# The Best Appointment Scheduling Software in 2026, Compared From Their Own Pricing Pages

By [Uyi Abraham](https://vonza.net/blog/author/uyi-abraham), Founder and CEO, Vonza. Last reviewed 2026-11-14. Vendor pages read on 2026-11-14.

> The best appointment scheduling software depends on what you book. For meeting links, Calendly has the best-known free plan (one event type) and per-seat paid plans from $12 a month, and Cal.com’s free plan has no usage limits and takes Stripe and PayPal payments. For appointments at a service business, Acuity Scheduling sells classes, packages and deposits from $20 a month per calendar, Setmore gives up to 4 users a free plan with group classes, Square Appointments bundles a free booking site with Square payments, and SimplyBook.me meters bookings a month. Zoho Bookings suits teams on Zoho, TidyCal sells a lifetime licence, Doodle is the group poll, Appointlet and Koalendar lead with roomy free plans. Vonza suits coaches, consultants, tutors and schools who want the booking, the payment and the follow-up in the account that also sells their courses and community.

Appointment scheduling software gives people a page where they pick a time, answers the question of whether you are free by reading your calendar, confirms the booking, reminds everyone, and often takes the payment. Twelve tools are compared here: eleven competitors and Vonza, which publishes this guide. The table gives each one’s lowest paid price, what its free plan allows, whether payments work on that free plan, and four features (group or class booking, round robin, deposits and SMS reminders) exactly as its own page stated them on 14 November 2026.

The free plans are where these tools differ most, and they meter three different things. Event types or pages: Calendly allows one event type, Doodle one group poll, one booking page and one 1:1, Appointlet one scheduling page. Volume: SimplyBook.me allows 50 bookings a month and Appointlet 25 meetings a month, while Cal.com, Koalendar, TidyCal, Setmore and Square state no booking cap. Seats: Setmore allows up to 4 users and Appointlet up to 5, Zoho Bookings and Cal.com one user each. Payments on the free plan are the real wedge: Cal.com, TidyCal, Setmore, Square and SimplyBook.me take them, Calendly, Doodle, Appointlet and Koalendar move them to a paid plan, and Acuity has no free plan at all.

Platform fees are the exception rather than the rule, but they exist: TidyCal takes 1% of Stripe payments below its Pro plan, and Square is the processor, so its card rates apply to every booking. SimplyBook.me says it charges no transaction fee of its own, and Calendly’s payment fee did not appear on the pages we read. Vonza lists its platform fee by plan on its pricing page, so this guide does not retype it.

