Setmore vs. Calendly: A 2024 Scheduling Tool Comparison for Your Team

It’s time to do away with the tedious back-and-forth of scheduling meetings.

It’s 2024: your clients, team members, and leads shouldn’t have to wait around and jump through hoops simply to book a meeting with you. 

Thankfully, they don’t have to! 

There are plenty of scheduling tools on the market you can choose from to simplify booking meetings, but the tricky part is finding the right one for you. 

Today, we’ll examine two top contenders, Setmore vs. Calendly, in terms of uses, pricing, features, integrations, and customer reviews to help you find the perfect scheduling app for your needs. 

Setmore vs. Calendly: An overview of both tools

Introducing Setmore

Do you have an appointment-based business? Then it’s definitely worth getting to know Setmore! This user-friendly online scheduling tool makes it easy for clients to book and pay for services. 

With Setmore, you create booking pages tailored to your brand so customers can click and book available spots. The scheduling app integrates with many popular website builders, including WordPress, Squarespace, and Wix, letting you seamlessly incorporate scheduling onto your site.

Rory C., a small-business owner, shares: 

“This software gives my customers the ability to book my services online, pay for the appointment, get confirmation of the appointment, and get reminders before the appointment. Customers find it easy to use, it gives them the confidence that they are dealing with a company that is on the ball.”

Anjelica B. expands on her experience using Setmore: 

“Setmore guarantees flexibility and accessibility for both clients and clients' businesses with its mobile app and connectivity with well-known calendar services.” However, she adds, “One drawback is the absence of sophisticated customization possibilities, which might not be suitable for companies with intricate scheduling needs. Additionally, some users have mentioned that the software occasionally has bugs or speed problems.”

Setmore ratings

Presenting Calendly 

Looking for an adaptable, easy-to-learn scheduling solution? If so, Calendly may be the tool for you! With Calendly, you create booking pages based on your availability that allow people to book straight into your calendar.

With over 100 native integrations and many advanced features, it’s a go-to tool for many businesses looking to simplify scheduling for multiple teams.

As Courtney W., an eCommerce Coordinator at a small business, explains: 

“This is one of the most user-friendly scheduling platforms I have used. Our integration and set up were very smooth and didn't have any hiccups. Each member of the team, both seasoned + green, were able to quickly adapt to using this platform on a daily basis.” She adds, “We are seamlessly able to request and schedule meetings with colleagues, departments and clients.”

Steven L., a Marketing Assistant in Education Management, shares: 

“Calendly is the best because it's very customizable. You can change the colors, embed options, reminders and sync it with anything” but adds that it's also, “the most costly of the options out there. It's justified because it's really, really good, but still, you'll need to upgrade to the $20/mo range to really make it worth it. The free trial and the next tier up are just not really usable long-term.”

Ratings

Considering Calendly and other popular scheduling tools? We’ve done the legwork for you:

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• Calendly vs. Google Calendar

Setmore vs. Calendly: Ideal customers

Who is Setmore built for?

Setmore is very much tailored for service and appointment-based businesses. 

As Setmore themselves say, “It’s as much for hair stylists who need to schedule haircuts, as it is for handymen who need to schedule on-site home repair.” 

With features including a digital rolodex of customers, appointment reminders, and a tool for staff scheduling, Setmore offers a handy solution for B2C businesses such as tutoring centers, spas, gyms, and doctor’s offices, to name a few.

Who is Calendly for?

Calendly is a more versatile scheduling tool than Setmore, geared towards corporate teams in various industries and functions, including sales, marketing, customer success, recruiting, and IT.

Professionals can use it to book a myriad of meetings, from external client calls and candidate interviews to internal team chats and brainstorming sessions. With the impressive amount of native integrations, many different teams can easily plug Calendly into their existing workflow.

Setmore vs. Calendly: Top features

At their core, both Setmore and Calendly will streamline your scheduling process. Therefore, it’s no surprise that the two tools share a few standard, must-have booking features, including:

• Booking one-on-one, group, and recurring meetings
• iOS and Android apps
• Automatic confirmations, as well as SMS and email reminders
• Custom booking pages with unlimited appointments
• Option to add your branding and colors
• Ability to embed your booking page on your website
• Meeting analytics

However, aside from these features, the two tools head in separate directions. Let’s explore what makes each tool unique to help you choose the right one for your team!

