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Time management and scheduling are essential for freelancers and small businesses, especially since online consultations and Zoom calls have become common in this day and age. However, due to limited resources, scheduling and booking can be challenging for many entrepreneurs.

Fortunately, platforms such as Calendly offer software solutions that make scheduling and workflow management easy for small and medium enterprises. However, lack of personalisation features and issues with the user interface can be problematic for some users. Fortunately, many Calendly alternatives are available for small businesses to choose from.

(We mention the hidden gems 💎 on top of our list, to give them more exposure, over the already popular ones)



💎 HIDDEN GEMS


1. YouCanBook.Me

Handling over one million bookings a month, YouCanBook.me is an established player that offers features to help with scheduling, managing team availability and handling multiple bookings in different time zones.


Pros

✔️ Robust tools to manage scheduling and availability for large teams

✔️ Ample customization options for booking pages and notifications

✔️ Multiple booking pages and team members allowed in 1 account

✔️ Versatile features to communicate with customers


Cons

❌ User interface can be clunky and difficult to grasp intuitively

❌ Mobile app is not available


Pricing

💰 Free trial available for 14 days

💰 $10/calendar/month billed monthly


Best Known for

YouCanBook.me is best known for its team-driven workflow and scheduling features. Small businesses that have Sales, UX or Recruitment teams will find YouCanBook.me very useful.


2. SimplyBook.Me

SimplyBook.me offers a versatile online booking system that caters to ‘service-based businesses’. Along with booking services, SimplyBook.Me also offers web design, sales, marketing and client management features.


Pros

✔️ Versatile integration options that can even enable businesses to take bookings from social media sites such as Facebook and Instagram

✔️ Advanced payment features (gift cards and coupons can also be incorporated)

✔️ Versatile templates to develop booking websites and widgets

✔️ Advanced analytics available to monitor sales and business performance


Cons

❌ Customer support is lacking

❌ Lack of team-management and scheduling features


Pricing

💰 Free trial for 14 days

💰 Basic plan – $9.9/month

💰 Standard plan – $29.9/month

💰 Premium plan- $59.9/month


Best known for

The key strength of SimplyBook.me is that it provides industry-specific solutions and templates for service-based businesses. It tailors its products and services based on the business needs of its clients.


3. GoSchedule.io

One of the smaller players in the scheduling software space, GoSchedule.io nevertheless offers many handy features and is a great Calendly alternative. GoSchedule.io helps businesses with automated features for scheduling, booking-site development and CRM (Customer Relationship Management)


Pros

✔️ Dynamic pricing tools to help businesses charge different prices in different situations

✔️ Advanced analytics available to optimize business performance

✔️ Versatile CRM tools to analyse customer requirements and behaviours based on their scheduling

✔️ Automation features for daily tasks and reminders


Cons

❌ Lack of templates for booking sites

❌ User interface is clunky and prone to glitches


Pricing

💰 Solo plans ($9/month)

💰 Starter plan ($29/month)

💰 Professional plan ($49/month)

💰 Enterprise plan (custom pricing)


Best Known for

GoSchedule.io is best known for its automation features that make daily task reminders and CRM smoother and efficient.



🥇 TOP PERFORMERS


4. Timely

With an emphasis on beauty and wellness, Timely offers features that help with appointments, client management, sales and marketing and inventory management. Timely even offers hardware solutions for businesses that need it. This versatile range of offerings makes timely a unique player in the scheduling software space and a great alternative to Calendly


Pros

✔️ Versatile mobile app that gives the complete ‘point of sale’ experience to clients

✔️Robust client management features, powered through Timely’s website and consult app

✔️ Inventory management features to help businesses manage their supply chain

✔️ Streamlined user interface with smart color-coding features


Cons

❌ Lack of integration options compared to peers

❌ Only available in English


Pricing

💰 Solo plans at $15/Month

💰 2-7 staff plans at $30/month/2 staff

💰 8-20 staff plans at $200 per month

💰 Customised pricing for businesses with over 20 staff members


Best known for

Timely is best known for its versatile Android and iOS app that offers point-of-sales and client management features with a user interface that is intuitive and easy to use.


