Best scheduling tool (2026 prices)
No star ratings. Every scheduling tool we track, its published entry price, and who the vendor itself says it is for.
Short answer: 4 of the 5 tools in the table publish a free plan, so the cheapest way to start is $0. The cheapest paid plan in the table is $12/mo, from Calendly and SavvyCal. Acuity Scheduling has no free plan and starts at $20/mo.
Which one should you pick?
- Pick Calendly if this describes you: Anyone who books meetings and wants the most widely recognised booking link. Visit Calendly
- Pick Cal.com if this describes you: Solo operators who want unlimited event types free, and teams that want an open-source option. Visit Cal.com
- Pick SavvyCal if this describes you: one person who wants a clean booking link. Visit SavvyCal
- Pick Acuity Scheduling if this describes you: Service businesses that take payments and SMS reminders at booking, and teams of several people. Visit Acuity Scheduling
- Pick Square Appointments if this describes you: Salons, spas and barbershops that want booking, payments and point of sale from one vendor, priced per location. Visit Square Appointments
Some buttons are affiliate links — how this works.
| Tool | Entry price | Free plan |
|---|---|---|
| Calendly | $12/mo | Yes |
| Cal.com | custom quote | Yes |
| SavvyCal | $12/mo | Yes |
| Acuity Scheduling | $20/mo | No |
| Square Appointments | $49/mo | Yes |
Prices checked 2026-10-23.
Some links below are affiliate links. If you buy through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. How this works. How we check prices.
Every scheduling tools we track, by entry price
| Platform | Entry paid plan | Free plan | Best for | Not for | Where the number came from |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calendly | $12/mo | Yes | Anyone who books meetings and wants the most widely recognised booking link. | Teams that need routing rules or round-robin on the free or Standard tier - that is Teams and up. | first-party prices |
| Cal.com | custom quote | Yes | Solo operators who want unlimited event types free, and teams that want an open-source option. | Teams that need the widest set of native integrations - Calendly's ecosystem is larger. | first-party prices |
| SavvyCal | $12/mo | Yes | one person who wants a clean booking link | first-party prices | |
| Acuity Scheduling | $20/mo | No | Service businesses that take payments and SMS reminders at booking, and teams of several people. | A single person who only needs a booking link - the free tiers elsewhere cover that. | first-party prices |
| Square Appointments | $49/mo | Yes | Salons, spas and barbershops that want booking, payments and point of sale from one vendor, priced per location. | A solo stylist who only needs a booking link - Calendly and Cal.com cover that at $0/mo, and Acuity is flatter pricing for a small team. | first-party prices |
Entry paid plan, monthly billing, read from each vendor's own pricing page on 2026-10-05. Where a vendor renders its prices with JavaScript, the figure comes from the named third-party tracker in the last column.
The ranking by entry price
| # | Tool | Entry paid plan | Best for | Where the number came from |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Calendly | $12 | Anyone who books meetings and wants the most widely recognised booking link. | first-party prices |
| 2 | SavvyCal | $12 | one person who wants a clean booking link | first-party prices |
| 3 | Acuity Scheduling | $20 | Service businesses that take payments and SMS reminders at booking, and teams of several people. | first-party prices |
| 4 | Square Appointments | $49 | Salons, spas and barbershops that want booking, payments and point of sale from one vendor, priced per location. | first-party prices |
| 5 | Cal.com | custom quote | Solo operators who want unlimited event types free, and teams that want an open-source option. | first-party prices |
Prices checked 2026-10-23.
A platform that publishes no self-serve price is listed last and cannot win a price ranking.
What you are actually buying
Per seat or per account. A per-seat tool is cheap for one person and expensive for a team of six; a flat-rate tool is the opposite. Count the people who need to send booking links before you compare headline prices, because that multiplication is the whole decision.
Free plans in this category
Calendly publishes a free plan. Cal.com publishes a free plan. SavvyCal publishes a free plan. Square Appointments publishes a free plan.
How we picked
Sorted by the published entry paid plan, read from each vendor's own pricing page. No scores.
Frequently asked questions
What is the cheapest scheduling tool?
The cheapest published entry plan in our 2026-10-05 check is on the table above, read from the vendor's own pricing page.
Is a free scheduling tool enough for a team?
For one person taking meetings, often yes. Team routing, round-robin assignment and integrations are what the paid tiers buy.
Do I need a scheduling tool if I already use a calendar?
Only if other people book you. A calendar shows your time; a scheduling tool stops the back-and-forth email that fills it.
How current are these prices?
Read from the vendors' own pages on 2026-10-05 and re-checked weekly.