Helium review
A free, open-source student planner with broad calendar and API support.
Reviewed by iTechGuides Editors · Editorial team · Updated Oct 2026
Helium is a free, open-source planner for students in middle school, high school, college, university, graduate school, and homeschool settings. It brings classes, recurring schedules, assignments, grades, notes, reminders, exams, and calendar views into one system. Students can manage assignment due dates, completion status, priorities, attachments, and reminders, while planner views cover the month, week, day, agenda, and todos. Access is available through the web, iOS, and Android, making it suitable for students who want one academic planning system across devices.
Its strongest angle is the combination of academic depth and calendar coverage. Class schedules support recurring and rotating meeting patterns, while external calendar subscriptions and outbound calendar feeds connect with Google Calendar, Apple Calendar, and iCal calendars. Push and email reminders can cover assignments, classes, exams, and events. Grade tracking includes hypothetical grade calculations, and rich notes can be linked to classes, assignments, and resources. These features make Helium more focused on the academic workflow than a basic calendar or task list.
Extensibility is another clear differentiator. The public REST API covers classes, assignments, grades, notes, and imports, giving technically capable students or developers a route to programmatic access and bulk data handling. That flexibility may be more than a student needs if they only want a simple schedule and checklist. Helium is a strong fit for students who want detailed academic organization, cross-device access, calendar connections, and an open-source foundation. Students seeking a general-purpose project manager or a minimal planner may prefer a narrower tool.
Helium pros and cons
- Where it wins
- Tracks classes, assignments, grades, notes, exams, and reminders
- Works across web, iOS, and Android with calendar integrations
- Public REST API supports programmatic access and bulk imports
- Where it doesn't
- Designed for academic planning rather than general project management
- Hypothetical grade calculations do not replace official grade records
- API-based customization may require technical knowledge
Helium fact sheet, pricing and score →
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