Acuity Scheduling is a popular booking tool owned by Squarespace. If you're considering it for your business, here's exactly what it costs and what you get for the price.
TL;DR: Acuity Scheduling Pricing at a Glance
Acuity has three paid plans. There is no free plan. All plans include a 7-day free trial.
| Plan | Monthly | Annual (per month) | Annual (total) | Calendars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starter | $20 | $16 | $192/year | 1 |
| Standard | $34 | $27 | $324/year | Up to 6 |
| Premium | $61 | $49 | $588/year | Up to 36 |
Annual billing saves about 20%. If you know you'll stick with Acuity, paying yearly makes sense.
Now let's look at what each plan actually gives you.
Starter Plan: $16-$20/Month
The entry-level option for solo practitioners. You get one calendar with unlimited appointments, client self-scheduling, email reminders, payment processing (Stripe, Square, or PayPal), intake forms, and time zone detection.
What you don't get: SMS reminders, session packages, group scheduling, gift certificates, or team calendars. If you need any of those, you'll need to upgrade.
For a solo coach or consultant who just needs a booking link and payment collection, Starter handles the basics.
Standard Plan: $27-$34/Month
Acuity's most popular tier adds the features most coaches actually need: text message reminders, session packages and memberships, group scheduling, gift certificates, and up to 6 staff calendars.
Text reminders alone justify the upgrade for many users. SMS reminders significantly reduce no-shows compared to email-only notifications. If you're building a coaching practice, packages let you sell bundles of sessions for recurring revenue.
Premium Plan: $49-$61/Month
Built for larger teams and regulated industries. Premium adds up to 36 calendars, HIPAA compliance with a signed BAA, white-label branding (no Acuity logo), custom API and CSS access, and multi-location time zones.
Most solo creators and small teams won't need Premium. It's designed for therapy practices, medical offices, and coaching firms with large staff who need compliance or deep customization.
What Acuity Doesn't Include (Hidden Costs)
Here's where the real price becomes clear. Acuity is a scheduling tool. It does scheduling well. But if you run paid video sessions, scheduling is only one part of your setup.
Video calls. Acuity has no built-in video. It integrates with Zoom, Google Meet, and GoToMeeting, but you bring your own account. Zoom Pro costs $13/month on an annual plan. That pushes your base cost from $20 to at least $33/month.
Payment processing fees. Acuity connects to Stripe, Square, or PayPal. Stripe charges 2.9% + 30 cents per transaction. On a $100 session, that's $3.20 in fees, on top of your subscription.
Session recording. No built-in recording at any tier. Zoom Pro includes limited cloud storage, but heavy users fill it up fast.
AI summaries and notes. Acuity has zero AI features. Automated session summaries require a separate tool like Otter.ai ($17/month) or Fireflies.ai ($18/month).
For a detailed breakdown of every line item, see our complete Acuity Scheduling cost analysis.
What Acuity Really Costs for Video Sessions
Here's the stacked math for a coach or consultant running paid video sessions.
Minimum setup:
| Tool | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Acuity Starter | $20 |
| Zoom Pro (annual) | $13 |
| Total before fees | $33/month |
With AI notes and SMS:
| Tool | Monthly Cost |
|---|---|
| Acuity Standard | $34 |
| Zoom Pro | $13 |
| AI meeting notes | $17 |
| Total before fees | $64/month |
These are fixed monthly costs regardless of how many sessions you book. If your income is still variable, $33 to $64/month in subscriptions before earning anything is a steep starting point.
We break down cost comparisons at different revenue levels in our Acuity pricing deep dive.
Who Acuity Is Right For
Acuity is a genuinely good scheduling tool. It makes sense if:
- You're an established service business with steady revenue
- You need HIPAA compliance for healthcare (Premium plan)
- You have multiple staff members needing separate calendars
- You already use Squarespace and want native integration
- You only need scheduling and already have video, payments, and other tools sorted
For a side-by-side look at how Acuity stacks up against other booking tools, see our Calendly vs Acuity vs Talkspresso comparison.
Who Should Look at Alternatives
Acuity is harder to justify if:
- You're a creator, coach, or consultant who wants one tool for scheduling, video, and payments
- You're still building your client base and don't want fixed monthly costs
- You want built-in recording and AI session summaries without extra subscriptions
- You prefer to keep your tech stack simple
A Free Alternative for Paid Video Sessions
If you want scheduling, video, recording, and payments in one place without a monthly fee, Talkspresso takes a different approach.
Instead of a subscription, Talkspresso is free to use. You pay a 10% platform fee only when you earn. Here's what's included at no monthly cost:
- Built-in HD video. No Zoom account needed. Clients click one link and join.
- Automatic recording. Every session saved. No storage limits.
- AI session summaries. Both you and your client get key takeaways and action items after every call.
- Scheduling and payments. Self-service booking with integrated Stripe payments.
- Digital products. Turn recordings into products you can sell for passive income.
| Feature | Acuity Scheduling | Talkspresso |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | $16-$61/month | $0 |
| Platform fee | None | 10% on paid sessions |
| Built-in video | No | Yes |
| Session recording | No | Yes |
| AI summaries | No | Yes |
| SMS reminders | Standard+ ($27/mo) | Included |
| Group sessions | Standard+ ($27/mo) | Included |
| Digital products | No | Yes |
| Setup time | 30-60 min + Zoom | Under 15 minutes |
The math: if you earn $500/month in sessions, Talkspresso costs $50 in platform fees. Acuity's stack costs $33+ in subscriptions no matter what. The breakeven is around $400/month in revenue. Below that, Talkspresso costs less. Above that, Acuity's flat fee becomes cheaper per session.
But cost isn't everything. Managing one tool versus three or four saves time and reduces friction for you and your clients.
The Bottom Line
Acuity Scheduling costs $16 to $49/month with annual billing, or $20 to $61/month on a monthly plan. There's no free tier.
For scheduling alone, those prices are competitive. For anyone running paid video sessions, the real cost starts at $33/month once you add video conferencing, and climbs from there with AI tools and processing fees.
If you want to test the waters without monthly commitments, Talkspresso lets you set up a booking page with built-in video in under 15 minutes, and you don't pay until someone books a paid session.