Shovel is a study planner built around time budgeting. It syncs with Canvas, Brightspace, Moodle and Google Classroom, reads a syllabus PDF, and has iPhone and Android apps. The usual reasons students look elsewhere: there is no free plan, only a 7-day trial before you pay. The phone app is a companion, since you set up your account on the web first. Some users complain about the cost, and older reviews from 2020 to 2023 mention a slow phone app, a widget that logged out and duplicate notifications. Here are other options, including free ones.
Secretariat
Has a free plan with the list, your calendar and Canvas free for good, and new accounts get 14 days of Student Pro free with no card. It reads each class's syllabus, keeps the syllabus date when Canvas has a different one, and pulls in Google Calendar, Outlook, Notion, Todoist, Slack and GroupMe.
Good for: A free plan with Canvas and syllabus dates. Learn more
DormWay
Free for students. It connects Canvas with a personal access token, reads an uploaded syllabus with AI, and runs on the web, iPhone and iPad.
Good for: A free planner on iPhone. Price: Free for students. The company says pro features are planned; no paid price has been published. (checked October 2026). Visit DormWay
Semora
Syncs Canvas, Blackboard and Moodle through the calendar feed on its free plan and has iPhone, Android, Apple Watch and web apps. The free plan includes one AI action in total, such as one syllabus scan.
Good for: Native phone apps at a lower price. Price: Free plan with LMS sync and 1 AI action in total. Pro is $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year. (checked October 2026). Visit Semora
MyStudyLife
A long-running school planner for your timetable, homework and exams, with a free core planner on web, iPhone and Android.
Good for: A free class timetable planner. Price: Core planner is free. MSL+ is reported at $4.99 a month or $29.99 a year by several 2026 comparison sites; some listings still show older, higher prices. (checked October 2026). Visit MyStudyLife
Google Calendar with the Canvas feed
Free. Your Canvas calendar feed puts dated assignments into Google Calendar as events, though Google refreshes it on its own schedule, often taking hours.
Good for: Seeing due dates next to your classes. Price: Free. (checked October 2026). Visit Google Calendar with the Canvas feed
Common questions
- Is there a free alternative to Shovel?
- Yes. Secretariat, DormWay, Semora and MyStudyLife all have free plans, and the Canvas calendar feed in Google Calendar is free too. Shovel offers a 7-day trial, then a paid plan.
- Does Secretariat budget study hours like Shovel?
- Not the same way. Shovel's Cushion compares your work hours against your free hours. Secretariat focuses on getting every assignment onto the right day in one list. Student Pro adds a week ahead view and How busy for the full month.
- Does Secretariat work with Brightspace or Moodle?
- Yes, through your school's calendar link, which brings due dates and class events but not files, grades or submissions. The Chrome extension can fetch the Moodle link in one tap. See Moodle, Blackboard and Brightspace.