Cron

What Cron does

Cron was a San Francisco-based software company founded in 2019 by Raphael Schaad that built a next-generation calendar application for professionals and teams. The product originated as a macOS-only client for Google Workspace users, grew through a waitlist-driven early access model, and expanded to Windows, iOS, and web between January 2022 and May 2023, when it achieved general availability. Cron's core technology centered on a cross-platform calendar client featuring multi-account calendar unification, automatic event blocking and merging, multi-time-zone support, scheduling links, iOS widgets, and a menu-bar companion — all layered on top of Google Calendar as the primary data source.

The company's go-to-market was product-led growth: free during early access, freemium thereafter, distributed via direct download (macOS/Windows), the iOS App Store, a web app at calendar.cron.com, and an early-access/waitlist funnel that the company opened to everyone in May 2023. Distribution and growth relied on Product Hunt launches, organic social media, and community word-of-mouth rather than paid acquisition. Cron raised a $3.5M Seed round in November 2021 led by Initialized Capital (Garry Tan) with participation from Elad Gil, Jeff Weiner, Dylan Field, and Jeremy Le Van, after completing Y Combinator in Winter 2020.

In June 2022, Notion acquired Cron, and the product continued as a separate app before being rebranded to Notion Calendar in January 2024. Post-acquisition, the product was integrated into Notion's connected workspace, gaining deeper Notion page and database integrations, localization into 12 additional languages, and distribution through Notion's enterprise channel. The independent Cron entity has no publicly disclosed revenue, and pricing for the standalone product was never published; post-acquisition, the calendar is offered as part of Notion's broader pricing.

Name

Cron

Legal name

Notion Labs, Inc.

Website

https://cron.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Acquired

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Cron was a next-generation calendar app for professionals and teams, offering cross-platform (macOS, Windows, iOS, web) Google Workspace and Notion-integrated scheduling. Acquired by Notion in 2022 and rebranded to Notion Calendar in 2024, it is now distributed within Notion's connected workspace ecosystem.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Calendar and Scheduling Software

NAICS

Office Administrative Services (56111), Computing Infrastructure Providers, Data Processing, Web Hosting, and Related Services (51821)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Marketing Automation & Campaign Management CRM (HDAEAFAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Customer Engagement & Messaging (Email, SMS, Push, In-App) (BPAFAFAI), CRM Data Quality, Enrichment & CDP-Adjacent CRM (HDAEAFAJ)

Keywords

• Calendar software
• Team scheduling
• Meeting coordination
• Productivity applications
• Time management tools

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Product Revenue: Cron was a free product during its early access period. After acquisition by Notion in June 2022, Cron continued as a separate app with the freemium model transitioning to Notion Calendar. Revenue details not publicly disclosed.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cron is a next-generation cross-platform calendar application available on macOS, Windows, iOS, and web that unifies multiple Google Calendar accounts in a single view, supports team scheduling with availability sharing, and integrates natively with Notion pages and databases as well as major conferencing platforms (Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams). The product is sold as a freemium consumer and team productivity tool with deep Google Workspace integration, sophisticated multi-time zone support, and proprietary features such as automatic event blocking and event auto-merge.

