Setmore offers a traditional online booking system for businesses. Cal.com provides a robust scheduling infrastructure that not only meets the needs of service-based businesses but also teams and organizations that value flexibility, customization, and scalability. We’ve tested Setmore vs Cal.com first-hand to tell you which online appointment booking software provides the most value in 2026.

Quick verdict

Cal.com performs as an end-to-end scheduling infrastructure that’s flexible and customizable compared to Setmore. While Setmore works fine as an appointment booking app, Cal.com functions as a more powerful alternative. It can handle both client scheduling and internal team scheduling requirements seamlessly. 

Cal.com also works right out of the box and offers far more control of your branding. Lastly, it has a beautiful and responsive user interface that can be further customized to improve user experience. For these reasons, Cal.com is a clear winner here as the best scheduling app among the two in 2026.

What is Setmore?

Setmore is a traditional online appointment booking system. It is specifically built to meet the needs of service-based businesses. Setmore login is easy to get started, and it allows businesses to manage appointments without much technical complexity. However, it does come with its own caveats, which include a lack of flexibility and customization options.

Businesses like salons, consultants, and local service providers often use Setmore for one of its major benefits, its Square integration for payments. Additionally, Setmore also has mobile apps that allow appointment tracking on the go. Overall, Setmore provides a decent starting point for businesses to shift from manual client booking systems to online booking software.

What is Cal.com?

Cal.com is a modern and powerful scheduling platform with a heart for customizability. It works both as an appointment scheduling software and as an office scheduling software. Cal.com offers businesses the ability to intricately craft the look, feel, and function of their scheduling architecture. These booking flow management capabilities allow businesses to craft a personalized user experience for customers and team members.

Cal.com packs a mighty punch in terms of features, with complete support of custom multi-step booking workflows. It also offers seamless integration into your existing workflows with API and webhook support. Lastly, Cal.com is highly flexible and can be used to meet both internal and client scheduling requirements without sacrificing speed, reliability, or aesthetics.

Ease of use and setup

Ease of use and setup are important determiners for service-based businesses and teams. Here’s an overview of both Setmore and Cal.com’s setup experience.

Setmore onboarding experience

• Setmore has a quick onboarding experience that’s accessible to non-technical users. 

• It offers a guided setup experience for businesses and has a straightforward dashboard. 

• You can set up Setmore and start accepting appointments in no time.

For these reasons, Setmore stands out for businesses that want a plug-and-play solution with limited requirements in this segment.

Cal.com onboarding experience

• Cal.com’s onboarding experience is smooth, guided, and allows you to set up automations from the get-go. 

• It allows more options upfront for deeper configurations, including availability setup, routing, workflows, event types, and booking rules.

• Offers very precise customization and setup controls without a “huge learning curve that forces users to rethink everything,” as stated by Aryan P.

• It is designed to fit into existing workflows and function beyond just a calendar scheduling app.

Cal.com stands out as the scheduling platform that meets businesses and teams where they are, including workflow integration and personalized setup.

Why Cal.com wins long-term

• Cal.com offers scalability and flexibility that is not available with simple tools like Setmore

• It allows automation setups from the get-go, which reduces manual interventions when the setup is complete

• It allows scaling with a feature-rich infrastructure that can suit even enterprise-level businesses

Booking and scheduling features

Booking features define the efficacy of an online booking system for businesses. Here’s a direct comparison of the booking and scheduling features of Setmore vs Cal.com.

Core scheduling capabilities

Both Setmore and Cal.com offer:

• Multiple appointment type support

• Recurring appointment bookings

• Appointment buffer times and provider availability controls

• Group-based scheduling

Where Cal.com pulls ahead

Cal.com offers beyond core scheduling capabilities with features like advanced team scheduling and routing, round-robin scheduling, and smart input-based routing. Thanks to these features, Cal.com adapts to scheduling scenarios that come up as businesses and teams scale.

Customization and branding

A custom-branded scheduling page positions your brand strongly in front of your team and customers. Here’s an overview of how both Setmore and Cal.com offer customization and branding.

