Calendly

Calendly

automates scheduling, streamlines meetings, and integrates with calendars for efficient time management.

Calendly Overview

Calendly is a powerful business automation tool designed to simplify scheduling and streamline time management. It allows users to create customizable booking links that integrate seamlessly with their calendars, enabling clients or colleagues to book meetings without back-and-forth emails.

With features like automated reminders, time zone adjustments, and integrations with tools like Zoom and Google Calendar, Calendly enhances productivity by organizing and optimizing the scheduling process for professionals and teams.

Key Features

  • Customizable Booking Links: Create personalized scheduling links with custom branding, time slots, and questions to streamline appointment booking.
  • Calendar Integration: Syncs with Google Calendar, Outlook, Office 365, and iCal to automatically check availability and avoid double-booking.
  • Unlimited Event Types: Set up various meeting types (e.g., 15-minute, 30-minute, group sessions) with specific durations and rules.
  • Automated Notifications and Reminders: Sends confirmation emails, reminders, and follow-ups to reduce no-shows and keep participants informed.
  • Time Zone Detection: Automatically adjusts for time zones to ensure accurate scheduling for global users.
  • Video Conferencing Integration: Seamlessly connects with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, Google Meet, and Webex for instant meeting link generation.
  • Team Scheduling: Enables group scheduling with Round Robin or collective availability for teams, ideal for collaborative workflows.
  • Workflow Automation: Triggers automated actions like thank-you emails, SMS reminders, or data logging based on booking events.
  • Payment Integration: Accepts payments via Stripe or PayPal during booking for paid consultations or services.
  • CRM and App Integrations: Connects with tools like Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier, and Intercom to sync data and enhance workflows.
  • Mobile Apps: Offers iOS and Android apps for scheduling on the go, with full access to booking and management features.
  • Single Sign-On (SSO): Provides secure login via SSO for Enterprise users, simplifying access for large organizations.
  • Analytics and Reporting: Tracks booking trends, no-show rates, and team performance to optimize scheduling processes.
  • Custom Forms and Questions: Collects specific information from invitees during booking to qualify leads or prepare for meetings.
  • API Access: Allows developers to build custom integrations and automate workflows for Enterprise plans.
  • Advanced Security and Compliance: Offers data encryption, GDPR compliance, and data deletion options for secure scheduling.

Price

Plan Name Price (per seat/month) Key Features
Free $0 1 event type, 1 calendar connection, customizable availability & booking page, video conferencing, browser/mobile access, basic scheduling tools
Standard $10 (billed annually) / $12 (monthly) Unlimited event types, multiple calendars, integrations (Stripe, PayPal, HubSpot, Mailchimp, Zapier), automated reminders & outreach, 24/7 chat support
Teams $16 (billed annually) / $20 (monthly) All Standard features, plus round-robin scheduling, lead qualification & routing, advanced admin tools, Salesforce/Marketo/Pardot integrations, single sign-on (optional)
Enterprise Starts at $15,000/year (≈ $1,250/month per seat average) Advanced security (SSO, domain control, audit logs), enterprise routing, dedicated support, onboarding, Salesforce lookup, Microsoft Dynamics/Power Automate integration

Pricing details: https://calendly.com/pricing

Pros

Competitor

Pros of Calendly

YouCanBookMe Calendly’s intuitive interface and quick setup outshine YouCanBookMe, which can feel less polished for non-technical users. Its free plan offers unlimited one-on-one meetings and event types, surpassing YouCanBookMe’s restrictive free tier.

Calendly’s ease of use and seamless integrations with over 100 tools, including Zoom, Google Calendar, and Salesforce, providing superior workflow automation.

Priced at $10/seat/month (annual) for the Standard plan, Calendly offers robust features like team scheduling and automated reminders, making it more cost-effective for small teams compared to YouCanBookMe’s $10/calendar pricing model.

Chili Piper Calendly excels for a broader audience than Chili Piper, which primarily serves B2B sales teams with complex lead routing. Users highlight Calendly’s straightforward setup and user-friendly design, contrasting Chili Piper’s steeper learning curve.

Its free plan includes unlimited one-on-one meetings, offering better value for individuals or small businesses, while Chili Piper’s pricing starts at $15/user/month. Calendly’s robust time zone detection and integrations with Zoom, Google Meet, and HubSpot make it ideal for global scheduling, earning high praise in customer reviews for reducing scheduling friction.