## At a glance

| Platform | Lowest paid price (read 2026-11-14) | Free plan limits | Payments on the free plan | Group or class booking | Round robin | Deposits | SMS reminders |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Vonza | $99/mo on the lowest plan, live from the pricing page | Every plan is paid after a 14-day free trial; scheduling is included in every Vonza plan | Every plan is paid after the 14-day free trial, and every plan takes payments through Stripe, PayPal or Paystack; you pay your provider’s processing fee plus a Vonza platform fee per transaction that depends on your plan (see the pricing page) | Yes: group sessions with the spots per time you set and a Show spots left option | Yes: evenly or to the host with the lightest day, with a priority and share weight per host | Yes: part now, the balance charged before the meeting (eligible plans), plus session packs booked with a code | From your SMS marketing allowance, once Text reminders is switched on |
| Calendly | Standard $12 per seat a month billed monthly, or $10 billed annually; Teams $20 or $16 | Free plan: one event type, one calendar connection, one-on-one meetings | No: payments through Stripe and PayPal start on Standard; Calendly’s fee is not published | Group and collective meeting types listed; the plan is not stated | Yes, on Teams | Payment links for deposits and one-off fees on paid plans | Yes: Workflows send emails and texts from Standard |
| Acuity Scheduling | Emerging $20 a month billed monthly, or $16 billed annually, for one calendar; Growing $34 or $27; Powerhouse $69 or $55 | No free plan; a 7-day trial of any plan with no card | No free plan; payments and deposits through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo on every paid plan, fee not published | Yes: class scheduling for groups, workshops and events | Not listed | Yes: deposits on every plan, plus packages with payment plans | Yes, from Growing (check global availability) |
| Cal.com | Teams $12 per user a month billed yearly; the monthly price was not readable; Organizations $28 per user | Free plan: 1 user, unlimited links and calendars, email and SMS notifications, Stripe and PayPal payments | Yes: Stripe and PayPal payments on the free plan; a Cal.com platform fee is not stated | Managed and collective links and recurring events on Teams | Yes, on Teams | Not listed | Yes: email and SMS notifications on the free plan, customizable on Teams |
| Zoho Bookings | Basic US$8 per user a month billed monthly, or US$6 billed annually; Premium US$12 or US$9 | Forever Free plan: one user, online meetings, email reminders, two-way calendar sync | Not stated for the free plan; Premium is positioned for teams that need online payments | Yes: group bookings for workshops and classes | Yes: four distribution algorithms, plus collective bookings | Not listed | Yes: SMS workflows through an SMS provider you connect, and WhatsApp |
| Setmore | Pro $5 per user a month on annual billing; the monthly figure on the page is inconsistent, so it is not quoted | Free plan: up to 4 users, unlimited appointments, group classes, a booking page, one email reminder | Yes: Square, Stripe and PayPal payments on the free plan; Setmore’s fee is not stated | Yes: group classes on the free plan | Not listed | Yes: deposits are on its features list | Yes, on Pro: 500 SMS credits a month per team member, availability varies by country |
| SimplyBook.me | Basic €13.9 a month billed monthly, or €11.9 billed annually, for 100 bookings a month and 5 providers | Free plan: 50 bookings a month, 1 provider, 1 premium custom feature, email reminders | Yes: payments, deposits and tips are listed as options from the free plan, with no SimplyBook.me transaction fee; Stripe, PayPal and Square charge their own | Yes: classes, memberships, events, tickets and waiting lists | Not listed | Yes: deposits, from the free plan | SMS credits paid separately, $8 per 100 |
| Square Appointments | Plus $49 a month per location; Premium $149 a month per location; the free plan is $0 per location | Free plan: $0 per location with a booking site, appointment reminders and unlimited staff calendars | Yes: Square processes every payment, at 3.3% + 30¢ online and 2.6% + 15¢ in person on the free plan | Yes: class booking and prepaid class packages | Not listed | Yes: appointment deposits | Yes: SMS reminders customers can reply to |
| TidyCal | Individual Lifetime $29 one-time; Agency Lifetime $79 one-time; Pro $12 a month, or $4.95 a month billed yearly on the promotion shown | Free plan: unlimited bookings and booking types, paid, recurring, package and group bookings | Yes: paid bookings through Stripe or PayPal on the free plan, with a 1% TidyCal platform fee on Stripe payments below Pro | Yes: group bookings on the free plan | Yes, on Agency Lifetime | Not listed | Yes, on Agency: 10 a month to US and Canadian numbers |
| Doodle | Pro $15 a month, or $132 a year; Team $21 per user a month, or $16 billed annually, minimum two users | Free plan: one Group Poll, one Booking Page, one 1:1 and one Sign-up Sheet | No: getting paid with Stripe is a Pro feature; Doodle’s fee is not stated | Group polls and sign-up sheets rather than classes with seats | Yes, on Team | Not listed | Reminders on Pro; SMS is not stated |
| Appointlet | Premium $12 per member a month billed monthly, or $9 billed annually | Free plan: up to 5 members, 25 meetings a month, 1 scheduling page, video links | No: payment collection through Stripe or PayPal is on Premium; Appointlet’s fee is not stated | Yes: groups and classes | Yes: round robin and collective meetings | Not listed | Automated reminders on Premium; SMS providers through Zapier |
| Koalendar | Pro read as $9.99 per seat a month, or $6.99 billed annually; the two figures run together on the page | Free forever plan: unlimited bookings and booking pages, Google, Outlook and Apple calendars, embed, video links | No: payments by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal are on Pro; Koalendar’s fee is not stated | Yes: group sessions and classes on Pro | Yes: round robin and collective on Pro | Not listed | Yes: custom email and SMS reminders on Pro |

Vonza publishes this guide and sells one of the platforms in it. Every competitor figure is quoted from that vendor’s own page, read on the date shown and saved so it can be checked, and Vonza’s own price is its live price from the pricing page. There are no affiliate links.

