Acuity Scheduling vs Cal.com Comparison 2026
Acuity Scheduling adds intake forms, packages and payment at the moment of booking, from $16 a month with no free plan at all. Cal.com is open source and free forever for one user, with unlimited event types, calendars and Stripe or PayPal payments on that free tier. Acuity is bought by people whose calendar already earns and needs paperwork attached; Cal.com is bought by people who want the same job done for nothing, or on their own domain. Paid consultation calls cost nothing extra on Cal.com, which is a paid feature almost everywhere else.
Booking pages with intake forms
Open-source scheduling you can host yourself
At a glance
- Cal.com starts cheaper, at $12.
- Only Cal.com has a free tier.
Side by side
Acuity Scheduling | Cal.com | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $16 | From $12 |
| Pricing model (they differ) | Free trial, then paid | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier (they differ) | No | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial (they differ) | 7 days | 14 days |
Acuity Scheduling
Booking pages with intake forms
Acuity handles the part of booking that Calendly leaves out: intake forms, packages, deposits and paid appointments, with the money taken before anybody shows up. Squarespace owns it now and the two share an account. There is no free plan, so it is bought by people whose calendar already earns.
Our note
No free plan at all is the clearest difference from everything else here. Setmore and Cal.com take bookings for nothing, so the $16 is worth paying only when the intake form and the payment at booking are the point.
Cal.com
Open-source scheduling you can host yourself
Cal.com does what Calendly does and publishes its source, which matters to anybody who wants booking on their own domain and their own database. The individual plan is free with no meeting cap. Self-hosting is real rather than theatre, though it is a weekend rather than an afternoon.
Our note
Taking payment for calls is free here and is a paid feature almost everywhere else. That single difference is the reason most people switch.
Why people weigh these two
- Cal.com instead of Acuity Scheduling
- Cal.com is open source, so it can be self hosted, from $12 a month with a free tier, for anyone wary of Squarespace owning the data.
- Acuity Scheduling instead of Cal.com
- Acuity Scheduling adds intake forms to the booking flow from $16 with a trial rather than a free plan, suited to client work over quick calls.
Which one should you pick
Choose Acuity Scheduling if you sell packages of sessions or take a deposit and need the intake form asked before the booking, not in an email afterward. It starts at $16 a month after a 7-day trial, and there is no free plan underneath it, so it only makes sense once the calendar is already earning.
Choose Cal.com if a scheduling link with paid calls attached should cost nothing: the individual plan is free forever, with no cap on event types or bookings, and Stripe or PayPal payments included rather than upsold. Self-hosting on your own domain is real, though it takes a weekend rather than an afternoon. Teams pricing starts at $12 a user a month once round-robin scheduling is needed.
Common questions
- Does Cal.com really have no cost for taking payment on a booking?
- Yes. Stripe and PayPal payments are included on the free individual plan, with no cap on bookings. Acuity Scheduling has no free plan at all, so the same payment capability starts at $16 a month there instead.
- Why does Acuity Scheduling have no free plan?
- It is built for people already taking payment for their time, such as coaches and consultants, and its intake forms, packages and deposits assume a business that is already earning. Cal.com takes bookings for nothing if all you need is a link that finds a free half hour.
- Can I self-host Cal.com instead of using its hosted version?
- Yes, since it is open source and publishes its code, which lets you run booking on your own domain and your own database. It is a real weekend project rather than a toggle, and Acuity has no self-hosted option at all.
- Which is better for a team, not a single freelancer?
- Cal.com's Teams plan is $12 a user a month and adds round-robin scheduling, routing forms and booking analytics. Acuity's plans separate by how many calendars and staff are bookable, from $16 to $49 a month, without a per-seat structure.
Ratings are the average of reviews readers left. The facts are stated by each tool’s own listing and are not verified by CloutStack. How we make money.