Acuity Scheduling vs Cal.com
A side-by-side look at 2 Productivity tools for 2026 — the verdict, pricing, ratings, features, and what readers think.
acuityscheduling.com
Best for salons, wellness, fitness and consulting businesses that need booking, intake forms and payments together
Online booking, payments and client management for appointment-based businesses, with intake forms, packages and reminders that cut no-shows.
Visit Acuity Scheduling
cal.com
Best for developers and tech-savvy teams who want free unlimited scheduling, an API or self-hosting
Free, unlimited scheduling for individuals, with open-source code, self-hosting, and team plans that add round-robin, routing and SOC 2/HIPAA compliance.
Visit Cal.comPricing compared
Acuity Scheduling
$16/mo
Cal.com
$12/seat/mo
Head to head
| Acuity Scheduling | Cal.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Rating | ||
| Starting price | $16/mo | $12/seat/mo |
| Free tier | No | Yes |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial, no credit card needed | 14-day free trial on Teams and Organizations |
| Platforms | Web · iOS · Android · API | Web · iOS · Android · Browser extension · macOS · Windows · Linux · API · Self-hosted |
| Founded | 2006 | — |
Pros & cons
Acuity Scheduling
Pros
- Deep tools for service businesses: intake forms, packages, memberships, gift certificates and waitlists.
- Accepts payments through Stripe, Square and PayPal.
- HIPAA BAA available on Premium for US health and wellness practices.
- Integrates with QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Mailchimp and Zapier.
Cons
- No free plan and only a 7-day trial.
- Text reminders, waitlists and packages start at Standard.
- Branding removal, the BAA and the API need Premium.
- Trustpilot score (3.6) is lower than its G2 score.
Cal.com
Pros
- Free plan has unlimited event types, calendars and bookings.
- Open source and self-hostable with Docker.
- Two-way Salesforce and HubSpot sync even on the free plan.
- Organizations plan lists SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO 27001 compliance.
- Public API, webhooks and embeddable components for developers.
Cons
- Round-robin and branding removal need the paid Teams plan.
- SSO, SCIM and compliance features need the USD 28 Organizations plan.
- Monthly-billing prices are not published on the pricing page.