## The twelve scheduling tools, one by one

### 1. Vonza

**Best for**: Coaches, consultants, tutors and schools who want the booking, the payment, the reminder and the follow-up in the account that also sells their courses and community

The new Vonza Scheduling, which you opt into beside the classic scheduler, offers six meeting types: one-on-one, group sessions with a seat count, round robin, collective, one-off links and meeting polls. Start from 137 templates in 15 categories or describe the meeting in one line and let Vonza AI draft the page (uses AI credits). Each meeting offers up to 12 lengths, each with one of nine price kinds including deposits and session packs, paid by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Klarna through Stripe, by PayPal for one-time prices or by Paystack in Nigerian naira. Google and Microsoft calendars are checked for conflicts and receive the bookings, iCloud busy times are read, and every booker becomes a CRM contact that an automation can tag, email, text or enrol in a course.

Vonza is the publisher of this guide. The new Scheduling is opt-in: the account owner turns on New booking pages, and until then bookers see the classic booking page. Text reminders come out of your SMS marketing allowance, deposits, instalments and flexible prices need an eligible plan, and Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams links depend on the apps being connected. There is no waitlist, no Webex or GoTo link, and no native Zapier app: Zapier, Make and n8n connect through signed webhooks.

- Lowest paid price: $99/mo on the lowest plan, live from the pricing page
- Free plan limits: Every plan is paid after a 14-day free trial; scheduling is included in every Vonza plan
- Payments on the free plan: Every plan is paid after the 14-day free trial, and every plan takes payments through Stripe, PayPal or Paystack; you pay your provider’s processing fee plus a Vonza platform fee per transaction that depends on your plan (see the pricing page)
- Group or class booking: Yes: group sessions with the spots per time you set and a Show spots left option
- Round robin: Yes: evenly or to the host with the lightest day, with a priority and share weight per host
- Deposits: Yes: part now, the balance charged before the meeting (eligible plans), plus session packs booked with a code
- SMS reminders: From your SMS marketing allowance, once Text reminders is switched on
- Source: [vonza.com/pricing](https://vonza.net/pricing)
- [Vonza vs Calendly](https://vonza.net/compare/vonza-vs-calendly)
- [Appointment Scheduling](https://vonza.net/appointment-scheduling)
- [Booking Page Templates](https://vonza.net/scheduling-templates)
- [Meeting Polls](https://vonza.net/meeting-polls)
- [Team Scheduling](https://vonza.net/team-scheduling)
- [Scheduling for Coaches](https://vonza.net/scheduling-for-coaches)

### 2. Calendly

**Best for**: Meeting links for individuals and sales teams, with a free plan for one event type and routing on Teams

Calendly’s pricing page lists unlimited meetings, meeting polls and one-off meetings, group and collective types, round robin and lead routing on Teams, Google, Outlook and Office 365 calendars, Zoom, Google Meet and Microsoft Teams links, HubSpot, Mailchimp and Zapier, and payments through Stripe and PayPal.

The free plan allows one event type and one calendar connection, and every paid plan is priced per seat, so a team of hosts multiplies the price. Branding removal and several other rows appear as icons without a plan name, and the fee on payments is not published. Enterprise starts at $15k a year for 50 seats.

- Lowest paid price: Standard $12 per seat a month billed monthly, or $10 billed annually; Teams $20 or $16
- Free plan limits: Free plan: one event type, one calendar connection, one-on-one meetings
- Payments on the free plan: No: payments through Stripe and PayPal start on Standard; Calendly’s fee is not published
- Group or class booking: Group and collective meeting types listed; the plan is not stated
- Round robin: Yes, on Teams
- Deposits: Payment links for deposits and one-off fees on paid plans
- SMS reminders: Yes: Workflows send emails and texts from Standard
- Source: [calendly.com](https://calendly.com/pricing), read on 2026-11-14
- [Calendly Alternatives](https://vonza.net/compare/calendly-alternatives)

### 3. Acuity Scheduling

**Best for**: Salons, studios, clinics and other service businesses that book by staff or location calendar

Acuity’s pricing page lists payments and deposits through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo, email confirmations and reminders, intake forms and automatic time zone conversion on every plan; Growing adds text reminders, a waitlist, memberships, packages and gift certificates; Powerhouse adds a HIPAA business associate agreement and per-location time zones. Its features page adds class scheduling, a QR code for the booking page and terms accepted at booking.

