Appointment scheduling software can feel like the best thing since sliced bread. You get back hours every week. You may have tried Calendly, a popular scheduling tool, but didn’t quite like it. That’s why I’ve compiled a list of the best Calendly alternatives for you to try out.
Some of them are more Spartan than Calendly but others have a wide range of features to help you optimize your entire business and task management workflow. Whatever you’re looking for, there should be something here for you.
Let’s jump in and look at the best alternatives to Calendly
Keep in mind that we may receive commissions when you click our links and make purchases. However, this does not impact our comparisons and recommendations. We try our best to keep things fair and balanced, in order to help you make the best choice for you.
Table of Contents
What are the best Calendly alternatives for this year and beyond?
1. SimplyBook.me – best all-around Calendly alternative
It’s called SimplyBook.me but don’t let the name fool you, this alternative for Calendly is full of advanced features to help you grow your brand. It’s specifically designed for service businesses but that doesn’t mean it can’t be used for other purposes – such as booking sales calls for non-service related businesses.
It has a cheesy little explainer video with bad voice-overs but, for some reason, it made me smile. The company doesn’t take itself too seriously but the software is dead serious about getting you results. It has a full range of features and lets clients book appointments from multiple places like Google Maps, Instagram, or your website.
If you don’t have a website, you can take advantage of the website builder from SimplyBook.me. There are multiple templates to choose from, it’s fully customizable, supports multiple languages, can be mapped to a custom domain, and more.
SimplyBook.me is a powerful tool that continues to grow and evolve. If you need more than a scheduling app without having to combine half a dozen tools then this is the perfect solution for you.
Key features
- Powerful booking website that can be customized to your needs
- Support for multi-location booking
- Can set up multiple services with single participants or groups
- Add a blog to your booking website
- Map custom domain to your website
- Set up coupons or discounts for clients
- Self-service booking, canceling, and rescheduling for clients
- Automatically detects client time zone
- Book through multiple platforms like Facebook and Google
- Sell recurring subscriptions
- Integrate with dozens of payment processors like Stripe, PayPal, Square, Authorize.net, etc.
- Google analytics and Ads integration (and many more)
I’m just scratching the surface here. I’m pleasantly surprised at the breadth of the features and the way it has been able to combine it together without cluttering the interface. For what it offers, it’s a steal.
Pricing
SimplyBook.me has three pricing plans in addition to a free tier. On the free plan, you can get up to 50 bookings a month but if you need more, you’ll have to upgrade to the premium plans.
Each plan comes with a set number of custom integrations known as custom features. These are add-ons such as payment processing and integrations with other tools. Most people will require less than 8 custom features that are available in the standard plan at $29.90/m.
Basic - $9.90/m. It comes with 100 bookings a month and 3 custom features.
Standard – $29.90/m. It comes with 500 bookings a month and 8 custom features.
Premium - $59.90/m. It comes with 2,000 bookings a month and unlimited custom features.
2. SetMore – Best for solopreneurs and demanding teams
SetMore is the perfect tool for individuals that have to manage everything themselves and rapidly moving teams. It doesn’t punish the solopreneur but rather embraces the fact that they need to do a million things in a limited amount of time. This has turned into a tool that’s capable of meeting the needs of even the most demanding teams.
In addition to the web application, it has dedicated mobile and desktop apps that’ll help you stay on top of new bookings. The interface is user friendly and easy to learn. It also does a good job of providing useful integrations with popular tools like Instagram, WordPress, Mailchimp, and even Google Analytics. As you can see, it’s designed to work with you as opposed to forcing you to change your habits to accommodate it.
One thing that places SetMore above many of its competitors is the dedication to providing quality support. It has average response times of less than five minutes via live chat and a robust knowledge base to answer most questions that will come up.
