vs
Switch from Acuity in 15 minutes
Acuity starts at $20 a month with no free plan. TidyCal gives you unlimited appointment types, paid bookings, packages and subscriptions for $0, and a lifetime plan for $29 once if you want more.
Free plan with no time limit. No card needed. No 7-day clock.
Comparing more than two tools? See Acuity, TidyCal and six others side by side.
Pick TidyCal if you want a free plan that takes payments, packages and subscriptions. Acuity has no free plan and starts at $20 a month. Stay on Acuity if you sell gift certificates, run a waitlist or need a signed HIPAA BAA.
TidyCal vs Acuity features
Where each feature lives, and what each tool does that the other does not.
| Feature |
|
|
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes, no time limit | No, 7-day trial |
| Intake questions | Every plan | Every plan |
| Session packages | Free plan | Standard and up |
| Subscriptions and memberships | Free plan | Standard and up |
| Text reminders | Agency Lifetime and Pro (US and Canada) | Standard and up |
| Remove branding | Pro (reduced branding on Lifetime plans) | Premium |
| Payment processors | Stripe, PayPal | Stripe, Square, PayPal, Venmo |
| Gift certificates and waitlist | Not offered | Standard and up |
| HIPAA BAA | Not offered | Premium |
| Team scheduling | Round robin, collective bookings and a team page on Agency Lifetime and Pro | Up to 6 staff calendars on Standard, 36 on Premium |
| One-time lifetime plan | Yes, from $29 | No |
Plan names are each company's own. Checked against their public pricing pages in September 2026; features change, so check before you buy.
Why people switch from Acuity
There is no free plan
Acuity offers a 7-day trial, then Starter at $20 a month ($16 billed yearly).
Packages, memberships and text reminders start on Standard
Standard is $34 a month, or $27 billed yearly. TidyCal has packages and subscriptions on the Free plan.
Hiding the Acuity logo needs Premium
Premium is $61 a month ($49 billed yearly). TidyCal Pro removes branding for $12 a month.
Source: acuityscheduling.com/pricing, checked September 30, 2026. Prices change; check before you buy.
TidyCal vs Acuity Scheduling pricing
Acuity is a monthly bill from day one. TidyCal is free, or paid once.
| TidyCal | Acuity Scheduling | |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes. Unlimited appointment types, unlimited bookings, paid bookings, recurring, package and subscription bookings, your own booking page | None. 7-day trial, then Starter at $20/mo ($16/mo billed annually) |
| One person, paid features | $29 one time (Individual Lifetime), or Pro at $8.25/mo billed annually ($99/yr) | Starter $20/mo, 1 calendar, email reminders, no text reminders, no packages |
| Packages, subscriptions, text reminders | Packages and subscriptions on Free; text reminders (US and Canada) on Agency Lifetime and Pro | Standard, $34/mo ($27/mo billed annually) |
| Team of 5 | $99/yr on Pro with round robin, collective bookings and a team page, no seat fees. Agency Lifetime ($79 once) covers up to 4 people | Standard covers up to 6 calendars: $34 x 12 = $408/yr, or $324/yr billed annually |
| Remove the vendor logo | Pro, $8.25/mo billed annually | Premium, $61/mo ($49/mo billed annually) |
| Payment processors | Stripe, PayPal | Stripe, Square, PayPal, Venmo |
| Gift certificates, waitlist, HIPAA BAA | Not offered | Gift certificates and waitlist on Standard; BAA on Premium |
| Import from the other tool | No Acuity importer (Calendly importer available) | No TidyCal importer |
Acuity prices from acuityscheduling.com/pricing, checked September 2026. TidyCal prices on the pricing page.
Switching in an afternoon
There is no Acuity importer, so this is a short rebuild rather than a one-click move. Here is the honest version.
Create a free account and connect your calendar
Google, Outlook or iCloud. Busy times are read from every connected calendar so you are never double-booked.
Recreate your appointment types
Open Acuity in one tab and TidyCal in another. Name, length, availability, price, intake questions. Packages and subscriptions are booking types too.
Connect payments and video
Stripe or PayPal for paid bookings, on the free plan. Zoom, Google Meet or Teams links are created automatically on paid plans.
Swap your booking link
Website button, email signature, social profiles. Leave Acuity running until its last booked appointment has happened, then cancel.
When Acuity is the better pick
We would rather you pick the right tool than switch and regret it.
- You sell gift certificates or run a waitlist. Both are on Acuity Standard and up. TidyCal has neither.
- You need a signed HIPAA BAA. Acuity Premium includes one. TidyCal does not sign BAAs.
- You take Square or Venmo, or run up to 36 staff calendars. Acuity supports Stripe, Square, PayPal and Venmo, and Premium covers 36 calendars. TidyCal takes Stripe and PayPal.