Features and capabilities unique to Setmore

• Display reviews on booking pages to encourage new customers to sign up
• Customers can book multiple appointments at once 
• Ability to take bookings right on Instagram or Facebook
• Digital customer rolodex 
• Built-in staff scheduling tool

Setmore limitations

Setmore largely focuses on allowing businesses to book services, therefore it lacks features that would facilitate booking internal get-togethers, such as staff meetings or check-ins.

Features and capabilities unique to Calendly

• Meeting polls so that participants can vote on the best time to meet
• Round-robin scheduling
• Routing logic that lets you create forms to direct bookers to the correct pages
• Ability to connect up to six calendars per person
• Activity dashboard showing more advanced analytics 

Calendly limitations

As Calendly was created with corporate teams in mind, appointment-based businesses may find limitations in the capabilities, branding, and overall design of the booking pages.

Setmore vs. Calendly: Handy integrations

To put it bluntly—you need a tool that works well with the software you already use. Luckily for you, both Setmore and Calendly integrate with many popular apps, including:

• Calendars: Google and Microsoft 
• Video conferencing: Zoom and Google Meet
• Online payments: Stripe and PayPal
• Website builders: WordPress, Wix, and Squarespace
• CRMs: Hubspot, Zoho, Salesforce, Insightly, and Freshsales
• Other: Mailchimp, MailerLite, Constant Contact, Zapier, Slack, Google Analytics, Gmail, Intercom, and VideoAsk

Deep dive into Setmore’s integrations

Although featuring less native integrations than its competitor Calendly, Setmore still has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Setmore’s star integration is all about social media. The booking app’s convenient integration with Facebook and Instagram allows you to add a “Book Now” button to your profiles, allowing customers to book appointments without leaving their favorite apps.

Setmore’s second stand-out capability is how seamlessly it syncs with website builders. Setmore integrates with a few that Calendly doesn’t, such as Weebly, Joomla, Drupal, Muse, Shopify, and Square Online.

A few other valuable integrations unique to Setmore include Square, LawPay, Teleport, Zendesk, Reserve with Google, Google Tag Manager, Infusionsoft by Keap, AnswerConnect, QuickBooks, Freshdesk, Serviceminder, and Clio. 

Deep dive into Calendly’s integrations

Calendly comes out on top in most rankings when it comes to integrations: the scheduling software offers over 100. 

Calendly’s booking tool syncs with many popular apps that Setmore doesn’t, including fan-favorites such as iCloud Calendar, Microsoft Teams, Webex, Notion, Typeform, Jotform, Marketo, and Leadpages. 

While Setmore allows customers to book meetings without leaving Instagram or Facebook, Calendly offers a similar feature through LinkedIn Messenger. Calendy’s LinkedIn integration lets you book meetings with leads, customers, or candidates right in the chat. 

Calendly also features many team-specific integrations, such as JazzHR, Gem, and Greenhouse for recruitment teams and ActiveCampaign, Gong, Close, and Postal for sales teams.

Setmore vs. Calendly: Pricing

Setmore pricing and plans

Setmore’s plans (billed monthly) include:

• Free plan for up to 4 users with one booking page and unlimited appointments

• Pro plan ($12/user/month) for 1-2 users with customized notifications, white-label branding, and additional integrations

• Team plan ($9/user/month) similar to Pro plan, but for unlimited users and with HIPAA compliance

Setmore doesn’t offer a free trial. 

Calendly pricing and plans

Calendly’s plans (billed monthly) include:

• Free plan with basic scheduling features and one calendar connection
• Standard plan ($12/month/user) for small teams and individuals, with multiple calendar connections and different meeting types
• Teams plan ($20/month/user) for larger teams, featuring admin tools and round-robin scheduling
• Enterprise plan created for teams of 30 or more, providing advanced security, control, and support

Calendly offers a 14-day free trial of their Teams plan.

Setmore vs. Calendly: Customer experiences

Need some more advice from real users? Who doesn’t! 

Browse through a couple of reviews for both Setmore and Calendly to get a better feel for the pros and cons of each scheduling tool.

