- Calendar makers side by side
- Ten calendar makers to try
- Which calendar maker fits what you need
- Check which UK bank holidays your calendar shows
- Printable template, design tool or photo printer?
- Six checks before you print a calendar
- Signs your calendar template is wrong
- My plain advice on making a calendar people use
- Frequently asked questions
A calendar maker helps you create a printable, photo or branded calendar from a template, with the dates and often the public holidays already laid out. Some are free printable template sites, some are design tools and some are photo printing services that post you the finished calendar. Ten options follow in no particular order.
A homemade calendar is still one of the most used things in a house or office. Families hang photo calendars on the fridge, teachers print term planners and small businesses send branded calendars to their best customers.
The ten tools below are listed alphabetically and in no particular order, and every description comes from the vendor's own website, read this week. If you'd rather build one in a spreadsheet, my guide on how to make a calendar in Google Sheets walks through it.
Calendar makers side by side
I checked the free plan column on each tool's own website, as of Oct 2026. Yes means the site says the tool, or a plan or version of it, is free or open source. Trial only means a time-limited trial. Not stated means the pages I read named neither, even where there's a button inviting you to try it, so check the vendor's page before you sign up.
| Tool | Type | Good for | Free plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calendarlabs | Printable calendar templates | Holiday and religious festival calendars | Yes |
| Calendarpedia | UK printable calendar templates | UK calendars in Word, Excel or PDF | Yes |
| Microsoft Excel | Calendar templates in Excel | A calendar that updates itself | Yes |
| Mixbook | Photo calendar printing service | Family photo calendars as gifts | Not stated |
| Photobox | UK photo printing service | Desk calendars and family planners | Not stated |
| Shutterfly | Photo gifts and printing service | Personalised wall calendars in the US | Not stated |
| Snapfish | Photo printing service | Wall calendars with your own pictures | Not stated |
| timeanddate | Online calendar creator | Holidays and moon phases on a printable | Yes |
| Visme | Online design tool with a calendar maker | A branded calendar for marketing | Yes |
| WinCalendar | Calendar and holiday templates | Yearly calendars with country holidays | Yes |
Ten calendar makers to try
Calendarlabs
Best for: People who want blank, holiday, photo or religious festival calendars in printable PDF form without designing one from scratch.
Calendarpedia
Best for: UK households and offices that want year, quarter, month or week calendars in PDF, Excel and Word formats to download.
Microsoft Excel
Best for: Office teams that want an editable calendar template in Excel that updates automatically to the week, month or year they choose.
Mixbook
Best for: Families who want to make a photo calendar online from their own pictures and have it printed, often as a gift.
Photobox
Best for: UK customers who want a printed wall calendar, desk calendar or family planner with their own photos on it.
Shutterfly
Best for: US families who want custom photo calendars printed and delivered, often alongside photo books and holiday cards.
Snapfish
Best for: Anyone who wants a personalised wall calendar made from their own pictures, ordered with other photo gifts.
timeanddate
Best for: Planners who want a printable calendar showing federal or local holidays, moon phases and their own events.
Visme
Best for: Businesses that want to customise a calendar template with their brand, then download it as a PDF or use it as a wallpaper.
WinCalendar
Best for: People who need yearly or monthly calendars that already show holidays and festive days for their country.
Which calendar maker fits what you need
- Printable calendars with festivals marked: Calendarlabs or WinCalendar.
- UK templates in Word, Excel or PDF: Calendarpedia.
- A calendar that updates itself: Microsoft Excel.
- Family photo calendars as gifts: Mixbook, Photobox, Shutterfly or Snapfish.
- Holidays and moon phases on a printable: timeanddate.
- A branded calendar for customers: Visme.
Check which UK bank holidays your calendar shows
GOV.UK publishes three separate bank holiday lists: one for England and Wales, one for Scotland and one for Northern Ireland. Scotland adds 2 January and St Andrew's Day on 30 November, and its summer bank holiday falls at the start of August rather than the end. Northern Ireland adds St Patrick's Day on 17 March and the Battle of the Boyne on 12 July.
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Most UK templates quietly print the England and Wales list. That's fine for a family in Leeds, but a business sending branded calendars to customers in Glasgow or Belfast is handing them the wrong days off. Check the holiday setting before you print, or pick a template for the right nation.
Printable template, design tool or photo printer?
A printable template site gives you blank or holiday calendars ready to download. It's the fastest option for a planner on the wall or a school term sheet.
A design tool lets you add your brand colours, logo and images. It suits businesses that want a calendar customers will keep on their desk.
A photo printer turns your pictures into a bound wall or desk calendar and posts it to you. It's the gift option, and it needs ordering early in the season.
Six checks before you print a calendar
- Does the week start on the day you want, Sunday or Monday?
- Are the public holidays right for your country or nation?
- Is there enough space to write in each day?
- Will the photos print sharply at that size?
- Does it start in the month you need, not just January?
- Have you proofread every date before ordering prints?
Signs your calendar template is wrong
- Your local holidays are missing. Change the country.
- The week starts on the wrong day. Switch the setting.
- There's no room to write. Choose a bigger grid.
- It begins in January but you need September. Change the start.
Do you make a calendar maker? Tool makers can ask to be considered for a featured place on this list.
My plain advice on making a calendar people use
Decide where it'll hang before you design it. A fridge calendar needs big boxes to write in, a desk calendar for customers needs your contact details on every page, and a photo gift needs pictures that still look good after twelve months. Get that one choice right and the template choice gets easy.
Once it's up, my guide on how to use a monthly planner effectively helps you get more out of it.
Frequently asked questions
What is a calendar maker?
It's a tool that creates a printable, photo or branded calendar from a template, with the dates and often the holidays already laid out.
Are calendar makers free?
Many template sites and design tools are free to use. Photo printing services charge for the printed calendar. Check the free plan column above.
Which bank holidays are different in Scotland?
GOV.UK lists 2 January and St Andrew's Day on 30 November for Scotland, and its summer bank holiday is at the start of August.
Which bank holidays are only in Northern Ireland?
GOV.UK lists St Patrick's Day on 17 March and the Battle of the Boyne on 12 July for Northern Ireland.
Can I make a calendar that starts in September?
Yes. Most template sites and design tools let you choose the starting month, which suits school and academic years.
Can I add my logo to a calendar?
Yes. Design tools let you add a logo, colours and images, which is useful for calendars you give to customers.
