Alternatives · US edition
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The most common reason to look beyond Acuity is that it has no free plan. Others want SMS reminders without paying for Standard, a more modern interface, or pricing in their own currency.
Prices checkedUSD as published
No (7-day free trial)Acuity Scheduling free plan
From $16 per month (annual billing)Acuity Scheduling entry price
10Alternatives compared
Free alternatives for service businesses
Closest to Acuity's features, with a free plan.
SimplyBook.me
A service-business booking tool with a free plan, SMS and WhatsApp reminders, point of sale and HIPAA features on Standard and above. Plans differ by bookings, providers and optional 'custom features'.
- Free plan
- Yes: 50 bookings a month, 1 provider
- Entry price
- From $11.90 per month (annual billing)
Setmore
Free for up to four users, with a per-user Pro plan that costs less on annual billing, and 24/7 human support as stated by Setmore. SMS reminders need Pro.
- Free plan
- Yes: up to 4 users
- Entry price
- From $5 per user/month (annual billing)
Square Appointments
Bookings with POS and no-show fees built in, for salons, barbers and other businesses that take card payments in person. We haven't captured US prices yet, so check Square's US page before you choose.
- Free plan
- Yes: 1 location, unlimited staff (UK)
- Entry price
- US prices for Square Appointments weren't captured in this research pass. Check squareup.com before you choose.
Zoho Bookings
Priced per staff member, with a free plan for one staff member, Zoho CRM integration and an EU data center option.
- Free plan
- Yes: 1 staff member, 1 event type
- Entry price
- From $6 per staff/month (annual billing)
For salons
If you want a marketplace or salon suite.
Fresha
Built for salons, barbers and spas, with a marketplace that can bring new clients. That marketplace charges 20% on new clients it sends you, and Fresha no longer has a free plan.
- Free plan
- No (7-day trial; Fresha used to be free)
- Entry price
- From $14.95 per bookable team member/month
Vagaro
Aimed at uS salons, spas and fitness businesses.
- Free plan
- No
- Entry price
- From $30 per month
Booksy
Aimed at barbers and beauty professionals.
- Free plan
- No (trial)
- Entry price
- Booksy's US prices weren't captured in this research pass.
For clinics
If you need clinical notes and billing.
Jane App
Aimed at allied health clinics: physio, chiropractic and therapy.
- Free plan
- No
- Entry price
- Jane's US prices weren't captured in this research pass.
For meetings rather than appointments
If you mostly book calls.
Calendly
A meeting scheduler with integrations for calendars, video, CRMs and payments. Its published plans don't include packages, intake forms or a point of sale, and it's priced per seat.
- Free plan
- Yes: 1 event type, 1 calendar
- Entry price
- From $10 per seat/month (annual billing)
Cal.com
An open-source meeting scheduler with a free plan (unlimited event types for one user), an API and a self-hosting option. It lists fewer service-business features such as POS or packages.
- Free plan
- Yes: 1 user, unlimited event types
- Entry price
- From $12 per user/month (annual billing)
Lower cost for 3 people than Acuity Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling costs $27 a month for 3 people on its cheapest published plan that fits. These alternatives cost less, in the same currency:
- SimplyBook.me: $11.90 a month (Basic)
- Setmore: $15 a month (Pro)
- Zoho Bookings: $18 a month (Basic)
All Acuity Scheduling alternatives side by side
| Tool | Aimed at | Free plan | Entry price | Cost for {STD_N} people* | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service businesses: coaches, therapists, salons and studios | No (7-day free trial) | From $16 per month (annual billing) | $27 Standard (6 calendars) | Review · Visit site | |
| Barbers and beauty professionals | No (trial) | Booksy's US prices weren't captured in this research pass. | Unknown | Visit site | |
| Tech-savvy teams, developers and anyone who wants open source or self-hosting | Yes: 1 user, unlimited event types | From $12 per user/month (annual billing) | $36 Teams | Review · Visit site | |
| Solo professionals, sales and recruiting teams booking meetings | Yes: 1 event type, 1 calendar | From $10 per seat/month (annual billing) | $30 Standard | Review · Visit site | |
| Salons, barbers and spas, especially in the UK | No (7-day trial; Fresha used to be free) | From $14.95 per bookable team member/month | Unknown | Review · Visit site | |
| Allied health clinics: physio, chiropractic and therapy | No | Jane's US prices weren't captured in this research pass. | Unknown | Visit site | |
| Budget-conscious small businesses and small teams | Yes: up to 4 users | From $5 per user/month (annual billing) | $15 Pro | Review · Visit site | |
| Service businesses such as salons, clinics, tutors and fitness; EU-friendly | Yes: 50 bookings a month, 1 provider | From $11.90 per month (annual billing) | $11.90 Basic | Review · Visit site | |
| Salons, barbers, spas and any business taking card payments | Yes: 1 location, unlimited staff (UK) | US prices for Square Appointments weren't captured in this research pass. Check squareup.com before you choose. | Unknown | Review · Visit site | |
| US salons, spas and fitness businesses | No | From $30 per month | Unknown | Visit site | |
| Budget small businesses and existing Zoho users | Yes: 1 staff member, 1 event type | From $6 per staff/month (annual billing) | $18 Basic | Review · Visit site |
* Cost for 3 people is our sum from published list prices: the cheapest published plan that covers 3 people a month, on annual billing where the vendor offers it. Unknown means a figure isn't published or we haven't captured it, so we don't estimate it. Flat-priced plans may cap staff or calendars. Try your own team size.
