3,2,1…too many scheduling tools again! I’m growing tired of trying all these. The search for the perfect tool is becoming a hobbit-sized quest! Your tone is endearing but the quest is foolhardy, like a wild goose chasing the ever-elusive bluebird of happiness.
We love Calendly. It has made scheduling and organizing appointments so much easier and painless. But what if Calendly is not an option for you? That’s why we put together a list of alternatives to Calendly complete with reviews, price, and features.
Calendly is an online scheduling software that allows users to set up appointments with their clients and customers. The main benefit of Calendly is that it makes the process of booking appointments easier for both parties. Users can easily log in to their dashboard and view all scheduled appointments.
Calendly is a significant competitor in the calendar automation software race. However, several Calendly alternatives more than make up for the features that Calendly offers.
Some businesses have found Calendly to be just what they need, but others wonder if there is a more suitable option.
Calendly Alternatives
With so many competitors in the field, it’s no wonder why you’re looking for alternatives to Calendly! Here are the top-rated Calendly alternatives that you can consider for your business.
10to8
Ten-to-eight includes features that most other vendors charge extra for. For instance, SMS reminders are included with Ten-to-eight, while most other vendors charge extra for this service. In addition, Ten-to-eight allows online payment acceptance, group bookings, and reports.
The free version does have some co-branding on the customers’ forms. However, the very first tier removes that co-branding. I can upgrade based on my staff size and appointments per month and even custom brand the SMS alerts after the second tier.
Like Calendly, Ten-to-eight does integrate with WordPress and Salesforce. I like the link customization function that Calendly offers, and I do not see a comparable product with Ten-to-eight.
The main feature that ten-to-eight provides in the free plan are:
- Automated e-mail and SMS
- Branding customization
- H.I.P.P.A. compliant
- Payment Processing
- No-Show Prevention
- Custom Reports
As an alternative to Calendly, ten-to-eight is excellent when you need functionality and do not want to integrate with other software applications.
Acuity
Working with Acuity is a smooth experience. Unfortunately, there is no free plan, but the functionality more than makes up for the lack of a free trial. Even the basic program gives me all the tools I need to book appointments.
Squarespace did incorporate the ability to take payments right from Acuity, which alone is worth the price of the most basic package. Clients can even tip you right from the app. So, I do not have to spend much time figuring out technical knowledge.
Acuity is on the higher end of the pricing scale; even their basic package is slightly cheaper than Calendly’s Teams package, and you only get one location. However, Acuity is excellent for many industries as it does offer great integration and is user-friendly to learn.
Calendly’s workflows take care of tasks associated with mundane repeatable tasks. Acuity, however, does not have a workflow function with any package.
Appoint.ly
Appoint.ly is the perfect simple solution. Everything about Appoint.ly’s system is simple to understand and use. In addition, the pricing is straightforward with a free plan, a paid plan, and then enterprise-level plans. Even the website is only one page!
The only real difference between the free and paid plans is access to reports, a company section, and unlimited event types. There are not a lot of fancy features; the program is free with one event type and one calendar. It will send through notifications and even help avoid double bookings. It does have time synchronization and other basic features that you would expect from any calendar app.
It uses a basic form that is directly labeled, but it lacks the customization features I get with Calendly. The page that the customer sees is plain and contains blocks with the different event types, then opens a screen and shows the time options.
The form placement for the information capture is ideal for gathering basic information, such as contact information.
Chili Piper
Chili Piper is a lead management and scheduling software. The platform targets small to mid-sized businesses, primarily focusing on the appointment setting need. They do have a per-user licensing feature allowing us to only pay for the reps that need the software.
I did get a lot for the price, including CRM integration and reports. There are even some marketing tools included in some of the personal packages. For example, Chili Piper has e-mail marketing features and automated SMS reminders.
The integrations are simple and effective. For example, chili Piper works flawlessly with Google Calendar and Microsoft Outlook. I have even updated leads through the CRM using Chili piper. On the other hand, chili Piper works best with Salesforce and Hubspot.
The instant booker package is most like the individual packages offered by Calendly. However, the most significant advantage that Chili Piper has over Calendly is the “suggested times in e-mails” feature in Chili Piper. Putting a link into the e-mail that the client gets allows the customer to book right there in the e-mail.
Doodle
Doodle gives the ability to control the available times that the customer sees based on the link that has been sent to them. As a result, doodle is better for enterprise-level environments and when I need multiple calendars to be updated.
Doodle is great because you need to meet with one person or several people simultaneously. Gone are the days of searching the inbox for a meeting time; Doodle makes several plan options that are easy to understand.
The plans are centered more around a solution; the pro plan is perfect for individuals, while the team plans are better for small teams. Doodle does integrate with Microsoft Teams and Outlook. One thing that Doodle does is the customization options are endless.
Doodle has been used by government associations and even medical practices to simplify appointment scheduling. Several case studies highlight some of the different functionality features of Doodle. In addition, they have a lot of helpful information on how to use Doodle, and that is something I wish Calendly did better.
HubSpot Meetings
Hubspot meeting is a free scheduler that synchronizes your calendars. This tool is part of a more extensive marketing package that Hub Spot offers. The service works by integrating with popular calendar services and has limited functionality.
HubSpot includes the following features in the meeting scheduler.
- Website widget
- Shareable links
- Calendar Sync
- E-mail Sequences
- Group Meetings
Hub spots meeting scheduler is part of HubSpot’s package system, so you must sign up for one of the free packages to use the application. HubSpot Meetings works best in an environment that also needs other relationship management software.
Microsoft Bookings
Part of the Office 365® package is Microsoft Bookings. A basic scheduling app that easily integrates with other Microsoft Services. The integrations with Microsoft teams help with scheduling tasks as well as appointments. Microsoft gives users complete control over the entire user experience.
