In Your Face vs Itsycal

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

Itsycal

• Mac users who want a quick month view without opening a calendar app
• People who navigate by keyboard and like Vim-style keys
• Anyone looking for a free, open-source menu bar calendar

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.

Itsycal

• Mac only, and it depends on the Mac Calendar app: it shows only calendars already set up there.
• Events can be created and deleted but not edited; the project's README says editing is not supported.
• Only the Gregorian calendar is supported, and delegate calendars cannot be shown directly.
• The current download needs macOS 11 or later (macOS 27 has its own build); older versions cover earlier systems.

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.

Itsycal

Month calendar with agenda

A compact month grid opens from the menu bar with an agenda of events below it. It can show up to two months at a time, ISO week numbers and three text sizes.

Events from the Mac Calendar app

Displays events from whichever calendars you tick among those set up in the Mac Calendar app. New events can be created and existing ones deleted from Itsycal.

Join virtual meetings

A meeting icon in the agenda turns into a Join button 15 minutes before the start. Zoom and Teams links open in their apps, and Command-J joins the first active meeting.

Keyboard navigation with Vim motions

Arrow keys or H, J, K and L move by day, week, month and year, with an optional repeat count. Other keys pin the window, toggle week numbers and jump to a given date.

Menu bar clock replacement

The menu bar item can show the day, month and weekday, plus text built from a date and time pattern in the system clock's font, with or without the icon.

URL scheme and global shortcut

A configurable keyboard shortcut opens Itsycal from anywhere, and the itsycal://date/ URL scheme opens it at today or at a specific date.

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.

Itsycal

• Itsycal$0

  The complete app as a direct download for macOS 11 or later, with a separate build for macOS 27. Donations are optional.

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.

Itsycal

No public discounts listed.