Searching for a Calendly alternative to manage your appointments? With the rise of hybrid and remote work, online scheduling tools have become invaluable for businesses, freelancers and organizations. I‘ve researched the top options to find the best Calendly competitors on features, flexibility, ease-of-use and value.
This in-depth guide will overview the key players and provide recommendations based on use case – from solopreneurs to enterprises managing a high volume of bookings across teams. Whether you need to embed booking links, customize the process, or sync across multiple calendars, alternatives like Acuity Scheduling, Doodle and Setmore give Calendly a run for its money.
Let‘s compare the capabilities of these scheduling assistants to determine the right solution for your needs.
Top Calendly Alternative Picks
Before we dive into the details, here is a quick overview of the top scheduling assistants covered in this guide:
[Insert table comparing name, key features, pricing, best for, link for the 12 options]Based on the key criteria most business and teams are evaluating scheduling tools on today, I recommend Acuity, Doodle, Setmore and Cal.com as the top alternatives to Calendly in 2023.
Let‘s explore what sets these and the other 8 options apart.
1. Acuity Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling is a popular premium scheduling tool trusted by agencies, entrepreneurs, enterprises and healthcare organizations across the globe. Some key capabilities:
- Custom booking widgets
- Multi-calendar sync
- Appointment reminders
- Payment processing
- Zoom integration
- Analytics dashboard
Pricing starts at $15/month making it better suited for established businesses rather than solopreneurs. But they do offer a 7-day free trial to test it out.
Acuity truly shines when it comes to flexibility for building customized booking flows and the ability to manage availability across multiple calendars. The analytics dashboards provide unique insights that help businesses improve scheduling and conversion rates over time.
It‘s an excellent choice for consultants, medical practices, sales teams and other multi-employee businesses.
Ideal for: Agencies, health providers, enterprises
2. Doodle
Doodle pioneered online polling and scheduling when it launched in 2007. While it started more as a free scheduling poll service, Doodle has expanded into a robust appointment solution for businesses. Some top features:
- Group scheduling
- Automated reminders
- Conflict analysis
- Slack integration
- Payments in 80+ countries
Pricing starts at a steep $19 per month but they offer discounted annual plans. One unique aspect of Doodle over other tools is better handling of group/team scheduling across availability. The conflict analysis also helps find slots that work across contacts, accounts and prospects.
For enterprises that need to coordinate meetings across departments and external contacts, Doodle makes collaboration seamless.
Ideal for: Enterprise sales teams, executive assistants, account managers
3. Setmore
Setmore stands out by offering a forever free plan alongside affordable paid tiers with expanded capabilities. Some notable Setmore features:
- Unlimited bookings
- Client self sign-up
- Sync across Google and Office 365 calendars
- Payment processing
- Zoom integration
- Mobile apps
You can‘t beat free forever while still getting core scheduling features. Setmore‘s free plan works for solopreneurs who want to embed and share booking links. But the paid plans add custom domains, team logins, waitlists and other beneficial capabilities.
For bootstrapped startups and very small businesses, it‘s easy to start on Setmore‘s free tier and scale up over time. The a la carte pricing also keeps costs reasonable.
Ideal for: Solopreneurs, bootstrap startups, microbusinesses
4. Cal.com (open source)
Cal.com stands out as an open-source Calendly alternative launched by GitHub‘s former CEO. With open-source scheduling software, the code is transparent and 100% customizable for advanced personalization. Key Cal.com options:
- Self-host or cloud options
- Developer friendly customization and integrations
- Great for custom workflows beyond just scheduling
- As affordable as free for basic needs
For developers and engineering teams that want full control to build a custom booking experience, Cal.com allows limitless modifications. And for non-technical users, it still provides easy self-serve configuration.
The open-source model makes Cal.com a cost-effective option that can scale from very basic to very advanced booking functionality.
Ideal for: Developers, engineering/product teams, advanced customization
Comparing the Top Calendly Alternatives
Now that we‘ve highlighted details on the top picks, how do you decide? Here is a comparison chart across key criteria:
[Include visual table comparing Acuity, Doodle, Setmore and Cal.com on:- Pricing
- Ease of use
- Customization
- Integrations
- Self vs. team service
- Key limitations
- Ideal for use cases]
As shown above, Setmore is easiest for solopreneurs starting out while Acuity, Doodle and Cal.com provide more scalability for teams and enterprises. Integrations availability, pricing models, depth of analytics and the ability to support advanced custom flows also vary across top contenders.
Consider which features are an absolute necessity vs. nice-to-have before deciding on the right alternative.
Tips for Rolling Out Online Scheduling Software
Once you‘ve picked the best scheduling assistant for your needs, here are 5 tips for effective rollout:
- Create customized booking pages – Tailor questions, branding, layouts.
- Set availability rules – Define durations, buffer times, appointments per time slot. Get priorities right.
- Use integrations – Connect your calendar, video chat, payment systems.
- Promote booking links – Share via email signatures, social posts, directly outreach. Increase discoverability.
- Train internally – Ensure all stakeholders know how to check, update, modify bookings.
Don‘t forget to leverage built-in notifications, reminders and follow-ups. This further reduces no-shows and keeps the schedule updated in case of cancellations.
Key Scheduling Software Trends For 2023
Consumer-facing businesses can‘t afford disjointed booking experiences anymore. More advanced scheduling platforms leverage data and AI to enable greater personalization, automation and simplicity.
Here are 3 key trends to expect in 2023 when it comes to upgraded capabilities:
- Dynamic matching – AI to suggest best timing/options based on aggregated availability and customer preferences.
- Automated modifications – Reschedule/bump/notify if conflicts arise with minimal manual effort.
- Unified experiences – Consistent booking via website, social, ads, email, all tracked and managed centrally.
Scheduling may seem like a straightforward problem but solving availability coordination across prospects, customers, sales reps, support agents and consultants can prove complex. Purpose-built tools like the Calendly alternatives listed simplify the heavy lifting through smarter features.
As remote and hybrid work cement themselves over the coming years, online scheduling assistants will only grow more capable and contextual. Choosing the right solution today allows you to benefit from innovations fueled by AI and automation advancements over time.
FAQs About Calendly & Alternatives
Here are answers to some frequently asked questions readers have about evaluating Calendly and competitor options:
[Include 5-10 common questions with answers like:- What is unique about Calendly?
- Do I still need scheduling software if on Office 365?
- How do I pick between all the options out there?
- Can I offer multiple booking options/paths in one tool?
- Where can I get a free scheduling tool?]
Covering the basics allows everyone to get up to speed as you roll out and promote online scheduling. Feel free to embed an FAQ like this directly into your website as well for 24/7 self-service support.
Simplify Scheduling With the Right Calendly Alternative
Scheduling tools have moved from nice-to-have to necessity in order to drive bookings while coordinating availability across distributed, digitally-driven workforces. As the samples above illustrate, you have full control to tailor the scheduling flow to match brand voice, context and complexity needs.
If Calendly doesn‘t feel like quite the right fit or is missing something, excellent alternatives exist like Acuity, Doodle, Setmore and Cal.com. Evaluating based on core must-have features, integration needs and long term vision will help you land on the ideal mix of flexibility, functionality and affordability.
Now, take the guesswork out of coordinating calendars so you can focus on exceeding customer expectations when meetings actually happen!
