All industries · head to head
Loom vs Calendly
Calendly
All industries
Scheduling automation platform for eliminating back-and-forth
- From
- Free
- Rated
- -
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Loom free tier capped at 25 total videos with 5-minute maximum recording length per video; Calendly the free plan allows one event type and one calendar connection, so it cannot handle different meeting formats
- They diverge on capability: Loom covers Screen & camera recording, Calendly covers Calendar sync.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Loom and Calendly actually diverge.
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 Loom
- Screen & camera recording
- Instant sharing
- Video editing
- Viewer analytics
- Comments & reactions
- Transcription
- Custom CTAs
- Drawing tools
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.
Loom
- Asynchronous video communication and screen recordingnot Calendly
- Product demonstrations and tutorialsnot Calendly
- Meeting transcription and documentationnot Calendly
- Team communication and knowledge sharingnot Calendly
Calendly
- Sales meetingsnot Loom
- Interview schedulingnot Loom
- Customer callsnot Loom
- Office hoursnot Loom
- Webinar registrationnot Loom
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Loom
- Free tier capped at 25 total videos with 5-minute maximum recording length per video
- Free tier limited to 50 workspace members
- AI features (auto-meeting recaps, auto-notes, auto-editing) only available on paid Business+AI and Enterprise tiers
- Video branding (Loom logo) appears on free and Business plan videos; only removed on Business+AI tier
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
Loom
FreeNo published plan breakdown. See the Loom 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 Loom if
- You need screen & camera recording.
- You want to start without paying.
- You also want instant sharing.
Choose Calendly if
- You need calendar sync.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, iOS, Android.
- You also want automated scheduling.
Questions people ask
- Is Loom or Calendly better?
- Neither clearly leads. Loom starts at Free and Calendly at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Loom or Calendly?
- Loom starts at Free and Calendly at Free.
- Does Loom or Calendly run on more platforms?
- Loom runs on Web. Calendly runs on Web, iOS, Android.
- Can I use Loom for free?
- Both have a free tier, so you can try either at no cost before committing.
- What is Loom best used for?
- Loom is most often used for asynchronous video communication and screen recording, product demonstrations and tutorials, meeting transcription and documentation, team communication and knowledge sharing. Of those, asynchronous video communication and screen recording and product demonstrations and tutorials are not what Calendly is typically brought in for.
- What can Loom do that Calendly cannot?
- Loom covers Screen & camera recording, Instant sharing, Video editing, Viewer analytics. 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).
SourceCalendly: 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.
SourceCalendly: 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.
SourceCalendly: 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.
SourceCalendly: 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