Cal.com
Cal.com is an open-source scheduling platform that has grown significantly since its launch. If Calendly is the polished commercial option, Cal.com is the flexible, developer-friendly alternative.
Where it wins:
The free plan is genuinely useful. You get unlimited event types, calendar connections, and basic scheduling features at no cost. There is no artificial limitation to push you onto a paid tier the way Calendly does with payment collection.
Self-hosting is available if you want complete control over your data. For consultants in privacy-sensitive fields (legal, finance, healthcare), the ability to run your own instance is a meaningful option.
The routing forms feature (available on paid plans) is one of the best in class. You can ask clients qualifying questions before booking and route them to different event types based on their answers. This is useful for consultants who offer tiered services at different price points.
Where it falls short:
Payment collection is not native. You need to connect Stripe through a Cal.com integration, and it is not as smooth as the native payment flows in Acuity or Talkspresso. Packages, bundles, and promo codes are not available.
Video requires Zoom, Google Meet, or another integration. There is no built-in video, recording, or AI summaries.
The UI is more technical than Calendly or Acuity. For consultants who are not developers, the setup process can feel more involved than necessary.
Pricing: Free (individual), $15/month (Teams, per user), enterprise pricing available. Self-hosted is free.
Best for: Developers, technical consultants, and privacy-focused practitioners who want flexibility and open-source infrastructure. Less ideal for consultants who want a turnkey setup.
TidyCal
TidyCal is the budget-friendly option in this comparison. It is a simple scheduling tool that focuses on affordability over feature depth.
Where it wins:
The lifetime deal is $19 as of early 2026. Pay once, use forever. For a solo consultant who wants a basic booking page without a recurring subscription, TidyCal is the lowest total cost option in this list.
The interface is clean and fast. Clients can book in a few clicks. Group bookings are supported, and the embeddable widget works well on a personal website.
Stripe integration is available for payment collection. It is not as smooth as Acuity's native payment flow, but it works.
Where it falls short:
TidyCal is a minimal tool. There are no packages, no intake forms beyond the basics, no client CRM, and no session history. It is not designed for a serious consulting practice. It is designed for someone who needs a simple booking link and is not ready to invest in a full scheduling platform.
No built-in video. No recording. No AI summaries.
Pricing: $19 lifetime (currently available), or $10/month on monthly billing.
Best for: Freelancers and early-stage consultants who want the cheapest possible booking link with basic payment support. Not a long-term solution as your practice grows.
YouCanBook.me
YouCanBook.me (YCBM) is a scheduling tool that focuses on customization and flexibility in the booking form itself. It has been around since 2011 and has a loyal following among small business owners.
Where it wins:
Booking form customization is the standout feature. You can customize the booking page extensively: add custom fields, change colors and fonts, add redirect URLs after booking, and control the exact messages clients see at each step. For consultants with a strong brand, YCBM offers more visual customization than Calendly.
The free plan allows one booking page per connected calendar. For a solo consultant with one primary service, that is enough to get started at no cost.
The Zapier integration is robust. You can automate follow-up emails, add clients to a CRM, trigger notifications, and connect to hundreds of other tools.
Where it falls short:
Payment collection is not native. YCBM integrates with payment processors through third-party connections, but it is not as seamless as Acuity's built-in payment flow.
Pricing scales per calendar. At $10 to $12 per month per calendar, costs can add up if you offer multiple service types with separate availability windows.
No built-in video, recording, or AI features. Like the other scheduling-only tools, you need Zoom and a note-taking tool on top.
Pricing: Free (1 booking page), $10.80/month (paid, per connected calendar).
Best for: Consultants who want highly customized booking forms and strong Zapier automation. Less ideal for those who want a simple, turnkey experience.
Talkspresso
Talkspresso is a different kind of tool. It is not a scheduling platform that added payments. It is a paid session platform built specifically for people who charge for their time.
The core premise: consultants, coaches, and creators should have one tool that handles everything from the booking page to the post-session follow-up, without stitching together Calendly plus Zoom plus Stripe plus a CRM.
What is included at no monthly cost:
Every Talkspresso account includes a professional booking page with your bio, photo, service listings, and client testimonials. Clients browse your services and book directly. No Squarespace or separate website needed, though you can embed your booking widget anywhere.
HD video is built in. When a client books, they receive a Talkspresso link. The session happens directly on the platform. No Zoom download, no separate link to manage, no extra cost.
Every session is automatically recorded and transcribed. After the call, both you and your client receive an AI-generated summary with key takeaways and action items. This happens automatically, with no extra setup and no additional tools.
Payment collection is available on every account. Set your price, and clients pay at booking via Stripe. You can create session packages, offer promo codes, and set up complimentary sessions for discovery calls. The platform fee is 10% on paid bookings plus Stripe processing.
The client CRM is where Talkspresso pulls ahead of every scheduling tool. Each client has a profile with their full booking history, past session recordings and AI summaries, intake responses, and notes. Before a returning client's session, you can review what you discussed last time in 30 seconds. This is not possible in any scheduling-only tool.
Group sessions and workshops are also supported. You can host a paid workshop for up to 500 attendees with registration, payment, and video all on one platform.
Digital products (PDFs, guides, templates, recordings) can be sold alongside live sessions. Your booking page becomes a storefront for everything you offer.
