Calendly vs Cal.com
Calendly and Cal.com both sell booking links priced per seat, and both list round-robin routing on their team tiers. Cal.com puts more on its free plan and charges less for team features. Calendly is the older company and the one most invitees already know, with a published enterprise floor of $15k a year.
Side by side
| What it is | The best-known booking link for meetings and sales teams | Flexible scheduling for individuals and teams |
|---|---|---|
| Best for | Sales and customer-facing teams | Teams wanting flexibility at a lower per-user price |
| Headquarters | United States | United States |
| Pricing model | Per seat / month | Per user / month |
| Pricing | Free plan for one event type; paid tiers priced per seat, rising for team, routing and enterprise features. | Free for individuals; Teams $12 and Organizations $28 per user per month billed annually, Enterprise custom. The self-hostable Cal.diy community edition is free but drops team features. |
| Free option | Free plan | Free plan |
| List price as listed on November 12, 2026 | $10 per seat per month (Standard) and $16 (Teams), both with yearly saving labels; Free plan has one event type | $12 per user per month (Teams) and $28 (Organizations), each with a 25% yearly saving; Free plan for 1 user |
| Place in our appointment scheduling software ranking | #5 of 17 | #4 of 17 |
| Website | calendly.com | cal.com |
Both are reviewed in full in Best Appointment Scheduling Software in 2026. Vendors can pay for more visibility, and commercial relationships can affect which products we feature and how prominently. Placement disclosure.
Which one to choose
Choose Calendly if
you are a team that wants a long-established vendor with a published enterprise tier, and invitees who are not paying seats are the main audience for your booking page.
Calendly, #5 in the ranking · Visit Calendly →
Choose Cal.com if
you want unlimited links and calendars for one person for free, or team routing at $12 per user per month, and compliance certifications listed on the plan page.
Cal.com, #4 in the ranking · Visit Cal.com →
Where they differ
What the free plan includes
Calendly's free plan allows one event type and one calendar connection, with one-on-one scheduling only. Cal.com's free plan is for one user but lists unlimited links, unlimited calendars, email and SMS notifications, Stripe and PayPal payments, Salesforce and HubSpot sync, and an import from Calendly. A solo user who outgrows one event type has to pay at Calendly and does not at Cal.com.
Edge: Cal.com
The cost of adding a team
Calendly lists round-robin and lead routing on Teams at $16 per seat per month, with Standard at $10 below it. Cal.com lists round-robin, recurring events, routing forms and removal of its branding on Teams at $12 per user per month. Both quote yearly-saving labels, so the monthly-billed figures are not directly comparable. On the listed numbers, the team tier costs less at Cal.com.
Edge: Cal.com
Security and compliance on the plan page
Cal.com's Organizations plan at $28 per user per month lists SAML SSO, SCIM, SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO 27001 compliance, and role-based permissions. Calendly's pricing page lists SAML SSO on Enterprise and as an add-on for Teams, plus a Data Deletion API, but names no certification. That does not prove Calendly lacks any; it means a buyer must ask. Cal.com is easier to evaluate from its page alone.
Edge: Cal.com
Entry point for enterprise contracts
Calendly publishes its enterprise floor: from $15k per year, starting at 50 seats, in US dollars only, with Salesforce lookup routing, Microsoft Dynamics integration, onboarding and dedicated account support. Cal.com prices Enterprise as custom and lists a dedicated database, SLA and uptime guarantees, HRIS and directory integrations and priority support. A published floor helps budgeting, a custom quote may fit smaller deals, and neither page shows hosting location.
Edge: even
Track record of the two companies
Calendly was founded in 2013 by Tope Awotona, and its terms say it operates the services from its headquarters in the United States. Cal.com was founded in 2021 by Peer Richelsen and Bailey Pumfleet, is incorporated in Delaware as Cal.com, Inc., and describes a fully remote team. We could not verify investors for either. On years in operation alone, Calendly has the longer history.
Edge: Calendly
Tally: Calendly 1, Cal.com 3, even 1.
When neither fits
Neither is built for a salon, clinic or studio that sells services with deposits and intake forms for several staff. Both are meeting-link tools first. Acuity Scheduling prices per calendar and takes payments through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo.
See Acuity Scheduling and SavvyCal among the 17 products in Best Appointment Scheduling Software in 2026.
Questions and answers
Does Calendly or Cal.com have a free plan?
Yes, both do. Calendly's free plan has one event type and one calendar connection with one-on-one scheduling. Cal.com's free plan covers 1 user with unlimited links and calendars, and its pricing page states no usage limits. Cal.com is the more generous of the two for a single person.
How much do Calendly and Cal.com cost per user?
Calendly Standard is $10 and Teams is $16 per seat per month, with yearly saving labels beside each. Cal.com Teams is $12 and Organizations is $28 per user per month, each marked Save 25% yearly. Enterprise is from $15k per year at Calendly and custom at Cal.com.
Do invitees need a paid seat on Calendly?
No. Calendly's pricing page states that invitees do not need a seat, so only the people who host meetings are counted. The same page prices Calendly per seat, billed monthly or yearly.
Which of Calendly and Cal.com lists compliance certifications?
Cal.com does. Its Organizations plan lists SOC 2, HIPAA and ISO 27001 compliance alongside SAML SSO and SCIM. Calendly's pricing page lists SAML SSO and a Data Deletion API but no certifications, so confirm them with the vendor before buying.
Sources
Prices, plan limits and product facts on this page were checked against the vendors' own pages on November 12, 2026. Vendors change both without notice, so treat the figures as of that date.
- Calendly pricing page: Calendly plans, seat prices, free plan limits, Enterprise floor and features, invitees needing no seat
- Calendly about page: Founder and founding year
- Calendly terms: Services operated from headquarters in the United States
- Cal.com pricing page: Cal.com plans, per-user prices, free plan, compliance listings, Enterprise features
- Cal.com about page: Legal entity, founders, founding year, remote team
- Cal.com terms: Delaware corporation status of Cal.com, Inc.
- Acuity Scheduling pricing page: Per-calendar plans and accepted payment methods
- SavvyCal pricing page: SavvyCal per-user plans and absence of a free booking plan