Key features
- Collect reviews directly from your booking page (and moderate the ones that you show)
- Create master and staff calendars to better manage availability while preventing double bookings
- Mobile, desktop, and web app so you’re always in sync
- Solid integrations ecosystem which includes WordPress, Google Analytics, Instagram (which can be used for booking) email marketing, and many more
- Payment processing through Stripe and Square
- Automated email and text message reminders
- Self-service client booking and canceling
- Set up as many products as you need and adjust availability or pricing on the go
- Group bookings and integrations with your calendar
- Embed your booking page on your website or host with SetMore
Cons
- You’re unable to book an appointment that passes 12 AM
- Doesn’t support discounts of coupons on services
Pricing
SetMore has a free plan that provides most of the core features and a single paid plan that costs $25/m and comes with all of the features. In addition to the software, there’s a live answering service that’s available as an add-on. It costs $89/m for 90 minutes of talk time (calls under 30 seconds are free) and over 90 minutes is billed at $1.25/min.
3. Acuity Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling is a Calendly alternative that does much more than help you book meetings. Yes, of course it does that, but it also integrates with your business and current tools in a way that helps you become more efficient and provide a better experience for your prospects & clients.
One of the major problems with booking meetings, especially sales meetings, is that people don’t show up half the time. Acuity Scheduling helps reduce this by capturing pertinent contact information and sending follow-up emails and text messages. You may never hear the phrase “I forgot” again.
Like its parent company Squarespace, it has a well-designed UI. In other words, it was built with people who don’t spend the entire day in front of a computer screen in mind. You’re able to focus on the areas of your job that move the needle. Integrations with other useful tools, strong support, and an easy interface make this a great choice.
Key Features
- Sync all of the calendars you use together
- Integrates with payment processors like Stripe, Square, and PayPal
- Different types of scheduling like recurring appointments and group classes
- HIPAA compliant
- Send follow up emails and text messages to remind people of appointments
- Shareable links to easily send people to your calendar/booking page
- Fully customizable
- Time zone is automatically adjusted to that of your prospect
Cons
- Time blocking between appointments can be confusing
- At times, not all of your available slots will be shown – only a certain percentage of your calendar gets shown
Pricing
Acuity Scheduling has a free tier and a free trial. You can use the basic features for as long as you want and it includes one location, prospect self-scheduling, and unlimited active services. If you need anything else then you’ll have to upgrade to one of the premium plans which come with a 7-day trial.
Freebie – $0.
Emerging - $15/m and $14/m when paid annually.
Growing - $25/m and $23/m when paid annually.
Powerhouse - $50/m and $45/m when paid annually.
4. Calendar
In addition to a premium domain name, Calendar has premium features that promise to help you get your time back. It has a clear emphasis on the scheduling aspect and doesn’t dabble around in the add-on features that define other tools.
Where the other tools try to be the core of your business processes, Calendar focuses on making the core meeting experience easier. If you have everything else covered or only want to schedule meetings then Calendar is a solid choice.
Key features
- Shareable link to send your calendar to people so they can book a time that works
- Syncs with Google and Outlook
- Create multiple types of events for people to select when setting a meeting time
- Mobile app to allow access to your calendar on the go
- Machine learning tech helps the calendar become even more tailored to you as time goes on
Cons
- This may be subjective but it lacks many value-adding features like payment processing (I understand that’s not its real focus though)
Pricing
It has individual and team plans – both of which have a free tier. The individual plan costs $8/m for access to all features and up to 200 guest meetings. The team plan costs $6/m/user (minimum of two users).
5. Oncehub
Oncehub is a Calendly competitor designed to help people who do a lot of virtual meetings as it integrates natively with popular meeting tools like Zoom. It’s broken into two parts – ScheduleOnce and InviteOnce.
InviteOnce is in beta as of this writing but it’s meant to help you customize individual meetings for clients or team members. It uses a set of rules and parameters you define to make sure you’re meeting with the right people on your team for specific needs – EG marketing meeting with the head of marketing.
ScheduleOnce is the public-facing meeting scheduler. You’re able to create a series of events and integrate a booking button (or embed the page) on your website. It has a large number of features such as pooling availability, SMS notifications, payments, and much more.
Key features
- Add your branding
- Embed on your website
- Localization
- Automatic redirect
- Cancellation policy that protects your time (& interests)
- Supports multiple users
- Clear reporting
- Direct integrations with online meeting tools like GoToMeeting, Google Meets, and Zoom.
