nocal vs Vimcal

nocal

• People who plan the week in notes and want them next to their calendar
• Google Calendar and Outlook users who work on a Mac or Windows PC
• Developers who want AI agents to read and update their notes over MCP
• Students with a .edu address, who the vendor says can use it free

Vimcal

• Founders, executives and investors with a high volume of meetings
• Executive assistants scheduling on behalf of several executives
• People who schedule across time zones and share availability by email

nocal

• Works only with Google Calendar and Outlook or Microsoft 365 accounts. Apple iCloud is not supported; the downloads page offers a waitlist.
• The free plan is desktop only. Mobile apps and sync need Everywhere at $4.99 per month; extra calendar accounts, calendar groups and widgets need Full Access.
• The pricing page shows monthly prices only. The App Store also lists $49.99 and $99.99 purchases without a billing period.
• No web or Linux version is listed, and the App Store listing is for iPhone only, requiring iOS 26.2 or later.

Vimcal

• The free tier covers only the iOS app. Desktop apps, booking links and polls need the $35 per month plan ($25 per month billed yearly).
• Vimcal EA is priced separately at $85 per month, or $68.75 per month billed yearly.
• The site mentions an iOS app but lists no Android app, and it supports only Google Calendar and Outlook.
• Vimcal's terms state that payments are non-refundable unless agreed otherwise in writing.

nocal

Weekly note beside the calendar

Each week has a note written in Markdown that can hold bullet and numbered lists, task lists, tables, collapsible sections and code blocks, so a weekly plan sits next to the schedule.

Notes attached to events

Notes and action items can be written on a calendar event, and notes can nest inside or link to one another, so meetings and notes reference each other.

Unified Google and Outlook calendar

Google and Microsoft or Outlook accounts are merged on one timeline, with an inbox for answering invites. Connecting additional accounts requires the Full Access subscription.

Calendar Ideas

nocal reviews upcoming weekdays and suggests adding a focus block, moving a meeting or declining one. Nothing changes until you accept an idea, and the feature can be turned off.

Built-in MCP server

Claude, ChatGPT, Cursor and VS Code can connect through the Model Context Protocol to search and read notes and write their output back into them.

Natural-language scheduling and widgets

Events can be typed as a phrase such as "Lunch with Alex tomorrow at noon". The phone apps add a home screen widget that shows what is next and the shape of the day.

Vimcal

Availability sharing

Drag over open slots on the calendar and copy them to share your availability. The paid plan adds unlimited personal booking links and polls.

Time zone tools

Shows overlapping working hours with people in other time zones and converts times across several zones.

Shortcuts for every action

Vimcal advertises response times under 100 ms and a keyboard shortcut for every action in the app.

Google and Outlook in one view

Syncs with both Google Calendar and Outlook, shows them together and merges duplicate events automatically.

Focus Mode

Switches the calendar to a focus screen with a backdrop, a pomodoro timer and ambient sounds.

Vimcal EA

A separate edition for executive assistants who manage several executives, with automatic calendar holds, polls and per-executive preferences.

nocal

• Free$0

  Desktop app for Mac and Windows with full Google Calendar and Outlook management, unlimited note taking and one space.

• Everywhere$4.99

  per month

  Everything in Free, plus the iOS and Android apps, sync across all devices and unlimited spaces.

• Full Access$9.99

  per month

  Everything in Everywhere, plus unlimited Google and Outlook connections, calendar groups, the tray app and widgets, and high visibility notifications.

Vimcal

• Free$0

  iOS app only: calendar, drag-and-copy availability, multi-time-zone conversion and duplicate merging.

• Vimcal$25

  per month, billed yearly ($35 billed monthly)

  Adds desktop apps for Mac and PC, unlimited personal booking links, polls, team scheduling and a Mac menu bar app.

• Vimcal EA$68.75

  per month, billed yearly ($85 billed monthly)

  For executive assistants: 5 simultaneous time zones, automatic calendar holds, calendar audits and per-executive preferences.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Adds SAML SSO with SCIM, a custom MSA and DPA, security questionnaires, a dedicated manager and custom billing.

nocal

• Education

  Free for students with a .edu address

  nocal's students page says the app is free when you sign up with a .edu address and calls it free for students, forever. The page does not say which paid tier this covers.

Vimcal

• Annual discount

  Save up to 29% with yearly billing

  Vimcal costs $35 billed monthly or $300 per year ($25 per month), listed as saving up to 29%. Vimcal EA drops from $85 to $68.75 per month, a saving of up to 19%.