The short answer: Itsycal is free, open source and runs on macOS 11 or later. Dato is $18.00 once and currently requires macOS 26. They do the same core thing, a menu bar date that opens your calendar. Dato adds world clocks, event creation and more display options. If those three do not matter to you, Itsycal already does the job for nothing.
These two get compared constantly, and the comparison is fair: they occupy the same slot in the menu bar and solve the same everyday annoyance, which is that macOS shows you the date but not what is actually on today. The interesting part is that the gap between them is narrower than the price difference suggests, and the deciding factor is often the macOS requirement rather than the features.
What they have in common
Both put a compact date in the menu bar. Both drop down into a month grid with your events pulled from the system calendar database, which means whatever you have in Apple Calendar, including Google and Exchange accounts, appears in both. Both are small, native and quick. Both are made by well-regarded independent Mac developers with long track records.
For a large share of users, that is the whole story, and the honest recommendation is to install the free one first.
Where Dato pulls ahead
World clocks. This is the real difference and the reason most people cross over. Dato can show multiple world clocks, which Itsycal cannot do at all. If you have been trying to make Itsycal show a second zone, that is why you could not find the setting.
Creating events. Dato lets you make an event from the menu bar. In Itsycal you look; in Dato you can also add.
Meeting handling. Dato surfaces upcoming events with fullscreen alerts and one-click joining, closer to what a dedicated meeting launcher does.
Where Itsycal wins
It is free, and open source. MIT licensed and developed in the open, which means no possibility of it being moved behind a subscription later. For a utility you intend to keep for years, that matters more than it first appears.
It runs on far more Macs. Itsycal supports macOS 11 and up. Dato's current release requires macOS 26 or later. If you are on anything older, this comparison is already over: Dato is not available to you.
It does less, deliberately. Some people want a date and a month grid and nothing else in the drop-down.
Dato requires macOS 26 or later, so on an older Mac the choice is made for you. Click the Apple menu and choose About This Mac to see what you are running.
Side by side
| Itsycal | Dato | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, open source (MIT) | $18.00 one-time |
| macOS required | 11 or later | 26 or later |
| Menu bar date and month view | Yes | Yes |
| World clocks | No | Yes, multiple |
| Create events | No | Yes |
| Join meetings | Basic | Yes, with alerts |
| Also on Setapp | No | Yes |
Which should you choose?
- On macOS 25 or earlier? Itsycal, because Dato will not run.
- Want a free month view in the menu bar? Itsycal. It is genuinely all most people need.
- Want world clocks in the same drop-down as your calendar? Dato, and it is the main reason to pay.
- Create events from the menu bar constantly? Dato.
Where Atlas fits
Neither app answers the question that costs distributed teams the most time, which is when everyone is free at once. Dato will show you clocks, and you still do the overlap in your head.
Atlas is a menu bar app for that specific job: teammates on a world map with working hours shaded, the fairest overlapping slot suggested automatically, and the meeting written to your calendar in everyone's correct local time. It has no month grid, so it sits alongside Itsycal or Dato rather than replacing either. It is $4.99 once, private, with no account.
Common questions
Is Dato worth paying for over Itsycal?
Does Itsycal have world clocks?
What macOS version does Dato need?
Is Itsycal really free?
Can I use both at the same time?
Which is better for working across time zones?
Stop doing timezone math
Atlas finds the time everyone's awake and adds it to your calendar in one tap.
One-time purchase, yours forever.