Scheduling calls and meetings can become a tedious administrative task. The most effective scheduling software eliminates back-and-forth emails. It allows people to schedule their own appointments without any issues. They can schedule whenever it is convenient for them. Calendly is one of the most popular scheduling tools with millions of such users. 

The software includes features like calendar integrations, time zone detection, setting availability preferences, and creating buffer times between meetings. However, this is not the only scheduling software available and has its own set of disadvantages. This blog explores other Calendly alternatives and provides a comprehensive view for users considering a switch from the software’s offerings. 

Understanding Calendly and Its Features

Calendly is a meeting scheduling tool that simplifies appointment coordination for different individuals and businesses. This software eliminates the problems associated with back-and-forth communication. It enables users to share their availability through a personalized link. These users can then share the link via email, messaging apps, or websites. The process allows invitees to select a suitable time slot based on their respective schedules.

Features That Make Calendly Popular

• Calendly allows customization so that administrators can accommodate all their unique processes. This includes the ability to create custom objects, calculations, fields, rules, and views. 
• The platform includes an application programming interface (API) for giving specifications about how the application communicates with other software. APIs always enable the seamless integration of data, logic, and objects with other software applications.
• The platform also enables users to view and transact any kind of business deal with the same content in multiple currencies and different languages. 
• Calendly grants access to selected data, objects, and features based on the specific users, user roles, or even groups. 
• The platform is consistently available and allows all users to complete their respective tasks reliably. 

Why Consider Calendly Alternatives?

Calendly boasts several great features, such as flexible appointment management and automated notifications. However, it needs to improve in some specific areas, like:

1. Technical Support via Email

Calendly lacks any kind of real technical support. All customer support connections are via email or through their customer chatbot. The team will instruct the customer on how to resolve issues on their own via email, no matter how serious an issue they may face with the system. Moreover, it may take forever to get a proper response.

2. Lacks Branding Flexibility

Calendly offers a range of different customization features. Yet, the software lacks advanced branding flexibility. Users who need a branded booking page may find Calendly very limiting.

3. Basic Free Version

Calendly’s free version lacks essential features like multiple booking pages or payment processing options. Users must upgrade to one of the premium plans, which start at $10 per user per month for such advanced features. This can also be cost-prohibitive for mid to large-size teams. That is why many users search for a Calendly alternative with a free trial period. 

Top Calendly Apps Alternatives: A Closer Look

Here are some noteworthy Calendly alternative apps for all interested businesses and individual users. 

1. Neo Bookings

Overview

Neo Bookings is an innovative feature offered by Neo, which is designed to optimize communication for the connected world. The app software offers a streamlined solution for professionals and businesses by merging the functionalities of email and appointment booking. 

Benefits 

1. Neo Bookings is a compelling Calendly alternative for digital appointment scheduling. Its integration with Neo’s email platform offers a unique edge that helps make appointment setting efficient and hassle-free for users. 
2. Clients can book directly from an email with Neo, reducing the chances of drop-offs caused by multiple redirections.
3. Users benefit from streamlined communications and reduced fragmentation. Neo enables them to enjoy email and appointment bookings under one unified platform.
4. Neo allows users to infuse their brand's identity beyond just a functional page. This makes the software more than just a tool but an extension of one’s business.

2. Reservio

Overview

This particular meeting scheduler is a free tool developed by Reservio. It is a Calendly alternative that offers free tools to streamline the whole meeting process. The scheduler further allows users to connect to Google Calendar and set their availability. It can also book users on auto-pilot. 

Benefits

1. Reservio automatically blocks the time in the calendar to avoid schedule conflicts and double-booking. This enables the guest to select a time on the shared booking page.
2. All users can create multiple booking pages without any additional expenses.
3. The app’s AI-powered meeting assistant can record, transcribe, and summarize specific meeting conversations, which saves much of the time.
4. The video calls dashboard enables users and their respective invitees to discover a specific event in their Google calendar. It may either be an in-person meeting, a Zoom meeting, or a Google Meet. 

3. Bookafy

Overview

Bookafy, another Calendly alternative, is an efficient, free online booking app for all kinds of meetings, appointments, and demos. It often includes a booking page or website integration feature, which makes it stand out among all other apps. Organizations can also provide their customers access to scheduling their own meetings, appointments, and calls using Bookafy. The entire process can be synchronized with iCal, Google Calendar, Outlook, and Exchange. 

Benefits

1. Users can set a poll deadline and send automated voting reminders for invitees with Bookafy’s scheduling platform.
2. Bookafy is efficient in group scheduling activities because of its polling feature. It displays all the meeting poll results in a visual chart to help users find the meeting time that works for everyone.
3. The scheduling platform offers flexible branding. Users can always add logos and customize their booking page to match their respective brand appearance.
4. Bookafy’s pricing is slightly more affordable than that of other scheduling software. Moreover, it also offers a 7-day free trial plan. 

4. Skedify

Overview

Skedify is an omnichannel appointment scheduling app that is a part of Microsoft. The scheduling platform allows team meetings and group events scheduling capabilities. It makes it handy to manage different appointments and customer relationships.

Benefits

1. Skedify integrates with different types of calendars like Office 365 and Google Calendar.
2. The scheduler is further accessible on iOS, Android, and the web. 
3. Skedify allows users to brand their respective booking pages with different logos and colors. 
4. Skedify offers several free features, such as custom-designed solutions for industries, meeting tools, scheduling groups, and several other software integrations. 