Acuity Scheduling Calendly’s streamlined interface and faster onboarding make it more accessible than Acuity Scheduling, which users note can be complex for beginners. Unlike Acuity’s limited free tier, Calendly’s free plan supports unlimited appointments, earning positive reviews for affordability.

Its payment integrations with Stripe and PayPal are available on lower plans ($10/seat/month), compared to Acuity’s $14/month Emerging plan for similar features. Customers appreciate Calendly’s clean booking pages and extensive integrations (e.g., Zapier, Salesforce), making it a versatile choice for professionals needing simple yet powerful scheduling.

Doodle Calendly surpasses Doodle in automation and professional scheduling, with users favoring its robust feature set over Doodle’s group polling focus. Calendly’s free plan includes unlimited one-on-one meetings and native integrations with Zoom and Google Calendar, outpacing Doodle’s limited free tier.

Calendly’s automated reminders and CRM integrations, which streamline workflows compared to Doodle’s basic functionality. Priced at $10/seat/month for advanced features, Calendly offers better value for teams needing scalable scheduling solutions over Doodle’s $14.95/month Pro plan.

HubSpot Meetings Calendly offers greater flexibility than HubSpot Meetings, which is tightly integrated with HubSpot’s CRM and less ideal for non-HubSpot users. Its free plan supports unlimited one-on-one meetings, unlike HubSpot’s basic free tier, and users praise its standalone versatility and customization options.

Calendly’s pricing ($10/seat/month for Standard) provides access to advanced integrations like Salesforce and Zapier, which HubSpot Meetings restricts to higher-tier plans. Customer reviews highlight Calendly’s ease of use and broad compatibility, making it a preferred choice for diverse workflows.

Cons

Competitor

Cons of Calendly

YouCanBookMe Calendly’s customization options are less granular than YouCanBookMe’s, which offers advanced conditional logic and detailed booking page styling, as noted in user reviews. YouCanBookMe’s $10/calendar pricing can be more cost-effective for solo users needing SMS notifications, unavailable in Calendly’s free plan.

Customers report that YouCanBookMe’s password-protected booking pages and manual booking approval features provide more control, which Calendly lacks without higher-tier plans ($16/seat/month for Teams), potentially limiting its appeal for users needing specific scheduling rules.

Chili Piper Calendly lacks Chili Piper’s advanced lead qualification and routing features, which are critical for B2B sales teams, as highlighted in customer feedback. Chili Piper’s Instant Booker ($15/user/month) and Handoff ($25/user/month) offer real-time CRM-driven scheduling, surpassing Calendly’s simpler automation.

Calendly’s team features, priced at $16/seat/month, are less competitive for large sales teams compared to Chili Piper’s enterprise-grade tools. Its focus on general scheduling may feel restrictive for revenue-focused businesses needing complex workflows.

Acuity Scheduling Calendly falls short of Acuity Scheduling’s robust client management tools, such as detailed client records and intake forms, which are favored by service-based businesses like salons, per user reviews.

Acuity’s group class and subscription features are more advanced than Calendly’s, and its $14/month Emerging plan includes payment integrations, compared to Calendly’s $10/seat/month Standard plan. Customers note Acuity’s flexibility for niche industries, making Calendly’s simpler feature set and limited reporting capabilities less appealing for specialized use cases.

Doodle Calendly is less effective than Doodle for group polling, where Doodle’s simple interface excels for coordinating large groups, as noted in customer reviews. Doodle’s free plan suffices for basic polling, while Calendly’s free tier requires upgrades for advanced group scheduling ($10/seat/month).

Users find Calendly’s structured booking links less flexible for ad-hoc meetings compared to Doodle’s intuitive polling tools. Additionally, Doodle’s $14.95/month Pro plan offers comparable team features at a potentially lower cost for small groups.

HubSpot Meetings For HubSpot CRM users, Calendly’s standalone nature is a drawback compared to HubSpot Meetings’ seamless CRM integration, as highlighted in user feedback. HubSpot Meetings is free for HubSpot users with no user limits, while Calendly’s advanced features require paid plans ($10/seat/month).

HubSpot’s native scheduling tools are more cost-effective for HubSpot-centric businesses, and Calendly’s reliance on external integrations (e.g., Zapier) can add complexity and cost for users prioritizing CRM-driven workflows.

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