COMPARE
The best Acuity Scheduling alternatives in 2026
The best Acuity Scheduling alternatives depend on what happens around your sessions. Square Appointments and Setmore have free plans, Calendly fits booking calls, and Paperbell fits coaches who sell packages. HoneyBook and Aventide add proposals, contracts with e-signature and a client portal; Aventide also keeps more than one business under one login and one plan.
CQ
Christian Quiver
Written October 20, 2026
SHORT ANSWER
Stay with Acuity if it books your sessions well, especially if you sell gift certificates, run group classes, send text reminders or charge saved cards; Aventide does none of those today. If you want a free plan, look at Square Appointments, Setmore or SimplyBook.me. If most bookings are calls, look at Calendly. If you coach and sell packages, look at Paperbell. If you want contracts, invoices and booking for one business, look at HoneyBook. Look at Aventide when you also want a client portal for what you share after a session, or run more than one business: Starter is $39 a month billed monthly for unlimited businesses, as of October 20, 2026.
We make Aventide, so weigh our take accordingly. Prices and features come from each company's own pricing page and help center, as of October 20, 2026, with links.
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Why do people look for an Acuity Scheduling alternative?
Acuity books sessions well, and plenty of owners never leave. People who look elsewhere usually want one of four things: a place for what they share with clients after a session, a contract signed next to the booking, more than one business under one login, or fewer glitches and faster support than recent reviews describe.
What clients get after they book
Acuity's client accounts show upcoming and past appointments, active package, gift certificate or subscription codes, and saved cards. You can't create an account for a client; they sign up themselves (Acuity help). Acuity's email templates don't support attachments; its advice is to "add the content to a page on your site and link to it" (Acuity help). So session notes, a worksheet or a recording reach the client by a link you send yourself. Both as of October 20, 2026.
The contract and the paperwork around the session
Acuity takes payments and deposits on every plan and can send invoices, and its intake forms can collect agreement to your terms. Its plans don't list proposals or contracts with e-signature (pricing, invoices, as of October 20, 2026). If you send a contract, it lives in another tool. A tutor whose family stopped tutoring on the day put it this way, and another poster replied:
"Stupidly, I don't have a contract."
"You cannot enforce anything without a contract. A very hard lesson learnt for next time."
Thatyachtmusicsong (a tutor) and TallulahBetty, Mumsnet, September 2, 2026, link.
One business per account
Acuity allows one business name and logo per account, and if you take payments through it, the money can't be split between accounts. For a second business, Acuity recommends setting it up separately (Acuity help, as of October 20, 2026). If you run two practices, say readings and doula work, that means two setups and two bills.
What reviewers say in 2026
Ratings differ by site. On Capterra, Acuity rates 4.8 out of 5 from 5,771 reviews; its TrustScore on Trustpilot is 3.6 from 680 reviews (both October 20, 2026; Capterra). Recent low reviews on Trustpilot mention glitches and support that is hard to reach:
"This used to be an excellent site. Not so now very glitchy"
Lynda Rigg, Trustpilot review of Acuity, October 2026, link.
"it's not intuitive and getting support is very difficult"
Susan Cunningham, Trustpilot review of Acuity, 2026, same link.
QUICK PICKS
Which Acuity Scheduling alternative fits you?
1 business
2 businesses
Team members
Trial
Acuity Scheduling
Booking sessions with intake forms, payments and packages
$20/mo (Starter)
7 days, no card
Square Appointments
In-person studios, and anyone who wants a free plan that takes deposits
$0 (Free); Plus $49 per location
Free plan; 30-day trial of Plus and Premium
Calendly
Booking calls and meetings, alone or as a team
$12 per seat/mo (Standard)
Free plan; 14-day trial of paid features
HoneyBook
One business that wants proposals, contracts, invoices and booking in one place
$36/mo (Starter)
30 days, no card
Paperbell
Solo coaches who sell packages of sessions
$97/mo
7 days, no card; then a 30-day money-back guarantee
SimplyBook.me
Several staff and services, starting free
$13.90/mo (Basic)
Free plan (50 bookings a month); 14-day trial, no card
Setmore
Small teams on a tight budget
$0 for up to 4 users; Pro $12 per user
Free plan; Pro can be refunded within 30 days
Aventide
People who sell sessions and also send contracts and invoices, share files with clients, or run more than one business
$39/mo (Starter)
14 days, no card
WHAT IT COSTS
How much do Acuity Scheduling alternatives cost?
