We’ve all been there. You’re knee-deep in work, and then the emails start rolling in: “Are you free at 2:00 PM? No? How about Thursday at 11:00?” Before you know it, you’ve spent half your day coordinating calendars!
There’s a better way.
Automated scheduling tools can handle all the back-and-forth for you, freeing up your time and keeping your calendar running like a well-oiled machine.
Whether you’re a small business owner, freelancer, or managing a growing team, this guide will show you why these apps are worth every penny—and which ones are the best for the job.
Automated scheduling is basically letting software handle your calendar for you.
Instead of wasting time coordinating meetings or managing to-do lists manually, these tools do it for you, leaving you more time to focus on deep, meaningful work. Think of it as having a personal scheduling assistant that works 24/7!
Managing your schedule doesn’t have to be a time-consuming headache. Automated scheduling apps help you:
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Best for sales teams |
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YouCanBookMe (YCBM) |
Motion |
Chili Piper |
YCBM is the most customizable and user-friendly tool to automate your schedule and manage meetings. | Motion helps you stay on top of your tasks and schedule by using AI to optimize your calendar. | Chili Piper streamlines scheduling for sales teams, letting leads book meetings instantly. |
Choosing the right automated scheduling app can feel overwhelming, but it doesn’t have to be. We’ve broken down the key factors you should consider when evaluating the options to help you find your perfect fit.
6 Best Automated Scheduling Apps |
1. YouCanBookMe (YCBM)—Best overallA highly customizable and user-friendly scheduling app that simplifies booking and automates notifications to eliminate no-shows and double bookings.Read more about YouCanBookMe |
2. Motion—Best for managing tasksAn AI-powered tool that creates a personalized daily schedule, great for managing tasks and staying organized without manual planning. |
3. Clockwise—Best for scheduling focused timeA smart automated scheduling app that optimizes your calendar, automatically blocks focus time, and minimizes disruptions to help you stay productive. Read more about Clockwise |
4. Reclaim.ai—Best AI scheduling assistantAn AI scheduling assistant that reorganizes your calendar around your priorities, making it easier to balance meetings, habits, and focused work. Read more about Reclaim.ai |
5. Homebase—Best for employee schedulingA handy automated tool for employee scheduling, with features like availability tracking, shift swaps, and payroll integrations to streamline team management. Read more about Homebase |
6. Chili Piper—Best for sales teamsA sales-focused scheduling platform that lets prospects quickly book meetings while integrating lead qualification, routing, and calendar automation. Read more about Chili Piper |
If you’re on the hunt for an automated scheduling app that’s as customizable as it is user-friendly, YouCanBookMe (YCBM) is a fantastic choice! With just a few clicks, customers, clients, or team members can schedule meetings with you via an easy-to-use booking page.
Getting started is simple: create your booking page, set your availability, and let the app handle the rest. YouCanBookMe syncs directly with your existing calendars to avoid double bookings and scheduling conflicts.
On top of that, it automates notifications—including confirmations, reminders, and follow-ups—ensuring your bookers stay in the loop while reducing no-shows.
YouCanBookMe proves to be an invaluable tool for streamlining client appointments. Its standout feature is the seamless booking process that allows clients to schedule sessions without the need for direct communication, while simultaneously notifying me via text message immediately after a booking is made. The platform is user-friendly, and the support team provides excellent assistance during the account setup process.”
- Laura B., Small Business Center Director
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“The booking form is very unique to YouCanBookMe. And it's something that I absolutely love because it helps you prepare for meetings.” - Romana Siracusa, Fractional CMO and Marketing Coach
“I like the ease of use, like how easy it is to collect payments with YouCanBookMe. The email reminders, the form—the combination of all of this is why I use YouCanBookMe and why I recommend it to everyone,” she adds.
YouCanBookMe offers free automated scheduling software as well as three paid plans.
Your choice will depend on the number of calendars and booking pages you need! All paid plans come with a free, two-week trial (no credit card required).
If your priority is scheduling tasks rather than booking meetings, give Motion a try. It’s a solid choice for people who are juggling multiple priorities and need a clear, organized plan for their time.
Motion uses AI to build you a personalized, optimized schedule every day, without you having to do any manual planning. Plus, the app lets you create meeting booking pages to help you schedule calls at ideal times.
