calendar api for scheduling app

For a scheduling app, the best calendar API depends on whether you want:

• personal calendars synced for users
• team scheduling/booking
• just event storage and reminders
• Google/Microsoft calendar integration

Common options

1. Google Calendar API

Best if your users mainly use Google Calendar.

• Create/update/delete events
• Read free/busy times
• Sync calendars with OAuth
• Push notifications via webhooks

Pros: widely used, reliable
Cons: Google-only, OAuth setup required

2. Microsoft Graph Calendar API

Best for Outlook / Microsoft 365 users.

• Manage events and availability
• Supports recurring events, attendees, reminders
• Works across Outlook and Microsoft accounts

Pros: great for enterprise users
Cons: Microsoft ecosystem-focused

3. Cal.com API

Good if you want scheduling/booking logic rather than raw calendar sync.

• Booking pages
• Availability handling
• Calendar integrations
• Webhooks and scheduling workflows

Pros: built for scheduling apps
Cons: more opinionated; not just a generic calendar API

4. Cronofy API

Strong option if you need one API for multiple calendar providers.

• Google, Microsoft, Apple/iCloud, etc.
• Availability lookup
• Event management
• Unified integration layer

Pros: multi-calendar support
Cons: paid service, vendor dependency

5. Self-managed calendar backend

If you want full control:

• Use a database for events
• Add syncing later with Google/Microsoft APIs
• Implement availability and conflict checks yourself

Pros: full control, flexible
Cons: more engineering effort

---

Recommendation

If you're building a scheduling app, the usual best choices are:

• Google Calendar API + Microsoft Graph if you want direct integrations
• Cronofy if you want one unified calendar integration
• Cal.com if you want booking/scheduling features faster

If you want, I can also suggest:

1. the best API for your exact use case, or
2. a starter architecture for a scheduling app calendar system.