11 Best Calendly Alternatives in 2025 (Including Free Options)

TL;DR

You're looking for a Calendly alternative because you either need better features, a lower price, or a completely different way to manage your time. Here is the fast track:

For advanced booking links: Cal.com (best open source) or SavvyCal (best experience).
For taking payments: Acuity Scheduling handles complex paid appointments best.
For syncing calendars (not booking): Caltsu. If your main issue is double-booking rather than scheduling with clients, you need sync, not a booking link.
For Microsoft users: Microsoft Bookings is likely already included in your subscription.

Calendly is the Kleenex of scheduling apps. It’s the name everyone knows. But just because it’s popular doesn’t mean it fits your specific workflow.

Maybe you’re tired of the escalating subscription costs. Maybe the branding customization on the free plan is too restrictive. Or perhaps you’ve realized that sending a booking link feels a bit impersonal for your specific clients.

Whatever the reason, the scheduling market has exploded in 2025. You have options.

We’ve tested and analyzed the top contenders to help you find the right Calendly alternative for your specific situation—whether you need a simple free tool, a robust sales engine, or just a way to keep your calendars from fighting each other.

Why Look for a Calendly Alternative?

Calendly works well, but it has blind spots. Most users switch for one of three reasons:

Cost: As teams grow, per-seat pricing gets expensive fast. You might not want to pay $12+ per user just to automate a few meetings.
User Experience: Some people find the "pick a time" grid a bit cold. Newer tools offer "overlay" modes that feel more collaborative and less transactional.
The Wrong Tool for the Job: This is the most common one. You might be trying to use a booking tool to fix an internal availability problem. If you just need your coworkers to know when you're busy, you don't need a booking link—you need calendar sync.

Scheduling vs. Calendar Sync: Which Do You Actually Need?

Before you sign up for another booking tool, ask yourself what problem you are trying to solve.

You need a Scheduler (like Calendly) if:

You meet with people outside your company (clients, candidates, leads).
You need to collect payments or form data before the meeting.
You want to eliminate the "when are you free?" email ping-pong.

You need Calendar Sync (like Caltsu) if:

You have a work calendar and a personal calendar (or a side hustle calendar).
Your problem is internal double-booking (your boss schedules over your dentist appointment).
You want to block time across multiple accounts without sharing private details.

If your issue is availability management, a booking link is a band-aid. Sync is the cure.

Best Calendly Alternatives for Scheduling & Booking

These tools are direct competitors to Calendly. They generate links, let people pick times, and put events on your calendar.

1. Cal.com - Best Open Source Alternative

If you want control, Cal.com is hard to beat. It started as an open-source project and has grown into a powerhouse. It looks and feels very similar to Calendly but offers significantly more flexibility for developers and power users.

Best Feature: The free tier is incredibly generous. Unlike Calendly, which limits your event types on the free plan, Cal.com offers unlimited event types for individuals.

Who it’s for: Freelancers, developers, and anyone who wants a "pro" feature set without the monthly subscription bill.

2. SavvyCal - Best for Personalized Scheduling

SavvyCal flips the script on scheduling. Most tools put the burden on the recipient to check their own calendar against yours. SavvyCal allows the recipient to overlay their calendar on top of yours.

This fixes the "awkward power dynamic" of sending a link. It feels collaborative rather than demanding. It’s smoother, looks better, and creates less friction for the person you’re trying to meet.

Who it’s for: Sales professionals and founders who care deeply about the client experience.

3. Acuity Scheduling - Best for Service Businesses

If you run a salon, a consultancy, or any business where you charge for your time, Acuity is the heavyweight champion. Owned by Squarespace, it’s less about "booking a chat" and more about "booking a service."

It handles intake forms, deposits, subscriptions, and complex reminder workflows better than almost anyone else.

Who it’s for: Service providers who need to process payments and intake forms automatically.

4. HubSpot Meeting Scheduler - Best Free CRM Integration

If you live in HubSpot, stop paying for Calendly. HubSpot’s built-in meeting scheduler is robust and connects directly to your contact records. When a lead books time, their information is instantly updated in your CRM.

Best Feature: It’s free if you’re already using the HubSpot ecosystem. Plus, it enables round-robin scheduling for sales teams (automatically routing leads to the next available rep).

Who it’s for: Sales teams and marketers using HubSpot.

5. Microsoft Bookings - Best for Microsoft 365 Users

Check your subscription. You probably already own this. Microsoft Bookings is included in most Business Standard and Premium plans. It integrates deeply with Outlook and Teams.

Is it the prettiest interface? No. Does it get the job done without an extra invoice? Absolutely. It’s secure, enterprise-ready, and IT departments love it because they don’t have to vet a new vendor.