Features compared
| Tool | Free plan | Payments | SMS reminders | BAA or HIPAA features | Teams | AI features | Marketplace | Video calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Acuity Scheduling | No (7-day free trial) | Stripe, Square, PayPal | From Standard | Offers a BAA on Premium | Calendars by plan (1, 6, 36) | AI Booking Assistant (Premium) | No | Zoom |
| SimplyBook.me | Yes: 50 bookings a month, 1 provider | Stripe, PayPal; POS | SMS and WhatsApp | HIPAA features on Standard and above | Providers by plan | Not checked | No | Zoom |
| Setmore | Yes: up to 4 users | Square, Stripe, PayPal | Pro only | Not checked | Free for up to 4 users | Not checked | No | Zoom |
| Square Appointments | Yes: 1 location, unlimited staff (UK) | Square payments (built in) | Not checked | Not checked | Unlimited staff on Free (1 location) | Not checked | Reserve with Google | Not checked |
| Zoho Bookings | Yes: 1 staff member, 1 event type | Stripe, PayPal | Not checked | Not checked | Priced per staff member | Not checked | No | Zoom |
| Fresha | No (7-day trial; Fresha used to be free) | Own payments | Not checked | Not checked | Priced per bookable member | AI Concierge add-on | Fresha marketplace (20% new-client fee) | Not checked |
| Vagaro | No | Own payments | Not checked | Not checked | Priced per calendar | Not checked | Vagaro marketplace | Not checked |
| Booksy | No (trial) | Own payments | Not checked | Not checked | +£5 per extra staff (UK) | Not checked | Booksy marketplace (Boost optional) | Not checked |
| Jane App | No | Own payments | Not checked | Not checked | Per practitioner | Not checked | No | Built-in telehealth |
| Calendly | Yes: 1 event type, 1 calendar | Stripe, PayPal | Not checked | Not checked | Teams plan; routing | Notetaker and Callie AI (Plus plans) | No | Zoom, Teams, Meet |
| Cal.com | Yes: 1 user, unlimited event types | Stripe | Not checked | Not checked | Teams plan | Cal.ai phone agent | No | Zoom |
'Not checked' means our research didn't confirm the feature either way; it doesn't mean the tool lacks it. Features are from vendor pricing pages and documentation, checked November 2, 2026.
A BAA is required for HIPAA, but signing one doesn't make your practice compliant on its own; compliance depends on how you set up and use the tool.
Questions people ask
Why do people switch from Acuity Scheduling?
Others want SMS reminders without paying for Standard, a more modern interface, or pricing in their own currency.
Is there a free alternative to Acuity Scheduling?
Yes: SimplyBook.me (50 bookings a month, 1 provider), Setmore (up to 4 users), Square Appointments (1 location, unlimited staff (UK)), Zoho Bookings (1 staff member, 1 event type), Calendly (1 event type, 1 calendar), Cal.com (1 user, unlimited event types).
Related
- Calendly vs Acuity Scheduling
- SimplyBook.me vs Acuity Scheduling
- Compare all 21 tools: prices and feature matrix
- Prices compared
Read our Acuity Scheduling review.
Sources
Prices and features as recorded from each vendor's own pages (prices checked November 2, 2026; each source below shows its own check date). Prices change: check the vendor's page before you buy. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
- Acuity Scheduling: pricing page, checked . Prices in US dollars, before any sales tax, as published.
- Booksy: pricing page, checked . No published price captured for this site.
- Cal.com: pricing page, checked . Prices in US dollars, before any sales tax, as published.
- Calendly: pricing page, also calendly.com, checked . Prices in US dollars, before any sales tax, as published.
- Fresha: pricing page, also theaitill.com, checked . Prices in US dollars, before any sales tax, as published.
- Jane App: pricing page, checked . No published price captured for this site.
- Setmore: pricing page, also setmore.com, checked . Prices in US dollars, before any sales tax, as published.
- SimplyBook.me: pricing page, checked . Prices in US dollars, before any sales tax, as published.
- Square Appointments: pricing page, checked . No published price captured for this site.
- Vagaro: pricing page, checked . Prices in US dollars, before any sales tax, as published.
- Zoho Bookings: pricing page, checked . Prices in US dollars, before any sales tax, as published.