TidyCal vs. Calendly: Which One Takes the Scheduling Crown?

Life is full of hard choices, but picking a scheduling tool shouldn’t be one of them. We’re here to make it as easy as we can!

Today we have two contenders vying for your attention: TidyCal and Calendly. 

We’ll compare both in terms of ideal customers, features, integrations, pricing, and customer experience to help you confidently make the right decision. 

So, what is the difference between Calendly and TidyCal? And which tool should you choose? Let’s find out!

Zoom Scheduler vs. Calendly: A glance at both scheduling apps

What does TidyCal do? 

TidyCal is an affordable online scheduling tool created for individuals and solopreneurs. It’s at once similar and totally different from most popular scheduling apps. 

In basic function, it works similarly to Calendly—you connect a calendar, create a booking page, and then share that link with whoever you need to meet with. The invitee can select a time on your page that suits their schedule. 

In cost, it’s completely different from other schedulers—and SaaS products in general, come to think of it—as TidyCal offers lifetime access to their paid plan for one flat fee of $29. 

Editor and book coach Nicole B. shares a bit about TidyCal’s pros and cons:

Ratings*

What does Calendly do?

Calendly is essentially one of the OG scheduling tools—it’s been around since 2013! They’ve had loads of time to add lots of features and integrations (over 100), and up the price, especially when compared to TidyCal.  

Overall, Calendly is a powerful tool, with a handy arsenal of step-by-step tutorials and videos to guide you through it. Despite its complexity, it’s known for being user-friendly. 

At its core, Calendly works similarly to TidyCal—you create a scheduling link and send it to your guests so they can quickly book a time to chat.

Colette A., a director of a small business, tells us about her experience using Calendly:

Another Calendly user expands on their experience using the tool:

Ratings

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TidyCal vs. Calendly: Target customers

Who is TidyCal for?

TidyCal’s target demographic fits into two camps: individual users and people who are more price sensitive.

In a nutshell—TidyCal is an affordable scheduling tool that gets the job done, but it doesn’t have any team settings, or a ton of integrations or advanced features. 

So if it’s just you, and you can do without complex scheduling workflows, then TidyCal might be the tool for you!

Who is Calendly for?

Calendly is built for teams and enterprise businesses looking to streamline scheduling on a greater scale. It offers extensive features and over 100 native integrations, making it easy for teams to fit Calendly into their existing tech stack. 

Although Calendly offers a free option, you won’t get access to advanced features without choosing one of the subscription plans, making it the pricier option of the two.

But if you are willing to spend the money to access those features and align scheduling for your entire team, then Calendly may be right for you!

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TidyCal vs. Calendly: Key features

TidyCal and Calendly overlap on many handy booking features that’ll help you manage your day-to-day schedule, including:

• Booking pages
• Custom availability
• Embedding the scheduler on your website
• Meeting polls (so people can vote on when to meet)
• One-on-one, group, and recurring bookings
• Automated confirmations and custom email reminders
• Unlimited bookings
• Different appointment types 
• Paid bookings
• Autogenerated video chat links 
• Buffer time between meetings
• Editable booking forms
• Redirecting to any URL after booking
• Minimum notice period for bookings
• Maximum number of bookings
• Allowing bookers to invite guests to meetings

Tidy Cal’s unique features

• Provides booking pages in over 30 languages, while Calendly offers only seven
• Allows attendees to book more than one meeting at the same time

TidyCal’s main limitations

TidyCal doesn’t offer any team scheduling settings, so if you work closely with others, it’s probably not the tool for you. Additionally, it includes less features than most other scheduling apps on the market.

Calendly’s unique features

Calendly offers a lot more features than TidyCal, especially as it pertains to team features. Here are a few that might pique your interest:

• Analytics—get booking data to analyze trends and activity to optimize your scheduling

• Team settings—including round-robin scheduling, routing forms that connect prospects with the right team member, and different admin access for members all under one account
• Automated follow-up messages—these can come in handy for checking in post-meeting, asking for reviews, or encouraging attendees to book with you again
• Mobile app—you’ll get a dedicated app for managing your schedule on the go

Calendly’s main limitations 

Calendly’s main limitation is the price. If you want access to all its fancy features, the price tag can get expensive, especially for large teams.  

TidyCal vs. Calendly: Integrations

The two meeting schedulers share a few useful integrations 👇

• Video chat tools—Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams
• Calendars—Outlook and Google Calendar
• Payments—PayPal and Stripe
• Other—Zapier

A closer look at TidyCal’s integrations

There is only one integration that TidyCal offers which Calendly doesn’t, but it’s a pretty important one—iCloud Calendar. Calendly used to support iCloud, but as of August 20, 2024, it will no longer allow new integrations with Apple’s calendar.

