Acuity Scheduling works as a decent tool for service-based businesses and solopreneurs. However, its feature set is tied very closely to meet the needs of one-on-one appointment-style, service-based businesses. This feature set is not accidental, as Acuity Scheduling is closely linked with Squarespace, which helps service providers set up websites.

The limited customization options, weak routing logic, and steep pricing lead teams and businesses with multiple locations to look for Acuity Scheduling alternatives. As a dedicated scheduling app, Acuity Scheduling has many alternatives readily available in the market. However, how do you find the tool that truly supports your growth and integrates into your workflow?

Well, that’s where we come in. We’ve tested the top online booking systems in the market today and created a list of scheduling apps that offer better scalability, more customization, and better features and automation. Our recommendations will help you find the strongest Acuity alternatives to meet your business requirements.

Why do businesses move away from Acuity Scheduling?

Businesses move away from Acuity Scheduling because they outgrow its use case and features. To put it into perspective, Acuity Scheduling isn’t best suited to meet the needs of modern SaaS businesses. Why? Because of the following reasons:

• Acuity Scheduling does not offer flexibility beyond its use case for service-based businesses

• Acuity Scheduling’s pricing jumps and gets very expensive as your business grows

• Limited integration options with API access reserved only for higher-paid tiers

• Dependence on the Squarespace ecosystem, which may not be for everyone

• Routing logic and team scheduling features do not scale

Best Acuity alternatives at a glance

1. Cal.com (best Acuity alternative overall)

Imagine if someone made an online scheduling app that fixes every limitation of Acuity Scheduling. Well, you don’t have to imagine because Cal.com exists! Built on an open-source API-first architecture, Cal.com is scalable, flexible, and the best overall Acuity Scheduling alternative. It offers extensive customization options, which allow Cal.com to seamlessly integrate into any existing workflow. Additionally, Cal.com offers a robust free plan, which is comparable to the paid plans of Acuity Scheduling. This just goes to show how Cal.com offers more value. It also shows how Cal.com is more business-friendly with developer-friendly tools and modular components to meet every scheduling requirement of teams and businesses.

Why Cal.com beats Acuity?

Cal.com beats Acuity by addressing its fundamental limitations as a group scheduling tool. Here’s a brief overview of how Cal.com systematically beats Acuity.

• API-first infrastructure: This allows seamless integrations with existing workflows, including ones using proprietary software and business tools like CRM, sales, marketing, HR, and payroll software.

• Use case flexibility: Cal.com and its features are not tied to service-based businesses; it can offer end-to-end scheduling solutions for businesses and teams of all sizes and industries.

• Intelligent software logic: Acuity Scheduling does not offer features that help with dynamic team routing and round-robin logic with customizable rules, Cal.com does.

• Pricing: Cal.com is highly scalable, and thanks to its transparent pricing, you will always be able to use Cal.com with more features at a more affordable price point, compared to Acuity Scheduling costs.

• App store: Cal.com also features its own app store to improve the software functionality and allow easy code-free integrations with popular software. This feature showcases how extensible Cal.com is compared to the rigid workflow of tools like Acuity Scheduling.

Key features

Cal.com offers impressive value and features for businesses, with experts like Alex and Andra from Efficient App stating, “Cal.com is truly the most impressive, flexible, and modern meeting scheduler on the market.” The key features of Cal.com include:

• Cloud-based scheduling solution with self-hosting capability

• Group scheduling features with intelligent round-robin booking logic

• Access to API and real-time webhooks for seamless integrations

• Deep workflow automation features with custom booking logic

Pricing

Cal.com offers one of the best free plans in the industry, which sufficiently meets the needs of solopreneurs and freelancers. Paid plans start at $15 for teams.

Best for

Cal.com is best suited for tech-enabled modern businesses, teams with complex scheduling and booking requirements, and privacy-focused companies that want complete data control.

2. Calendly (best basic Acuity alternative)

If you’re using Acuity Scheduling and you’re like, “I wish my software were simpler,” Calendly is the tool for you. The reason Calendly ranks as a better option than Acuity in Acuity vs Calendly is that Calendly is simple. It has limited features and functionality, which is what you may need, especially if this is the first time you’re setting up a scheduling app. Calendly also thrives in the same use as Acuity Scheduling as an appointment booking system for coaches, freelancers, and solo operators who need one-on-one appointment bookings with some automations.

3. Setmore (best free Acuity alternative)

Do you have a small business that’s just trying to set up basic scheduling without incurring high software costs? Setmore can be a great place to start. Considering Setmore also offers POS integrations, it bridges the gap between online and offline appointment bookings. Even though it has fewer features compared to Cal.com or even Acuity, for that matter, it is a reliable scheduling software that offers excellent value for small businesses to get started with multi-staff booking and reduce the load of front desk operations.

4. SimplyBook.me (best for service businesses with add-ons)

If you’re not liking Acuity Scheduling, but you do have a service-based business, SimplyBook.me is a great alternative. As the name suggests, it allows you to simply book appointments and even offers features for memberships, packages, and add-ons. Unlike Acuity Scheduling, SimplyBook.me does have coverage for multi-location and staff setups. It is popular among and works great for salons, fitness studios, clinics, and local appointment-based service providers. To summarize, SimplyBook.me is Acuity, but with more features.

5. Zoho Bookings (best for Zoho ecosystem users)

If you’re already in the Zoho ecosystem, Zoho Bookings is a great Acuity alternative to go for. It allows native CRM integration, customizable workflows, and built-in automations. In fact, if you’re using it with the Zoho ecosystem, you’ll be able to control everything from lead capture to follow-ups. This makes Zoho Booking excellent for operations-heavy teams. However, if you’re not already using the Zoho ecosystem or are not interested in it, Zoho Bookings doesn’t offer much value by itself as an Acuity Scheduling alternative.