5. Chili Piper

Classifying itself as a ‘buyer enabler’, Chili Piper provides a novel platform to help convert inbound leads into sales through its scheduling and CRM features. Along with scheduling and booking, Chili Piper also provides automated software to manage in-person meetings at events.


Pros

✔️ Intelligent lead-routing and multiple calendar integrations to pre-book meetings

✔️ Automated features are prominent throughout the platform

✔️ Easy to integrate into existing SaaS platforms

✔️ Event features make it easy to convert leads at trade shows and conferences


Cons

❌ Lack of options to process payments

❌ Lack of analytics features


Pricing

💰 Basic plan- $37.5/user/month

💰 Concierge plan (scheduling only)- $37.5/user/month + $300 flat fee/month

💰 Concierge plan (scheduling + live calls)- $37.5/user/month + $525 flat fee/month

💰 Events plan – $60/user/month+ $500 flat fee per month.


Best known for

Chili Piper specialises in using automation to boost CRM capabilities through lead conversion, this is what makes it a unique player in the scheduling-software space.


6. X.ai

Taking automation to the next level, X.ai is a completely artificial-intelligence based scheduling and team management solutions provider. AI and Neural networks tend to reduce the scope for human error, hence making the scheduling process more efficient.


Pros

✔️ Ample customisation options for branded emails and custom calendar pages

✔️ In-depth analytics available in dashboard

✔️ Neural networks use data from past calendars to streamline the scheduling process

✔️ Email based scheduling makes it easy to book appointments from any device


Cons

❌ Payment options only limited to stripe

❌ User interface is not very smooth and streamlined


Pricing

💰 Free plan available,

💰 Individual plan – $10 per user per month

💰 Team plan- $15 per user per month


Best known for

Since artificial intelligence and neural networking is a huge park of x.ai, automation is one of its core strengths and it makes the platform very popular among many big corporates e.g. Disney, Nike and Coca Cola.


7. Genbook

Being one of the largest scheduling software providers, processing over one millions bookings a month, Genbook is an established player and a tough Calendly competitor that has been providing online scheduling, booking site and payments solutions since 2006.


Pros

✔️ Multipurpose calendar features that can be used from any device

✔️ Optimized booking features that help with last minute bookings and freed-up slots

✔️ Point of sale payment features to boost in-store sales

✔️ Versatile performance dashboard and analytics


Cons

❌ Lack of payment integration options

❌ Mobile app is not very user friendly


Pricing

💰 Solo plan- $29/month billed monthly

💰 Team plan (2-5 users) – $59/month billed monthly

💰 Company plan (6-12 users) – $99/month billed monthly


Best known for

Genbook is known for its superlative technical support and customer service, this is what makes them so popular amongst Saas providers.



🌟 RISING STARS


8. Zoom.ai

Similar to X.ai, Zoom.ai also uses artificial intelligence and neural networking to make scheduling and appointment management easy for businesses. Along with scheduling, they also offer sales, marketing and recruitment features to meet the needs of businesses of all sizes.


Pros

✔️ Thorough automation of meeting scheduling, CRM updates and document generation

✔️ Video conferencing features to help with remote meetings

✔️ CRM synchronization features help log meeting activity and view customer information

✔️ Versatile recruitment features to help with candidate research and interview preparation


Cons

❌ Lack of payment integration options

❌ Lack of analytics features


Pricing

💰 Basic plan – Free

💰 Professional plan – $15/month

💰 Team plan- $25/month/user


Best known for

Zoom.ai is best known for its video conferencing features and its use of artificial intelligence to schedule remote meetings


9. Setmore

Setmore offers a novel platform with solutions and features that are designed to be streamlined and easy to use. Setmore offers booking, appointment and online payment features through its desktop platform and its mobile apps.


