Calendly vs Acuity
Calendly keeps things simple, Acuity leans into customization, but which one really fits your needs in 2025? Let’s break it down.
COMPARE
Calendly vs Acuity at a Glance
If you’re comparing Calendly vs Acuity Scheduling, you’re likely deciding between two of the most established appointment scheduling software tools. Both platforms help save time and simplify booking, but they differ in features, pricing, and free plan options.
In this guide, we’ll walk through pricing, features, free plans, integrations, and customer feedback—so you can see which option aligns best with your needs. And at the end, we’ll also introduce a third solution that schools, teams, and professionals are choosing in 2025.
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 |  | |
|---|---|---|
| Free Plan | ✅ Yes (1 event type, 1 calendar) | ❌ No (7-day trial only) |
| Paid Plans Start | $10/month | $20/month |
| Best For | Freelancers, professionals, small teams | Service businesses (salons, clinics, consultants) |
| Calendar Integrations | Google, Outlook, iCloud | Google, Outlook, iCloud |
| Video Integrations | Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams | Zoom, Google Meet |
| Payments | Stripe, PayPal (paid) | Stripe, PayPal, Square |
Calendly
What is Calendly?
Calendly is an online scheduling platform founded in 2013 and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Over the past decade, it has grown into one of the most recognized tools in the scheduling software category, now serving millions of users worldwide each month.
The company has raised significant venture funding and positioned itself as a solution for both individuals and teams, offering integrations with workplace tools and enterprise-ready features. Calendly’s growth has made it a benchmark in the appointment scheduling space.
Acuity
What is Acuity?
Acuity Scheduling is an online booking and scheduling software acquired by Squarespace in 2019. It sits within the same category as Calendly but is positioned more for service-based businesses that need client scheduling, payments, and customization.
Acuity is used by professionals and small businesses that sell time directly to clients, such as coaches, wellness providers, and consultants. Backed by Squarespace’s ecosystem, it’s positioned as a comprehensive scheduling and client management system with a strong emphasis on payments and customization.
Who are these scheduling softwares built for?
Calendly: The best option for small teams
Calendly works especially well for small teams that want to stay organized without adding complexity.
Marketing groups, project teams, or school departments often choose Calendly because it takes the guesswork out of coordinating everyone’s calendars.
Acuity: A strong fit for service-based businesses
Acuity Scheduling is designed with service providers in mind.
Coaches, wellness centers, salons, and consultants often choose Acuity because it combines scheduling with payments, client management, and customization. Instead of just sharing a booking link, it helps you run more of your business in one place.
Pricing tiers: Calendly vs Acuity
Calendly pricing: A budget-friendly option with a free plan
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Price | What It Includes | Limitations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0 | 1 event type, unlimited bookings, 1 calendar connection. | No reminders, no branding, no team features. |
| Essentials | $10/mo | Multiple event types, reminders, integrations. | No advanced workflows or branding. |
| Professional | $15/mo | Custom branding, SMS reminders, workflows, reporting. | No team scheduling features. |
| Teams | $20–30/mo | Round-robin, collective scheduling, advanced team tools. | Higher price as team size grows. |
Acuity pricing: A premium choice for businesses that need payments
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Price | What It Includes | Limitations | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trial | Free (7 days) | Full access during trial. | Expires after 7 days. |
| Emerging | $20/mo | Core scheduling, calendar sync, basic features. | No reminders, no payments. |
| Growing | $34/mo | Email/SMS reminders, packages, subscriptions, group scheduling. | Limited branding/customization. |
| Powerhouse | $61/mo | Full features: advanced branding, multi-location, reporting, HIPAA compliance. | Higher price point, complexity for new users. |
Takeaway: If budget and simplicity are priorities, Calendly is easier to adopt. If you’re running a service business that relies on payments and recurring clients, Acuity’s higher tiers may justify the cost.
Do you need a better price?
If you’re weighing costs, remember there’s another option: Koalendar. Unlike Acuity’s higher entry price and Calendly’s upgrade path, Koalendar keeps things simple with a free forever plan and a Pro plan starting at just $7.99/month (billed annually). That means you can manage unlimited bookings without worrying about surprise paywalls.
KEY FEATURES
Key features comparison: Calendly vs Acuity
When comparing Calendly vs Acuity features, both cover scheduling essentials like calendar syncing and online booking. The main difference lies in focus: Calendly emphasizes ease of use and quick setup, while Acuity highlights advanced features like customization, payments, and client management.
