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Software · head to head

BambooHR vs Calendly

BambooHR logo

BambooHR

Software

HR software with heart

From
$10/month per employee
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Calendly logo

Calendly

Software

Scheduling automation platform for eliminating back-and-forth

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Calendly has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: BambooHR organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price; Calendly the free plan allows one event type and one calendar connection, so it cannot handle different meeting formats
  • They diverge on capability: BambooHR covers Employee database, Calendly covers Calendar sync.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which BambooHR and Calendly actually diverge.

Attributes where BambooHR and Calendly differ
AttributeBambooHRCalendly
Starting price$10/month per employeeFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, iOS, Android
Founded20082013

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in BambooHR

  • Employee database
  • Time-off management
  • Benefits tracking
  • Performance reviews
  • Onboarding
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Mobile access
  • Document management

Only in Calendly

  • Calendar sync
  • Automated scheduling
  • Custom availability
  • Time zone detection
  • Reminder emails
  • Buffer time
  • Meeting polls
  • Embed on website

Both cover

  • Slack
  • SOC2
  • GDPR

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

BambooHR

  • HR system of record with employee data and documentsnot Calendly
  • Time off tracking and approvalsnot Calendly
  • Applicant tracking and onboardingnot Calendly
  • Performance reviews and 1:1s on the Pro tiernot Calendly
  • Compensation planning and benchmarking on Elitenot Calendly

Calendly

  • Sales meetingsnot BambooHR
  • Interview schedulingnot BambooHR
  • Customer callsnot BambooHR
  • Office hoursnot BambooHR
  • Webinar registrationnot BambooHR

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

BambooHR

  • Organisations of 25 or fewer employees pay a flat rate starting at $250 a month, so a very small team pays far more per head than the listed per-employee price
  • Per-employee pricing starts at 26 employees, from $10 on Core
  • Performance management, 360 reviews and recognition all require Pro at $17 per employee per month
  • Compensation management, salary benchmarking and advanced analytics are Elite only at $25 per employee per month
  • Compliance training is rationed by tier, at 1 course on Core against 300 on Elite

Calendly

  • The free plan allows one event type and one calendar connection, so it cannot handle different meeting formats
  • Automated reminders and multiple calendars need Standard at $10 per seat per month
  • Round-robin routing, lead qualification and Salesforce integration require Teams at $16 per seat per month
  • SAML single sign-on, audit logs and domain control are Enterprise only, starting at $15,000 a year
  • Advertised prices are the annual rates

Pricing, plan by plan

BambooHR

$10/month per employee

No published plan breakdown. See the BambooHR review.

Calendly

Free
  • FreeFree
    • 1 event type
    • 1 calendar connection
    • Basic confirmation email
  • Standard$10/month
    • Unlimited event types
    • Multiple calendars (up to 6)
    • Integrations with HubSpot, Mailchimp, Stripe, PayPal
  • Teams$16/month
    • All Standard features
    • Salesforce integration
    • Round-robin meetings
  • Enterprise$15000/year
    • All Teams features
    • Salesforce routing lookup
    • Microsoft Dynamics 365

Which should you pick?

Choose BambooHR if

  • You need employee database.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want time-off management.
BambooHR review

Choose Calendly if

  • You need calendar sync.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want automated scheduling.
Calendly review

Questions people ask

Is BambooHR or Calendly better?
Neither clearly leads. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee and Calendly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, BambooHR or Calendly?
Calendly has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $10/month per employee for BambooHR and Free for Calendly.
Does BambooHR or Calendly run on more platforms?
BambooHR runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Calendly runs on Web, iOS, Android.
Can I use Calendly for free?
Yes. Calendly has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. BambooHR starts at $10/month per employee.
What is BambooHR best used for?
BambooHR is most often used for hr system of record with employee data and documents, time off tracking and approvals, applicant tracking and onboarding, performance reviews and 1:1s on the pro tier. Of those, hr system of record with employee data and documents and time off tracking and approvals are not what Calendly is typically brought in for.
What can BambooHR do that Calendly cannot?
BambooHR covers Employee database, Time-off management, Benefits tracking, Performance reviews. Calendly covers Calendar sync, Automated scheduling, Custom availability, Time zone detection. Both handle Slack, SOC2, GDPR.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Calendly: Does the free tier include automatic reminders?

No. The free plan only includes a basic confirmation email when someone books. Automated reminder workflows, SMS reminders, and follow-up sequences require the Standard plan ($10/month or higher).

Source
Calendly: Can I offer multiple meeting types on the free plan?

Only one event type can be active at a time. You can create multiple event types, but only one booking link works simultaneously. Switching between different meeting lengths requires manually activating another event type.

Source
Calendly: Does Calendly work with Apple Calendar and iCloud?

No longer for new users. As of August 20, 2024, new users cannot connect iCloud or Apple Calendar. Existing connections continue to work, but Calendly ended support for new Apple Calendar integrations citing Apple's security changes.

Source
Calendly: What platforms can I use Calendly on?

Calendly is available on Web, iOS, and Android. Browser extensions are available for Safari. There are no dedicated Windows or Mac desktop applications.

Source
Calendly: What does the Standard plan ($10/month) add over free?

Unlimited event types, multiple calendar connections (up to 6), integrations with HubSpot, Mailchimp, Salesforce, Stripe, PayPal, Zapier, and webhooks, plus automated reminders and email sequences.

Source
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Related pages

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