Setmore: limited customizability

• Setmore offers template-based booking pages with limited customization

• Limited customizability in altering booking flows or logic

• Basic branding customization on booking pages

Cal.com: built for customization

• Customizable booking flows

• Excellent feature depth and control over design and experience

• API access for developer-level customizability

• Branding-friendly and customizable scheduling platform

Why this matters

Scheduling is a customer-facing business activity. Having brand consistency on your scheduling page improves brand recall and user experience. Branding and customization also contribute to lead conversions and help build trust with customers.

Integrations and payments

Integrations and payments help your appointment booking app become a part of your workflow seamlessly. Here’s how Setmore and Cal.com fare against each other for integrations and payments.

Setmore: payments with Square

• Setmore has strong integrations with the Square ecosystem

• The integration allows Setmore users to charge for appointments at the time of booking

• This workflow works well for service-based businesses like salons, stylists, and local businesses

Cal.com: integration-first approach

• Native-level integration with Stripe for payments

• Integrations with CRM, sales, and ERP software

• Can be easily embedded into broader cross-platform workflows

• API, webhook, and middleware-based custom integrations are supported

Why Cal.com scales better

• API flexibility allows real-time sync and cross-platform functionality, crucial for enterprise-level businesses and teams

• Efficient and effective scheduling infrastructure for businesses building a connected tech stack

• Offers excellent automation features with CRM integrations for smooth data flow

• Allows payment integration, whenever required, but it is not the only feature that helps the software stand out.

Pricing comparison

Cal.com is known for its robust free tier, but how does it compare against Setmore? Here’s a complete pricing comparison of the two appointment software.

Setmore: simple pricing with some paywalls

Setmore offers a free tier, which offers access to core scheduling features. The paid tiers start at $12 per month and offer access to unlimited appointment bookings per month. To get certain feature access, you must sign up for paid plans. Even though Setmore pricing is predictable and works for small businesses, paywalled access to key capabilities may increase costs for larger teams.

Cal.com: flexible and transparent pricing

Cal.com has one of the best free plans in the industry for individuals and small businesses. The paid plans of Cal.com start at $15 per month and offer advanced features that are built to meet team needs, along with priority support. Cal.com’s pricing is flexible and transparent, which doesn’t paywall features. The pricing is non-punitive for both small teams and large organizations.

Where Cal.com offers more value

For teams and businesses with growing needs, Cal.com offers a better cost-to-value ratio in the long-term. This is because Cal.com supports evolving workflows better and ensures there are minimal growth limitations. Cal.com also works as a scheduling infrastructure, which helps teams integrate it as a part of their operations and more than just a utility. Lastly, usecase and workflow flexibility allow businesses to use Cal.com how they need, allowing businesses to get the most out of their investment.

Feature comparison

Final verdict

Setmore works as a solid starting point for businesses that do not have experience with business appointment apps. However, Cal.com stands as the stronger online scheduling system in 2026, thanks to its flexibility, scalability, security, and customization capabilities. It offers a complete end-to-end scheduling solution for businesses and teams, irrespective of their size. So, for modern teams and businesses that view scheduling as a part of operations and customer experience, Cal.com offers more value compared to Setmore in 2026.

FAQs

1. Is Cal.com better than Setmore?

Yes, in 2026, Cal.com ranks better than Setmore. Features like automation and flexible scheduling workflows help Cal.com offer more value than Setmore.

2. Does Setmore work with Square?

Yes, Setmore integrates directly with Square. This is one of the primary Setmore login integrations.

3. Is Cal.com free to use?

Cal.com offers a robust free plan that’s one of the best in the industry. The paid plans are also transparently priced, starting at just $15 per month.

4. Which is better for online booking systems?

Among the two, Cal.com is better as an online booking system because it allows customization and scalability at a level that Setmore doesn’t.

5. Which tool is better for small businesses?

Cal.com is a better choice for small businesses. It not only covers the scheduling requirements for businesses today, but it also ensures that the scheduling system can scale and meet the requirements of the growing business.