Billed monthly, the lowest plan that takes payment at booking is $0 on Square Appointments and Setmore, $12 per person on Calendly, $13.90 on SimplyBook.me, $20 on Acuity, $36 on HoneyBook, $39 on Aventide and $97 on Paperbell, as of October 20, 2026. The cheaper plans differ in what they leave out.
Tool | Lowest plan that takes payment at booking | Billed monthly | Billed yearly |
|---|---|---|---|
Acuity Scheduling | Starter (1 calendar) | $20/mo | $16/mo ($192 a year) |
Square Appointments | Free | $0, plus Square's processing fees | $0 |
Calendly | Standard | $12 per seat/mo | $10 per seat/mo |
HoneyBook | Starter (1 session type) | $36/mo | $29/mo ($348 a year) |
Paperbell | One plan | $97/mo | $970 a year |
SimplyBook.me | Basic (100 bookings a month) | $13.90/mo | $11.90/mo |
Setmore | Free (up to 4 users; deposits need Pro) | $0 | $0 |
Aventide | Starter (unlimited businesses and team members) | $39/mo | $390 a year |
Sources, all checked October 20, 2026: Acuity, Square, Calendly, HoneyBook (standard prices, before any promotion), Paperbell, SimplyBook.me, Setmore, Aventide.
If you sell packages of sessions. Acuity needs Standard ($34 a month billed monthly, $27 billed yearly). Square needs Plus ($49 a month per location). Calendly has meeting packages on Standard. Paperbell includes packages in its one plan and counts the sessions left. SimplyBook.me offers packages that show clients the sessions left, as one of the optional features its plans count (3 on Basic, 8 on Standard). HoneyBook and Setmore don't list session packages, and Aventide includes packages on both plans and counts the sessions left.
If you run more than one business. Acuity allows one business name and logo per account and recommends a separate setup for each business, so three businesses on Starter means three subscriptions: $60 a month billed monthly. Its Enterprise plan, priced on request, offers unlimited scheduling instances with one dashboard. HoneyBook puts more than one company on Premium ($129 a month billed monthly). Paperbell is one service provider per account. Square prices extra locations ($49 a month each on Plus), SimplyBook.me keeps multi-location on Enterprise, and Calendly and Setmore don't say. Aventide includes unlimited businesses on Starter, so three cost $39 a month. More on that setup: more than one business.
PAYMENTS AND FEES
Do Acuity alternatives take a cut of your payments?
Most of these tools add nothing to your payments: you pay only your processor's fee, which is $4.65 on a $150 session paid online by a US card through Stripe (2.9% + 30¢). Square and HoneyBook process payments themselves, at their own rates. Aventide takes 0%; Stripe's own fees apply. All as of October 20, 2026.
Tool | Who processes client payments | Fee the tool adds | A $150 session paid online by a US card |
|---|---|---|---|
Acuity Scheduling | Your Stripe, Square or PayPal account (Venmo through PayPal) | None, except some legacy plans that sell subscriptions (2% of subscription revenue, up to $15 a month) | $4.65 through Stripe |
Square Appointments | Square | Square's own rates: online cards 3.3% + 30¢ on Free, 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium | $5.25 on Free, $4.65 on Plus |
Calendly | Your Stripe or PayPal account | None: "Calendly does not charge an additional fee for payment features" | $4.65 through Stripe |
HoneyBook | HoneyBook | Its own rates: its page shows cards from 2.7% + 10¢ in one place and 2.9% + 25¢ in another; bank transfers 1.5% | $4.15 to $4.60 |
Paperbell | Your Stripe or PayPal account | None: it "adds no extra transaction fees" | $4.65 through Stripe |
SimplyBook.me | Your processor (Stripe, PayPal or Square, among others) | None: "no transaction fees" | $4.65 through Stripe |
Setmore | Your Square, Stripe, PayPal or LawPay account | None: "Setmore has no transaction fees" | $4.65 through Stripe |
Aventide | Your own Stripe account | None. Aventide takes 0% | $4.65 through Stripe |
Sources, all checked October 20, 2026: Stripe pricing (2.9% + 30¢ for domestic cards), Acuity: accepting payments, Acuity: legacy plans, Square, Calendly payments, HoneyBook, Paperbell FAQ, SimplyBook.me, Setmore payments.
