If you book appointments, you need scheduling software. Email tag (“Does Tuesday at 2 work?” “No, how about Thursday?”) wastes time, creates no-shows, and makes your business look amateur. The right scheduling tool lets clients book themselves, sends automatic reminders, and fills your calendar without you touching it.

We compared the top scheduling tools for small businesses on ease of use, client experience, integrations, and price.

Quick Comparison

1. Calendly — Best Overall Scheduling

Calendly is the most widely used scheduling tool for a reason: it works. Share your link, clients pick a time, it’s on both calendars. No back-and-forth. Calendly handles round-robin assignment for teams, group events, and integrates with almost everything.

Pros:

• Simplest setup and sharing (“Pick a time that works for you”)
• Integrates with Google, Outlook, and Office 365 calendars
• Round-robin and collective scheduling for teams
• Automatic time zone detection
• Custom event types with different durations and buffers
• Payment collection via Stripe or PayPal (paid plans)
• Workflow automations (confirmations, reminders, follow-ups)
• Integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, and Teams (auto-generate meeting links)
• Strong integration library (Salesforce, HubSpot, Zapier)
• Good mobile app

Cons:

• Free plan limits you to 1 event type
• Standard ($10/mo) needed for most useful features
• Teams plan is $16/user/month (gets expensive)
• Limited customization of booking pages on lower tiers
• No POS integration
• Not designed for complex service menus
• Some features feel nickle-and-dimed behind higher tiers

Pricing: Free (1 event type); Standard $10/mo; Teams $16/user/mo; Enterprise custom

Best for: Consultants, coaches, sales teams, and any business that books meetings and wants the simplest, most widely recognized scheduling tool.

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2. Acuity Scheduling — Best for Service Businesses

Acuity (owned by Squarespace) is built for businesses that sell services — hair salons, fitness trainers, consultants, therapists, photographers. It handles complex service menus, packages, intake forms, and payment collection better than Calendly.

Pros:

• Best service menu management (categories, durations, add-ons)
• Client self-booking with service selection
• Intake forms and questionnaires attached to bookings
• Package and membership sales
• Gift certificates
• Payment collection (Stripe, Square, PayPal)
• Automatic reminders and follow-ups
• Calendar sync with Google and Outlook
• Good for businesses with multiple staff and service types
• Squarespace integration (if your site is on Squarespace)

Cons:

• More expensive than Calendly ($16/mo starting)
• Interface is more complex (more features = more to learn)
• No free plan (14-day trial only)
• Less widely integrated than Calendly
• Overkill for simple meeting scheduling
• Not ideal for group scheduling or polls
• Calendar sharing isn’t as elegant as Calendly

Pricing: Emerging $16/mo; Growing $27/mo; Power $49/mo; Enterprise custom

Best for: Service businesses with multiple service types, staff, and intake form requirements.

Get Acuity Scheduling →

3. Square Appointments — Best Free Option with POS

Square Appointments is free and includes scheduling, client management, and payment processing through Square’s POS. If you already use Square for payments (or want to start), this is the most complete free scheduling option.

Pros:

• Completely free for individuals (no monthly fee)
• Integrated with Square POS and payment processing
• Online booking page
• Automatic reminders
• Client database with notes and history
• Multiple staff scheduling
• No-show protection (require credit card to book)
• Good for businesses already using Square
• Works for in-person and online appointments

Cons:

• Only free for individuals (teams pay $12/user/month)
• Less customizable than Calendly or Acuity
• Booking page design is limited
• Fewer integrations than Calendly
• Not ideal for complex service menus
• Client experience is less polished than Calendly
• Tied to Square’s payment ecosystem
• Limited automation features

Pricing: Free (individuals); $12/user/month (teams); processing via Square (2.6% + $0.10 in-person)

Best for: Solo service businesses that want free scheduling + payment collection, especially if already using Square.

Get Square Appointments →

4. Setmore — Best Free Option with Features

Setmore offers the most generous free plan: scheduling for up to 4 staff members, unlimited appointments, booking page, and automatic reminders — all free. If you have a small team and need scheduling without paying, Setmore is the best free option.

Pros:

• Most generous free plan (4 staff, unlimited appointments)
• Online booking page
• Automatic email and SMS reminders
• Calendar sync (Google, Outlook)
• Customer database
• Payment collection via Stripe
• Integrates with Facebook, Instagram (book from social)
• Mobile app for managing bookings on the go
• No credit card required for free plan

Cons:

• Free plan shows Setmore branding
• Limited customization on free plan
• Reporting is basic on free plan
• Customer support limited for free users
• Less polished than Calendly or Acuity
• Fewer integrations overall
• Paid plan ($12/user/month) for advanced features
• No intake forms on free plan

Pricing: Free (up to 4 staff); Premium $12/user/month; Enterprise custom

Best for: Small teams (2-4 staff) that need free scheduling with reminders and don’t need advanced features.

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5. Doodle — Best for Group Scheduling

Doodle isn’t appointment scheduling — it’s group scheduling. When you need to find a time that works for 3, 5, or 20 people, Doodle polls the group and finds the overlap. It’s the fastest way to schedule board meetings, team meetings, or any group event.

Pros:

• Fastest way to schedule group meetings
• Poll-based scheduling (suggest times, group votes)
• Works across organizations (no shared calendar required)
• Simple, clean interface
• Good for board meetings, team meetings, volunteer coordination
• Calendar sync for confirmed meetings
• Free plan for basic polls

Cons:

• Not appointment scheduling (clients don’t book themselves)
• No payment collection
• No intake forms
• No reminders on free plan
• Limited to group scheduling use case
• Not suitable for service businesses
• Premium features require paid plan ($7/mo)

Pricing: Free (basic polls); Pro $7/mo; Business $9/user/mo; Enterprise custom

Best for: Scheduling group meetings, board meetings, and multi-person events.

Get Doodle →

How to Choose

1. What are you scheduling?

Client appointments → Calendly, Acuity, or Square Appointments. Group meetings → Doodle. Service business with complex menus → Acuity. Simple meetings → Calendly.

2. What’s your budget?

Free → Square Appointments (individuals) or Setmore (up to 4 staff). Under $15/mo → Calendly Standard. Under $30/mo → Acuity.

3. Do you need payment collection?

Yes (and you use Square) → Square Appointments. Yes (and you use Stripe/PayPal) → Acuity or Calendly (paid plans). No → Calendly or Setmore.

4. Solo or team?

Solo → Calendly or Square Appointments (free). Small team (2-4) → Setmore (free) or Calendly Teams. Larger team → Acuity or Calendly Teams.

Our Top Pick

For most small businesses, Calendly is the best choice — it’s the most widely used, integrates with everything, and handles both solo and team scheduling well. If you run a service business with complex offerings, Acuity is worth the premium. And if budget is tight, Square Appointments (solo) or Setmore (team) are genuinely good free options.

SoftDecide helps churches, nonprofits, and small organizations find the right software. Our comparisons are independently researched. We may earn a commission if you purchase through links on this page — at no extra cost to you.