Customizing web forms, collaboration tools, and calendar management are all included with Microsoft Bookings. However, I must purchase the middle package if I want customers’ functionality to book their own appointments online.
Bookings offer a lot of functionality, and if I used Microsoft already, Bookings would be an excellent add-on. One-click features make it extremely easy for customers to book their own appointments. Plus, I can install Bookings on up to five different devices for one user.
Nylas
Nylas is not a calendar app but a programming application that connects to all calendar applications. Customize the user interface or send webhooks on a specific action using Nylas. Nylas is geared more towards the do-it-yourself or as a tool for a development team.
You can program an entire customer journey through Nylas centered around the calendar function. Scheduling, booking, and routing are all coded into the build application. In addition, Nylas can customize when notifications are sent, to whom, status updates on availability, and even service.
I can select the features I want and what I want them to do. So, for example, if I wish to e-mail the salesperson, sales manager, and customer, I can automate that entire process with Nylas. Of course, I do not like to sign up for a trial and sign a contract to use Nylas, but the pricing is fair compared to similar platforms.
Calendly is extremely simple to use compared to Nylas. Nylas bills are based on accounts and usage, so the bill will fluctuate monthly.
Setmore
Setmore allows customization of the booking page with the free plan. Setmore also helps send reminder e-mails and other follow-up sequences after the meeting. Setmore has an excellent “click to meet” feature that will bring up Teleport or Zoom, allowing the customer to join the meeting via a link instead of using downloadable software.
Like Calendly, Setmore optimized their mobile application and has excellent visibility on smaller devices. I like adding up to four users with the free account. With Calendly, it is only one user for the free version.
Setmore allows us to add staff easily and focus on the customer experience more than the software application. In addition, Setmore integrates with popular social media and payment processing applications.
The mobile app is easy to use and available on Android and Apple, like Calendly. In addition, the re-occurring appointments feature is useful when I regularly book several concurrent follow-up appointments for a client.
ThryV
ThryV is more than a calendar application; it is a customer relationship manager or (CRM). ThryV can manage the entire customers experience from beginning to end. Unfortunately, Calendly only partially explores this journey.
ThryV focuses on the online booking portion of the customer’s journey through a company. The backend functions of ThryV can be programmed to power almost any business. ThryV’ s integrations are only possible through Zapier®.
Staff members can use ThryV on their phones, like Calendly. One difference is that I get to decide who has access to what functions. In addition, the client portal makes it easy to change any information after the customer books the appointment.
ThryV does have a lot of programable functionality; however, Calendly is much easier to use. Calendly has a smooth user experience that requires no coding skills. Using ThryV will need some working knowledge of database usage and programming.
TimeTap
TimeTap gives the business owner the ability to customize the client portal with custom fields, both private and public. Timetap also set up recurring appointments, making it easy to schedule follow-up meetings.
TimeTap has a feature that allows the controller to set the availability of specific people. So, for example, I can schedule breaks and even sink every staff member separately right from the application. In addition, TimeTap supports multiple locations and allows for virtual meetings within the application.
Travel times are unique to TimeTap are the inbound and outbound automatic time buffers. These buffers consider my patterns when creating appointments. For example, if it takes me a few minutes to prepare for the next meeting, these buffers will account for the extra time.
The waiting list helps alleviate double booking and losing clients because of lost time slots. In addition, the waiting list gives multiple people a time slot and will keep them updated using automated responses.
YouCanBook.Me
The workflows available for YouCanBook.me are comparable to the workflows Calendly offers. Scheduling follow-up and SMS reminders are only one process that both companies do exceptionally well.
YouCanBook.me allows all member calendars to be connected to a centralized hub. This type of calendar management software enables a view of the entire team’s schedule. In addition, the zoom integration allows me to open a Zoom room automatically for each meeting.
YouCanBook.me also has a form customization feature to collect customer information while gathering the appointment information. Calendly does not have a custom feature that gathers unique customer data.
Zoho Bookings
Zoho Bookings offers three packages, with one being free. The functionality of the free plan is enough for a startup or a solo business operator. However, the services available in the paid plans are needed for managing any team environment.
Zoho does offer group meetings; however, it is only available in their premium package comparable in price to Calendly. Additionally, the ability to redirect a customer to a different URL is only available in the paid versions of both programs.
Zoho Booking integrates well with other Zoho applications and is fully customizable using Zoho’s scripting language named Deluge. The added functionality allows you to place and receive automation using Zoho’s platforms to third-party applications such as Zoom.
Using the basic plan with Zoho ads, gather customized information from the customer before booking the appointment. Then, if necessary, I can even collect the payment right from Zoho Bookings. The premium package does include a customer portal and customized domains. But unfortunately, the premium package is also the only one that removes the Zoho branding.
Conclusion: Calendly Alternatives
You either love it or hate it. It’s called Calendly. Calendly still remains a solid choice for any business looking to save time and resources in managing appointments. It’s difficult recommending an alternative to Calendly because it is so good at what it does.
Still, the truth is that there are so many appointment scheduling apps out there but only a few will provide you with the flexibility and ease of use that Calendly does. This is why I’ve taken out some time to test many of them. And they’re not all bad — I mean, they are relatively okay.
So, which one of these Calendly alternatives should you be using? It’s hard to say because they each have their own unique features that make them great in their own way.
However, if we had to make a suggestion, it would always be to try the product before you buy it. What works for one business might not work for yours, so don’t limit yourself to one option! Test it out and see if it is right for your business. As always, there is no substitute for doing your due diligence.
So there you have it, this is our list of the top Calendly alternatives. If you know of any other scheduling software that you think we should include on this list, please let us know and we’ll check them out.
Happy scheduling!
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