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| | |
|---|---|---|
| Forever FREE plan | ||
| Unlimited appointments (for FREE) | ||
| Unlimited booking pages (for FREE) | ||
| Google Calendar integration | ||
| Microsoft Outlook Calendar integration | ||
| Apple iCloud Calendar integration | ||
| Zoom integration | ||
| Google Meet integration | ||
| One on one scheduling | ||
| Classes and group scheduling | ||
| Create multi-hosts events | ||
| Automatic reminders and booking notifications | ||
| Each booking page can be linked to different calendars | ||
| Automatic time zone adjustment | ||
| Custom form fields | ||
| Let invitee set the meeting location | ||
| Collect payments (USD, EUR, GBP, …) | ||
| Webhooks / Zapier integration | ||
| Custom design & branding | ||
| Offer multiple duration lengths for each link | ||
| Supports 30+ languages (English, Spanish, French, …) | ||
| Embeddable directly to your website |
Show all features
Takeaway: The choice comes down to what you value more: ease of use at a lower price (Calendly) or flexibility with advanced features (Acuity).
Free plan comparison: Calendly vs Acuity
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Calendly Free Plan | Acuity Free Trial | |
|---|---|---|
| Duration | ✅ Unlimited (free forever) | ❌ 7 days only |
| Bookings | Unlimited | Unlimited (during trial) |
| Event Types | 1 active event type | All types (during trial) |
| Calendar Connections | 1 calendar (Google, Outlook, iCloud) | Multiple calendars allowed (during trial) |
| Video Conferencing | Zoom, Google Meet, Teams (basic) | Zoom, Google Meet (during trial) |
| Reminders & Notifications | Email confirmations included | Email & SMS reminders (during trial) |
| Payments | Not included on free plan | Stripe, PayPal, Square (during trial) |
| Branding & Customization | Very limited | Full customization (during trial) |
| Upgrade Path | $10/month for Essentials | $20/month for Emerging |
Calendly free plan
Calendly’s free plan is limited but dependable. You get unlimited bookings, basic integrations, and a quick setup that works well for individuals and small teams who only need one type of meeting. It’s a tool you can genuinely keep using without a credit card, though you’ll eventually need to upgrade if you want advanced features such as multiple event types, reminders, or payment collection.
Acuity free trial
Acuity, on the other hand, offers a free trial that feels powerful right away. During the seven days you can test payment processing, intake forms, and customization, but once the trial ends you’ll need to subscribe to keep access. With starting prices higher than Calendly, Acuity is better suited for service providers who want to explore advanced features upfront before committing to a paid plan.
Takeaway: Calendly offers a limited but reliable free plan you can keep using, while Acuity only provides a 7-day trial. For anyone needing lasting free access, Calendly is the better choice.
Looking for a free plan that actually lasts?
Not thrilled by Calendly’s limits or Acuity’s short trial? Koalendar offers a free forever plan that includes unlimited bookings, unlimited scheduling pages, Google & Outlook sync, and built-in Google Meet links. No credit card. No hidden limits. Just a tool that keeps working for individuals, schools, and growing teams.
Integrations: Calendly vs Acuity
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| | |
|---|---|---|
| Total Integrations | ~100 native integrations (plus 5,000+ via Zapier/Make) | ~30 native integrations (plus 5,000+ via Zapier/Make) |
| Calendar Sync | Google, Outlook, iCloud | Google, Outlook, iCloud |
| Video Conferencing | Zoom, Google Meet, MS Teams, Webex | Zoom, Google Meet |
| CRM | Salesforce, HubSpot (higher tiers) | Limited CRM, Mailchimp |
| Payments | Stripe, PayPal (limited to paid plans) | Stripe, Square, PayPal (deep integration) |
| Collaboration Tools | Slack, Microsoft Teams | Fewer direct options |
| Accounting | Not a focus | QuickBooks integration |
| Other | Zapier, API access | Zapier, API access |
Calendly
Calendly’s strength lies in its ecosystem of business and collaboration tools. It integrates seamlessly with Google Workspace, Outlook, Slack, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Salesforce, HubSpot, and many CRMs. This makes it especially appealing for small teams or departments that want scheduling to flow naturally into their daily tools. For example, a teacher can launch a Google Meet link automatically, or a sales rep can log a meeting into Salesforce without lifting a finger.
