Calendrite › Calendly alternatives
Calendly alternatives, compared
The main alternatives to Calendly are Calendrite, Cal.com, Acuity Scheduling, SavvyCal and Microsoft Bookings. Each suits a different job: Calendrite for booking links that check every connected calendar and can be self-hosted; Cal.com for open-source self-hosting with a large app store; Acuity Scheduling for appointment businesses that take payments and manage classes; SavvyCal for showing the guest their own calendar overlaid on your availability; and Microsoft Bookings where everyone is already inside Microsoft 365.
Calendrite is free during its public beta. It reads your Google and Outlook calendars before offering any time, creates a fresh Google Meet room for each booking, lets you decline a request with a written note and a rebooking link, and reminds both the guest and the host.
Last reviewed 25 October 2026.
Side by side
| Tool | Best for | Self-hosting | Free tier |
|---|---|---|---|
| Calendrite | Booking links checked against every connected calendar | Yes | Free during public beta |
| Calendly | The default for teams who want the biggest integration catalogue | No | Yes, one event type per user |
| Cal.com | Open source, large app store, developer control | Yes, AGPL | Yes, and free to self-host |
| Acuity Scheduling | Appointment businesses: classes, packages, intake forms, payments | No | Trial only |
| SavvyCal | Letting the guest overlay their own calendar on your availability | No | Trial only |
| Microsoft Bookings | Organisations already standardised on Microsoft 365 | No | Included with some Microsoft 365 plans |
Pricing and packaging change often; check each vendor's own pricing page before deciding.
Which one fits which job
Short, honest notes on where each tool is the right answer — including where Calendrite is not.
Calendrite
Built around the idea that a time offered should be a time that is genuinely free. It reads busy times from every calendar you connect before showing a slot, creates a new Google Meet room per booking rather than reusing one personal room, sends the hour-before reminder to the host as well as the guest, and shows how full each day is before anyone picks it. Declining a request sends your note and a link to choose another time.
- Choose it if
- You want availability that is accurate across several calendars, or you need the booking data on your own server.
- Look elsewhere if
- You need a large catalogue of CRM and marketing integrations today, or you sell classes and packages.
Cal.com
The best-known open-source scheduling tool, with an app store and an active developer community. Self-hosting is free, and the codebase is public, which matters if you want to audit or extend it.
- Choose it if
- You want open source with the widest set of community apps, and you have engineers to run it.
- Look elsewhere if
- You want something that works out of the box with no infrastructure.
Acuity Scheduling
Aimed at businesses that sell time: salons, clinics, coaches, studios. Strong on intake forms, packages, memberships, classes and taking payment at the point of booking.
- Choose it if
- Scheduling is how you take money, and you need packages, classes or deposits.
- Look elsewhere if
- You just need a link for internal and sales meetings.
SavvyCal
Its signature feature is letting the person you are inviting overlay their own calendar on your availability, so they can see at a glance which of your free times are also free for them. Ranked lists of preferred times are a nice touch for busy people.
- Choose it if
- You send links to senior, busy people and want the guest experience to feel considerate.
- Look elsewhere if
- You need self-hosting or a free tier.
Microsoft Bookings
If your organisation already pays for Microsoft 365, Bookings may be included and requires no new vendor, no new security review and no new invoice. It is less polished than the dedicated tools, but the procurement path is zero.
- Choose it if
- Everyone is in Microsoft 365 and adding a vendor is the hard part.
- Look elsewhere if
- You book people outside your organisation often, or you want Google Calendar as a first-class citizen.
What is the best alternative to Calendly?
There is no single best alternative, because the tools optimise for different jobs. Calendrite is the closest fit if you want a booking link whose availability is checked against every calendar you connect, and the option to self-host. Cal.com is the strongest open-source choice. Acuity Scheduling suits appointment businesses that take payment. SavvyCal is the most considerate for the person receiving the link. Microsoft Bookings is the path of least resistance inside Microsoft 365.
Is there a free alternative to Calendly?
Yes. Calendrite is free during its public beta, with no card required and no limit on bookings or event types. Cal.com is free to self-host under the AGPL licence and offers a free hosted tier. Microsoft Bookings is included with some Microsoft 365 business plans. Calendly's own free tier allows one event type per user.
Is there an open-source or self-hosted alternative to Calendly?
Cal.com and Calendrite can both be self-hosted. Cal.com is open source under the AGPL with a public codebase and an app store. Calendrite runs on a single server with SQLite and no external database, which makes it small to deploy, and keeps booking data on infrastructure you control.
How do I switch from Calendly to another scheduling tool?
Connect the same calendar to the new tool, recreate your event types, then replace the old booking link everywhere you published it — email signature, website, social profiles and any email templates. Availability is read live from your calendar rather than stored in the scheduling tool, so there is nothing to export and no booking history to migrate. Meetings already booked through the old link remain in your calendar.
Which scheduling tools create a new video meeting link for each booking?
Calendrite asks Google for a new Google Meet room at the moment it writes the calendar event, so each booking gets its own room. Several tools instead insert one standing personal meeting room into every event, which is how guests occasionally end up joining the wrong call. Check this behaviour before switching if back-to-back meetings are common for you.