Softwr

Project Management · head to head

LiquidPlanner vs Zcal

LiquidPlanner logo

LiquidPlanner

Project Management

Predictive project management

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zcal logo

Zcal

Scheduling

Scheduling with an unusually large free tier and heavy branding control

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zcal has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: LiquidPlanner rebranded to Tempo Portfolio Manager; the pricing page shows no published figures, only an early access sign-up; Zcal zcal branding stays on the free booking page, so the tier that is otherwise generous is not usable as a customer facing page for a business that cares how it looks.
  • They diverge on capability: LiquidPlanner covers Predictive scheduling, Zcal covers Unlimited booking links.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which LiquidPlanner and Zcal actually diverge.

Attributes where LiquidPlanner and Zcal differ
AttributeLiquidPlannerZcal
Starting priceOn requestFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
CategoryProject ManagementScheduling
Founded2006Unknown

Identical on both: platforms (Web), 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 LiquidPlanner

  • Predictive scheduling
  • Resource management
  • Time tracking
  • Analytics
  • Workload management
  • Jira
  • Salesforce
  • Slack

Only in Zcal

  • Unlimited booking links
  • Branded booking pages
  • Meeting polls
  • Group events
  • Round robin and collective
  • SMS reminders
  • Paid bookings

What people use each for

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

LiquidPlanner

  • Productivitynot Zcal
  • Collaborationnot Zcal
  • Task managementnot Zcal
  • Organizationnot Zcal

Zcal

  • A consultant who runs several different meeting types and refuses to pay a subscription for the privilege of having more than one booking linknot LiquidPlanner
  • A coach or recruiter who wants a branded page with a welcome video and intake questions before the call happensnot LiquidPlanner
  • A small team that needs round robin distribution of inbound calls without buying a full sales engagement platformnot LiquidPlanner
  • Anyone taking payment at the point of booking, where the Stripe connection removes an invoicing step afterwardsnot LiquidPlanner

Where each one falls short

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

LiquidPlanner

  • Rebranded to Tempo Portfolio Manager; the pricing page shows no published figures, only an early access sign-up

Zcal

  • Zcal branding stays on the free booking page, so the tier that is otherwise generous is not usable as a customer facing page for a business that cares how it looks.
  • Paid tier prices are not stated plainly in the product documentation and third party sources disagree on the figure, so the paid step up has to be confirmed on the vendor pricing page before budgeting for a team.
  • SMS reminders are credit metered on paid tiers, so a high volume booker can exhaust the allowance and be pushed up a tier by message count rather than by needing any feature.
  • The integration list is short next to established competitors, and there is no deep native CRM object writing, so a sales team that wants bookings to create and update CRM records will need automation glue.
  • It is a small vendor in a category dominated by much larger companies, which is fine for a personal booking link and a real consideration if booking is a core business process you cannot afford to migrate off in a hurry.

Pricing, plan by plan

LiquidPlanner

On request
  • Essentials$15/month
    • Project management
    • Basic scheduling
  • Professional$25/month
    • Predictive scheduling
    • Resource management
    • Analytics

Zcal

Free
  • Free ForeverFree
    • Unlimited booking links
    • Unlimited connected calendar accounts
    • Meeting polls and group events
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • Per user per month, priced on the vendor pricing page
    • Team creation and team pages
    • Round robin and collective events
  • Business$undefined/month
    • Per user per month, priced on the vendor pricing page
    • Everything in Pro
    • Custom domain and custom sending email domain

Which should you pick?

Choose LiquidPlanner if

  • You need predictive scheduling.
  • You also want resource management.
LiquidPlanner review

Choose Zcal if

  • You need unlimited booking links.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want branded booking pages.
Zcal review

Questions people ask

Is LiquidPlanner or Zcal better?
Neither clearly leads. LiquidPlanner starts at On request and Zcal at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, LiquidPlanner or Zcal?
Zcal has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at On request for LiquidPlanner and Free for Zcal.
Does LiquidPlanner or Zcal run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Zcal for free?
Yes. Zcal has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. LiquidPlanner starts at On request.
What is LiquidPlanner best used for?
LiquidPlanner is most often used for productivity, collaboration, task management, organization. Of those, productivity and collaboration are not what Zcal is typically brought in for.
What can LiquidPlanner do that Zcal cannot?
LiquidPlanner covers Predictive scheduling, Resource management, Time tracking, Analytics. Zcal covers Unlimited booking links, Branded booking pages, Meeting polls, Group events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

LiquidPlanner: How is Tempo timesheets pricing calculated for my organization?

Pricing is per-user per month and scales based on organization size. For 1-10 users: $1.00/user; 11-100 users: $5.21/user; 101-250 users: $3.66/user; scaling down to $0.25-$0.39/user for organizations with 5,000+ users.

Source
Zcal: Is the free plan actually usable?

Yes. Unlimited booking links and unlimited calendar connections, which is more than most competitors allow, but Zcal branding stays on the page.

LiquidPlanner: What license matching requirement exists for Tempo?

Your Tempo license size must match your Jira license size, with a user defined as anyone who can log into Jira.

Source
Zcal: What do you pay for?

Team features, round robin and collective events, branding removal, custom fonts, SMS reminders and custom domains.

LiquidPlanner: Is there a free trial for Tempo timesheets?

Yes, Tempo offers a free trial available through the Atlassian Marketplace.

Source
Zcal: Can I take payment for bookings?

Yes, through the Stripe connection at the point of booking.

LiquidPlanner: What deployment options are available for Tempo?

Both Cloud and Data Center deployment options are offered, with annual billing available.

Source
Zcal: Does it do round robin?

Yes, on the paid tiers. Round robin and collective events are not on the free plan.

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