Calendly alternatives, free and paid: Cal.com, Zcal, SavvyCal, Microsoft Bookings and Atrix
Calendly's free plan allows one event type and one calendar. Free and paid alternatives with October 2026 prices: Cal.com, Zcal, SavvyCal, Bookings and Atrix.
On this page
- The limits of Calendly's free plan
- Comparison of Calendly alternatives
- Zcal: unlimited links without paying
- Cal.com: open source, hosted or on your server
- Microsoft Bookings: if you already pay for Microsoft 365
- SavvyCal: when you schedule with outsiders
- Atrix AI: booking links that feed the CRM
- What you would pay at 1, 3 and 5 people
- How to switch from Calendly in four steps
- FAQ
- Next step
- Sources
If Calendly's free plan has run out on you, there are four alternatives that make sense depending on what you are missing: Zcal if you want unlimited links for free, Cal.com if you prefer open source, Microsoft Bookings if you already pay for Microsoft 365, SavvyCal if you often schedule with people outside the company, and Atrix AI if you want every booking to land in a CRM and in the team's projects. Calendly remains the safe choice if you only need one link and everyone already knows it.
We schedule sales and client calls every week with a small team, and we went through Calendly, Cal.com and Bookings before settling on Atrix booking links. Prices in this post were checked on each vendor's page in October 2026 unless we say otherwise.
The limits of Calendly's free plan
In October 2026 Calendly's pricing page describes the free plan with two limits that matter: a single event type and a single calendar connection. Video, HubSpot, Mailchimp and Zapier integrations are unticked in the free column. In practice:
- If you offer a 15-minute call and a 45-minute one, you need a paid plan.
- If you have a work calendar and a personal one and want both to block your availability, you need a paid plan.
- If you want the link to create a contact in your CRM, you need a paid plan and the CRM separately.
Standard costs $10 per seat per month and Teams $16; the page shows "save 17%" and "save 20%" when switching to yearly without stating the exact yearly figure, so treat those amounts as monthly until confirmed. Enterprise starts at $15,000 a year with a 50-seat minimum.
Comparison of Calendly alternatives
Prices per user per month, October 2026.
| Tool | Free plan | First paid plan | Strong at | Weak at |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Calendly | 1 event type, 1 calendar | Standard $10 | Recognition, integrations | Very short free plan |
| Zcal | Unlimited links and calendars | Pro $7 | Generous free tier | Team features only on Business ($12) |
| Cal.com | 1 hosted user; self-hosted free | Teams: not verified on the vendor site | Open source, customisable | Hosting costs hours |
| Microsoft Bookings | Included in Microsoft 365 Business Basic | No separate price | Already paid for if you have M365 | Outlook only, rigid design |
| SavvyCal | Set up, not receive bookings | Basic $10 ($12 monthly) | Overlaying calendars with the invitee | No real free plan |
| Atrix AI | No, 7-day trial with card | Builder $39 flat for 5 seats | Booking tied to CRM and projects | Expensive if you only want scheduling |
Zcal: unlimited links without paying
Zcal is the most direct free alternative. Its Free Forever plan includes unlimited links and unlimited calendar accounts, which is exactly what Calendly does not give. Pro costs $7 per user per month and Business $12, both with a 14-day trial; SMS reminders, round-robin events and team features sit on the paid plans. If you are one person who needs three meeting types and two calendars, Zcal solves the problem at zero cost.
Cal.com: open source, hosted or on your server
Cal.com is the reference open-source scheduling project. You can use its hosted version or install it on your own server without paying a licence. We could not load its pricing page with our tools while writing this; the third-party guides we consulted put the hosted free plan at one user with unlimited event types and Teams at around $12 per user per month billed yearly, but confirm it on cal.com before calculating.
It fits technical teams who want full control: own domain, custom flows, API. It does not fit if nobody wants to maintain a server; "free" covers the software, not the hours.
