Hetk vs Fantastical: Calendar Sync vs Calendar App (2026)

Hetk syncs events between your calendars. Fantastical gives you a better calendar interface. They solve different problems — here's how to decide.

Fantastical is one of the best calendar apps available. Hetk isn’t a calendar app at all. Understanding why that matters will save you from buying the wrong tool.

The core difference

Fantastical replaces your calendar app. It connects to Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCloud and shows all your events in a single, polished interface. It’s a viewer — a better window into your existing calendars.

Hetk syncs events between your calendars. When you create an event in Google Calendar, Hetk copies it to Outlook (and vice versa). It doesn’t replace any app — it works invisibly behind the scenes so your calendars stay in sync regardless of which app you use.

Fantastical shows all your calendars in one place. Hetk makes all your calendars contain the same events.

Why the difference matters

If you only use Fantastical, your calendars are still separate. An event in your work Outlook only exists in Outlook. Fantastical lets you see it alongside your Google Calendar events — but your coworkers checking your Google Calendar availability don’t see it. Neither does anyone scheduling a meeting with you through Google.

With Hetk, that Outlook event actually exists in your Google Calendar too. Anyone checking your availability on either platform sees the full picture. No app required.

Quick comparison

When to choose Hetk

Choose Hetk if your problem is that events don’t exist across all your calendars. Common scenarios:

• You have a work Outlook calendar and a personal Google Calendar, and colleagues on either side can’t see your full availability
• You freelance with multiple clients on different calendar platforms and need everything reflected everywhere
• You’re overemployed and need meeting conflicts visible across jobs without manually copying events
• You share a family calendar on iCloud but your partner uses Outlook — and you need events to appear natively in both
• You want synced events to show as “Busy” without revealing details (privacy controls)

Hetk runs in the background. You never open it after setup. Your events just appear where they need to be.

When to choose Fantastical

Choose Fantastical if your problem is that your calendar app isn’t good enough. Common scenarios:

• You want a better-designed calendar interface than Google Calendar or Apple Calendar
• You want natural language event creation (“Coffee with Alex Tuesday 3pm”)
• You want scheduling links (Openings) and meeting proposals built into your calendar
• You want calendar sets that auto-switch between work and personal views
• You want weather forecasts, widgets, and travel time integrated into your schedule
• You primarily use Apple devices and want deep OS integration

Fantastical is a daily-use app you interact with constantly. It replaces the calendar app you currently open.

Pricing comparison

Hetk pricing

• Personal: $15/year ($1.25/month) — up to 3 calendars, unlimited sync relationships, bi-directional sync, privacy controls
• Professional: $50/year ($4.17/month) — up to 8 calendars, everything in Personal plus priority support
• Early adopter pricing: $10/year Personal, $35/year Professional
• Free trial: 21 days, full feature access

Fantastical pricing

• Free: Basic calendar, events, tasks, 1 calendar set, 3-day weather, iCloud Reminders, Todoist
• Individual: $4.75/month billed annually ($57/year) or $6.99/month
• Family: $7.50/month billed annually ($90/year) or $10.49/month — up to 5 members
• Team: $4.75/user/month billed annually or $6.99/user/month
• Free trial: 14 days of Premium

Cost comparison

• Hetk Personal vs Fantastical Individual: $15/year vs $57/year
• Hetk Professional vs Fantastical Individual: $50/year vs $57/year

Hetk is cheaper, but this comparison is misleading — they’re different products. You don’t choose between them the way you’d choose between two sync tools. The real question is whether you need one, the other, or both.

Can you use both?

Yes, and for many people this is the right answer.

Use Hetk to sync events between your Google, Outlook, and iCloud calendars. Use Fantastical as your daily calendar app to view and manage everything in a polished interface.

They don’t conflict. Hetk syncs your events in the background. Fantastical displays them. Together, you get real cross-platform sync and a premium calendar experience.

The combined cost is $72–107/year (Hetk Professional + Fantastical Individual), which is less than many enterprise calendar tools charge for sync alone.