The money goes straight to your own account with every tool except Square and HoneyBook, where the tool is the processor. With Aventide it lands in the Stripe account each business connects: how Aventide uses Stripe. Deposits, no-show fees and what each tool charges on a booking are compared side by side on our booking software with payments page.
THE ALTERNATIVES
The alternatives, one by one
Acuity Scheduling
If Acuity books your sessions well and you use its packages, classes or text reminders, stay.
BEST FOR
Booking sessions with intake forms, payments and packages
PRICE
Starter $20, Standard $34 and Premium $69 a month billed monthly; $16, $27 and $55 a month billed yearly.
TRIAL
7 days, no card
MORE THAN ONE BUSINESS
One business name and logo per account; Acuity recommends a separate setup for each business. Enterprise (price on request) offers unlimited scheduling instances with one dashboard.
Online booking from Squarespace, with intake forms, payments and deposits on every plan.
STRENGTHS
Intake forms, payments and deposits through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo, and invoices, on every plan.
Packages, memberships, gift certificates, a waitlist and text reminders on Standard; a HIPAA BAA and an AI chat that books clients on Premium.
Group classes, recurring appointments, and a card saved at booking that you can charge later (Stripe or Square).
A phone app for managing appointments on every plan.
WHERE IT FALLS SHORT
Client accounts show appointments, codes and saved cards, not files you share, and its email templates don't support attachments.
Its plans don't list proposals or contracts with e-signature.
One business name and logo per account.
Hiding "Powered by Acuity Scheduling" takes Premium, and client emails come from scheduling@acuityscheduling.com.
Source: pricing; help center: client accounts, email templates, two businesses, how clients pay, group classes, recurring appointments, invoices, FAQ
Square Appointments
A free plan with deposits, reminders and contracts, if Square handles your payments.
BEST FOR
In-person studios, and anyone who wants a free plan that takes deposits
PRICE
Free $0, Plus $49 and Premium $149 a month per location, plus Square's processing fees.
TRIAL
Free plan; 30-day trial of Plus and Premium
MORE THAN ONE BUSINESS
Several locations on Plus ($49 a month each); separate businesses not stated
Square's booking tool, part of its point-of-sale system, with payments processed by Square.
STRENGTHS
Online booking, deposits, prepayment, text and email reminders and invoices on the free plan.
Contracts with e-signature on every plan, sent automatically when a client books.
On Plus: charging a saved card for late cancellations or no-shows, packages, classes and Google Calendar sync.
WHERE IT FALLS SHORT
Square processes every payment: online cards cost 3.3% + 30¢ on Free and 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium.
No-show fees, packages and classes need Plus, $49 a month for each location.
Source: pricing
Calendly
Booking links for calls, with a free plan for one event type.
BEST FOR
Booking calls and meetings, alone or as a team
PRICE
Free; Standard $12 and Teams $20 per seat a month billed monthly; $10 and $16 billed yearly.
TRIAL
Free plan; 14-day trial of paid features
MORE THAN ONE BUSINESS
Not stated
Scheduling links for meetings, with payments, meeting packages and invoices from Standard.
STRENGTHS
A free plan with one event type and a booking page.
On Standard: unlimited event types, reminders, payment in full or a deposit at booking through Stripe or PayPal, meeting packages for prepaid sessions, invoices, and no Calendly branding.
Calendly adds no fee of its own to payments.
WHERE IT FALLS SHORT
HoneyBook
Proposals, contracts, invoices and scheduling for one business.
BEST FOR
One business that wants proposals, contracts, invoices and booking in one place
PRICE
Starter $36, Essentials $59 and Premium $129 a month billed monthly; $29, $49 and $109 a month billed yearly, at standard prices.