Where it falls short:
The 10% transaction fee is the main trade-off. At high session volume ($5,000+ per month), Acuity's flat subscription becomes cheaper than Talkspresso's percentage fee.
Calendar sync is currently Google Calendar only. Consultants who use Outlook or iCloud need to check their calendar manually for conflicts or use a workaround. (See our full Google Calendar booking system integration guide for setup steps and troubleshooting.)
Third-party integrations are limited compared to Calendly. No Zapier, no HubSpot, no Salesforce. If you rely on automated CRM syncing, you will need a workaround.
Pricing: $0 per month. 10% platform fee on paid bookings plus Stripe processing (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction). Everything included.
Best for: Consultants, coaches, and creators who want one platform that handles scheduling, payments, HD video, recording, AI summaries, client management, and digital product sales. The best option for anyone building a paid session business from the ground up.
Full Feature Comparison
| Feature | Calendly | Acuity | Cal.com | TidyCal | YouCanBook.me | Talkspresso |
|---|
| Free plan | Yes | No (7-day trial) | Yes | $19 lifetime | Yes (1 page) | Yes |
| Monthly cost | $0-$16 | $20-$61 | $0-$15 | $10 or $19 lifetime | $0-$12 |
The Cost Question: What Do You Actually Pay?
The sticker price of a scheduling tool rarely reflects the total cost of running a paid consulting practice. To compare fairly, you need to include every tool in the stack.
A typical consultant using Calendly needs:
- Calendly Teams (for payment collection): $16/month
- Zoom Pro (for video and recording): $13.33/month
- AI notes tool like Otter.ai or Fireflies: $10-17/month
Total: $39 to $46 per month before earning anything.
A consultant using Acuity needs:
- Acuity Emerging (for payment collection): $20/month
- Zoom Pro: $13.33/month
- AI notes tool: $10-17/month
Total: $43 to $50 per month.
A consultant using Talkspresso needs:
- Talkspresso: $0/month
- Transaction fee: 10% of revenue
- Stripe processing: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
Total fixed cost: $0. Variable cost kicks in only when you earn.
At $1,000/month in session revenue, Talkspresso costs roughly $100 in fees ($10 + 10% is approximate, actual depends on session count and pricing). Calendly and Acuity cost $39 to $50 regardless of whether you earned anything.
At $5,000/month, Talkspresso fees are roughly $500. Calendly or Acuity are still $39 to $50 in fixed costs but nothing on revenue.
Breakeven Point
For a consultant comparing Talkspresso to Calendly at $16/month (Teams), the breakeven is around $1,600/month in paid session revenue. Below that, Talkspresso's zero fixed cost model saves money. Above that, Calendly's flat rate starts to win on raw fees.
But the comparison changes when you account for the tools Talkspresso replaces. If you would otherwise pay for Zoom, an AI notes tool, and potentially a basic CRM, Talkspresso is cheaper at almost every revenue level because those tools are included at no extra charge.
Choose Calendly if:
- You or your firm needs round-robin scheduling, team admin controls, or deep CRM integrations (Salesforce, HubSpot)
- You already have a Zoom subscription and AI notes tool and want the cheapest scheduling layer on top
- Simplicity and brand recognition matter to you and your clients
Choose Acuity Scheduling if:
- You want to sell session packages or bundles (five-session packages, retainer blocks)
- You need payment collection without a high transaction fee
- You want deep intake form customization and the option to accept Square or PayPal
- You are on Squarespace and want native integration
Choose Cal.com if:
- You are a developer or technically inclined consultant who wants full control
- You want an open-source tool you can self-host for privacy
- You need routing forms to qualify clients before booking
Choose TidyCal if:
- You are just starting out and want the lowest possible cost
- You need a basic booking link with Stripe payments and no recurring subscription
- You do not need packages, in-depth CRM, or video features yet
Choose Talkspresso if:
- You run paid consulting sessions and want one platform instead of three
- You want every session automatically recorded with an AI summary sent to you and your client
- You are building a consulting practice and do not want to pay monthly fees before you have consistent revenue
- You want a client CRM that shows session history, past recordings, and intake responses in one place
- You want to sell digital products (guides, templates, recordings) alongside live sessions
- You host workshops, masterclasses, or group sessions and need registration, payment, and video in one link
The Bottom Line
Calendly is a great tool. But "great scheduling tool" is not the same as "great platform for consultants who charge for their time."
For consultants, the scheduling piece is the easy part. The hard part is building a professional presence, getting paid reliably, delivering a great session experience, and building the kind of client relationships that lead to repeat bookings and referrals. Scheduling tools handle the first step and mostly stop there.
Talkspresso handles the full loop: booking page, payment, video, recording, AI follow-up, client CRM, and digital product sales. For a consultant who wants to build a sustainable paid session business without managing five separate tools, it is the strongest option in 2026.
For consultants who need deep scheduling customization, packages, and zero transaction fees, Acuity is the best alternative. For those who want full technical control, Cal.com is worth exploring.
The right tool depends on where you are in your practice. But if paid sessions are your business, start with a platform built for that from the ground up.
For a full breakdown, see our 9 best platforms for paid video calls or read how creators sell paid video calls to their followers.
For a full breakdown, see our 9 best platforms for paid video calls or read how creators sell paid video calls to their followers.
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