- Collect payments (and handle refunds)
Cons
- Doesn’t integrate with social platforms like its other direct competitors
Pricing
ScheduleOnce is priced at $15/m for up to three users and $10/user/month for 4 – 100 users. InviteOnce is $10 for up to 10 users and $2/user/month for 11-250 users.
6. Doodle
Doodle is a free Calendly alternative that helps cut down on the back and forth associated with scheduling meetings with people. It integrates with and updates all the major calendars so you won’t have to maintain two different schedules (while things fall through the cracks).
If you opt for the team plan, you gain access to integrations with popular tools such as Slack, Zoom, and Zapier. Doodle has been one of the top-rated tools for years and part of that is due to an easy-to-use interface that’ll allow you to focus on what matters.
Key features
- Syncs with major calendar tools
- Shareable calendar link
- Localized to the time zone of the recipient
- Manage scheduling changes
- Send updates to people who’ve scheduled meetings
Cons
- It doesn’t have advanced features like payments
Pricing
Doodle is free to use but if you want advanced features or to remove ads then there are premium plans available.
Starter - €3.50/m
Pro - €5/m
Team - €25/m for five users (upgrades are in increments of 5 users so the next tier is €50/m for 10 users).
7. MixMax
Mixmax, at its core, is a sales tool that’s designed to help you connect with the right prospects with the least amount of friction. It just happens to be a pretty good alternative to Calendly. That’s because a large part of the sales process is booking meetings and talking to people over the phone or in person.
I’ll focus on the scheduling features here but I’d recommend you take a look at the entire platform to see if it can help you grow your business. It focuses on optimizing your Gmail interactions by adding a one-click integration to insert your calendar. Of course, it integrates with Google Calendar.
Key Features
- Integrates directly with Google Calendar
- Can insert your calendar to Gmail messages
- Handles group and individual scheduling
Cons
- Limited features as a pure scheduling tool (but it’s effective at what it does do)
Pricing
Mixmax is free to get started with the calendar and a few email productivity features. If you need more power then there are three paid plans.
Starter - $12/m
SMB - $29/m
Growth - $65/m
8. Bookafy
Bookafy is another great alternative to Calendly. Unlike other free scheduling services providers, Bookafy offers robust features to help you grow your business like professionals without spending a dime.
With Bookafy, you can create your FREE website and booking page for online scheduling. Your customers can easily book appointments and fetch meeting URLs. Moreover, they can also add the meeting to their calendars to keep track of their schedules.
Key Features
- Confirmation Emails and reminders.
- Google Calendar, Zoom, Mailchimp integration
- Sleek Appointment booking system for FREE
Cons
- Integration with G-Calendar takes a couple of weeks to keep going.
Pricing
Bookafy has a decent free plan. However, if you want to access unlimited advance features, paid plans are there for you. The pricing plan starts from $9 per month.
PRO - $9 per month.
PRO+ - $13 per month.
Enterprise - Customized pricing depending on your needs.
Quick Calendly Review
Calendly is a powerful scheduling software available to most users for free. Set up your availability, the kind of appointments you’re taking, and Calendly will handle the rest for you. You’re able to share a unique link or embed the Calendly booking widget on your page and send it to prospects, team members, and clients.
They navigate to the page, pick a time, and everyone gets a notification. It’s simple.
If it’s so great then why do you need a Calendly alternative?
That’s a good question. For some people, Calendly does too much. For other people, it doesn’t do enough. If you’re looking for a calendar solution that can also serve as the center of your client based business then Calendly isn’t strong enough.
If you’re looking for a scheduling solution that just helps people book a meeting then Calendly may not be good enough. Whatever your reasons for wanting to switch, the collection above has you covered.
Conclusion
If you want a powerhouse Calendly alternative then SimplyBook.me is the best choice out there. It seeks to be your business command center and comes with everything from integrations with payment processors to a website builder.
If you need something simple that doesn’t attempt to fill all functions in your business then Doodle is a great choice. In the end, it’s up to you to decide which Calendly alternative you go with.