11 best Calendly alternatives (free and paid)

The short version

People leave Calendly for one of three things: better features, a lower price, or the realization that they had a different problem all along. Here's where to go.

1. For better booking links, try Cal.com if you want open source, or SavvyCal if you care most about how booking feels for the other person.
2. For taking payments, Acuity Scheduling is built for paid appointments with forms and deposits.
3. If you're just trying to stop double-booking, you don't need a booking link. You need calendar sync, which is what Caltsu does.
4. If your company runs on Microsoft 365, Microsoft Bookings is probably already in your subscription.

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Calendly is the default scheduling app because it's simple and it works. Popular doesn't mean right for you, though.

Maybe you're tired of paying for a team plan when you use three features. Maybe the branding on the free plan bothers you. Or maybe sending a booking link to a big client feels a little impersonal.

There are a lot more scheduling apps than there were five years ago. We looked at the main ones, from simple free tools to sales-team software, plus the tools that keep your personal and work calendars from colliding.

Why look for a Calendly alternative?

Most people who switch from Calendly do it for one of three reasons.

1. Cost. Calendly charges per seat on its paid plans, so the bill grows with the team. That adds up fast if all you need is to automate a few meetings.
2. How it feels. Some people find the "pick a time" grid cold. Newer tools let the guest overlay their own calendar, which feels more like working it out together.
3. Wrong tool for the job. This is the most common one. You might be using a booking tool to fix an internal availability problem. If you just need coworkers to see when you're busy, a booking link won't do it. Syncing your calendars will.

Scheduling vs. syncing: which do you need?

Before you sign up for another booking tool, work out which problem you actually have.

You need a scheduler like Calendly if:

• You meet with people outside your company, such as clients, candidates or sales leads.
• You need to collect payments or ask questions on a form before the meeting.
• You want to stop the "when are you free?" emails.

You need a calendar sync tool like Caltsu if:

• You have a work calendar, a personal calendar, and maybe one for a side project.
• You mostly get double-booked by people inside your own company, like your boss scheduling over your dentist appointment.
• You want to block time across all your accounts without sharing what the events are.

If the problem is your own availability, a booking link is a band-aid. Sync fixes it.

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The best Calendly alternatives for scheduling

These are direct Calendly competitors. They create booking links, let people pick a time, and add the event to your calendar.

1. Cal.com: the best open-source alternative

Cal.com started as an open-source project and looks and works a lot like Calendly. The difference is how much you can change. Developers can self-host it and change nearly anything.

The free plan is the main draw. Calendly limits event types on its free plan. Cal.com gives individuals unlimited event types.

It suits freelancers, developers, and anyone who wants the paid features of other tools without a monthly bill.

2. SavvyCal: the best for a personal touch

With most tools, the other person checks their calendar against your open slots in a second tab. SavvyCal lets them overlay their calendar on top of yours, so they can see which times work for both of you on one screen.

It's a small change, but the link reads less like "fit into my schedule" and more like an offer. Salespeople and anyone trying to make a good impression on clients tend to like it.

3. Acuity Scheduling: the best for service businesses

If you run a salon, a consultancy, or anything else where you charge for your time, look at Acuity first. Squarespace owns it, and it's built for booking paid services, not just meetings. It handles intake forms, deposits, client subscriptions and multi-step reminder emails.

Use it if you need to take payment and collect client information before the appointment.

4. HubSpot meeting scheduler: the best free tool for HubSpot users

If your business already runs on HubSpot, you may not need Calendly at all. HubSpot's meeting scheduler connects to your contact records, so when a lead books a time, the CRM updates on its own.

It's free if you already use HubSpot, and it does round-robin scheduling for sales teams, handing each new lead to the next available rep.

5. Microsoft Bookings: the best for Microsoft 365 users

Check your company's Microsoft 365 subscription before buying anything. Microsoft Bookings is included in most Business Standard and Premium plans, and it works with Outlook and Teams.

It isn't pretty. It also costs nothing extra, and your IT department doesn't have to approve a new vendor. For companies already deep in Microsoft, that usually wins.

6. Doodle: the best for group scheduling

Getting five people to agree on a dinner time is miserable, and Calendly doesn't help much. Doodle was built for it.

You suggest a few times, everyone votes, and you pick the slot that works for most people. It's a poor fit for one-on-one client meetings. For team events or board meetings, it's the easiest option. Use it for any group of three or more.

7. YouCanBookMe: the best budget option

YouCanBookMe has been around a long time. It's simple, reliable and cheap. Schools and universities use it a lot because of its plain grid view and the many ways to change the text on the booking page.

Teachers, universities and freelancers on a budget are the usual users.

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The best tools for syncing, not scheduling

Sometimes you don't need a booking link. You need your work calendar to know about the dentist appointment in your personal calendar. Calendly is overkill for that. These tools fix availability directly.

8. Caltsu: the best for syncing multiple calendars

If you have more than one calendar, say a corporate Outlook account and a personal Gmail, Caltsu keeps them in step.

We don't replace your booking link. We make it accurate. Caltsu copies each event into your other calendars as a "Busy" block, so a booking tool looking at any one calendar sees your real availability.

What's different:

• Other calendars get a "Busy" block, not your event details. Your boss sees you're unavailable, not that you're at therapy.
• It works with Google Calendar (Gmail and Workspace) and Microsoft 365 or Outlook. Apple iCloud is not supported yet.
• Google and Microsoft notify Caltsu when something changes, and it updates the blocks without you doing anything.

It's for people with side projects, freelancers with several clients, and anyone keeping work and personal schedules apart.

9. OneCal: a good calendar sync alternative

OneCal works on the same multi-calendar problem as Caltsu. It copies your availability from one calendar to another, and it's a reasonable choice for consultants who block time across several Google or Outlook accounts, one per client.

10. Reclaim.ai: the best for AI-powered time blocking

Reclaim connects to your to-do list and blocks time on your calendar for deep work, lunch or email.

When a meeting request lands on top of a task, Reclaim moves the task to a new slot. It's less a scheduler than an assistant that rearranges your week. Product managers and developers who need to protect focus time like it.

11. Clockwise: the best for optimizing your team's calendar

Clockwise works across a team. It reads everyone's calendars and moves flexible meetings to open up long focus blocks for the whole group. When it works, it's impressive. The catch is that the whole team has to use it, which is why it shows up most in engineering teams.

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Quick comparison: Calendly alternatives

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How to choose the right tool for you

Pick based on your biggest problem, not the nicest website.

1. If you're losing money because clients find it hard to book and pay, go with Acuity Scheduling or SavvyCal. One extra client covers the cost.
2. If you keep getting double-booked, a scheduling link won't help. Sync your calendars with Caltsu first and worry about a booking tool later.
3. If you're overpaying for an enterprise plan, switch to Cal.com or Microsoft Bookings. You'll get most of the features for free.

Calendly is still a good tool, and for some jobs a specialist does better. SavvyCal is nicer for your clients. Acuity handles payments properly.

But a booking link only knows what's in the calendar it's connected to. If your calendars don't see each other, you'll get double-booked whichever scheduling app you use.

Sync your availability across your Google and Outlook calendars with Caltsu first. Then use any booking tool you like. You may find you don't need one.