TRIAL
30 days, no card
MORE THAN ONE BUSINESS
Premium only ($129 a month billed monthly, $109 billed yearly)
Client management with a scheduler: clients can book a session and pay in one go.
STRENGTHS
Proposals, contracts with e-signature, invoices and a client portal on every plan.
You can require payment or a signed contract before a session is confirmed.
Email and text reminders from Essentials, and a 30-day trial, no card.
WHERE IT FALLS SHORT
Starter's scheduler covers one session type, with email reminders only.
More than one business needs Premium.
HoneyBook processes payments at its own rates; bank transfers cost 1.5%.
Source: pricing, scheduling through a file
Paperbell
One flat price for coaches who sell packages.
BEST FOR
Solo coaches who sell packages of sessions
PRICE
$97 a month billed monthly, or $970 a year billed yearly, with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
TRIAL
7 days, no card; then a 30-day money-back guarantee
MORE THAN ONE BUSINESS
One service provider per account
Built for coaches: packages, scheduling, contracts and a client portal in one plan.
STRENGTHS
Packages, contract signing, scheduling and a client portal, with unlimited clients and sessions. It counts the sessions left in each package.
Text reminders a day or an hour before a session, for clients who opt in.
Payments go to your own Stripe or PayPal account, and Paperbell "adds no extra transaction fees".
WHERE IT FALLS SHORT
For one person, its $97 a month is more than any other tool's starting price here.
It's "designed for one service provider per account": no extra logins or admins, so each coach in a practice needs an account (15% off secondary accounts for the same company).
No traditional invoices; clients pay through package links.
Source: pricing, FAQ, free trial, text reminders, multiple coaches
SimplyBook.me
Many services and staff, priced by bookings a month.
BEST FOR
Several staff and services, starting free
PRICE
Free; Basic $13.90, Standard $29.90 and Premium $59.90 a month billed monthly; $11.90, $24.90 and $49.90 a month billed yearly.
TRIAL
Free plan (50 bookings a month); 14-day trial, no card
MORE THAN ONE BUSINESS
Multi-location on Enterprise (custom price)
A booking system with over 60 optional features you switch on as you need them.
STRENGTHS
Payments, deposits and tips from Basic, per its plan table; recurring appointments on every plan.
Packages that show clients how many sessions are left, as an optional feature.
A HIPAA option from Standard; QuickBooks, FreshBooks and Xero on Premium.
No transaction fees of its own.
WHERE IT FALLS SHORT
Each plan caps bookings a month: 50 on Free, 100 on Basic, 500 on Standard and 2,000 on Premium; more cost $4 per 100.
Packages, intake forms, memberships and other optional features count toward a limit: 1 on Free, 3 on Basic, 8 on Standard, unlimited on Premium.
Text reminders are bought as credits ($8 per 100).
Setmore
Free for up to four people; Pro is $12 a person.
BEST FOR
Small teams on a tight budget
PRICE
Free for up to 4 users; Pro $12 per user a month billed monthly, or $5 per user a month billed yearly.
TRIAL
Free plan; Pro can be refunded within 30 days
MORE THAN ONE BUSINESS
Not stated
Booking pages for one-on-one sessions and group classes, with payments through Square, Stripe, PayPal or LawPay.
STRENGTHS
Online payments and group classes on the free plan, with no transaction fees of its own.
On Pro: deposits, recurring appointments, text reminders (500 credits a month per Pro member), video appointments and two-way calendar sync.
Human support around the clock, and phone apps, on both plans.
WHERE IT FALLS SHORT
Screenshot
A booking page in Aventide, with a $150 deposit due when the client books.
Aventide
Booking plus contracts, invoices and a client portal, for every business you run.
BEST FOR
People who sell sessions and also send contracts and invoices, share files with clients, or run more than one business
PRICE
Starter $39 a month or $390 a year; Pro $99 a month or $990 a year. Both include unlimited businesses and unlimited team members; Pro adds AI credits (120,000 a month instead of 40,000) and storage.
