Calendly vs Acuity vs Cal.com (2026)
Three scheduling tools, three fundamentally different approaches. Calendly optimises for simplicity. Acuity is built for service businesses. Cal.com is free-first with the most generous free tier — though one industry report (unconfirmed elsewhere) claims its core product may no longer be fully open source. This page helps you pick the right one fast.
Find yourself first
Freelancers & consultants
Who need a simple booking link. All three cover this; the free tier depth differs sharply.
Service businesses
Coaches, salons, therapists needing payments + forms. Acuity is purpose-built for this.
Sales & recruiting teams
Booking demos and interviews. Calendly's integration depth and polish lead here.
Developers or privacy-conscious teams
Wanting open control. Cal.com remains the pick — though check current source availability directly.
Teams comparing per-user costs
Before committing to annual billing. This page's calculator handles the math.
Anyone on Calendly wondering about alternatives
Cal.com's free plan is genuinely more generous in most dimensions.
Cal.com's billing periods, clarified
The 10-second answer
Calendly
Free plan (1 event type). Standard $10/user/mo annual. Teams $16/user/mo annual. 100+ integrations. 14-day trial of Teams plan for all new signups.
Free → $10 → $16/user/moAcuity
Best for businesses needing payments, intake forms, packages, and memberships. No free plan — 7-day trial (no credit card). Emerging $16/mo flat · Growing $27/mo flat · Powerhouse $49/mo flat (HIPAA).
7-day trial → $16 → $49/mo flatCal.com
Free (unlimited everything + Stripe). Teams $12/user/mo annual ($15 monthly). Organizations $28/user/mo annual ($37 monthly, HIPAA + SSO). Self-host option — verify current licensing terms directly.
Free → $12 → $28/user/mo annualMatch your situation
| Your situation | Best fit | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Need a booking link live in 10 minutes | Calendly | Fastest setup and most polished UI — productive immediately. |
| Service business needing payments + intake forms | Acuity | Only tool with packages, memberships, conditional intake forms, and in-person POS. |
| Most generous free plan possible | Cal.com | Unlimited event types, calendars, and bookings — Stripe payments — all free. |
| HIPAA compliance for healthcare providers | Acuity Powerhouse or Cal.com Organizations | Acuity: $49/mo flat. Cal.com: $28/user/mo annual ($37 monthly). |
| Developer team wanting full data control | Cal.com — verify licensing first | Historically fully open-source and self-hostable — confirm current terms given one unconfirmed report of a change. |
| Sales team needing round-robin + Salesforce | Calendly Teams | Native Salesforce + HubSpot integration + proven round-robin at $16/user/mo annual. |
| Solo user who just needs one booking type free | Calendly Free or Cal.com Free | Calendly: 1 event type free. Cal.com: unlimited event types free — Cal.com wins here. |
| Team of 5+ comparing monthly cost | Cal.com Teams | $12/user/mo annual vs Calendly Standard $10 or Teams $16 — depends on features needed. |
What will your team actually cost?
Calendly and Cal.com are per-user tools. Acuity is flat-rate (not per-user) — one price covers your whole team up to a calendar limit. This matters significantly at larger team sizes.
Note: Acuity is flat-rate (not per-user) — one price covers all staff up to calendar limits per plan (Emerging: 1 calendar, Growing: 6, Powerhouse: 36). Calendly and Cal.com multiply per seat. Cal.com figures reflect annual billing discount (~20-25% off monthly) where selected.
The numbers that matter
vs Calendly free: 1 event type only
$37/user monthly — not a flat $37
Cal.com's pricing page now also claims 100+
$15/user monthly — not a flat $15
No credit card required
one price covers the whole team, not per-seat
Three tools, three philosophies
Calendly — The Default Choice, For Good Reason
Free (1 event) → $10 → $16/user/mo annualMost widely used scheduling tool — set up in under 10 minutes, 100+ integrations.
- Fastest setup — booking link live in under 10 minutes
- 100+ integrations: Zoom, Salesforce, HubSpot, Stripe, PayPal
- Teams plan: round-robin, routing, Salesforce CRM integration
- Most polished UI and booking experience for guests
- Connect up to 6 calendars on Standard plan
- Free plan limited to 1 active event type
- Per-user pricing scales steeply for larger teams
- No payment collection, packages, or intake forms at Acuity's depth
- Old Essentials/Professional plans discontinued — only 4 plans now
Acuity — Built for How Service Businesses Actually Work
7-day trial → $16 → $49/mo flatBuilt for service providers — payments, intake forms, packages, memberships, HIPAA.
- Intake forms with conditional logic — unique in this comparison
- Payment collection via Stripe, PayPal, Square + in-person POS
- Packages, memberships, subscriptions, and gift certificates (Growing+)
- HIPAA compliance with BAA on Powerhouse plan ($49/mo)
- Flat-rate pricing — one subscription covers all your staff
- No free plan — must pay after 7-day trial
- Interface feels more dated than Calendly or Cal.com
- Longer initial setup than Calendly
- Key features (packages, SMS) require Growing plan ($27/mo) or above
Cal.com — The Most Generous Free Plan in the Category
Free → $12 → $28/user/mo annualFree-first scheduling with the most generous free plan — verify current self-hosting terms before assuming full open-source access.
