TidyCal vs Calendly? Which is the right online booking calendar for you?

Are you comparing TidyCal vs Calendly and wondering which tool to choose (or switch from)? You might be at the stage where you want to save some time from arranging your meetings manually, or you just might want a fuss-free way to take payment for a call.

Calendly and TidyCal are both services that allow you to create online calendars for your business, but which one is best for you?

Let's take a look at some of the features of both products, and I'll let you know which one I use and why.

Why use an online calendar?

Having an online calendar is a great way to enable people to book appointments with you at a time that suits them. It also means that they don't have to call or email you directly, which can be a big help if your inbox is always full.

You can also use the calendar to create paid-for meetings which are perfect if you charge for consultancy, Power Hours or coaching and mentoring. Your clients simply select the time they would like their meeting, the app takes their payment and voilà! You've got a paid-for booking with no effort on your part.

Investing in a paid online calendar system is one of the first investments I made as a business owner, and it has consistently been one of my most essential purchases.

What is Calendly?

Calendly is a calendar management service that enables users to easily create, share, and manage their schedules. In addition to scheduling meetings with others, Calendly also provides tools for setting up recurring meetings, events, and reminders.

Calendly Free Account

Calendly does have a free account if you are unsure you are ready to invest in the paid version. It's worth remembering that on the free Calendly account you can only have one live ‘event' at a time.

This is fine if you only have one type of meeting you want people to book using the system, such as a discovery call. But what if you have a 15-minute discovery call and a 60-minute coaching call? You can only have one event live and functioning at a time.

This can be frustrating as it requires you to log into Calendly to toggle the different meetings on and off (and to remember to do it!) which detracts from the whole appeal of having a platform that can automate your bookings for you.

Calendly Paid Account

If you upgrade your Calendly account you will unlock a whole host of time-saving features.

It's worth noting here that Calendly has a cheaper ‘Essentials' plan which has a good range of features, however, you can not create paid-for events on this plan.

So I'm going to jump straight into the features of their Professional Plan which include:

2 Calendar connections per person
Unlimited active event types
Customize your booking link
Create group events
Automated event notifications
Customize email notifications and reminders
Redirect your invitees
Collect payments with Stripe and PayPal
Track with Google Analytics and Facebook Pixel

You can see the full list of all the features here – there are many, many more.

What is TidyCal?

Just like Calendly, TidyCal is an online calendar booking system. It is similar to Calendly, you can set up free and paid-for meetings, but it lacks some of the more advanced functions such as customised email notifications and automated workflows.

TidyCal is a much simpler and straight-to-the-point application. It’s the perfect solution if you need something low-fuss that gets the job done.

TidyCal features include:

Schedule multiple free or paid meetings
10 calendar connections per account and automatically detected recipient time zones
Zapier integration
Specify time blocks of availability by day and add gap times
Basic customization options to match the general look and feel of your brand
Automatic translations that tailor your booking page and booking emails to the local language
Embed a booking page widget directly on your website
Get all the information upfront about your client or prospect who booked
Confirmation email
Easy options to cancel or reschedule the meeting
Meeting reminder emails

TidyCal pricing

TidyCal is an AppSumo product and currently has a one-time fee of only $29. The value of this product is insane! For one low payment, you can create stress-free and paid-for meeting links without the monthly commitment that you have with other similar tools.

TidyCal is perfect if you’re a light meeting user, perhaps you only book in a few calls per year – enough to need a tool like this, but not enough to justify a monthly expense.

If you’re looking to reduce your monthly outgoings, then TidyCal is the perfect solution.

Why I switched to TidyCal

When I discovered TidyCal, I had previously already used two different calendar booking systems and I found them far too complex for my needs.

I really only need a simple function to allow clients to book free and paid-for meetings with me. The simplicity of TidyCal appealed to me in the first instance, and then when I realised there was a low one-off payment, it was a no-brainer decision for me when deciding between TidyCal and Calendly.

I haven’t looked back since, and have recommended it many times to my business friends and other social media managers who have all loved it too.

You can sign-up to TidyCal for their low one-off fee of $29 here (it works out to be about £21).