Cal.com vs Picktime Comparison 2026
Cal.com is free forever for one user with no cap on event types, calendars or bookings, and Stripe and PayPal payments are free too, a feature most competitors charge for. Picktime is free for three team members at once, with unlimited appointments but only three resources and two classes, then $3 a user a month billed annually to raise those limits. Cal.com gives one person everything. Picktime gives a small team a seat each for nothing, with a narrower free feature set.
Open-source scheduling you can host yourself
Appointments and classes, free for three people
At a glance
- Picktime starts cheaper, at $3.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Cal.com | Picktime | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $12 | From $3 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Monthly or annual | Not stated |
| Free trial (they differ) | 14 days | None |
| API |
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.
Picktime
Appointments and classes, free for three people
Picktime books appointments, classes and rooms, and its free plan is unusually complete: three team members, unlimited bookings and the mobile apps included. Paying adds resources, locations and email customisation rather than removing a cap on how much you can work. It suits somebody running sessions who does not want a subscription before the first booking.
Our note
For a small team this is the most generous free plan in the category by a distance. The interface shows its age next to Cal.com, which is the trade you are making for three free seats.
Why people weigh these two
- Picktime instead of Cal.com
- Picktime keeps appointments and classes free for three people and prices paid plans from $3, well under Cal.com's $12.
- Cal.com instead of Picktime
- Cal.com is the open source version of the same booking job, hostable on your own domain, with a free plan and paid from $12 against Picktime's $3.
Which one should you pick
Pick Cal.com if you are one person who wants every feature, including taking payment for a call, without paying for any of it. The free plan is genuinely unlimited on event types, calendars and bookings, and Teams at $12 a user a month adds round-robin scheduling and routing forms once a second person joins. It can also run self-hosted on your own domain, which Picktime does not offer.
Pick Picktime if three people need to take bookings starting today with nobody paying anything. The free plan covers three users and unlimited appointments, though only three resources and two classes, and Starter at $3 a user a month billed annually raises the class limit from there. The interface shows its age next to Cal.com, which is the trade for three free seats instead of one.
Common questions
- Which has the more generous free plan?
- It depends on team size. Cal.com's free plan is one user with unlimited event types, calendars, bookings and even payments. Picktime's free plan covers three users at once with unlimited appointments, but only three resources and two classes, which is the more generous shape for a small team specifically.
- Is Picktime cheaper than Cal.com?
- At the entry paid tier, yes: Picktime's Starter is $3 a user a month billed annually against Cal.com's Teams at $12 a user a month. The two tiers are not equivalent though; Cal.com Teams adds round-robin scheduling, routing forms and analytics, while Picktime Starter mainly raises the class limit.
- Can I take payment for a booking on the free plan of either one?
- Yes on Cal.com: Stripe and PayPal payments are included free, which is unusual since most competitors charge for it. Picktime's free plan features do not include payment collection, only unlimited appointments, resources and classes.
- Can either one be self-hosted?
- Cal.com can. It is open source and can run on your own domain and database, a real option rather than a marketing claim. Picktime is used as a hosted service, without a self-hosting option described.
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.