The tradeoff? More advanced integrations, like Salesforce or HubSpot, are only included in higher-paid tiers. Still, for teams running on Google or Microsoft tools, Calendly is a plug-and-play solution.
Acuity
Acuity’s integrations lean into service-based businesses. Beyond connecting to calendars and video tools like Zoom, Acuity stands out for its payment integrations (Stripe, Square, PayPal) and client management add-ons. Coaches, wellness professionals, or schools running paid workshops can collect payments upfront, manage intake forms, and sync customer data directly to QuickBooks or Mailchimp.
This makes Acuity powerful if you need an all-in-one scheduling + payments workflow, but less flexible for teams focused on internal productivity.
Takeaway: If your priority is team productivity and collaboration, Calendly integrates better with the SaaS tools small teams already use. If you run a service-based business that needs payments and client management, Acuity’s integrations are hard to beat.
REVIEWS
Customer Satisfaction: What Users Really Think
When you’re comparing tools, star ratings and reviews often tell you what sales pages don’t. Both Calendly and Acuity score highly with users, but for different reasons. Here’s how they stack up according to reviews on Capterra, G2, and other trusted platforms.
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⭐️ Capterra | ⭐️ G2 | ⏳ Recency of Reviews | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calendly | 4.7 / 5 (4,012+ reviews) | 4.7 / 5 (2,422+ reviews) | 85% in the last 2 years |
| Acuity Scheduling | 4.8 / 5 (5,731+ reviews) | 4.7 / 5 (406+ reviews) | 80% in the last 2 years |
Calendly: Loved for Simplicity and Ease of Use
Calendly has built its reputation on being effortless. On Capterra, it holds a 4.7/5 rating, and G2 reviewers echo the same praise: it makes booking quick, clear, and stress-free. Users highlight how it saves hours of back-and-forth emails and integrates smoothly with their existing tools. Many note that it “just works,” which is why it’s so widely adopted across teams and educators.
Acuity: A strong fit for service-based businesses
Acuity’s focus on payments and client management makes it a strong fit for service-based businesses. On Capterra, it holds a 4.8/5 rating, and G2 reviewers echo the same praise: it makes booking quick, clear, and stress-free. Users highlight how it saves hours of back-and-forth emails and integrates smoothly with their existing tools. Many note that it “just works,” which is why it’s so widely adopted across teams and educators.
A third option worth considering: Koalendar
If Calendly and Acuity feel too complex (or pricey) for what you really need, there’s another option worth exploring. Koalendar is designed for anyone who manages a busy calendar — from small business owners and consultants to educators and growing teams. It combines an intuitive setup with a generous free forever plan, so you can stay organized without extra costs or training.
Scroll right to see how they compare →
| |  | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forever FREE plan | |||
| Unlimited appointments (for FREE) | |||
| Unlimited booking pages (for FREE) | |||
| Google Calendar integration | |||
| Microsoft Outlook Calendar integration | |||
| Apple iCloud Calendar integration | |||
| Zoom integration | |||
| Google Meet integration | |||
| One on one scheduling | |||
| Classes and group scheduling | |||
| Create multi-hosts events | |||
| Automatic reminders and booking notifications | |||
| Each booking page can be linked to different calendars | |||
| Automatic time zone adjustment | |||
| Custom form fields | |||
| Let invitee set the meeting location | |||
| Collect payments (USD, EUR, GBP, …) | |||
| Webhooks / Zapier integration | |||
| Custom design & branding | |||
| Offer multiple duration lengths for each link | |||
| Supports 30+ languages (English, Spanish, French, …) | |||
| Embeddable directly to your website |
Show all features
Why Professionals and Teams Choose Koalendar
Koalendar shines when simplicity, affordability, and reliability are priorities. Its free forever plan isn’t just a limited trial — it includes unlimited bookings, unlimited scheduling pages, Google and Outlook sync, and built-in Google Meet links. That makes it a practical fit for consultants juggling client calls, HR teams coordinating interviews, coaches running sessions, or entrepreneurs who want a clean booking page without the hassle of technical setup.
And while it’s newer than big names like Calendly or Acuity, Koalendar already enjoys a 4.9/5 rating on the Google Workspace Marketplace, with more than 790 reviews. Users consistently highlight how easy it is to set up, how smooth the calendar sync feels, and how rare it is to find a tool that offers this much value for free.
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