Calendly vs Setmore Comparison 2026
Calendly's free plan allows one event type, so a second kind of call means paying $10 a seat a month billed yearly for Standard. Setmore's free plan does not meter appointments at all, and throws in a booking page, email reminders and even API access for $0, with Pro at $5 a seat a month billed annually, exactly half Calendly's price, adding two-way calendar sync and recurring bookings. The gap is a calendar sync feature on one side and a whole extra event type on the other.
A booking page that reads your own calendar
Free appointment booking for a small team
At a glance
- Setmore starts cheaper, at $5.
- Both have a genuinely free tier.
Side by side
Calendly | Setmore | |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price (they differ) | From $10 | From $5 |
| Pricing model | Free plan, paid tiers | Free plan, paid tiers |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes |
| Billing | Not stated | Monthly or annual |
| Free trial | 14 days | Not stated |
| API | Yes |
Calendly
A booking page that reads your own calendar
Calendly publishes the times you are genuinely free and lets somebody claim one, which settles in a click what usually takes three emails. Buffers, round robin and paid bookings are there when the calls start earning. The free plan allows one event type, so anybody running a coaching call and a sponsor call from the same calendar pays.
Our note
The one to buy when a bad calendar is costing you calls. Start on Standard rather than free: the second event type is what everybody needs by the second week.
Only on this side
- Covers courses & coaching
Setmore
Free appointment booking for a small team
Setmore gives away more than most booking tools charge for: unlimited appointments, a booking page and reminders on a plan that costs nothing. Paying adds recurring bookings, two-way calendar sync and the integrations a busier calendar needs. Its own admin is plainer than the newer tools, which is either restful or dated.
Why people weigh these two
- Setmore instead of Calendly
- Setmore books appointments free for a small team, paid from $5, aimed at a shop counter rather than a single professional's link.
- Calendly instead of Setmore
- Calendly keeps a free tier and starts at $10, with courses and coaching scheduling among its own listed categories, a wider fit than Setmore's plain appointment booking.
Which one should you pick
Pick Calendly if round-robin routing, an API with webhooks, or a second and third event type on the free tier's terms matter enough to pay for. Standard is $10 a seat a month billed yearly, and the free plan is worth starting on for exactly as long as one kind of call is all that gets booked.
Pick Setmore if unlimited appointments and API access on a $0 plan cover the job, which for a lot of small service businesses they do. Pro is $5 a user a month billed annually, exactly half Calendly's Standard price, and mostly buys two-way calendar sync so a double booking stops happening. Anybody needing packages, deposits or intake forms should look elsewhere; that is past what either tool does well.
Common questions
- Is Setmore cheaper than Calendly?
- Yes, exactly half at the entry paid tier: Setmore Pro is $5 a user a month billed annually against Calendly Standard at $10 a seat a month billed yearly. Setmore's free plan is also more generous, with unlimited appointments where Calendly's free plan stops at one event type.
- Does Setmore's free plan really include API access?
- Yes, stated directly: the $0 plan includes unlimited appointments, a booking page, email reminders, contact import and export, and API access. Calendly reserves its API and webhooks for Standard and above, at $10 a seat a month billed yearly.
- What does Setmore Pro actually add over the free plan?
- Mostly two-way calendar sync, so Google and Outlook stay in step and a double booking stops happening, along with recurring appointments and integrations. Calendly's paid tier adds more at once: unlimited event types, the full integration list and the API.
- Which one is simpler to run for a small service business?
- Setmore leans simpler and cheaper, with an admin that is plainer than newer tools by its own description, and a genuinely free unlimited-appointments plan. Calendly's interface is more built out, which is also why its free tier is more restricted, stopping at one event type.
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.