What Fantastical does that Hetk doesn’t

• Calendar app: Fantastical is an actual app you use every day. Hetk has no calendar view — it’s a sync engine.
• Natural language input: Type “Lunch with Sarah Friday at noon” and Fantastical creates the event. Hetk doesn’t create events.
• Scheduling pages: Fantastical’s Openings let you share availability links. Proposals let you suggest multiple meeting times. Hetk has no scheduling features.
• Calendar sets: Auto-switch between “Work” and “Personal” calendar views based on time or location.
• Widgets and watch app: 14 home screen widgets, Apple Watch complication, lock screen integration.
• Conference call detection: Automatically detects Zoom, Teams, Meet links in events and adds join buttons.
• Weather integration: 10-day forecasts (Premium) built into calendar views.

What Hetk does that Fantastical doesn’t

• Cross-provider event sync: Hetk copies events between Google, Outlook, and iCloud. Fantastical only displays events from multiple providers — it doesn’t sync them across providers.
• Availability sync for others: When Hetk syncs an event to another calendar, anyone checking that calendar sees it. Fantastical’s unified view is only visible to you.
• Privacy controls: Mark synced events as “Busy” with title, description, and attendees stripped. Control Show As status. Transform organizer identity. Fantastical shows events as-is.
• Bi-directional sync: Changes on either side propagate automatically. Fantastical doesn’t move events between providers.
• Platform independence: Hetk works with any calendar app on any device. Fantastical requires you to use Fantastical.
• Duplicate detection: Prevents the same event from being synced twice.
• Source-wins conflict resolution: If a synced copy is accidentally deleted, Hetk restores it from the source.

The “I thought Fantastical synced my calendars” problem

This is the most common misconception. People buy Fantastical expecting it to sync their Google and Outlook calendars. It doesn’t. It displays both calendars side by side in one app — which looks like sync when you’re the one looking at it.

But:

• Your coworker checking your Outlook availability doesn’t see your Google events
• Your Google Calendar free/busy status doesn’t reflect Outlook meetings
• If you stop using Fantastical, your calendars go back to being completely separate
• Shared calendars on one provider don’t see events from another provider

Fantastical is a lens. Hetk is a bridge. If you need other people (or other systems) to see your full availability, you need the bridge.

FAQ

Does Fantastical sync events between Google and Outlook?

No. Fantastical connects to both and displays them together, but events stay in their original provider. An Outlook event stays in Outlook. A Google event stays in Google. Only you see the combined view, and only inside Fantastical.

Can I use Hetk without Fantastical?

Yes. Hetk works with any calendar app — Google Calendar web, Apple Calendar, Outlook, or Fantastical. It syncs events at the provider level, not the app level. Use whatever calendar app you prefer.

Is Fantastical available on Android?

No. Fantastical is available on Mac, iPhone, iPad, Apple Watch, Apple Vision Pro, and Windows. If you use Android, you’ll need a different calendar app. Hetk works regardless of your device since it syncs between calendar providers, not apps.

What if I only use Apple devices?

If all your calendars are on iCloud and you don’t need cross-provider sync, Fantastical alone is great. But if you have a work Outlook account and a personal iCloud calendar, adding Hetk means your events actually exist in both — not just displayed together in Fantastical.

Do I need both if I just want to see all my calendars in one place?

If “see in one place” means you personally want a unified view, Fantastical alone works. If “in one place” means you want events to actually exist across all your calendars so that other people and systems see your full availability, you need Hetk.

Is Hetk cheaper than Fantastical?

Yes, but they serve different purposes. Hetk Personal is $15/year. Fantastical Individual is $57/year. But comparing their prices is like comparing a router to a laptop — they do different things.

Try Hetk free for 21 days

If your problem is keeping calendars in sync across Google, Outlook, and iCloud, Hetk offers a 21-day free trial with full feature access. Connect your accounts, set up sync, and see events appear across all your calendars in seconds.

Start your free trial

Related: Calendar sync for consultants | Calendar sync for executives | Hetk vs CalendarBridge