There is no free plan, and the price follows the number of calendars: one on Emerging, up to 6 on Growing and 36 on Powerhouse. Round robin is not listed, and which plan hides the “Powered by” footer is shown as an icon rather than a plan name.

- Lowest paid price: Emerging $20 a month billed monthly, or $16 billed annually, for one calendar; Growing $34 or $27; Powerhouse $69 or $55
- Free plan limits: No free plan; a 7-day trial of any plan with no card
- Payments on the free plan: No free plan; payments and deposits through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo on every paid plan, fee not published
- Group or class booking: Yes: class scheduling for groups, workshops and events
- Round robin: Not listed
- Deposits: Yes: deposits on every plan, plus packages with payment plans
- SMS reminders: Yes, from Growing (check global availability)
- Source: [acuityscheduling.com](https://www.acuityscheduling.com/pricing), read on 2026-11-14
- [Acuity Scheduling Alternatives](https://vonza.net/compare/acuity-scheduling-alternatives)

### 4. Cal.com

**Best for**: Individuals and developers who want an open-source scheduler with a free plan that has no usage limits

Cal.com’s free plan lists unlimited links and calendars, email and SMS notifications, 100+ apps, Stripe and PayPal payments, two-way Salesforce and HubSpot sync and a one-click import of Calendly events. Teams adds round robin, collective links, recurring events, routing forms, booking analytics and branding removal, with a 14-day trial.

Round robin, collective links, routing forms and branding removal need Teams at $12 per user a month billed yearly, and the monthly price was not readable on the page. HIPAA, SSO and a company subdomain sit on Organizations at $28 per user.

- Lowest paid price: Teams $12 per user a month billed yearly; the monthly price was not readable; Organizations $28 per user
- Free plan limits: Free plan: 1 user, unlimited links and calendars, email and SMS notifications, Stripe and PayPal payments
- Payments on the free plan: Yes: Stripe and PayPal payments on the free plan; a Cal.com platform fee is not stated
- Group or class booking: Managed and collective links and recurring events on Teams
- Round robin: Yes, on Teams
- Deposits: Not listed
- SMS reminders: Yes: email and SMS notifications on the free plan, customizable on Teams
- Source: [cal.com](https://cal.com/pricing), read on 2026-11-14

### 5. Zoho Bookings

**Best for**: Teams on Zoho that want round robin, resource bookings and workflows at a low per-user price

Zoho Bookings lists round robin with four algorithms, collective bookings, routing forms, group, recurring and resource bookings, two-way sync with Zoho, Google and Microsoft 365 calendars, email, SMS and custom workflows, branding removal, a custom domain and your own CSS.

The free plan is for one user, SMS goes through a provider you connect, and which plan gates online payments is not stated. Workspaces and resources are paid add-ons at US$12 and US$9 a month billed annually.

- Lowest paid price: Basic US$8 per user a month billed monthly, or US$6 billed annually; Premium US$12 or US$9
- Free plan limits: Forever Free plan: one user, online meetings, email reminders, two-way calendar sync
- Payments on the free plan: Not stated for the free plan; Premium is positioned for teams that need online payments
- Group or class booking: Yes: group bookings for workshops and classes
- Round robin: Yes: four distribution algorithms, plus collective bookings
- Deposits: Not listed
- SMS reminders: Yes: SMS workflows through an SMS provider you connect, and WhatsApp
- Source: [zoho.com](https://www.zoho.com/bookings/pricing.html), read on 2026-11-14

### 6. Setmore

**Best for**: Small teams who want a free plan for up to 4 users with group classes and payments

Setmore’s free plan lists up to 4 users, unlimited appointments, one-to-one services and group classes, a custom booking page, a Book Now widget, Reserve with Google and payments through Square, Stripe and PayPal.

