Calendly vs Acuity vs Cal.com (2026)
Which booking and scheduling tool is right for your business? We compare pricing, features, and use cases so you can decide fast.
- Calendly — Best for individuals and sales teams who need fast, frictionless scheduling. Free plan available. Paid from $10/user/mo.
- Acuity Scheduling — Best for service businesses (coaches, salons, therapists) needing payments, intake forms and client management. From $16/mo, no free plan.
- Cal.com — Best for developers and privacy-conscious teams who want open-source flexibility or self-hosting. Generous free plan, paid from $15/user/mo.
🔍 At a Glance
The most widely used scheduling tool — set up in under 10 minutes
- Ready in under 10 minutes
- Clean, modern interface
- 100+ integrations (Zoom, Salesforce, HubSpot)
- Round-robin team scheduling (Teams plan)
- 14-day free trial on paid plans
- Free plan limited to 1 active event type
- No payment collection on free plan
- Per-user pricing scales up fast for larger teams
Built for service providers — payments, intake forms and client management
- Intake forms with conditional logic
- Accept payments at booking (Stripe, PayPal, Square)
- Memberships, packages, gift certificates
- HIPAA compliant (higher tiers)
- Owned by Squarespace — deep integration
- Longer setup time than Calendly
- Interface feels dated vs competitors
- No free plan — must pay from day 8
Open-source scheduling — self-host for free or use the cloud
- Fully open-source — self-hostable
- Unlimited bookings on free plan
- Full API and customization
- Strong privacy and data controls
- Native Stripe payments (free plan)
- Requires technical setup for full value
- Smaller integration library than Calendly
- Less polished UI out of the box
💰 Pricing Comparison (April 2026)
| Plan | Calendly | Acuity | Cal.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | ✓ 1 event type | ✗ No free plan | ✓ Unlimited bookings |
| Starting Price | $10/user/mo (Standard) | $16/mo (Emerging) | $15/user/mo (Teams) |
| Mid Tier | $16/user/mo (Teams) | $27/mo (Growing) | $15/user/mo (same) |
| Top Tier | Enterprise (custom) | $49/mo (Powerhouse) | Enterprise (custom) |
| Free Trial | 14 days | 7 days | ✓ Free plan + self-host |
| Payment Collection | Paid plans only | ✓ All paid plans | ✓ Native Stripe (free) |
| HIPAA Compliance | ✗ No | ⚡ Powerhouse plan only | ✗ No |
| Self-hosting | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Yes — fully free |
📊 Feature Comparison
| Feature | Calendly | Acuity | Cal.com |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calendar sync (Google, Outlook) | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
| Round-robin scheduling | ⚡ Teams plan | ⚡ Limited | ⚡ Teams plan |
| Client intake forms | ⚡ Basic questions | ✓ Advanced + conditional logic | ⚡ Basic |
| Zoom / Meet / Teams integration | ✓ All three | ✓ Zoom + Meet | ✓ All three |
| Memberships & packages | ✗ No | ✓ Yes | ✗ No |
| Open source / self-host | ✗ No | ✗ No | ✓ Fully open source |
| Number of integrations | ✓ 100+ | ~40 | Growing library |
| Custom branding / CSS | ⚡ Paid plans | ✓ Full custom CSS | ✓ Full customization |
📖 The Full Picture
Calendly — Best for Simplicity
Calendly is the most widely used scheduling tool for a reason — it just works. Connect your calendar, set your availability, share a link. Setup takes under 10 minutes with no technical knowledge required.
The free plan is genuinely useful for solo users who only need one booking link. Paid plans start at $10/user/month (Standard) and unlock multiple event types, workflows, reminders, and team scheduling. The Teams plan at $16/user/month adds round-robin distribution, ideal for sales teams booking demos.
Where Calendly falls short is depth. It's a scheduling tool, nothing more. No payment collection on the free plan, no advanced intake forms, no client management. If you run a service business where appointments are tied to revenue, you'll outgrow it quickly.
Acuity Scheduling — Best for Service Businesses
Acuity (owned by Squarespace) is built for service providers who need more than a booking link. Coaches, wellness practitioners, tutors, salon owners — anyone who sells time and needs payments, forms, and client history in one place.
Intake forms with conditional logic, payment collection at booking through Stripe/PayPal/Square, memberships, packages, gift certificates, and HIPAA compliance on higher tiers. These are features Calendly simply doesn't offer at any price tier.
The tradeoff is complexity and cost. Acuity takes longer to configure, the interface feels dated, and there's no free plan — you're paying from day 8 of the trial. But for service-based businesses, the investment is justified.
Cal.com — Best for Developers & Privacy
Cal.com is the only major scheduling tool that is fully open source. Self-host on your own infrastructure for complete data control — a significant advantage for teams with strict privacy requirements or enterprise security policies.
The free cloud plan is more generous than Calendly's, offering unlimited bookings, unlimited calendar connections, and native Stripe payments. The Teams plan at $15/user/month adds round-robin scheduling, routing forms, and advanced team workflows at a competitive price.
The main limitation is the technical barrier. Getting full value from Cal.com often requires developer resources. Non-technical users who just need a booking link will find Calendly more approachable.
🎯 Who Should Use Each Tool?
✓ Choose Calendly if...
You need to get up and running in minutes. Great for freelancers, consultants, sales reps, and recruiters who book virtual meetings frequently. The free plan covers basic needs well and 100+ integrations means it fits into most existing stacks.
✓ Choose Acuity if...
You run a service business — salons, therapy practices, coaching, personal training, or any field where you need intake forms, upfront payments, and client management alongside scheduling. The extra setup is worth it.
✓ Choose Cal.com if...
You're a developer or privacy-conscious team who wants full control over your scheduling data. The open-source nature and self-hosting option are unique advantages no competitor offers. The free plan is also the most generous of the three.
❓ Frequently Asked Questions
Does Calendly have a free plan?
Does Acuity Scheduling have a free plan?
What is Cal.com and is it really free?
Which scheduling tool is best for a coaching or therapy practice?
Can Cal.com replace Calendly for a small team?
Not sure which to pick?
Start with Calendly for simple scheduling. Try Acuity if you run a service business. Use Cal.com for open-source control.