Softabase

Acuity Scheduling vs Calendly: Complete Comparison 2026

An in-depth comparison of features, pricing, and user experience to help you make the right choice.

Acuity Scheduling logo

Acuity Scheduling

8.4(3,500 reviews)

Client scheduling platform by Squarespace with powerful intake forms, payment collection, and deep customization for service businesses.

Calendly logo

Calendly

8.7(4,200 reviews)

Scheduling automation platform that eliminates back-and-forth emails by letting invitees pick from your available time slots.

Quick Comparison

AspectAcuity SchedulingCalendly
Best ForTherapists and counselors who need HIPAA-compliant scheduling with intake formsSales teams that need round-robin lead routing and CRM integration
Pricing ModelFree TrialFreemium
Starting Price$20/moFree
Deploymentcloudcloud
PlatformsWEB, IOS, ANDROIDWEB, IOS, ANDROID
Rating8.4/108.7/10

Pros & Cons

Acuity Scheduling

Pros

  • Intake forms and waivers collect critical info before appointments — saves hours of admin
  • Payment processing is deeply integrated with packages, gift certificates, and subscriptions
  • Full booking page customization: your domain, branding, and layout, not theirs
  • HIPAA compliance on the Powerhouse plan makes it legitimate for healthcare providers
  • Multi-service booking lets clients book haircut + color + blowout in one flow

Cons

  • No free plan — the cheapest option is $20/month, which is steep for solopreneurs just starting
  • Interface feels dated and cluttered compared to the clean design of newer competitors
  • No native Salesforce or HubSpot integration — kills it for B2B sales teams
  • Setup takes significantly longer than Calendly due to all the configuration options
  • Squarespace ownership has meant slow feature development and minimal UX updates since 2019

Calendly

Pros

  • Dead simple setup — most people are booking in under 5 minutes
  • Rock-solid calendar sync that almost never double-books across Google, Outlook, and iCloud
  • Round-robin routing distributes leads fairly across sales teams
  • Salesforce and HubSpot integrations automatically log every meeting to CRM records
  • Free plan genuinely works for solo users who only need one event type

Cons

  • Booking page customization is limited — it always looks like Calendly, not your brand
  • Free plan restricts you to one event type, which pushes paid adoption quickly
  • Payment collection feels bolted on compared to dedicated tools like Acuity
  • Analytics are surface-level: meeting counts but no real funnel insights
  • Per-seat pricing gets expensive fast for teams with 10+ salespeople

Pricing Comparison

ProductPricing ModelStarting Price
Acuity Schedulingfree trial$20/mo
CalendlyfreemiumFree0

Our Verdict

Choose Acuity Scheduling if...

Therapists and counselors who need HIPAA-compliant scheduling with intake forms

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Choose Calendly if...

Sales teams that need round-robin lead routing and CRM integration

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Still Not Sure?

Explore more alternatives or read in-depth reviews to make your decision.