A closer look at Calendly’s integrations

Calendly is known for its wide selection of integrations, letting you connect the scheduling app to over 100 external tools, including:

• Video chat tools—MS Teams, GoToMeeting, Google Meet, Webex, and Join.Me
• CRMS—HubSpot, Salesforce, Zoho, Gong, and ActiveCampaign
• Payments—PayPal, Stripe, and Stax Payments
• Other—Zapier, Notion, Slack, Google Analytics, and MailChimp

TidyCal vs. Calendly: Cost 

TidyCal pricing and plans 

TidyCal’s plans include:

• Free plan with basic features and one calendar connection
• Lifetime plan with all features for one user and 10 calendar connections

And that’s it! The choice is pretty simple. Keep in mind that TidyCal doesn’t offer a free trial.

Calendly pricing and plans 

Calendly’s plans (billed annually) include: 

• Free plan with basic scheduling features and one calendar connection
• Standard plan for small teams and solopreneurs with more advanced features and six calendar connections

• Teams plan with additional features to ease scheduling between teams
• Enterprise designed for teams of 30+ who need more robust security, control, and support

Calendly offers a 14-day free trial of the Standard plan to let you test it out.

TidyCal vs. Calendly: Customer feedback

In the final round of Calendly vs. TidyCal, let’s turn it back to those who know the tools best—everyday users.

Check out the reviews below for a closer look at the strengths and weaknesses of both apps. 👇

TidyCal reviews

Here’s what small business owner Rebecca M. has to say about TidyCal:

Valerie M., Director of Marketing Strategy and Client Relations, shares her take on TidyCal:

Calendly reviews

Freelance designer Elizabeth M. dives into her experience with the booking app:

Product Owner Sandeep K. gives his insights on Calendly:

Listening to your users always pays off

4.7 out of 5 stars — Read all G2 reviews here

Closing time 🍻 Final thoughts on TidyCal vs. Calendly

Choose TidyCal if 👉 you’re a solopreneur who wants to save money and doesn’t need their scheduling tool to have all the bells and whistles. With a one-time payment for lifetime access, TidyCal is an affordable option that covers all the basic scheduling features you’ll need. 

Choose Calendly if 👉 you're working with a team or need advanced scheduling features that go beyond the basics. It’s perfect for those who can spend a little more on a versatile and integration-rich solution that’ll keep their team’s scheduling running smoothly.

Still torn between TidyCal and Calendly? Try YouCanBookMe

You may be wondering, is there a better app than Calendly and TidyCal? In our super humble opinion, there is! 

Meet YouCanBookMe—the fully-customizable booking app your clients will love. But, you don't even have to take out word for it. See how customers rave about YouCanBookMe vs. Calendly on review sites like Trustpilot: 

With YouCanBookMe, you can customize every aspect of the booking process to perfectly fit your needs. From controlling your calendar and setting meeting types to managing breaks, sending notifications, and showcasing your brand—you’ve got it all covered in one place.

You can even password-protect your booking page, offer request-only bookings, or choose from 44 languages—more than both TidyCal and Calendly. 

Customization is actually one of the things Jennifer S., a YouCanBookMe user since 2014, loves most about the our tool:

How does YouCanBookMe work?

First, connect your calendar and create your custom booking page. Then, share your scheduling link wherever your customers find you—whether it’s in your email signature, social media, your website, or even on printed materials via a QR code.

Once someone clicks your link, they can book a meeting in just a few seconds! And don’t worry about compatibility—YouCanBookMe integrates seamlessly with Google Calendar, Zoom, Google Meet, Stripe, MS Teams, Outlook, and thousands more through Zapier.

Powerful scheduling with affordable pricing

If you’re looking for a powerful scheduler that won’t break the bank, YouCanBookMe is your perfect match. 

Even the most affordable paid plan lets you:

• Set minimum and maximum notice periods for meetings
• Take payments via Apple Pay, Google Pay, and credit card
• Embed your booking page on your website
• Personalize your page with your photo, logo, and brand colors
• Add buffer times between meetings
• Send email and SMS confirmations and reminders

And that’s just to name a few! Plus, you can try YouCanBookMe risk-free with a free 14-day trial (no credit card required). 

Looking for a stress-free scheduling experience? 

YouCanBookMe turns tedious tasks into quick, easy and fully-customizable bookings. Leave all the scheduling worries to us, and spend your time on what really matters.

Try YouCanBookMe today and enjoy the freedom of a spic, span, and seamless schedule. 💃