Who it’s for: Corporate teams deeply embedded in the Microsoft ecosystem.

6. Doodle - Best for Group Scheduling

You know the struggle: trying to get five people to agree on a dinner time. Calendly is terrible at this. Doodle is built for it.

Doodle uses a polling system. You suggest a few times, everyone votes on what works for them, and the winner gets booked. It’s not great for 1-on-1 client meetings, but for board meetings or team dinners, it’s the standard.

Who it’s for: Project managers and organizers coordinating groups of 3+ people.

7. YouCanBookMe - Best Budget Option

YouCanBookMe (YCBM) has been around for a long time. It’s simple, reliable, and very affordable. It’s heavily used in the education sector because of its no-nonsense grid view and deep customization options for the booking page text.

Who it’s for: Educators, universities, and budget-conscious freelancers.

Best Alternatives When You Need Calendar Sync (Not Booking)

Sometimes you don't need a booking link. You just need your Outlook work calendar to know that you're busy on your Google personal calendar. Using a tool like Calendly for this is clunky. These tools solve the "availability" problem directly.

8. Caltsu - Best for Multi-Calendar Synchronization

If you juggle multiple calendars (like a corporate Outlook account and a personal Gmail), Caltsu is your answer.

We don’t replace scheduling links; we make them accurate. Caltsu runs in the background, syncing your events between calendars so you never get double-booked.

Why it’s different:

Privacy First: We sync "Busy" slots, not your private event details. Your boss sees you’re unavailable, not that you’re at a therapy appointment.
Platform Agnostic: We sync Google, Outlook, and iCloud calendars seamlessly.
Set and Forget: Once you set up your sync pairs, you don't have to log in daily. It just works.

Who it’s for: Professionals with side hustles, freelancers with multiple clients, or anyone balancing work and life schedules.

9. OneCal - Calendar Sync Alternative

Similar to Caltsu, OneCal focuses on the "Calendar Union" problem. It allows you to broadcast availability from one calendar to another. It’s a solid tool for remote workers who need to block time across multiple Google or Outlook accounts.

Who it’s for: Consultants managing multiple client email addresses.

10. Reclaim.ai - Best for AI-Powered Scheduling

Reclaim isn't just about booking; it's about defending your time. It integrates with your to-do list and automatically blocks time on your calendar for "deep work," lunch, or catching up on email.

If a meeting comes in, Reclaim can shuffle your tasks to a new slot automatically. It’s less of a scheduler and more of an intelligent calendar assistant.

Who it’s for: Product managers and developers who need to protect their focus time.

11. Clockwise - Best for Team Calendar Optimization

Clockwise works at the team level. It analyzes everyone’s calendars and physically moves flexible meetings to open up chunks of "focus time" for the whole team. It’s magical when it works, though it requires your whole team to buy into the system.

Who it’s for: Engineering teams who need long blocks of uninterrupted coding time.

Quick Comparison Table: Calendly Alternatives at a Glance

Tool	Best Use Case	Free Plan?
Cal.com	Open-source / API needs	Yes (Generous)
SavvyCal	Sales & Client Experience	No (Paid only)
Acuity	Paid Appointments	No (Trial only)
HubSpot	Sales Teams using CRM	Yes
Caltsu	Privacy-focused Calendar Sync	Yes
Doodle	Group Polling	Yes
Reclaim.ai	Task & Habit Blocking	Yes

How to Choose the Right Calendly Alternative

Don’t just pick the one with the nicest logo. Make your choice based on your primary pain point.

If you are losing money because clients can't book or pay you easily, go with Acuity Scheduling or SavvyCal. The investment pays for itself in one booking.
If you are losing sanity because you keep getting double-booked across your work and personal life, a booking link won't save you. You need Caltsu. Sync your calendars first, then worry about booking links later.
If you are losing budget on expensive enterprise plans, switch to Cal.com or Microsoft Bookings. You get 90% of the functionality for $0.

The Bottom Line

Calendly is a great tool, but it's not the only player in town anymore. In 2025, you have specialized tools that handle specific workflows better.

For pure scheduling, tools like SavvyCal offer a better experience. But remember: a booking link is only as good as the calendar behind it.

If your underlying calendars aren't talking to each other, you're going to get double-booked regardless of which app you use.

Start with a solid foundation. Use Caltsu to sync your availability across all your Google, Outlook, and Apple calendars. Once your schedule is bulletproof, you can use any booking tool you want—or none at all.

[Get started with Caltsu for free] and stop the calendar chaos today.

11 Best Calendly Alternatives for 2025 (Free & Paid)