Two-way calendar sync, branding removal, SMS reminders, a second email reminder and recurring appointments need Pro. The pricing page prints inconsistent monthly figures, so only the annual $5 per user is quoted here.

- Lowest paid price: Pro $5 per user a month on annual billing; the monthly figure on the page is inconsistent, so it is not quoted
- Free plan limits: Free plan: up to 4 users, unlimited appointments, group classes, a booking page, one email reminder
- Payments on the free plan: Yes: Square, Stripe and PayPal payments on the free plan; Setmore’s fee is not stated
- Group or class booking: Yes: group classes on the free plan
- Round robin: Not listed
- Deposits: Yes: deposits are on its features list
- SMS reminders: Yes, on Pro: 500 SMS credits a month per team member, availability varies by country
- Source: [setmore.com](https://www.setmore.com/pricing), read on 2026-11-14

### 7. SimplyBook.me

**Best for**: Classes, memberships, events and tickets on a booking website, priced by bookings a month

SimplyBook.me’s pricing page says it charges no transaction fee of its own on bookings or payments, lists classes, memberships, events, tickets and waiting lists, intake forms, a booking website with widgets, Facebook, Instagram and Google bookings, and an AI assistant with voice booking.

Plans are metered by bookings a month: 50 on the free plan, 100 on Basic, 500 on Standard and 2,000 on Premium. Intake forms count as a premium custom feature, SMS credits and a custom domain ($119 with three years of SSL) are paid separately, and calendar sync is a custom feature rather than a plan row.

- Lowest paid price: Basic €13.9 a month billed monthly, or €11.9 billed annually, for 100 bookings a month and 5 providers
- Free plan limits: Free plan: 50 bookings a month, 1 provider, 1 premium custom feature, email reminders
- Payments on the free plan: Yes: payments, deposits and tips are listed as options from the free plan, with no SimplyBook.me transaction fee; Stripe, PayPal and Square charge their own
- Group or class booking: Yes: classes, memberships, events, tickets and waiting lists
- Round robin: Not listed
- Deposits: Yes: deposits, from the free plan
- SMS reminders: SMS credits paid separately, $8 per 100
- Source: [simplybook.me](https://simplybook.me/en/pricing), read on 2026-11-14

### 8. Square Appointments

**Best for**: Businesses already on Square that want booking, payments and unlimited staff calendars on a free plan

Square Appointments’ free plan lists an online booking site, appointment reminders and unlimited staff calendars, with Square as the payment processor; Plus adds no-show fees, multi-staff booking and a waitlist; Premium adds resource management and a future bookings report.

Square is the processor, so its rates apply to every booking: 3.3% + 30¢ online and 2.6% + 15¢ in person on the free plan, lower on Plus and Premium. Plus is $49 a month per location and Premium $149. Round robin and video links are not listed on the pages we read.

- Lowest paid price: Plus $49 a month per location; Premium $149 a month per location; the free plan is $0 per location
- Free plan limits: Free plan: $0 per location with a booking site, appointment reminders and unlimited staff calendars
- Payments on the free plan: Yes: Square processes every payment, at 3.3% + 30¢ online and 2.6% + 15¢ in person on the free plan
- Group or class booking: Yes: class booking and prepaid class packages
- Round robin: Not listed
- Deposits: Yes: appointment deposits
- SMS reminders: Yes: SMS reminders customers can reply to
- Source: [squareup.com](https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing), read on 2026-11-14

### 9. TidyCal

**Best for**: A one-time payment instead of a subscription, with paid and group bookings on the free plan

TidyCal’s free plan lists unlimited bookings and booking types, paid, recurring, package and group bookings and your own booking page; Individual Lifetime adds auto-created Zoom, Meet and Teams links, an AI booking assistant and 10 calendar connections for a one-time $29.

The 1% platform fee applies on the free and lifetime plans and goes only on Pro, which also brings branding removal and a custom domain. SMS reminders are limited to 10 a month in the US and Canada on Agency, and the yearly Pro price shown was a promotion.