- Most generous free plan: unlimited event types, calendars, bookings
- Native Stripe and PayPal payments on the free plan
- Free plan now also lists 100+ integrations on Cal.com's own pricing page
- Remove Cal.com branding for free (competitors charge for this)
- Round-robin and routing forms available even on free plan
- Teams/Organizations pricing has a bigger annual-vs-monthly gap than often stated — confirm which you're quoted
- One unconfirmed report claims the core product may no longer be fully open-source in 2026 — verify directly if this matters to you
- Less polished UI than Calendly for non-technical end-users
- HIPAA only on Organizations plan — not Teams
Strengths at a glance
| Criteria | Calendly | Acuity | Cal.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ease of setup | Best | Moderate | Good |
| Free plan quality | 1 event type | None — 7-day trial only | Best — unlimited |
| Payments + forms | Basic | Best | Good (free) |
| Team pricing clarity | Clear per-seat rates | Flat-rate, simple | Verify annual vs monthly rate |
| Integrations | Best (100+) | ~40 | Also claims 100+ now |
| HIPAA | No | Powerhouse $49/mo | Organizations $28/user/mo annual |
Feature by feature
| Feature | Calendly | Acuity | Cal.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | ⚡ 1 event type only | ✗ 7-day trial, no free plan | ✓ Unlimited everything |
| Entry paid (annual) | $10/user/mo (Standard) | $16/mo flat (Emerging) | $12/user/mo (Teams, clarified) |
| Pricing model | Per user | ✓ Flat rate — covers all staff | Per user |
| Payment collection | ⚡ Paid plans only | ✓ All paid plans | ✓ Free plan (Stripe/PayPal) |
| Intake forms | ⚡ Basic questions only | ✓ Advanced + conditional logic | ⚡ Basic routing forms |
| Packages / memberships | ✗ No | ✓ Growing plan ($27/mo)+ | ✗ No |
| HIPAA compliance | ✗ No | ⚡ Powerhouse plan ($49/mo) | ⚡ Organizations ($28/user/mo annual) |
| Open source / self-host | ✗ No | ✗ No | ⚡ Historically yes — verify current terms |
| Round-robin scheduling | ⚡ Teams plan ($16/user/mo) | ⚡ Limited | ✓ Free plan included |
| Remove branding | ⚡ Paid plans | ⚡ Powerhouse plan | ✓ Free — included always |
| Salesforce integration | ✓ Teams plan | ✗ No | ⚡ Via Zapier/Make |
| Integrations count | ✓ 100+ | ~40 | Also claims 100+ (per pricing page) |
Every plan, verified
All prices verified July 2026 from official pricing pages and cross-checked against Vendr contract data. Cal.com's annual-vs-monthly gap is clarified below — a meaningful correction from treating its prices as flat figures.
| Plan | Calendly | Acuity | Cal.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free tier | 1 event type, 1 calendar | ✗ None (7-day trial, no CC) | ✓ Unlimited — best free plan |
| Entry paid | $10/user/mo annual ($12 monthly) | $16/mo flat (Emerging) | $12/user/mo annual ($15 monthly) |
| Mid tier | $16/user/mo annual ($20 monthly) (Teams) | $27/mo flat (Growing) | $12/user/mo (same — Teams is the mid+top combined tier below Organizations) |
| Top tier | Enterprise (custom, ~$15K/yr) | $49/mo flat (Powerhouse) | $28/user/mo annual ($37 monthly) (Organizations) |
| HIPAA plan | ✗ Not available | $49/mo flat (Powerhouse) | $28/user/mo annual (Organizations) |
| True cost — 5 users (mid tier) | $80/mo (Teams, annual) | $27/mo (Growing — flat) | $60/mo (Teams, annual) |
| True cost — 10 users (mid tier) | $160/mo (Teams, annual) | $27/mo (Growing — flat) | $120/mo (Teams, annual) |
| Pricing model | Per user | Flat rate — covers all staff | Per user |
| Watch out for | Per-user pricing multiplies fast; old plans discontinued | Packages/memberships need Growing ($27) not just Emerging ($16) | Confirm annual vs monthly — the gap is bigger than a flat-rate quote suggests. HIPAA needs Organizations, not Teams. |
Choose by fit
Choose Calendly if…
- You need to be live in under 10 minutes with no friction
- You rely on Salesforce, HubSpot, or 100+ specific integrations
- You're a sales team needing round-robin + CRM sync on Teams
- Your guests are non-technical and need the most polished booking UI
- Phone/email support matters and you want a proven enterprise tool
Choose Acuity if…
- You run a service business where bookings are tied directly to revenue
- You need conditional intake forms, upfront payments, or deposits
- You sell packages, memberships, or gift certificates alongside appointments
- HIPAA compliance is required (Powerhouse plan)
- Your team has multiple staff and flat-rate pricing saves money
Choose Cal.com if…
- You want the most generous free plan — unlimited everything
- Data ownership matters — but verify current self-hosting terms directly first
- You're a developer or technically capable team
- You want Stripe payments and round-robin without paying anything
- You've confirmed which billing period (annual vs monthly) you're being quoted
Match the tool to your job
Solo freelancer
Cal.comUnlimited free plan beats Calendly's 1-event-type limit.
