Scheduling & Booking · head to head
Cal.com vs Oyster
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Cal.com free plan limited to single user only; Oyster employer of Record is $699 per employee per month, with the discount tied to annual billing
- They diverge on capability: Cal.com covers Custom booking pages, Oyster covers Global Employment.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Cal.com and Oyster actually diverge.
Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated).
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 Cal.com
- Custom booking pages
- Team scheduling
- Collective scheduling
- Routing forms
- Webhooks
- Google Calendar
- Outlook
- Zoom
Only in Oyster
- Global Employment
- Payroll
- Benefits
- Compliance
- Contractor Management
- Time Off
- Expenses
- BambooHR
Both cover
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Cal.com
- Schedule meetings and manage availabilitynot Oyster
- Accept payments via Stripe and PayPalnot Oyster
- Integrate with Salesforce and HubSpotnot Oyster
Oyster
- Hiring employees abroad without setting up a local legal entitynot Cal.com
- Onboarding and paying international contractorsnot Cal.com
- Getting country specific employment compliance advice for distributed teamsnot Cal.com
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Cal.com
- Free plan limited to single user only
- Free plan restricted to 1 user account
- Teams plan requires yearly billing at $12/user/month
- Organizations plan requires yearly billing at $28/user/month
- Free plan lacks team collaboration features
Oyster
- Employer of Record is $699 per employee per month, with the discount tied to annual billing
- A refundable deposit is required before an EOR engagement starts
- Contractor management is free for 30 days then $29 per contractor per month
- HR advisory through People Partner Services is billed at $300 per hour on top of the subscription
- A currency conversion fee applies when you pay Oyster in a currency other than the contract currency
- Payments are accepted only by direct debit or wire in USD, EUR, GBP or CAD
Pricing, plan by plan
Cal.com
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Cal.com review.
Oyster
Free- Contractor$29/month
- Contractor Payments
- Compliant Contracts
- Invoicing
- Employee$599/month
- Global Employment
- Payroll
- Benefits
Which should you pick?
Choose Cal.com if
- You need custom booking pages.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Mobile app, Browser extension.
- You also want team scheduling.
Choose Oyster if
- You need global employment.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want payroll.
Questions people ask
- Is Cal.com or Oyster better?
- Neither clearly leads. Cal.com starts at Free and Oyster at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Cal.com or Oyster?
- Cal.com starts at Free and Oyster at Free.
- Does Cal.com or Oyster run on more platforms?
- Cal.com runs on Web, Mobile app, Browser extension. Oyster runs on Web, Ios, Android.
- Can I use Cal.com for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Cal.com best used for?
- Cal.com is most often used for schedule meetings and manage availability, accept payments via stripe and paypal, integrate with salesforce and hubspot. Of those, schedule meetings and manage availability and accept payments via stripe and paypal are not what Oyster is typically brought in for.
- What can Cal.com do that Oyster cannot?
- Cal.com covers Custom booking pages, Team scheduling, Collective scheduling, Routing forms. Oyster covers Global Employment, Payroll, Benefits, Compliance. Both handle Web support.
Related pages
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- Cal.com vs Paychex Flex
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- Cal.com vs Remote
- Cal.com vs TriNet
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- Oyster vs Calendly
- Oyster vs Motion
- Oyster vs Acuity Scheduling
- Oyster vs Appointlet
- Oyster vs Appointy
- Oyster vs Setmore
- Oyster vs 10to8
- Oyster vs Booksy
- Oyster vs Boulevard
- Oyster vs Doodle
- Oyster vs Fresha
- Oyster vs GlossGenius
- Oyster vs Schedulicity
- Oyster vs Square Appointments
- Oyster vs When2meet
- Oyster vs Zenoti
- Oyster vs Airbnb
- Oyster vs Booker by Mindbody
- Oyster vs Gusto
- Oyster vs Paycom
- Oyster vs ADP Workforce Now
- Oyster vs Zenefits
- Oyster vs Ceridian Dayforce
- Oyster vs Sage Intacct
- Oyster vs UKG Pro
- Oyster vs Namely
- Oyster vs Papaya Global
- Oyster vs Paychex Flex
- Oyster vs Paylocity
- Oyster vs Remote
- Oyster vs TriNet
- Oyster vs Velocity Global