Routine vs DAViCal

Compare Routine and DAViCal on pricing, features, platforms, and ratings — both Calendar tools, Freemium subscription with individual and team tiers billed…

At a Glance

 RoutineDAViCal
Primary categoryCalendarCalendar
RatingNot documentedNot documented
Pricing modelFreemium subscription with individual and team tiers billed monthlyFree / Open Source
Starting priceFree (Personal plan from $5/month, Professional from $10/month)Free
Free planYesYes
Free trialNot documentedNot documented
PlatformsWeb, iOS, Android, Mac, WindowsNot documented
Team collaborationNot documentedNot documented
AI featuresYesNot documented
Public APINot documentedYes

Pricing Compared

Starting price reflects the lowest paid tier, not the full cost for every team size or usage level.

Routine

Free — $0 forever
Personal — $5 per month
Professional — $10 per month
Business — $15 per seat per month
Enterprise — Custom contact for quote

DAViCal

Open Source — Free N/A

Pros & Cons

Routine

Pros

  • Combines calendar, tasks, and notes in one app instead of three separate tools
  • Generous free tier includes AI assistant features and multiple integrations
  • Y Combinator-backed startup with active development and funding
  • Cross-platform coverage across macOS, Windows, web, and iOS
  • Transparent, relatively low-cost individual pricing tiers

Cons

  • Android app support has lagged behind other platforms
  • AI features are metered by monthly credits that can run out on lower tiers
  • Smaller company size than legacy competitors like Notion or Todoist, which may affect long-term support and roadmap pace
  • Business and Enterprise pricing requires per-seat or custom budgeting for teams

DAViCal

Pros

  • Completely free and open source under the GPLv2 license
  • Full control and ownership over calendar and contact data via self-hosting
  • Implements open CalDAV/CardDAV standards, ensuring broad client compatibility
  • Mature, long-standing project with a stable feature set for group calendaring

Cons

  • Requires manual setup and maintenance of a PHP and PostgreSQL server stack
  • Administrative interface is functional but visually dated compared to newer alternatives
  • No official commercial support channel; relies on community and third-party providers
  • Less actively developed than some newer self-hosted alternatives like Baikal or Nextcloud

Use Cases

Routine

  • Daily planning for knowledge workers — Individuals use Routine's Agenda and Tasks views to plan their day across meetings, unplanned to-dos, and recurring responsibilities in one place.
  • Consolidating productivity tools — Users replace separate calendar, task manager, and notes apps with Routine's unified workspace to reduce app-switching and subscription sprawl.
  • Team scheduling and workflow coordination — Small teams use Routine's Business plan for shared workspaces, access control, and consolidated billing to coordinate tasks and meetings together.

DAViCal

  • Self-Hosted Organizational Calendaring — Running a private, self-hosted shared calendar and scheduling server for a small business or non-profit.
  • Privacy-Focused Calendar Hosting — Keeping calendar and contact data fully in-house to meet data-residency or privacy requirements.
  • Group Meeting Scheduling — Using free/busy lookups and shared calendar delegation to coordinate meetings across a team.

Read the full Routine review · Read the full DAViCal review