By Phone tag. Email ping-pong. We’ve all played them. They’re frustrating games to play, not just for your team but for your clients too.
Help your clients make the move to digital. Download “Lessons from the digital chasm” to learn data-backed tips for boosting small business tech adoption.
It’s not surprising that meeting schedulers have become popular. Predictions say online scheduling platforms will grow almost 20 percent until 2025 (PRNewsWire). Calendly has benefited the most from this growth. It's one of the most popular online platforms for scheduling.
Maybe you’ve had a look at Calendly and decided it’s not right for your business. Maybe you’ve been using this free and easy-to-use tool, but your team has outgrown it now. What other scheduling platforms are out there?
There’s good news for anyone looking for a great Calendly alternative—there are plenty of choices. We’ve rounded up our top picks so you can compare platforms and get the right scheduler for your business and your clients.
Why do you need a scheduling platform?
Maybe you haven’t started using an online scheduler yet. You’re looking at the cost of some platforms, and you’re thinking you don’t actually need one. After all, your team has scheduled appointments and meetings for years without a scheduler.
Manual appointment scheduling is so time-intensive, though, and prone to mistakes. Your team will end up going back and forth with clients, trying to settle on a time and date that works for everyone. Wouldn’t it be more efficient if the client could pick an available time that works?
Once your team members have settled on a meeting time, they have to enter it in the system by hand. If the time or date changes after the fact, they’ll have to update the calendar again. Each entry has potential for mistakes, too. What if someone puts in the wrong date or the wrong time? You might end up standing up the client. That very problem costs businesses plenty of client accounts.
Manual entry is also costly in that your team could be doing something more valuable with their time than keying in data.
Finally, your clients probably want you to have an online scheduling platform. They likely find it much more convenient. In fact, 94 percent of people say they’d switch providers to work with a company that has online scheduling (GetApp).
These eight options can help you choose a scheduling platform that works for your business.
1. CalendarHero is the best Calendly alternative
CalendarHero is exactly what the name implies, and it’s here to save your team from scheduling tedium. With this meeting scheduler in your corner, you’ll never need to ask, “What’s a time that works for you?” again.
CalendarHero is a versatile tool that lets you schedule all sorts of meetings—even the most complex meetings with large groups. The other alternatives can’t do that. It’s also easy to use, which simplifies the process of finding a good time for all invitees, even in those large groups.
What makes CalendarHero such a good alternative to Calendly? Integrations are one key feature. CalendarHero works with the tech you already have in your stack. That’s different from a lot of competitors, which rely on automation tools like Zapier or Pabbly.
CalendarHero makes for a seamless experience as it connects directly to Google and Microsoft. It also integrates with your sales CRM and video conferencing platforms. Direct integration saves your team even more time.
Better yet, CalendarHero is a platform you can resell to your own clients. With features like integrated billing and payment, as well as web embeddability, it’s a powerful choice for almost any business.
2. Acuity Scheduling
While it’s not as popular as Calendly, Acuity Scheduling is a platform that’s been in the game for quite some time. It’s a good option for small businesses or those who work in team-based environments.
Like CalendarHero, this alternative has quite a few integrations. It's simple to incorporate into your tech stack. It also offers data dashboards to track statistics, such as how many cancellations your team has.
Other features include automatic reminders about appointments and coupons.
The price point on this scheduling platform is a bit on the steep side, though. You can try it free for a week, but there's a monthly fee thereafter. Only the most expensive tier allows you to remove the Acuity branding.
3. Appoint.ly
Appoint.ly is another easy-to-use online meeting scheduler. One of its best features is that it embeds almost anywhere. It's a great choice for businesses that don’t have their own website. You can add Appoint.ly to Facebook, Instagram, and more.
It also lets you book many types of meetings. Whether it’s a workshop or a one-on-one, you can customize the meeting parameters.
Like Acuity, though, this platform doesn’t have a free option. You can take it for a test-drive for 14 days, but you’ll need to pay after that. Pricing is per user per month.
Appoint.ly does offer payments within the platform, but it only has one processing option: Paypal. If you and your clients want more flexibility, then this may not be the meeting scheduler for you.
4. Simplybook.me
This Calendly alternative makes client scheduling simple. Designed for business use, this platform offers an API to connect with other parts of your tech stack.
If you need to schedule large groups or one-on-ones, this meeting scheduler can help you. It also offers a customizable client portals and an app your customers can use to book with you. Automation is also a feature of this platform, with automatic notifications and reminders.
All that said, Simplybook.me is expensive compared to other online scheduling platforms. There is a free plan, but its features are pretty limited. If you want more out of your meeting scheduler, you’ll need to pay more for this platform.
5. Doodle
Doodle may not be the most popular or the most powerful Calendly alternative, but it is one of the most unique.
Unlike other scheduling platforms, Doodle uses a polling option to reach group consensus. Instead of sending a direct link to a calendar, Doodle generates a few options for meeting times. Invitees then select the time that works for them.
This style of meeting scheduling is most useful when you have many stakeholders. Unfortunately, it is a more time-consuming way to schedule meetings. If you rarely meet across time zones or have large groups, then another Calendly alternative might be a better choice.
Doodle does offer a free basic plan. To take advantage of more advanced features, you’ll need to upgrade to the Premium or Pro plans. Even at these tiers, Doodle might leave your team wanting more powerful software.
6. Vocus.io
Vocus.io is great for businesses that want to put their best foot forward. The platform allows you to create a custom domain and brand the scheduler as your own.
It also integrates with a wide variety of programs and apps, some of which you’re probably already using. If you’re using Google Chrome, it even has an extension that makes it easy to access key features.
Vocus.io also adds automation, allowing canned responses and reminder emails.
All that said, Vocus.io only does one thing, and that’s one-to-one scheduling. If you're booking team meetings or workshops, this platform likely isn’t the right Calendly alternative for you.
7. Appointlet
If you want a free Calendly alternative that delivers plenty of features, check out Appointlet. This platform is big on automation, allowing you to automate almost every aspect of scheduling. It also offers customizable intake forms. With them, you know you’re getting the information you need ahead of meeting time.
Appointlet also allows you to customize your branding. That’s something you won’t get with many schedulers unless you’re paying top buck.
This meeting scheduler has a forever free plan that unlocks most of its features. For $10 a month (Capterra), you can unlock the full suite of options. That makes it more affordable than many other Calendly alternatives.
8. ScheduleOnce
One of the biggest draws about Calendly is its free version. ScheduleOnce is another appointment scheduler that offers you a free version.
ScheduleOnce comes with quite a few features, including online payments, automated scheduling, and the ability to book recurring appointments.
That said, this platform doesn’t have a free trial. It also isn’t the most up to date, and the support tools leave something to be desired. While the interface is easy to use, it may not be the best option for teams that need more technical support.
If you need more functionality, you’ll want to consider one of the more robust Calendly alternatives. A meeting scheduler like CalendarHero offers your team more tools.
Schedule the way your clients want
Adopting a meeting scheduler for your business has plenty of benefits, like making it easier to book team meetings and client appointments. You can even resell it to help you scale.
If you’re looking for a Calendly alternative to make scheduling that much simpler, check out CalendarHero first. Your clients will thank you for stepping into the modern era of scheduling.