Microsoft Bookings: if you already pay for Microsoft 365
Bookings is included in Microsoft 365 Business Basic and above, so for a company that already lives in Outlook and Teams the marginal cost is zero. It creates booking pages per service, assigns staff and writes to Outlook calendars. We could not load Microsoft's pricing page to confirm the Business Basic amount in October 2026; check it for your country.
Its limits: it only works with Microsoft calendars, the page design is rigid, and there is no calendar overlay with the invitee or advanced routing. For client appointments at a clinic or an advisory firm already on M365, it is enough.
SavvyCal: when you schedule with outsiders
SavvyCal stands out for one idea: the invitee overlays their own calendar on yours and sees at a glance where you overlap. Basic costs $12 per user per month ($10 billed yearly) and Premium $20 ($17). There is a free tier for setting up links and using meeting polls, but receiving bookings requires a paid plan, so it is not a free alternative.
It fits consultants and founders who schedule many external meetings and want the other side not to open two tabs.
Atrix AI: booking links that feed the CRM
Atrix AI is not a scheduling tool; it is a workspace with a calendar included. Public booking links sync with Google Calendar and Outlook, and when someone books, the contact lands in the five-stage CRM, the event in the team calendar and the follow-up in projects. The same price includes projects with cycles, pages with co-editing, chat, hiring, HR and an AI agent.
Limits, plainly: there is no free plan and the 7-day trial asks for a card; Builder costs $39 a month for 5 seats and Studio $149 for 15, which is expensive if all you want is a booking link; there is no round robin or meeting polls; and Android is in testing. It makes sense for teams of 2 to 15 that already pay for a CRM and a project tool separately and want the booking to be the first step of a pipeline rather than a loose event.
What you would pay at 1, 3 and 5 people
Monthly, October 2026. Calendly and SavvyCal on the first paid plan at the monthly price the page shows.
| People | Calendly Standard | Zcal Pro | SavvyCal Basic | Atrix AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | $10 | $7 (or $0 on Free) | $12 | $39 (Builder) |
| 3 | $30 | $21 | $36 | $39 (Builder) |
| 5 | $50 | $35 | $60 | $39 (Builder) |
For one person, free Zcal wins and Atrix makes no sense. At five, Atrix costs less than Calendly Standard and includes the CRM and projects where every booking will end up. Cal.com and Bookings are left out of the table because we could not verify their amounts on the vendor's site.
How to switch from Calendly in four steps
- List your event types with duration, buffer and form questions. That is all you need to recreate.
- Connect the calendar in the new tool and check that existing events block availability.
- Update the link in your email signature, website and profiles. Keep the Calendly one live for two weeks with a redirect note.
- Test a real booking from a phone and from another email domain before cancelling.
FAQ
What is the best free alternative to Calendly?
Zcal, for its unlimited links and calendars on the free plan. Hosted Cal.com has a free plan for one user, according to third-party guides. Microsoft Bookings is free if you already have Microsoft 365 Business Basic. Atrix has no free plan.
How many event types does Calendly allow for free?
One, with a single calendar connection, according to Calendly's pricing page in October 2026. For more types you need Standard, at $10 per seat per month.
Is Cal.com better than Calendly?
It is better if you want open source, your own domain and deep customisation. Calendly is better if you want it to work without configuring anything and for invitees to recognise the interface. Hosted pricing is similar; confirm it on cal.com.
Which Calendly alternative integrates with a CRM?
Calendly Standard and Teams integrate with HubSpot and other external CRMs. Atrix includes the CRM: the booking creates the contact without an integration. Zoho Bigin also includes a booking page with its CRM.
Can I use Microsoft Bookings without Microsoft 365?
No. Bookings is a feature of Microsoft 365 Business Basic and above, not a separate product.
Next step
The Atrix vs Calendly comparison shows links, sync and CRM side by side, and the list of Calendly alternatives adds more options. To understand the full flow, read how booking links with a CRM work.
Sources
Prices checked in October 2026: Calendly, Zcal, SavvyCal, Atrix AI. The Cal.com and Microsoft 365 pricing pages could not be loaded with our tools; check them directly.