- Lowest paid price: Individual Lifetime $29 one-time; Agency Lifetime $79 one-time; Pro $12 a month, or $4.95 a month billed yearly on the promotion shown
- Free plan limits: Free plan: unlimited bookings and booking types, paid, recurring, package and group bookings
- Payments on the free plan: Yes: paid bookings through Stripe or PayPal on the free plan, with a 1% TidyCal platform fee on Stripe payments below Pro
- Group or class booking: Yes: group bookings on the free plan
- Round robin: Yes, on Agency Lifetime
- Deposits: Not listed
- SMS reminders: Yes, on Agency: 10 a month to US and Canadian numbers
- Source: [tidycal.com](https://tidycal.com/pricing), read on 2026-11-14

### 10. Doodle

**Best for**: Polling a group for a time, with a free plan for one poll, one booking page and one 1:1

Doodle’s plans page lists unlimited group polls, booking pages, 1:1s and sign-up sheets on Pro, with deadlines, reminders and hidden participants, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Webex and Google Meet, custom branding and Stripe payments; Team adds round robin and an admin console, and only the organiser needs a paid plan.

The free plan allows one of each: one group poll, one booking page, one 1:1 and one sign-up sheet. Doodle is a poll first and a booking page second, with no classes, deposits or SMS stated, and Team needs at least two users.

- Lowest paid price: Pro $15 a month, or $132 a year; Team $21 per user a month, or $16 billed annually, minimum two users
- Free plan limits: Free plan: one Group Poll, one Booking Page, one 1:1 and one Sign-up Sheet
- Payments on the free plan: No: getting paid with Stripe is a Pro feature; Doodle’s fee is not stated
- Group or class booking: Group polls and sign-up sheets rather than classes with seats
- Round robin: Yes, on Team
- Deposits: Not listed
- SMS reminders: Reminders on Pro; SMS is not stated
- Source: [doodle.com](https://doodle.com/en/premium), read on 2026-11-14
- [Doodle Alternatives](https://vonza.net/compare/doodle-alternatives)

### 11. Appointlet

**Best for**: Small teams who want a free plan for up to 5 members and 25 meetings a month

Appointlet’s free plan lists up to 5 members, 25 meetings a month, one scheduling page, Zoom, Meet, Teams and Webex links, unlimited Google and Office 365 calendars, groups and classes, round robin and collective meetings and an iFrame or button embed.

The free plan caps meetings at 25 a month and one scheduling page. Automated reminders, manual confirmation, payments, pre-filled fields, redirects, Zapier, webhooks and branding removal all need Premium at $12 per member a month.

- Lowest paid price: Premium $12 per member a month billed monthly, or $9 billed annually
- Free plan limits: Free plan: up to 5 members, 25 meetings a month, 1 scheduling page, video links
- Payments on the free plan: No: payment collection through Stripe or PayPal is on Premium; Appointlet’s fee is not stated
- Group or class booking: Yes: groups and classes
- Round robin: Yes: round robin and collective meetings
- Deposits: Not listed
- SMS reminders: Automated reminders on Premium; SMS providers through Zapier
- Source: [appointlet.com](https://www.appointlet.com/pricing), read on 2026-11-14

### 12. Koalendar

**Best for**: Tutors, teachers and coaches who want a free plan with unlimited bookings and booking pages

Koalendar’s free plan lists unlimited bookings and booking pages, Google, Outlook and Apple calendars, embedding, a branded page with your photo, Google Meet, Zoom and Microsoft Teams links and a one-click import of Calendly events; its features page adds a meeting poll and a time zone planner.

Group sessions, round robin, payments, SMS reminders, booking approval, branding removal and Zapier and webhooks all need Pro, and Koalendar prints its Pro monthly and annual prices run together, so the figures above are our reading of that string.

- Lowest paid price: Pro read as $9.99 per seat a month, or $6.99 billed annually; the two figures run together on the page
- Free plan limits: Free forever plan: unlimited bookings and booking pages, Google, Outlook and Apple calendars, embed, video links
- Payments on the free plan: No: payments by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and PayPal are on Pro; Koalendar’s fee is not stated
- Group or class booking: Yes: group sessions and classes on Pro
- Round robin: Yes: round robin and collective on Pro
- Deposits: Not listed
- SMS reminders: Yes: custom email and SMS reminders on Pro
- Source: [koalendar.com](https://koalendar.com/pricing), read on 2026-11-14

## How to choose appointment scheduling software

Start with what you book: a meeting, an appointment, a class, or a session that is part of a programme. Then check these, in this order.