6. Square Appointments (best for payments-first scheduling)

Square Appointments is a strong option among Acuity Scheduling competitors. It works great for businesses where payments are central to the booking experience. Square Appointments offers built-in POS integrations with features like card-on-file. Additionally, it helps with staff scheduling and offers broader use cases when you’re using Square’s broader hardware ecosystem. Square Appointments is a great Acuity alternative for retail service-based businesses.

7. Doddle (best for group availability scheduling)

Do you want a scheduling system that can coordinate the availability of multiple participants for a meeting?. Doddle is a simple tool that allows participants to poll their availability and allows fast group coordination. The tool excels in gathering consensus, and it also has a decent free plan, which lets you get started without incurring any costs. Doddle is great for teams, so if you’re hitting Acuity’s limitations because of your team's requirements, you can use Doddle as a simple alternative to Acuity Scheduling.

8. YouCanBook.me (best lightweight scheduling tool)

Much like Calendly, YouCanBook.me works as a simple alternative for Acuity Scheduling, especially for freelancers and solopreneurs who have outgrown Acuity’s features. YouCanBook.me offers affordable pricing, and it allows clean calendar sync, straightforward booking rules, and just enough features so that users are not overwhelmed. YouCanBook.me also works as a great option for professionals who are struggling to keep up with the costs of Acuity Scheduling.

9. Bookedin (best traditional appointment booking software)

If you want to go old school, BookedIN is a great place to get started. At its core, BookedIN is an old-school but reliable appointment booking software. It offers straightforward appointment booking without technical complexities using a simple, easy-to-use interface. BookedIN has features that align with industry standards like SMS reminders and client management features, making it ideal for non-tech teams.

10. Chili Piper (best Acuity alternative for revenue teams)

If you’re a sales team in need of lead scheduling and processing software, Chili Piper is a great Acuity alternative. It is built for high-intent B2B teams that need intelligent lead scheduling. This scheduling app is built for revenue operations and not service bookings. It offers useful features like lead routing and sales automations, along with a CRM-first scheduling infrastructure.

Acuity vs modern scheduling tools

When you compare Acuity with Acuity Scheduling competitors, it is quickly noticeable that Acuity works as a starter option at best. The other tools are far more flexible and scalable, which is actually what businesses need to meet their growing demands. Here are the biggest gaps between Acuity and its competitors.

• Customization: Acuity offers minimal customization options, and it also has a rigid workflow that offers limited control over booking logic, UI, and integrations. Modern scheduling tools like Cal.com offer a much more customizable and complete scheduling solution, comparatively.

• Team logic: Advanced routing, multi-staff logic, and scalable team workflows are not the strong suit of Acuity Scheduling. This makes it harder for teams to use Acuity compared to other modern alternatives like Cal.com or Chili Piper.

• Scalability: Businesses and teams grow, and your tools must keep up with your growth. Acuity Scheduling, unfortunately, can’t keep up in most cases, even for service-based businesses. That’s why modern scheduling tools like Cal.com exist to fill that gap, to scale without friction.

• Ownership and control: Data control, privacy, and ownership are crucial for some businesses. Tools like Acuity Scheduling, which is tied to the Squarespace ecosystem, do not offer essential features that allow control over data or deployment. Tools like Cal.com and other modern scheduling tools give businesses ownership over their scheduling infrastructure.

How to choose the right Acuity alternative?

The primary framework for choosing the right Acuity alternative relies on several key factors, including:

• Understanding your requirement: Do you need help with service bookings or team meetings? This distinction will help you determine whether you need a tool like Chili Piper or SimplyBook.me. If you need the best of both worlds, you can rely on platforms like Cal.com.

• Number of members: If you work alone, lightweight tools like Calendly or YouCanBook.me can work for you; the free tier of Cal.com also works here. However, if you have multiple teams that schedule for different meeting types, Cal.com is the way to go.

• Payments: Does your scheduling workflow require payments? If so, you’ll need tools with payment and POS integrations like Square Appointments. For online payments, you can choose Cal.com as it has native integration with Stripe.

• Customizations: If you need deep customizations and automation, Cal.com is the clear winner as the perfect Acuity alternative.

• Budget: If you’re just starting out and Acuity’s growing pricing is troubling you, you can check out low-cost tools like Setmore. Cal.com is also a great place to get started with transparent, non-punitive pricing.

Overcome Acuity’s limitations with our recommendations

Acuity Scheduling functions as a great starting point for service bookings; however, with growing costs, limited flexibility, and customization, it's hardly the endgame for businesses. Cal.com stands out as the best overall Acuity alternative because it offers unmatched flexibility, customization, and scalability for teams, businesses, and even solopreneurs.

FAQs

1. Is there a free Acuity alternative?

Yes, there are several free and low-cost alternatives to Acuity Scheduling, including Setmore, SimplyBook.me, and YouCanBook.me. Cal.com’s free plan also works wonderfully as an Acuity alternative, since Cal.com’s free plan offers comparable features to Acuity Scheduling’s paid plans.

2. What is better than Acuity for teams?

For teams, Chili Piper and Cal.com stand out as better alternatives. Chili Piper stands out for sales teams, and Cal.com stands out as an overall team player for teams with support for internal meetings, interviews, and much more.

3. Is there an open source alternative to Acuity?

Yes, Cal.com is the open source alternative to Acuity Scheduling. It offers complete control over your data with enterprise-grade data security. Cal.com also offers developer-friendly features like API access and real-time webhooks.