Who leaves Acuity for TidyCal
Solo coaches, consultants and tutors
You pay Acuity $20 a month for one calendar and email reminders. TidyCal does that, plus packages and subscriptions, for free.
Small teams and agencies
Round robin, collective bookings and a team booking page on Pro for $99 a year, with no seat fees. Acuity Standard is $408 a year.
Questions before you switch
Does TidyCal have a free plan, unlike Acuity?
Yes. TidyCal Free is $0 with no time limit and includes unlimited bookings, unlimited booking types, paid bookings through Stripe or PayPal, recurring and package bookings and your own booking page. Acuity has no free plan; its cheapest option is Starter at $20 a month ($16 a month billed annually) after a 7-day trial.
Can I import my Acuity appointment types into TidyCal?
Not automatically. TidyCal has a one-click importer for Calendly but not for Acuity, so you recreate your appointment types by hand. Each takes a minute or two: name, length, availability, price and any intake questions. Existing Acuity appointments stay on Acuity until they happen; new bookings come through TidyCal.
How long does switching from Acuity to TidyCal take?
About 15 minutes for a typical solo account. Create a free account, connect your calendar, recreate your appointment types, connect Stripe or PayPal if you charge, and swap the booking link on your website and in your email signature.
Can I sell packages and subscriptions on TidyCal?
Yes, on every plan including Free. Package bookings (sell 5 sessions; the client picks the dates and pays once), subscriptions with recurring Stripe billing, discount codes and a small digital storefront are all included. On Acuity, packages and memberships start at the Standard plan ($34 a month).
Does TidyCal send text message reminders?
Yes, for US and Canadian numbers, on the Agency lifetime plan (10 a month) and Pro (unlimited). Email reminders are on every plan. On Acuity, text reminders start at Standard.
What does Acuity do that TidyCal does not?
Gift certificates, an appointment waitlist, Square and Venmo as payment processors, a signed HIPAA BAA, and multi-location setups with up to 36 staff calendars on Premium. If you run a salon, clinic or multi-location practice that relies on those, Acuity is the better fit and this page will not talk you out of it.
Can I remove TidyCal branding from my booking page?
Reduced branding comes with the lifetime plans; no branding at all is on Pro at $8.25 a month billed annually. Hiding the Acuity logo requires Premium at $61 a month.
Will my Acuity booking links keep working during the switch?
Yes, until you close your Acuity account. Update the link on your website, email signature and social profiles to your TidyCal page, and leave Acuity running until the last appointment booked there has happened.
Coming from Calendly instead? That switch is one click. Also compared: Cal.com, Zoho Bookings, SavvyCal.
Good and not so good, on both sides
I make TidyCal, so it's listed first. Each tool below says what it does better than us.
01
Best value
Best for: solo pros who charge for their time
- Price
- Free plan. Individual Lifetime is $29 once. Pro is $12 a month or $99 a year.
I built TidyCal for coaches, consultants and tutors who want people to book and pay without a monthly bill. The Free plan has unlimited booking types and takes payment through Stripe or PayPal, with packages, subscriptions and discount codes included. It is not a sales-team router. If you run inbound sales on Salesforce, Calendly is the better pick.
Good
- Unlimited booking types and paid bookings on the Free plan
- Pay once: Individual Lifetime $29, Agency Lifetime $79 for up to 4 people
- Imports Calendly event types, bookings and contacts
Not so good
- Free and Lifetime plans pay a 1% platform fee on Stripe bookings. Pro does not
- No routing forms and no Salesforce
- Text reminders (US and Canada) need Agency Lifetime or Pro
- Automatic Zoom, Meet and Teams links need a Lifetime or Pro plan
- Round robin and a team page need Agency Lifetime or Pro
02
Best for: appointment businesses with intake forms
- Price
- No free plan, a 7-day trial. Starter is $20 a month ($16 billed yearly).
Squarespace's scheduling tool, built for salons, studios and clinics. It does what appointment businesses need: intake forms, packages, memberships, gift certificates and a waitlist. You pay monthly from day one, and the useful parts sit on the higher plans.
Good
- Gift certificates and a waitlist
- Signed HIPAA BAA on Premium
- Square or Venmo payments and up to 36 staff calendars
Not so good
- No free plan
- Packages, memberships and text reminders start on Standard at $34 a month
- Hiding the Acuity logo needs Premium at $61 a month
How we checked
Every competitor price comes from that company's own pricing page, read on September 30, 2026, at the billing period shown next to it. Tools with no published price we could verify carry no dollar figure. The ranking is for a solo pro or small team choosing between TidyCal and Acuity Scheduling. Nobody paid to be on this list. TidyCal's prices come straight from the plans we sell, so they match what you will pay, and the 1% platform fee on Stripe bookings is the live rate.
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