- **What the free plan really allows**: Free plans are capped by event types or pages, bookings a month, or seats, and most of them move payments to a paid plan. Count the booking pages, bookings and hosts you need in a busy month before you compare paid prices.
- **How the paid price is counted**: Per seat (Calendly, Cal.com, Zoho, Appointlet, Koalendar), per calendar (Acuity), per location (Square), per bookings a month (SimplyBook.me) or per plan with hosts included (Vonza). A team of five hosts changes the order of the table.
- **Payments, deposits and fees**: If a booking is paid, check the processors, whether deposits, packages and subscriptions are possible, and whether the tool adds its own fee to the processor’s. TidyCal’s 1% below Pro and Square’s processing rates are the two stated here.
- **Group, class and team booking**: A class needs seats per time and a waitlist or a pack to sell; a team needs round robin or collective meetings and a calendar per host. Meeting-link tools and appointment tools split on exactly this line.
- **Calendars and conflicts**: Check which calendars are read for busy times, which receive the booking, and how many connections the plan allows. Several free plans allow one connection; iCloud is often read-only.
- **Reminders that reach people**: Email reminders are standard. SMS is metered, regional or paid separately almost everywhere, so read the credit count and the countries before you count on it.
- **What happens after the booking**: A booker who becomes a contact, gets the right follow-up and can be enrolled or sold the next session saves copying details between tools. Check the native CRM and email connections, or webhooks to Zapier or Make.

## How we chose

- Every competitor figure comes from the vendor’s own pricing, features or help page, read on 2026-11-14 and saved as plain text; nothing comes from review sites, listicles or memory, and no vendor’s review counts, ratings or user numbers are repeated.
- The twelve cover the main ways people book: meeting links (Calendly, Cal.com, Doodle, Appointlet, Koalendar), appointment software for service businesses (Acuity Scheduling, Setmore, SimplyBook.me, Square Appointments), a business-suite scheduler (Zoho Bookings), a lifetime licence (TidyCal) and an all-in-one platform (Vonza). YouCanBookMe, Zeeg, Fresha and Book Like A Boss are left out because their prices could not be read from their own pages, and the course and funnel platforms whose schedulers are tied to another product are left to their own guides.
- “Not stated” and “Not listed” mean the page did not mention it, not that the tool lacks it; “not published” means the page gave no figure. Where a page showed only one billing option the other is marked as not readable, and where a page printed inconsistent figures (Setmore, Koalendar) the guide says so rather than choosing one silently.
- Vonza is the publisher and appears first with its live price; its row is written from its own product, and no competitor is scored or ranked.

## Questions

### What is the best appointment scheduling software?

The one built for what you book. For meeting links, Calendly (a free plan for one event type, Standard $12 per seat a month) or Cal.com (a free plan with no usage limits). For appointments at a service business, Acuity Scheduling (classes, packages and deposits from $20 a month per calendar), Setmore (a free plan for up to 4 users) or Square Appointments (a free booking site with Square payments). For a team on Zoho, Zoho Bookings; for a one-time payment, TidyCal; for polling a group, Doodle. Vonza suits coaches, consultants, tutors and schools who want the booking, the payment and the follow-up in the account that also sells their courses and community.

### What is the best free appointment scheduling software?

On the vendors’ own pages, Cal.com’s free plan has unlimited links and calendars and takes Stripe and PayPal payments for one user; Koalendar’s has unlimited bookings and pages; TidyCal’s has unlimited bookings with paid, group and package bookings and a 1% fee; Setmore’s allows up to 4 users with group classes and payments; Square’s is $0 per location with Square processing. Calendly allows one event type, Doodle one poll, one booking page and one 1:1, Appointlet 25 meetings a month for 5 members, and SimplyBook.me 50 bookings a month. Acuity has no free plan. Vonza offers a 14-day free trial on every plan.

