Is Calendly or Zapier better?

Neither clearly leads. Calendly starts at Free and Zapier at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.

Which is cheaper, Calendly or Zapier?

Calendly starts at Free and Zapier at Free.

Does Calendly or Zapier run on more platforms?

Calendly runs on Web, iOS, Android. Zapier runs on Web, Api.

Can I use Calendly for free?

Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.

What is Calendly best used for?

Calendly is most often used for sales meetings, interview scheduling, customer calls, office hours. Of those, sales meetings and interview scheduling are not what Zapier is typically brought in for.

What can Calendly do that Zapier cannot?

Calendly covers Calendar sync, Automated scheduling, Custom availability, Time zone detection. Zapier covers App integrations, Workflow automation, Trigger-based actions, Multi-step Zaps. Both handle Salesforce, Slack, SOC2, GDPR.

All industries · head to head

Calendly vs Zapier

Calendly

All industries

Scheduling automation platform for eliminating back-and-forth

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

Zapier

All industries

Automate your work across 7,000+ app integrations

From: Free
Rated: -

Full review Website

The short version

Each has a real cost: Calendly the free plan allows one event type and one calendar connection, so it cannot handle different meeting formats; Zapier the free plan allows 100 tasks per month and only two-step Zaps, one trigger and one action
They diverge on capability: Calendly covers Calendar sync, Zapier covers App integrations.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Calendly and Zapier actually diverge.

Attributes where Calendly and Zapier differ
Attribute	Calendly	Zapier
Pricing model	Unknown	usage-based
Platforms	Web, iOS, Android	Web, Api
Founded	2013	2011

Identical on both: starting price (Free), free tier (Yes), user rating (Not yet rated), category (All industries).

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 Calendly

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

Only in Zapier

App integrations
Workflow automation
Trigger-based actions
Multi-step Zaps
Data formatting
Conditional logic
Error handling
Team collaboration

Both cover

Salesforce
Slack
SOC2
GDPR

What people use each for

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

Calendly

Sales meetingsnot Zapier
Interview schedulingnot Zapier
Customer callsnot Zapier
Office hoursnot Zapier
Webinar registrationnot Zapier

Zapier

Lead managementnot Calendly
Data synchronizationnot Calendly
Email automationnot Calendly
Social media postingnot Calendly
Customer onboardingnot Calendly

Where each one falls short

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

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

Zapier

The free plan allows 100 tasks per month and only two-step Zaps, one trigger and one action
Multi-step Zaps, filters, paths, webhooks and the formatter all require a paid plan
Premium app connectors are withheld from the free plan
Free Zaps poll for new data every 15 minutes against 2 minutes on Professional and 1 minute on Team
Paying monthly rather than annually costs 50 percent more, so the 2,000-task Professional plan is $73.50 a month instead of $49

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Zapier

Free

FreeFree
- 100 tasks/month
- 5 Zaps
- Two-step Zaps
Starter$19.99/month
- 750 tasks/month
- 20 Zaps
- Multi-step Zaps
Professional$49/month
- 2,000 tasks/month
- Unlimited Zaps
- Custom logic

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Zapier if

You need app integrations.
You want to start without paying.
You work on Web, Api.
You also want workflow automation.

Zapier review

Questions people ask

Is Calendly or Zapier better?: Neither clearly leads. Calendly starts at Free and Zapier at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Calendly or Zapier?: Calendly starts at Free and Zapier at Free.
Does Calendly or Zapier run on more platforms?: Calendly runs on Web, iOS, Android. Zapier runs on Web, Api.
Can I use Calendly for free?: Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
What is Calendly best used for?: Calendly is most often used for sales meetings, interview scheduling, customer calls, office hours. Of those, sales meetings and interview scheduling are not what Zapier is typically brought in for.
What can Calendly do that Zapier cannot?: Calendly covers Calendar sync, Automated scheduling, Custom availability, Time zone detection. Zapier covers App integrations, Workflow automation, Trigger-based actions, Multi-step Zaps. Both handle Salesforce, 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

Calendly vs Zapier

Calendly

Zapier

The short version

Where they differ

What each one covers

Only in Calendly

Only in Zapier

Both cover

What people use each for

Calendly

Zapier

Where each one falls short

Calendly

Zapier

Pricing, plan by plan

Calendly

Zapier

Which should you pick?

Choose Calendly if

Choose Zapier if

Questions people ask

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Related pages

More on Calendly

More on Zapier

Keep looking

Other head to heads