TidyCal for music teachers
Get your Sunday nights back from the lesson-schedule texts
A setup for a piano studio: a free 20-minute trial, a weekly 30-minute lesson, a 4-lesson package and a group theory class. Parents pick a recurring slot once and stop texting you.
Free plan with no time limit. No card needed.
TidyCal is the best scheduling app for music teachers who charge for their time. Clients pay when they book, with packages and subscriptions on the Free plan, and Individual Lifetime is $29 once. Pick Acuity Scheduling if you sell gift certificates or run a waitlist, and Calendly if you run inbound sales on Salesforce or HubSpot.
Four booking types for a piano studio
Here is how a piano teacher might set it up. Maya is made up. The prices are normal for a private teacher in a US suburb; use yours.
| Booking type | Length | Price | Type | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Free 20-min trial lesson | 20 min | Free | Free | Meet the student. Hear them play. Talk to the parent. |
| 30-min weekly lesson | 30 min | $45 | Recurring | Same slot every week for a 12-week term. |
| 4-lesson package | 30 min | $42.50 per session | Package | 4 × $42.50 = $170. For adults who cannot commit to a weekly slot. |
| Group theory class (6 seats) | 45 min | $25 | Group, 6 seats | Saturday 10am. Reading, rhythm, ear training. |
Example prices. Charge what you charge.
The 4 best scheduling apps for music teachers
I make TidyCal, so it's listed first. Each tool below says what it does better than us.
| # | Tool | Best for | Starts at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TidyCal Best value | Solo pros who charge for their time | $29 once |
| 2 | Acuity Scheduling | Appointment businesses with intake forms | $20/mo |
| 3 | Calendly | Sales teams on Salesforce or HubSpot | $10/seat/mo |
| 4 | Cal.com | Developers who want open source | Free, Teams $12/user/mo |
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.
Free plan with paid bookings, packages and subscriptions. $29 once if you want more.
02
Best for: appointment businesses with intake forms
- Price
- No free plan, a 7-day trial. Starter is $20 a month ($16 billed yearly).
Strong intake forms, gift certificates and a waitlist. No free plan, from $20 a month.
03
Best for: sales teams on Salesforce or HubSpot
- Price
- $10 per seat a month on Standard, billed yearly ($12 monthly). The free plan is one event type.
Familiar to clients. The free plan is one event type and payments need Standard at $10 per seat a month.
04
Best for: developers who want open source
- Price
- Free for one user. Teams is $12 per user a month, billed yearly.
Open source with a generous free plan. Team features are $12 per user a month, billed yearly.
What a term looks like
- Late August, Sunday night
- You open the fall term. Weekday slots 2:30 to 7pm after school, Saturday mornings for the theory class.
- That week
- Returning parents grab their recurring slots. The Jacksons take Tuesday 4pm for 12 weeks. Done until December.
- New families
- Book the free 20-minute trial. You see "age 9, keyboard with 61 keys" before they walk in.
- After the trial
- You send the weekly-lesson link. They pick the slot while they are still in your living room.
- Every lesson
- Reminder emails go out 24 hours and 1 hour before. The 3:55pm "are we still on?" text stops.
Ask what instrument they have at home before the trial. A kid practicing on a 61-key keyboard with no weighted keys needs a different first month, and the parent needs to hear that from you early.
Trial lesson questions
Three questions, only on the trial. Returning students never see a form.
- Student's name and age On: Free 20-min trial lesson
- Current level (Never played / Less than a year / 1 to 3 years / 3+ years) On: Free 20-min trial lesson
- Instrument at home? (Acoustic piano / Keyboard (88 keys) / Smaller keyboard / Nothing yet) On: Free 20-min trial lesson
Parents fill it in for kids. Adults fill it in for themselves and tend to be very honest about "less than a year."
How a piano teacher actually uses it
The link goes on the studio website, in the email signature, and in the group chat for current families. That is the whole marketing plan.
Kids go on the weekly lesson. Adults with messy schedules buy the 4-lesson package and pick four dates that work for them, paying $170 once through Stripe.
The Saturday theory class is capped at 6 seats. When seat 6 is taken, it closes. Parents can see "2 seats left" and tend to book faster, which is a nice side effect.
Recitals? A date poll lets families vote on the Sunday that works before you book the hall.
Settings for a studio
| Setting | What to set | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Hours | Mon to Thu 2:30 to 7pm, Sat 9 to noon | After school. Not a minute before. |
| Buffer | 5 minutes between lessons, 10 after trials | Reset the bench. Talk to the parent. |
| Minimum notice | 2 hours (default) | Fine for makeups. |
| Rescheduling | Allowed until 24 hours before (limit it on Lifetime and Pro) | Parents move lessons themselves instead of texting you. |
| Reminders | 24 hours and 1 hour before (default) | On for every plan. |
Also handy
Group bookings
Theory classes and group lessons with a seat cap (Lifetime and Pro).
Lifetime and Pro plansGuest invites
A parent can add the other parent to the invite, so both get reminders.
Free planDate polls
Pick a recital date by letting families vote.
Free planAutomatic Zoom, Google Meet and Teams links
Teaching some lessons online? Each booking gets its own Zoom link (Lifetime and Pro).
Lifetime and Pro plansWhat TidyCal costs
Free, $0
Most of the setup above. Group classes, approvals, cancellation fees, booking limits and automatic video links need a paid plan. Not a trial.
Individual Lifetime, $29 once
Pay one time through AppSumo. Adds group bookings, custom reminders, automatic Zoom and Google Meet links, and 10 calendars.
Pro, $12/mo or $99/yr
All of it, with no TidyCal branding, unlimited calendars and team scheduling with no seat fees.
Stripe and PayPal charge their usual processing fees on paid bookings. On the Free plan, Stripe bookings also carry a 1% TidyCal platform fee. See payment fee details. Compare every plan.
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 music teachers who take bookings and charge for some of them. 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.
Questions music teachers ask us
Can students book the same lesson time every week?
Yes. A recurring booking type lets a parent pick a day and time once and book the whole term. Recurring bookings are on every plan, including Free.
Can parents pay for a block of lessons?
Yes. Create a package with the number of lessons and the price per lesson. The parent picks the dates and pays the total once through Stripe or PayPal.
Can I teach group lessons?
Yes, on the Lifetime and Pro plans. Group bookings let several students book the same slot, up to the number of seats you set.
Can I teach online lessons?
Yes. Put your video link in the location, or connect Zoom, Google Meet or Teams on the Lifetime and Pro plans to create a link for every lesson.
Keep reading
Copy this setup in about 10 minutes
Make the booking types above, paste your questions in, share the link. Free to start.
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