Setmore through customers’ eyes

Alex B. delves into her experience using Setmore:

Pierce D., a small business owner, explains how he uses Setmore in his business: 

Calendly through customers’ eyes

Melissa F., a Division Assistant in College and Career Readiness, shares a bit about her experience with Calendly:

Lisa P., a coach, explains how Calendly helps her in her everyday work: 

Final thoughts on Setmore vs. Calendly

Ultimately, your choice between Setmore vs. Calendly will depend on the type of business you run and your priorities. 

👉 If you have a B2C service-based business, Setmore will be your best bet. With advanced branding, reviews displayed right on the booking page, and staff scheduling features, Setmore allows you to collect and manage customer bookings easily.

👉 If you have a B2B-based business and your booking needs are more diverse, Calendly’s adaptable scheduling tool will better meet your requirements. Calendy’s updates and diverse features are tailored to many different types of meetings and industries, giving you more flexibility in scheduling.

Looking for the best of both worlds? Try YouCanBookMe

YouCanBookMe’s sole focus is to make it as easy as possible for your customers (whoever they may be) to book a meeting with you. 

Its standout feature lies in its complete customization. With YouCanBookMe, you can seize control of your schedule and customize every detail of the booking experience to suit your customers' preferences. From setting your availability and different meeting types and lengths to fine-tuning breaks, notifications, and branding—it's all up to you.

How does YouCanBookMe work?

Start by syncing your calendar and crafting a standout booking page that matches your brand and goals. Then, simply share your unique booking link across all platforms—be it your email signature, social media posts, website, or even printed materials with the convenience of a QR code.

Once your customers click your link, the entire booking process unfolds in just a matter of seconds!

And the cherry on top? Your meetings will be a breeze as everyone arrives well-prepared and on time, thanks to the seamless automation of confirmations, reminders, and follow-ups. 

Jason R., a technology consultant shares, “YouCanBookMe is the only option for me.” 

He adds: “While YCBM has many of the features that the competition has, it also has two key features that I could not find elsewhere:

1. Tentative bookings - allowing customers to *request* a booking that I can later confirm.
2. Customer-defined booking length - allowing customers to determine how much time they would like for their booking.

I also love how customizable the notification system is, using both email and SMS.”

Powerful scheduling meets affordable pricing

YouCanBookMe’s paid plans start for 25% less than both Setmore and Calendly, at only $9 per month. 🎉

Even at the lowest tier, you already get access to…

• Customizable confirmations, reminder emails and SMS, and follow-ups
• One-on-one and group scheduling
• Team member selection
• Payment collection
• Password-protected booking pages 
• Minimum and maximum notice period for bookings
• Custom colors and page footer

And that’s just the start of the list! 

YouCanBookMe additionally provides a more basic free forever plan and a free, 14-day trial of its paid plans, allowing you to test the tool out risk-free.

Ready to upgrade your scheduling experience?

You can't escape meetings but you can bid farewell to the monotonous tasks accompanying them. Say goodbye to sending endless back-and-forth messages, creating meeting links, following up post-meeting, and reminding people to attend.

With YouCanBookMe, it’s all handled for you. Try it out today to give your customers the hassle-free booking experience they truly deserve.

FAQs regarding Setmore vs. Calendly

Which is better: Calendly or Setmore?

Your choice between Setmore vs. Calendly will depend on your specific needs. If you have a B2C service- or appointment-based business, Setmore may be the tool for you. Its features, including tools for staff scheduling, reviews featured on booking pages, and advanced branding, are tailored for B2C businesses such as salons, spas, tutoring centers, and gyms. Calendly, on the other hand, is geared towards corporate teams in various industries, including sales, marketing, recruiting, and customer success. Its vast integrations allow many different types of teams to add the tool to their existing setup.

Why is Calendly so good?

Calendly stands out with its easy-to-use interface, numerous advanced features, and over 100 integrations. The scheduling tool is known for being adaptable to the needs of different industries, including sales, marketing, recruiting, customer success, and IT. 

What makes Calendly different?

Calendly offers more integrations (over 100) than its competitors, allowing you to seamlessly plug the tool into your existing workflow. It has a few unique features worth looking into, including meeting polls, routing logic, and an activity dashboard that provides advanced insights into your meetings. 

Is Calendly actually free?

Yes, Calendly offers a free plan with basic scheduling features, including one booking page to schedule unlimited appointments. If you need more advanced features, such as multiple calendar connections and different meeting types, you’ll have to upgrade to one of Calendly’s paid plans.