TRIAL
14 days, no card
MORE THAN ONE BUSINESS
Unlimited businesses on Starter and Pro (the trial allows up to 3)
Client management for one-person businesses and small teams: booking, proposals, contracts, invoices and a client portal for each business you run.
STRENGTHS
Clients book from your booking page and pay in full or a deposit through your own Stripe account; your refund rule shows before they pay. When a session type has a full price, Aventide drafts the invoice for the rest after a deposit; you check it and send it. Each session type takes an intake form of up to 100 questions and a Zoom or Google Meet link, and clients get email reminders 24 hours and one hour before.
Proposals, contracts with e-signature (seven built-in templates, including a coaching agreement), deposit invoices, invoices and QuickBooks sync.
A client portal for each client, in your logo and colors, with the documents and files you share and their invoices and contracts, unless you switch those off.
Each business keeps its own clients, branding, client portal and Stripe account under one login.
Aventide’s AI drafts follow-ups, proposals and invoices. Anything Aventide drafts for a client waits for your approval; automations you switch on run on their own.
WHERE IT FALLS SHORT
No packages with sessions left, no no-show fee charged to a saved card, no recurring weekly slots and no text reminders yet.
One client per booking, so no group classes.
The full app runs in a desktop browser; on your phone you use Sidekick on Telegram, WhatsApp or Slack. Clients book, sign and pay on any device.
The company behind it was founded in 2025, so there are few reviews yet. Its app completed Google's Cloud Application Security Assessment (CASA) at Assurance Level 1, validated in September 2026 by TAC Security, an independent assessor authorized by the App Defense Alliance (details).
There's no Acuity import: you bring your own export (see the switching section).
Source: pricing; sessions and practitioners pages
FEATURE BY FEATURE
Acuity and the alternatives, feature by feature
A tick means the job is covered on the plan priced above. A circled dash means it is partly covered, on a higher plan or with a workaround. A cross means it is not available. Where a cell has words instead of a mark, the words say what you get. Partial marks are explained in the note under each feature.
THE OTHER SIDE
When should you stay with Acuity Scheduling?
Stay if Acuity books your sessions well and the price still works. Moving means rebuilding your appointment types, intake forms and packages, and sending clients a new booking link, so it's worth it for something you miss every week: a contract signed next to the booking, a place for what you share after a session, or a second business.
Stay with Acuity if you sell memberships or gift certificates, run group classes, send text reminders, charge a saved card for late cancellations or need a HIPAA BAA (on Premium). Aventide does none of those today.
If you mainly want to pay less, Square Appointments and Setmore take payment on their free plans. Check Square's processing rates and Setmore's four-user limit first, and note that SimplyBook.me's free plan takes no payments.
If most of your bookings are calls and your contracts and invoices live elsewhere, Calendly costs less for one person.
If you coach and sell packages, Paperbell keeps your site, packages, contracts and booking in one plan.
If you want the contract, the invoices and a client portal next to the booking, look at HoneyBook for one business, or Aventide for one business or several.
Aventide is the wrong pick for now if your business runs on group classes, clients booking their own repeating slots, text reminders or no-show fees charged to a saved card. What you can do in Aventide today: take payment in full or a deposit at booking, show your refund rule before clients pay, and put your cancellation terms in the agreement they sign.
METHOD
How we chose and checked
We compared the booking tools that AI answers name most often next to Acuity when people who sell sessions ask about their tools, and read every price, fee and limit on each company's own site on October 20, 2026. Where a site didn't say, we wrote "not stated" or "not listed" rather than guess.
Across 142 answers to 14 questions from coaches, tutors, doulas, readers and others (ChatGPT, Gemini, Perplexity, Copilot, Google AI Mode and Claude, read through Search Atlas on October 10, 2026), Acuity was named in 87. The booking tools named most after it were Square (62 answers), Calendly (56), HoneyBook (47), Paperbell (28), Vagaro (24), Dubsado (22), SimplyBook.me (20), CoachAccountable (17) and Setmore (12). Aventide was named in none.
On October 13, 2026, all five answers to "What are the best Acuity Scheduling alternatives?" named Calendly, Setmore and Cal.com; four named Square, and three named SimplyBook.me, Vagaro and YouCanBookMe.