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I use Motion for personal task management both in work and in my personal life. If I ever need to remember to do something, I can jot it down really quickly with a due date and priority and know that I don't have to remember it—Motion will handle the scheduling for me. I use it for planning my work day in the morning and for remembering personal chores, errands, and tasks, such as bills, etc.”
- Nick G., Product Manager
Motion offers three paid plans tailored to your team size: Individual, Business Standard, and Business Pro.
Unlike YouCanBookMe, Motion does not offer a free automated scheduling plan. However, you can still test the tool out for free during a 7-day trial!
If you need to protect your time for deep work amidst a busy schedule, consider Clockwise. By optimizing your calendar and automating meeting scheduling, the app ensures you have uninterrupted blocks of time to tackle your most important tasks.
Clockwise helps you stay productive by automatically blocking focus time and scheduling meetings at the most convenient times for everyone. It analyzes your calendar to identify meeting slots that minimize disruptions, ensuring you can collaborate effectively while protecting your workflow and avoiding burnout.
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It builds in the focus time that I need, but that I find too cumbersome for me to consistently put in place myself. I like that the AI scheduler responds to changes in my calendar even before I do. I've found that it's positively impacted my productivity, and made my colleagues more sensitive when it comes to booking over pre-allocated time in my calendar too.”
- Lebogang M., Research Analyst
Clockwise offers a free automated scheduling plan and three paid tiers: Teams, Business, and Enterprise.
You can test out the Teams plan during a free, 30-day trial.
Looking for a smarter way to organize your time? Reclaim’s AI scheduling assistant can help! Reclaim will take control of your calendar, reorganizing it to better fit your life and schedule.
Reclaim works really well with Google Calendar, essentially creating a smart scheduling layer that helps you find ideal times for your daily habits, meetings, and focused work. Its ability to adjust your schedule in real-time makes it handy for anyone who wants their calendar to adapt to their priorities, not the other way around.
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I like that Reclaim uses AI to help me organize my time, tasks, hobbies, and meetings. It hooks up with my Google Calendar and allows me to set priorities for all the things that I need to do in order for me to best manage my time.”
- Reagan O., Student Pastor
Reclaim offers a free AI scheduler and three paid plans starting at $8/seat/month.
You can take Reclaim for a test drive during a free, 14-day trial.
If you’re looking for a tool to schedule your employees’ shifts, rather than your own tasks and meetings, check out Homebase. This automated scheduling app takes the stress out of employee scheduling with its intuitive interface and useful features like availability tracking, time-off requests, and labor cost forecasting.
Employees can check their schedules, swap shifts, and clock in and out using the mobile app. Plus, with built-in payroll integrations, Homebase doesn’t just help you schedule your team, but manage them as well!
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I like to open up the app and see a full daily view of everyone working, their shifts, department. The layout of the schedule makes it easier to view and see if any extra time is available to work. You can send messages right there in the app, request time off, swap shifts if allowed, it calculates your pay after every shift so you know an estimate of what your check will be at the end of the week.”
- Tammy C., Quality Control CSR
Choose between the free plan and three paid plans: Essentials, Plus, and All-in-One. Some features, like Payroll and Tip Manager, will cost you extra.
Homebase offers a free, 14-day trial of its All-in-One plan.
If you’re a sales team looking to up your scheduling game, Chili Piper might be the right tool for you. By integrating directly with your CRM, Chili Piper allows prospects to book meetings instantly from web forms, emails, and landing pages, getting rid of friction in the sales process.
Chili Piper essentially combines scheduling with demand conversion—it’s a full platform for lead qualification, routing, calendar automation, and meeting management.
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The best thing about Chili Piper is how it streamlines and automates the sales process, making it easier for teams to connect with potential customers and schedule meetings. The tool integrates with various CRM platforms, which helps to keep all sales activities organized and in one place.”
- David M., Digital Marketer
Chili Piper has a pretty complicated pricing structure, complete with platform fees and different plans depending on whether you use Salesforce or HubSpot CRM.
If you’re only interested in the scheduling features, Chili Piper also has a separate ChiliCal plan for $15/user/month. Unfortunately, Chili Piper doesn’t offer a free plan or a free trial.
Automated scheduling apps are a lifesaver for business owners looking to save time and stay organized. Whether you’re managing client appointments, team schedules, or your personal to-do list, there’s a tool out there that’s perfect for you!
Ready to let your calendar run itself? Try YouCanBookMe for free (no credit card needed) to see just how effortless scheduling can be. 🎉