Calendly, Cal.com, and SavvyCal are the three scheduling tools compared most often in 2026. All three do the core job — let people book time with you without email back-and-forth — but they differ on pricing model, free-plan limits, and how much automation you get. Here's where each wins.
The short answer
| Tool | Best for | From | Our score |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cal.comBest free plan, open source | Cost-conscious teams | Free | 8.9Top pick |
| CalendlyMost integrations | Teams wanting the default | $10/seat/mo | 8.7 |
| SavvyCalBest scheduling UX | Power users | $12/seat/mo | 8.5 |
The best genuinely-free scheduling plan — unlimited event types and bookings at $0, open source, with a clean modern interface. For individuals and small teams, it covers everything Calendly charges for, free.
Free plans compared
This is where the three diverge most. Cal.com offers the most generous free plan — unlimited event types and bookings at $0. Calendly's free tier is limited to one event type, which is restrictive for most users. SavvyCal has no free plan, only a trial.
Automations & workflows
SavvyCal leads on scheduling smarts — its calendar overlay lets invitees pick a time by comparing their calendar against yours, which reduces friction meaningfully. Calendly has the deepest integration ecosystem (it connects to nearly every tool). Cal.com matches Calendly on most integrations and is open source, so it's auditable and self-hostable.
Team & round-robin
For round-robin scheduling (distributing meetings across a team), Calendly is the most mature, but Cal.com offers team features on its free tier that Calendly gates behind paid plans. SavvyCal handles team scheduling well but is best for smaller groups.
Cal.com pros
- Best free plan in the category
- Open source & self-hostable
- Clean, modern interface
Cal.com cons
- Smaller integration ecosystem than Calendly
- Fewer enterprise features
Pricing compared
| Plan | Cal.com | Calendly | SavvyCal |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | Unlimited events | 1 event type | No free plan |
| Paid from | $12/seat/mo | $10/seat/mo | $12/seat/mo |
Which should you pick?
Pick Cal.com for the best free plan and open-source flexibility. Pick Calendly if you want the deepest integrations and the tool everyone already knows. Pick SavvyCal if scheduling UX and calendar overlay matter most to you. See how scheduling fits a complete sales stack in our best scheduling tools guide.
For most people, Cal.com's free plan covers everything Calendly charges for. Start there unless you need a specific Calendly integration.