| Product | Ideal for | Price from | Free version | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Open source scheduling | Free | Yes | Visit | |
| Free Google scheduling | Free | Yes | Visit | |
| Microsoft 365 users | See website | No | Visit | |
| Service businesses | See website | Free trial | Visit | |
| Group polls | Free | Yes | Visit | |
| AI scheduling | See website | Free trial | Visit | |
| AI calendar blocking | Free | Yes | Visit | |
| Simple booking pages | Free | Yes | Visit |
Calendly is the best known scheduling tool, but alternatives offer open source control, free Google integration, payments for services, or AI that finds time automatically. We compared official feature pages, pricing and public reviews to find tools that still serve individuals and teams well in October 2026.

Ideal for: Open source scheduling

Cal.com is the leading open source Calendly alternative, with booking pages, event types, calendar integrations and team scheduling. Individuals can use the hosted free plan, while organisations can self host for full control over data and branding. That openness appeals to privacy conscious teams and developers who want to customise scheduling.
Team features, advanced workflows and some integrations need paid plans, and self hosting requires technical setup. For individuals and small teams who want a free, flexible booking tool without Calendly pricing, Cal.com is an excellent choice, and its open source model means the tool is unlikely to disappear behind a paywall.

Ideal for: Free Google scheduling

Google Calendar appointment schedules let you create a booking page that others can use to book time with you, without a separate scheduling app. It integrates with Gmail, handles time zones and sends notifications, which is enough for many individuals, teachers, coaches and small businesses. The feature is free for Google account holders, with more options on Google Workspace plans.
Event types, team routing and payment features are thinner than Calendly or Acuity, so service businesses that need payments should look elsewhere. If you already live in Google Calendar and need simple booking, appointment schedules are the easiest free alternative.

Ideal for: Microsoft 365 users

Microsoft Bookings is part of Microsoft 365 Business plans and offers booking pages, staff scheduling and customer management for service businesses. It integrates with Outlook, Teams and Microsoft calendars, which suits organisations already on Microsoft 365. Staff can manage their own availability, and customers book through a branded page.
A Microsoft 365 subscription is required, so it is not a free standalone tool, and the interface feels more business focused than Calendly's. For Microsoft organisations that already pay for 365, Bookings is a natural scheduling choice that avoids another subscription.

Ideal for: Service businesses
Acuity Scheduling, now part of Squarespace, is built for service businesses that need clients to book appointments and pay upfront. It offers intake forms, payments, reminders, packages and gift certificates, which suit salons, clinics, coaches and consultants. Clients book through a branded page, and businesses manage calendars, staff and payments in one place.
There is no permanent free plan, only a trial, and pricing is per business, so solo users should compare it with Cal.com or Google Calendar. If payments and intake forms are central to your bookings, Acuity's service focused features justify its price.

Ideal for: Group polls
Doodle solves a different scheduling problem: finding a time that works for a group. You propose several times, participants vote, and Doodle shows the best option, which is ideal for meetings with many attendees who do not share a calendar system. The free plan covers basic polls, and participants do not need an account to vote.
Doodle is not a full booking page tool like Calendly, since it does not offer persistent event types or client booking pages. For one off group meetings, though, Doodle is faster and simpler than emailing back and forth, and its paid plans add booking pages and integrations.

Ideal for: AI scheduling
Motion uses AI to auto schedule tasks, meetings and projects around your calendar, turning a to do list into a time blocked day. That suits busy professionals who juggle many tasks and meetings and want their calendar to plan itself, rather than manually blocking time. It also offers project management and meeting booking features.
Price is higher than simple booking tools, and there is no permanent free plan, only a trial. If you only need a booking page, Cal.com or Google Calendar are cheaper, but if you want AI to manage your whole day, Motion is a powerful, if expensive, option.

Ideal for: AI calendar blocking
Reclaim.ai automatically blocks time on your Google Calendar for habits, tasks, meetings and focus work, defending that time against new meetings. It suits knowledge workers who want to protect focus time and routine tasks without manually blocking their calendar each week. The free plan covers individuals with basic habits and tasks, while paid plans add team features and more automation.
Full features work best with Google Calendar, so Outlook users should check compatibility. AI scheduling needs some tuning at first, since it learns your preferences over time, but once set up, Reclaim.ai can save hours of manual calendar management each week.

Ideal for: Simple booking pages
YouCanBookMe offers simple, reliable booking pages that connect to Google and Outlook calendars, with a free plan for individuals. It is easy to set up, with event types, reminders and time zone handling, and it suits coaches, tutors, consultants and small businesses that need a straightforward booking link. Paid plans add team features, payments and more customisation.
Advanced features like round robin routing and complex workflows are thinner than Calendly's, and design options are limited. For a simple booking page that just works, YouCanBookMe is a good free alternative, especially for users who found Calendly's pricing too high for basic needs.
We compared official feature pages, pricing pages and public reviews, and we only included tools that still offer scheduling or booking in October 2026. We favoured tools with clear free or trial options, distinct strengths for different users, and reliable calendar integrations, since a scheduling tool that misses a calendar conflict is worse than no tool at all.
Start with your calendar system. Google users should try Google Calendar appointment schedules or Cal.com first, while Microsoft 365 organisations should evaluate Microsoft Bookings before paying for another tool. Service businesses that take payments should shortlist Acuity, while teams that need AI scheduling should test Motion or Reclaim.ai.
Check event types, team routing, time zone handling, reminders and integrations with your CRM or video tools before switching. Test the booking experience as a guest, since a confusing booking page will cost you meetings, and confirm that cancellations and reschedules sync correctly to your calendar. Finally, compare pricing for your team size, since free plans cover individuals well but team features quickly need paid plans. If you are still unsure, start with a free plan and move to a paid plan only when you hit its limits.
Cal.com offers the best free hosted plan for individuals, while Google Calendar appointment schedules are free for Google users. YouCanBookMe also offers a free plan for simple booking pages.
Yes, Cal.com has a free hosted plan for individuals, and its open source code can be self hosted for free. Team features and some integrations need paid plans.
Acuity Scheduling is best for service businesses that need payments, intake forms and client scheduling. Microsoft Bookings also suits service businesses on Microsoft 365.
Yes, Google Calendar appointment schedules let others book time with you through a link, with time zone handling and notifications. It lacks some advanced event types, but it covers simple booking well.
Motion and Reclaim.ai both use AI to schedule tasks and protect focus time, with Motion offering broader project tools and Reclaim.ai focusing on Google Calendar time blocking. Test both with a trial before paying.