Sales team
Calendly TeamsNative Salesforce + round-robin — built for sales workflows.
Coach / therapist
AcuityIntake forms, packages, payments — purpose-built for service providers.
Salon / wellness studio
Acuity Growing$27/mo flat covers all staff — far cheaper than per-user tools.
Developer / startup
Cal.comHistorically self-hostable — confirm current licensing terms directly.
Healthcare (HIPAA)
Acuity Powerhouse$49/mo flat with BAA — Cal.com Organizations ($28/user annual) also qualifies.
Recruiter
CalendlyClean booking experience + ATS integrations make candidate scheduling easy.
Privacy-conscious team
Cal.com — verify firstSelf-hosting has historically offered data sovereignty — confirm current terms.
Small team (3–5 people)
Cal.com Teams$12/user/mo annual — cheaper than Calendly Teams with a better free plan to start.
What vendors won't lead with
📋 Calendly — legacy plans discontinued
Calendly's Essentials and Professional plans are no longer available for new customers as of 2025. Only Free, Standard ($10/user/mo), Teams ($16/user/mo), and Enterprise exist. Any comparison referencing those old plan names is outdated.
💆 Acuity — packages need Growing, not Emerging
Packages, memberships, subscriptions, gift certificates, and SMS reminders are on the Growing plan ($27/mo) — not the entry Emerging plan ($16/mo). If those features are why you're choosing Acuity, the correct starting plan is $27/mo, not $16/mo.
💰 Cal.com — the annual-vs-monthly gap is bigger than a flat quote suggests
Teams is $12/user/mo annual but $15/user/mo monthly — a 25% premium. Organizations is $28/user/mo annual but $37/user/mo monthly. If you're comparing Cal.com against a competitor's annual rate, make sure you're using Cal.com's annual rate too, not its monthly list price.
🔓 Cal.com — verify open-source status directly if it matters
One industry source claims Cal.com's core product may have moved away from fully open-source licensing in 2026, with a separate "Cal.diy" community edition. This is unconfirmed elsewhere. If self-hosting rights or open-source licensing is a hard requirement, verify Cal.com's current terms directly before committing — don't assume either the old "fully open source" framing or this single unconfirmed report.
📈 Calendly — per-user pricing multiplies fast
A 10-person team on Calendly Standard pays $100/month. On Teams, $160/month. Acuity Growing covers 10 staff for $27/month flat. If your team is large and doesn't need Calendly's specific integrations, the cost difference is significant.
🏷️ Acuity — Powerhouse required for branding removal
Removing the "Powered by Acuity Scheduling" footer from your booking page requires the Powerhouse plan ($49/mo). Emerging and Growing plans show Acuity branding. Cal.com removes its branding for free on all plans.
Quick answers
Yes — Calendly's free plan includes unlimited meetings but only one active event type and one calendar connection. Paid plans start at $10/user/month on Standard (annual billing) and $16/user/month on Teams. Calendly's old Essentials and Professional plans are no longer available for new customers.
No. Acuity offers a 7-day free trial with no credit card required. Plans start at $16/month (Emerging, 1 calendar). Growing ($27/mo) adds SMS, packages, memberships, and up to 6 calendars. Powerhouse ($49/mo) adds HIPAA compliance and branding removal.
Cal.com's free cloud plan includes unlimited event types, unlimited bookings, unlimited calendar connections, and native Stripe and PayPal payments. Teams plan is $12/user/month on annual billing ($15 monthly). Organizations plan is $28/user/month annual ($37 monthly), adding HIPAA compliance, SSO, and custom email domains. Cal.com has historically offered self-hosting; if that matters to your decision, verify current licensing terms directly, as one unconfirmed report suggests this may have changed in 2026.
Acuity Scheduling is the clear choice for coaches, therapists, and wellness practitioners. The Growing plan ($27/mo) includes intake forms with conditional logic, payment collection at booking, packages, memberships with automated billing, and SMS reminders. The Powerhouse plan ($49/mo) adds HIPAA compliance with a signed BAA.
For most teams, yes. Cal.com's free plan is more generous than Calendly's in every dimension — unlimited event types vs Calendly's 1, unlimited calendar connections vs Calendly's 1, and native Stripe payments free. The Teams plan at $12/user/month annual is cheaper than Calendly Teams at $16/user/month. The main gaps are Calendly's specific native integrations (especially Salesforce direct sync) and its more polished UI for non-technical users.
Yes — Acuity charges per account, not per user or per staff member. The Emerging plan ($16/mo) covers 1 bookable calendar. Growing ($27/mo) covers up to 6 calendars. Powerhouse ($49/mo) covers up to 36 calendars. This makes Acuity dramatically cheaper than per-user tools for service teams with multiple practitioners — a 10-person salon on Acuity Growing pays $27/month vs $160/month on Calendly Teams.
Ready to try these scheduling tools?
Cal.com and Calendly are free to start. Acuity offers a 7-day trial with no credit card required.