added to the built-in Calendar app.
• Natural-language entry is not supported yet, and the menus and settings are in English only.

In Your Face

• There is no free plan: once the trial's free alerts are used, the app shows no alerts until you subscribe or buy a license.
• On Mac, website license keys work only with the direct-download version; App Store versions use Apple's in-app purchases.
• It cannot read calendars held in Microsoft Outlook, Fantastical or BusyCal; Google and Microsoft accounts are connected directly instead.
• The site lists Mac, Windows, iPhone, iPad and Apple Watch only, and the iPhone and iPad app requires iOS 26 or later.

Dato

Menu bar calendar and event list

A month calendar with optional week numbers and event indicators sits above a list of upcoming events and reminders. How many days and events it shows is adjustable.

Fullscreen meeting notifications

A notification fills the screen when an event starts. It can be limited to video calls, events with an alert or accepted events, and paused with a Focus Filter.

Join video calls

Join the next call from a notification, the event details or a global keyboard shortcut. Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams and more than 50 other services are recognized, and others can be added.

World clocks and time travel

Clocks for several time zones appear in the Dato menu or the menu bar, with custom names and offline search of 15,000 cities. A slider shows what time it will be elsewhere.

Upcoming event in the menu bar

The next event can be shown as its own menu bar item, next to a date and time display whose format, icon and color can be customized.

Shortcuts, widgets and quick entry

A global keyboard shortcut opens the new event window, which can also create reminders. Shortcuts actions switch calendars and notifications on or off, and widgets show the date, calendar and world clocks.

In Your Face

Full-screen alerts

An alert takes over the screen before each event, one minute ahead by default or at a time you set. Alerts can also adjust for travel time when the event includes it.

Join calls from the alert

The app detects video conference links in calendar events for more than 60 services, including Zoom, Teams and Meet, and opens the call from the alert or the event list.

Calendar accounts and filters

On Mac and Windows it connects directly to Google and Microsoft accounts; on Apple devices it also uses the calendars in Apple Calendar. Filters limit alerts to the calendars and events you choose.

Custom reminders

Set a reminder for something that has no calendar event, and get the same full-screen alert for time-critical Apple Reminders.

Per-event settings, pausing and themes

Override the default alert for an individual event, pause alerts while sharing your screen, pick alert sounds and change how alerts look with themes.

Menu bar, widgets and Apple Watch

The Mac app lives in the menu bar with upcoming events and has desktop widgets, the Windows app sits in the tray, and the iPhone app can send alerts to an Apple Watch.

Dato

• Dato$18

  one-time purchase on the Mac App Store

  The full app. The App Store listing promises free upgrades and says Dato will never be subscription-based.

In Your Face

• Monthly Subscription$3.99

  per month

  Unlimited full-screen reminders across Mac, Windows, iPhone and iPad, bought on the website or in the App Store.

• Yearly Subscription$24.99

  per year

  The same access billed once a year. The pricing page labels it the best value.

• One-time License$69

  one-time purchase

  A perpetual license for the direct-download desktop version, including bug fixes and small feature updates.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Volume licensing, arranged by contacting the developer.

Dato

• Other savings

  Menu bar bundle of three apps for $18.00

  The Mac App Store sells Sindre's Menu Bar Bundle, which contains Dato, Lungo and Battery Indicator, for $18.00, the same price as Dato alone.

• Education

  50% off for schools buying 20 or more copies

  For his App Store apps, Sindre Sorhus says educational institutions get a 50% discount when they buy 20 or more copies of one app through Apple School Manager.

• Other savings

  Also available through Setapp

  Dato is distributed through the Setapp app subscription as well as the App Store, and the vendor's page says Setapp can be tried free for 7 days.

• Other savings

  Older versions are free on older macOS

  Earlier releases for macOS 10.14 through macOS 15 are listed as free for everyone on the vendor's page. They will not run on newer macOS versions.

In Your Face

• Annual discount

  Yearly subscription costs about 48% less

  The pricing page lists $24.99 per year against $3.99 per month, which is $47.88 over twelve months. It labels the yearly subscription the best value.

• Lifetime license

  $69 one-time license

  A perpetual license for the direct-download desktop version costs $69 once. The pricing FAQ says it includes bug fixes and small feature updates, with any major new version an optional paid upgrade.