We compare seven alternatives here. Dubsado is compared with HoneyBook on its own page. Vagaro, CoachAccountable, Cal.com and YouCanBookMe aren't compared here yet. The cards follow the October 10 order, after Acuity, so Aventide comes last.
Each price, fee and limit is linked under its card, from the company's pricing page, help center or FAQ. Fee examples use each company's published rate for a US card; your own rates can differ. We recheck this page every month.
We haven't run a business on the other seven tools.
Acuity Scheduling, Squarespace, Square, Calendly, HoneyBook, Paperbell, SimplyBook.me, Setmore, Dubsado, Vagaro, CoachAccountable, Cal.com and YouCanBookMe are trademarks of their owners. This page isn't affiliated with or endorsed by them.
NEXT STEP
How do you move from Acuity Scheduling to another tool?
Mostly by hand. Acuity exports your client list (name, email, phone and notes) and your appointments, with intake answers if you pick a form, as spreadsheet files. Your appointment types, packages, intake forms and reminders are rebuilt in the new tool, and clients get your new booking link (Acuity help, October 20, 2026).
Before you cancel Acuity:
Export your clients (Clients, then Import/export) and your appointments (Reports, then Import/Export).
Write down who has sessions left on a package or an unused gift certificate. The client export doesn't include them.
Keep Acuity running until your booked sessions have happened or moved, and change the link on your website last.
Moving to Aventide:
Upload your client list with Upload CSV on your contacts list. Aventide reads columns named Name (or First name and Last name), Email and Company, and merges anyone already there by email. Rename a column first if your file calls it something else.
Set up a booking type with your price or deposit, your refund rule, an intake form of up to 100 questions and a Zoom or Google Meet link.
If you send an agreement, start from a built-in template, such as the Coaching Agreement. Templates are starting points, not legal advice.
Add any sessions a client has left on a package with Add package in the client's Packages panel, so Aventide counts them.
There's no Acuity import in Aventide: you bring your own export.
QUESTIONS
Questions about Acuity Scheduling alternatives
What is the best alternative to Acuity Scheduling?
It depends on what you need next to the booking. For a free plan that takes payment, Square Appointments or Setmore. For calls, Calendly. For coaching packages, Paperbell. For contracts, invoices and a client portal, HoneyBook for one business, or Aventide, from $39 a month, for one business or several. Prices as of October 20, 2026.
Is there a free alternative to Acuity Scheduling?
Yes. Square Appointments and Setmore have free plans that take payment at booking: Square charges its own processing fees, and Setmore's free plan covers up to four users, with deposits on Pro. SimplyBook.me and Calendly have free plans without payments. Acuity has no free plan, only a 7-day trial, as of October 20, 2026.
Which is better, Acuity or Calendly?
For selling sessions, Acuity covers more: intake forms, payments and deposits on every plan, plus packages, gift certificates and text reminders on Standard ($34 a month billed monthly). For booking calls, Calendly costs less for one person: free with one event type, or $12 a month with payments. Neither lists contracts with e-signature or a client portal (October 20, 2026).
How much does Acuity Scheduling cost?
Acuity Scheduling costs $20 a month on Starter, $34 on Standard and $69 on Premium, billed monthly, or $16, $27 and $55 a month billed yearly, as of October 20, 2026. Starter has one calendar, Standard up to 6 and Premium up to 36. There's no free plan; the 7-day trial needs no card.
Does Acuity Scheduling charge a fee on payments?
Acuity generally adds no fee of its own: you pay your processor's standard fees through Stripe, Square or PayPal. The exception is some legacy plans, which charge 2% of subscription revenue, up to $15 a month. On a $150 session paid by a US card through Stripe, that processor fee is $4.65, as of October 20, 2026.
Can I use Acuity Scheduling for two businesses?
Not under one account. Acuity allows one business name and logo per account and recommends a separate setup for each business; its Enterprise plan, priced on request, offers unlimited scheduling instances. Aventide includes unlimited businesses on Starter, $39 a month, each with its own clients, branding, client portal and Stripe account, as of October 20, 2026.