5. Timely

Overview

Timely is an efficient booking and scheduling software. It offers several features, like a fully customized booking website, integration with social media platforms, and event ticketing support, making it one of the worthy Calendly alternatives. 

Benefits

• Timely offers several features that are unavailable in Calendly, like coupons, tips, a loyalty system, gift cards, and waitlisting.
• The platform allows all service providers to collect upfront customer payments on the specific booking page. 
• Timely has different standalone client and admin apps. The client app lets all customers book services and make payments. Moreover, the admin app lets users manage their business on the go.

6. Booksy

Overview

Booksy is a comprehensive online scheduling software for all businesses. The platform helps businesses create a customized scheduling page where all their clients can self-schedule appointments. Booksy supports all popular calendars like Google Calendar, Office 365, iCloud, Outlook.com, and Exchange. 

Benefits

1. Booksy offers the most efficient booking customization options. It allows users to customize everything on the booking page to match their respective brand appearance.
2. Booksy integrates with several platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, and Google. 
3. Booksy enables users to offer coupons and vouchers for discounts on their respective booking pages. This helps them easily upsell all clients with check-out add-ons.

7. Calendify

Overview

Calendify, another popular Calendly alternative, is the perfect plug-and-play booking solution for all types of service-based industries. The platform provides you with a centralized calendar for easy booking. It also includes an insightful dashboard, enables integration and sync, and multiple location bookings. You can also set notifications and reminders, online/on-site payments, recurring bookings, and group bookings with this app. It enables you to manage all appointments, services and employees from a unified calendar. 

Benefits

• Calendify offers more flexibility in terms of its customization features on the platform. It has separate booking pages for workspaces, services, and staff with several interfaces that auto-customize.
• Users can configure Calendify to allow customers to select any of their team members to meet with or set it to allocate team members automatically.
• Every appointment added to Calendify appears in your dashboard to ensure better customer relationships.

8. Setster

Overview

Setster is an efficient cloud-based appointment scheduling solution. The app caters to businesses of all sizes across retail, education, construction and advertising industries. Key features of Setster enable users to schedule bookings and then sync them with calendars. You can also accept payments, manage your staff and create custom notifications with this platform. 

Benefits

• Setster allows customers to book on their respective availability. 
• It even allows multiple bookings of the same time slot, which makes it an excellent feature for team-based events.
• The app is a budget-friendly Calendly alternative for all teams. It gives access to certain features for free, which may have additional charges in some other apps. 

9. SuperSaaS

Overview

SuperSaaS helps small businesses and professionals manage appointments in a better way. It is a Calendly alternative that allows businesses to set up their availability and offer online booking options to their clients or customers. It also enables them to accept payment and send reminders and notifications to customers or clients. Small teams and service providers can always integrate SuperSaaS with their social media, website, sales CRM, and valuable business apps like Teleport, Slack, Zoom, and MailChimp.

Benefits

1. Users can always enjoy unlimited appointment scheduling and automated email notifications on the platform. 
2. They can further enjoy seamless payment processing at no expense. 
3. Moreover, businesses can get up to four free user accounts with all features.
4. SuperSaaS is one of the few Calendly alternatives with a desktop app, which means users can access the tool online and offline. 
5. The availability of native iOS and Android apps makes SuperSaaS an on-the-go scheduling solution.

10. Trafft

Overview 

Trafft is a Calendly alternative, which is a free scheduling software that offers a customizable booking page. This particular page can function independently. It can also be integrated into different existing websites. 

Trafft’s comprehensive solution for managing various aspects of businesses sets it apart from being just an appointment scheduler. It mostly handles scheduling tasks related to employees, staff, and payments. 

Benefits 

1. Trafft’s automated invoicing, tax management capabilities, and accounting help streamline business operations and enhance client engagement. 
2. Users can accept online payments through reputable platforms like PayPal, Stripe, and Authorize.net in Trafft.
3. The platform’s starter plan accommodates up to ten user accounts. Trafft also offers a forever-free plan that allows up to five team members to create unlimited booking pages.

Comparison Table

Wrapping up,

Digital transformation drives businesses in today’s world. That is why platforms like Calendly are at the forefront in terms of appointment scheduling services. However, users will always go for other Calendly alternatives like Neo Bookings to ensure that all service providers and clients have a more efficient experience with their appointment scheduling processes. 

While Calendly has its strengths, Neo Bookings introduces a much better perspective. What makes Neo stand out is the effective email communication process with appointment management. So, get ready to enhance your professional scheduling experience today and start today! 

Frequently Asked Questions

1. Is there a better alternative app or software for Calendly?

You will find several alternatives for Calendly. The most common ones include Neo Bookings, Zoho Bookings, and HubSpot. You can use most of these tools and software for free. 

2. Does Google have any alternative for Calendly?

Google has a separate booking tool, which is the Google Calendar. Although it seems like Calendly and Google Calendar do the same work, their functionalities are entirely different. Calendly serves only the enterprises. Whereas Google Calendar is perfect for all individuals who just have basic scheduling needs.

3. Is Calendly actually a free tool?

Calendly does have a free version that you can use to schedule your meetings and other management purposes. However, you may have to choose its premium plans to enjoy some additional features for your enterprise. 

4. Is Calendly’s free version worth it?

The free version of Calendly works well for freelancers or solopreneurs. However, it may not work well for entrepreneurs or larger enterprises with more meeting schedule requirements. 

5. Does Calendly sell any kind of data?

No, Calendly does not compromise with any kind of user information. The platform never sells any personal data collected from its users.