Calendly and Acuity Scheduling both let people book time with you from a link. Calendly is built around meetings: sales calls, interviews and client check-ins. Acuity is built around appointments you sell: sessions, classes and packages. If you sell time to clients, that difference usually decides it.
The short verdict
Pick Calendly if you book calls more than you sell them, you want a free plan to start, or you want a sales team to share incoming meetings.
Pick Acuity if you run an appointment business, such as a salon, a coaching practice or a clinic, and you want packages, memberships, gift certificates and intake forms in the booking tool.
Prices and plans
All facts below come from each vendor's pricing page, in US dollars, as of October 2026.
- Free: one event type, one calendar connection, one-on-one scheduling and a booking page you can customize.
- Standard: $10 per seat a month billed yearly, or $12 billed monthly. Unlimited event types, up to 6 calendars, reminders, and payments through Stripe and PayPal.
- Teams: $16 per seat a month billed yearly, or $20 billed monthly. Adds round-robin and team scheduling, and lead routing.
- Enterprise: from $15,000 a year, from 50 seats.
- Starter: $16 a month billed annually, or $20 billed monthly. 1 calendar, payments, email reminders and custom client forms.
- Standard: $27 a month billed annually, or $34 billed monthly. Up to 6 calendars, plus text reminders, a waitlist, packages, memberships and gift certificates.
- Premium: $55 a month billed annually, or $69 billed monthly. Up to 36 calendars, plus a HIPAA agreement (BAA), removal of the Acuity logo, and time zones per staff member or location.
Acuity has no free plan, but offers a 7-day trial with no credit card needed. Acuity is part of Squarespace.
The differences that matter
How you pay
Calendly charges per seat, which means per person who hosts meetings. Acuity charges per account, and each plan allows a set number of calendars. Acuity uses a calendar for each staff member or location. For a business with five staff, Acuity Standard covers six calendars for one price. Calendly Standard for five people is five seats.
Selling your time
This is Acuity's strong side. Its Standard plan lets you sell packages, memberships and gift certificates, and run a waitlist. Every Acuity plan takes payments and deposits through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo. Calendly's paid plans take payments through Stripe and PayPal, and its feature list also shows options for payment links and prepaid packages. If selling sessions is the core of your business, compare these closely.
Reminders
Calendly's paid plans include automated reminders. Acuity's Starter plan sends email reminders, and text reminders start on Standard. Acuity notes that text reminders depend on your country. No-shows cost an appointment business real money, so check the reminder options you need.
Team scheduling
Calendly Teams adds round-robin, which shares new meetings across a team, and routing, which sends each lead to the right person. These suit a sales team. Acuity's calendars suit staff with their own schedules, such as several therapists or trainers.
Health businesses
Acuity's Premium plan lets you sign a BAA for HIPAA compliance. If you work with health information in the US, this matters. Check your own legal needs before you choose any tool.
How to decide
- Ask if you sell your time or book calls. Selling sessions points to Acuity.
- Count the people, rooms or locations that need their own calendar.
- List how you want to be paid: per session, by package, or by membership.
- Decide if you need text reminders.
- Try both. Calendly has a free plan, and Acuity has a 7-day trial.
If neither fits, see Calendly alternatives for free and low-cost options. A booking form is also a good place to ask a few questions before the call. The guide to client intake form questions and the cancellation policy template help you set up both.