Product overview

Cron was a suite of next-generation calendar applications designed for professionals and teams, consisting of native desktop apps for macOS and Windows, a mobile iOS app, and a web-based calendar. The product ecosystem also included menu bar/system tray integrations, iOS Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, and scheduling features like Meet Pages and Share Availabilities. Acquired by Notion in June 2022, Cron was rebranded as Notion Calendar in January 2024. The core calendar application integrated with Google Calendar as the primary data source, featured deep Notion page attachments, and supported multiple conferencing platforms including Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cron Calendar (now Notion Calendar) The main calendar application for professionals and teams. Originally launched as Cron Calendar in 2021, acquired by Notion in June 2022, and rebranded as Notion Calendar in January 2024. Provides advanced calendar management with integrations to Google Calendar, Notion, and multiple conferencing platforms.
• Cron for macOS Native macOS desktop calendar application with full Cron feature set including menu bar integration, global keyboard shortcuts, and native macOS notifications and system integration. Targeted at Mac-using professionals and teams.
• Cron for Windows Native Windows desktop calendar application bringing the same next-generation calendaring experience to Windows with system tray calendar, upcoming meeting notifications, and global shortcuts.
• Cron for iOS Native iPhone mobile calendar app bringing Cron's power and design from desktop to mobile. Features multiple time zones, event blocking, Home Screen and Lock Screen widgets, and full event management capabilities.
• Cron for Web Browser-based calendar accessible on all major browsers (Chrome, Safari, Firefox, Edge) and operating systems. Features multiple account support in unified view, browser notifications, and dark mode.

Quantifiable outcome

• Grew from 20 million users in 2022 to 100 million users globally as of 2025
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration22 records

Feature10 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• NotioncoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 June 2022Cron was acquired by Notion in June 2022. Cron's calendar became Notion Calendar, bringing the digital time layer into Notion's connected workspace. The acquisition combined Notion's information management with Cron's time management.
• ZoomcoreTechnology or IntegrationDeep conferencing integration with Zoom. Cron syncs all edits to events with Zoom, including meeting titles and repeat events. Supports PMI and passcode settings.
• Google MeetcoreTechnology or IntegrationNative conferencing integration with automatic link detection, join button display, and account-aware meeting creation.
• Microsoft TeamscoreTechnology or IntegrationConferencing integration supporting Teams meeting link detection and quick-join functionality.
• Google WorkspacecoreTechnology or IntegrationDeep integration with Google Calendar, including multiple account support, calendar sync, and Google Groups support for meeting room and resource booking.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Notion: Parent company and integrated productivity workspace; Notion Calendar now lives inside Notion's connected workspace, and Notion provides the distribution and information-management layer that Cron integrates with.
• Google Calendar: Free default calendar for billions of users and Cron's primary data source/integration; represents the dominant free incumbent that Cron positions against as a premium alternative for Google Workspace users.
• Microsoft Outlook Calendar: Free enterprise-default calendar bundled with Microsoft 365; Cron's lack of native Outlook/Exchange support means Microsoft Calendar is the alternative for organizations standardized on Microsoft productivity suites.
• Apple Calendar: Free default calendar across Apple's ecosystem (macOS, iOS, iPadOS); Cron differentiates on design, multi-account unification, and advanced features but competes head-to-head on Apple devices where Apple Calendar is pre-installed and free.

Direct peers

• Fantastical: Premium cross-platform calendar app for professionals; directly competes with Cron on multi-account unification, design quality, and natural-language event creation; comparable target customer (knowledge workers) and freemium business model.
• Calendly: Scheduling and meeting-booking platform with overlapping Meet Pages/Share Availabilities features; serves the same professional scheduling use case and competes for the same scheduling-link workflow that Cron offers.

Emerging players

• Motion: AI-powered calendar and task scheduling app for professionals and teams; overlaps with Cron's time-blocking and auto-scheduling use cases while layering AI prioritization — an emerging threat to Cron's premium calendar positioning.
• Reclaim.ai: AI calendar automation for tasks, habits, and meetings; integrates with Google Calendar and competes for the same scheduling-automation use case Cron addresses via Event Blocking.
• Clockwise: AI calendar optimization focused on team meeting scheduling and focus time; directly overlaps with Cron's Event Blocking and Meet With features for team calendar workflows.
• Superhuman Calendar (Superhuman AI): Premium email and calendar product for professionals; overlaps with Cron on the high-end professional/knowledge-worker segment and design-led positioning, with bundled scheduling features.

Market position

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Cron
• Facebookfacebook.com/CronHQ
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cronhq

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds2 records

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Cron