Booking

Usually not, because the jobs differ. A consultant books calls into one calendar, and Calendly or SavvyCal handle that with little setup. A salon needs staff calendars, reminders and payments, which Setmore covers on its free plan. Acuity Scheduling sits between the two, with intake forms and deposits for paid one-to-one sessions.

Yes, three of the picks have free plans: Calendly, Cal.com and Setmore. One person can run Calendly free. Cal.com's free plan is generous, and you can also host the code on your own server. Setmore's free plan covers small teams, which suits shops that used to book by phone.

A booking page removes the back-and-forth about which time works. The client sees only your free slots, picks one and gets a confirmation and a reminder. Reminders are the main defence against no-shows, and every pick here sends them. If you book fewer than a handful of meetings a month, a shared calendar may still be enough.

Acuity Scheduling lets clients pay in full or leave a deposit while they book, and fill in your intake form at the same time. Calendly, Cal.com and Setmore also take payments at booking. A deposit is the most direct way to cut no-shows for paid sessions. Check which payment provider each tool connects to in your country before you commit.

Your booking page collects names, emails and sometimes health or intake details, so GDPR applies to it. Cal.com is open source, which means you can host it on your own servers and keep that data where you choose. Hosted tools such as Calendly keep the data on their own infrastructure. If you take sensitive intake answers, as a therapist might, read each provider's data processing terms first.