### What is the best scheduling software for coaches?

A coach books discovery calls, paid sessions and often a group programme, so look for deposits or session packs, a group format, reminders and a path from the booking to the programme. Koalendar and Setmore publish coaching pages and take payments on Pro or on the free plan respectively; Acuity sells packages with payment plans; Calendly and Cal.com cover the call itself. Vonza adds what the standalone tools hand off: the booking page sits in the same account as the course, the community, the email list and the CRM, with deposits, session packs and an automation that enrols the booker.

### Which scheduling tools take payments on the free plan?

Cal.com (Stripe and PayPal), TidyCal (Stripe or PayPal, with a 1% platform fee below Pro), Setmore (Square, Stripe and PayPal), Square Appointments (Square is the processor) and SimplyBook.me (payments, deposits and tips listed from the free plan). Calendly, Doodle, Appointlet and Koalendar move payments to a paid plan, Zoho Bookings does not state which plan, and Acuity has no free plan. Every Vonza plan takes payments through Stripe, PayPal or Paystack after the 14-day free trial.

### Which appointment schedulers charge a platform fee on bookings?

TidyCal states a 1% fee on Stripe payments on its free and lifetime plans and none on Pro. Square Appointments is the processor, so its rates apply: 3.3% + 30¢ online and 2.6% + 15¢ in person on the free plan. SimplyBook.me says it charges no transaction fee of its own. Calendly, Acuity, Cal.com, Zoho Bookings, Setmore, Doodle, Appointlet and Koalendar do not publish a fee on the pages we read, and your processor charges its own fee on every tool. Vonza lists its platform fee by plan on its pricing page.

### Which schedulers offer round robin or group booking?

Round robin is a team-plan feature almost everywhere: Calendly Teams, Cal.com Teams, Zoho Bookings (four algorithms), TidyCal Agency, Doodle Team, Appointlet and Koalendar Pro; Acuity, Setmore, SimplyBook.me and Square do not list it. Group or class booking is the other dividing line: Acuity, Setmore, SimplyBook.me, Square, Zoho, TidyCal, Appointlet and Koalendar sell seats or classes, while Calendly and Doodle offer group and collective meetings or polls. The new Vonza Scheduling has both: group sessions with a seat count, and round robin that shares bookings evenly or to the host with the lightest day.

### Can I take deposits for appointments?

Acuity lists deposits on every plan, Square Appointments lists appointment deposits, Setmore lists deposits on its features, and SimplyBook.me lists deposits from its free plan. Calendly offers payment links for deposits and one-off fees on paid plans. Cal.com, Zoho Bookings, TidyCal, Doodle, Appointlet and Koalendar do not list deposits on the pages we read. In the new Vonza Scheduling a deposit is one of nine price kinds: part is paid at booking and the balance is charged a set number of days before the meeting, on eligible plans.

## Related pages

- [Appointment Scheduling](https://vonza.net/appointment-scheduling): Six meeting types, 137 templates, payments, reminders and automations, included in every Vonza plan.
- [Booking Page Templates](https://vonza.net/scheduling-templates): The 137 Vonza booking page templates in 15 categories.
- [Scheduling for Coaches](https://vonza.net/scheduling-for-coaches): Discovery calls, paid sessions and group programmes booked from one page.
- [Meeting Polls](https://vonza.net/meeting-polls): Offer a few times, let people vote, then book the favourite.
- [Team Scheduling](https://vonza.net/team-scheduling): Round robin, collective meetings and a team page for every host.
- [Vonza vs Calendly](https://vonza.net/compare/vonza-vs-calendly): Vonza beside Calendly on dated prices and features.
- [Calendly vs Acuity](https://vonza.net/compare/calendly-vs-acuity): The two best-known schedulers side by side.
- [Calendly Alternatives](https://vonza.net/compare/calendly-alternatives): Vonza beside Calendly on dated prices and plan limits.
- [Acuity Scheduling Alternatives](https://vonza.net/compare/acuity-scheduling-alternatives): Vonza beside Acuity on dated per-calendar prices.
- [Doodle Alternatives](https://vonza.net/compare/doodle-alternatives): Vonza’s meeting polls beside Doodle’s group polls.