Pros

✔️ Solutions and features are customized based on the industry-needs of the client

✔️ User interface and mobile app are lightweight and easy to use

✔️ Handy features to manage online reviews

✔️ Staff scheduling features to optimize workflow management


Cons

❌ Only Square and Stripe available for payments integrations

❌ Lack of analytics features


Pricing

💰 Free plan available

💰 Premium plan- $25/month up to 20 users

💰 Customised pricing for live booking plans


Best known for

Setmore specializes in providing industry specific solutions, hence its customized plans based on the needs of their clients makes it very unique. They are also known for their easy to use and streamlined mobile app.


10. Cogsworth

This Australian start up provides an all-in-one online scheduling and appointment booking tool to cater to businesses of all sizes. Along with booking and scheduling, Cogsworth also offers custom web design and payments solutions as well.


Pros

✔️ Custom integrations can be created with web-hooks and APIs

✔️ Flexible video conferencing features

✔️ Options for customised URLs and domain names

✔️ Multiple languages are offered on the platform


Cons

❌ Lack of features for lead conversion and funnelling

❌ Lack of analytics features


Pricing

💰 Solo plan- $9/month

💰 Upstart plan- $29/month

💰 Power plan- $69/month


Best known for

Cogsworth is best known for its flexibility when it comes to integrations. Through APIs and Webhooks, integrations can be customized into any platform.


11. Bookafy

Bookafy offers scheduling and booking tools at some of the most competitive prices in the scheduling software space. Team booking features and enterprise solutions are also offered by Bookafy.


Pros

✔️ Unique team scheduling features such as skill-based scheduling

✔️ Flexible scheduling features where lead times, appointment limits, start times and buffer times can be adjusted as per client requirements

✔️ Enterprise and individual solutions offered in multiple languages

✔️ Unlimited users can be added with Pro and Pro+ plan


Cons

❌ Back-end dashboard is not very streamlined

❌ Lack of options w.r.t payment methods


Pricing

💰 Free trial available

💰 Pro plan- $9/month

💰 Pro+ plan- $13/month

💰 Custom pricing for enterprise solutions

💰 Special discounts and deals are also available for non-profits and start-ups


Best known for

Bookafy is best known for being a value-for-money scheduling platform. Considering all the powerful features being offered on their platform, their prices are very competitive.


12. AppToto

AppToto provides scheduling and appointment booking software for business looking to reduce no-shows and increase recurring revenues. AppToto is a great alternative to Calendly and also provides businesses with campaign features to increase appointments with existing clients.


Pros

✔️ Sharp communication and reminder features to engage with clients

✔️ Campaign features to attract repeat customers

✔️ Industry specific customized solutions available

✔️ Multilingual messaging options are available


Cons

❌ Payment integrations have to be custom made

❌ Pricing on higher side compared to peers, given the features offered


Pricing

💰 Starter plan- $29/month

💰 Plus plan- $59/month

💰 Professional plan- $99/month

💰 Group plan- $249/month


Best known for

Apptoto is best known for its campaign features. These are versatile marketing tools which help boost business from repeat clients and reduce no-shows.


13. Sidekick AI

Sidekick uses smart AI to make scheduling and booking easier. Through its scheduling network, Sidekick makes appointment management swift and easy. A virtual assistant is also provided for every account.


Pros

✔️ Bookings can be made through Sidekick assistant via chat or email

✔️ Flexible features to manage availability

✔️ Auto-scheduling features help remove clutter

✔️ Robust group features to manage teams


Cons

❌ Limited integration options, there are many integrations that have to be custom made

❌ Lack of customisation options


Pricing

💰 Free trial available

💰 Premium account at $10/month

💰 Custom prices for enterprise solutions


Best known for

Sidekick is best known for its AI-based assistant feature, which makes swift and easy bookings through emails and chat.


Conclusion

Did you like the list? Have we missed something important? Let us know in the comments