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Scheduling

Cal.com

The open-source alternative to Calendly with total flexibility and white-label. Sophisticated routing and free self-hosting for total data control. The ideal scheduling for tech teams who want to escape Calendly's excessive prices.

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Who's it for?OpsSalesGrowth

Review by a Growth Engineer

My verdict: my number 1 choice for appointment booking, indispensable.

Cal.com has become my reference tool for appointment booking. It's open-source, it's beautiful, it's powerful, and it's free for individuals.

The interface is clean and the API is great for integrations. Calendly really abuses their dominant position on pricing, while Cal.com offers more for less (or even free).

What I like less: the network effect plays against Cal.com - everyone knows Calendly. And self-hosting requires technical skills.

My advice: if you're tired of paying Calendly and want control (white-label, custom workflows), Cal.com is the move. The team ships features quickly and the community is active.

Why add it to your stack?

Cal.com has become my number 1 choice for appointment booking. It's open-source, it's beautiful, it's powerful, and it's free for individuals. The interface is clean and the API is great for integrations.

Calendly really abuses their dominant position on pricing, while Cal.com offers more for less (or even free). For teams who want control (white-label, custom workflows, sophisticated routing), it's the move.

What you can do with it

  • 1Manage appointment booking with white-label on your own domain
  • 2Route demo requests between SDRs with automatic round-robin
  • 3Create custom workflows (SMS reminders, follow-up emails)
  • 4Integrate appointment booking into your product via the API
  • 5Self-host the solution for total data control

What it does

  • White-label and custom domain
  • Round-robin routing for teams
  • Workflows and automations
  • Complete API and webhooks
  • Free self-hosting (open-source)
  • Calendar integrations (Google, Outlook, Apple)

How much?

Starting at Free

Self-hosted: free (open-source). Cloud: Free for individuals, Team at $15/user/month, Enterprise on quote. The Free plan is very generous with all basic features.

The detailed verdict

Do I really need this?

For appointment booking, Cal.com is an excellent alternative to Calendly with more flexibility. But 'indispensable' is an exaggeration - you can do the same with other tools.

The main barrier remains Calendly's network effect: your prospects know Calendly, not Cal.com. That can create minor friction on client-side adoption.

Does it play nice with my stack?

Integrations are the strong point. Complete and well-documented REST API, webhooks for all events, SDKs in several languages. You can integrate Cal.com into any workflow.

Bidirectional sync with Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple Calendar. Native integrations with Zoom, Google Meet, Stripe for payments.

Is it easy to pick up?

Getting started is quick for basic use. 10 minutes to create an account and share your first booking link. Event templates accelerate setup.

For advanced features (workflows, routing), the learning curve is light. Self-hosting requires technical skills (Docker), but docs are excellent.

Is the UX any good?

Cal.com's interface is modern and clean. Event creation is intuitive, the booking calendar is elegant. The team ships features quickly and UX constantly improves.

Less polished than Calendly on some aspects, but flexibility compensates. The admin dashboard is complete without being overwhelming.

Is it worth it?

Cal.com's value for money is unbeatable. The free plan for individuals includes all basic features. Team at $15/user/month is cheaper than Calendly with more features.

Self-hosting is free and gives access to all functionalities. For technical teams, it's the economic no-brainer.

What I like

  • Control and advanced customization with white-label on your own domain
  • Teams with complex routing and developers who appreciate an excellent API
  • Free self-hosting for technical teams concerned about their data

What I like less

  • Those who want absolute simplicity without configuration since Calendly remains simpler
  • Non-technical users for self-hosting which requires Docker skills
  • Teams who prefer Calendly's network effect that everyone knows

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