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Calendars · head to head

Rise Calendar vs Zcal

Rise Calendar logo

Rise Calendar

Calendars

The modern calendar for Mac

From
$16/year
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: Rise Calendar product discontinued as of March 31, 2025; 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: Rise Calendar covers Native Mac app, Zcal covers Unlimited booking links.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Rise Calendar and Zcal actually diverge.

Attributes where Rise Calendar and Zcal differ
AttributeRise CalendarZcal
Starting price$16/yearFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsiOS, Android, macOS, WindowsWeb
CategoryCalendarsScheduling
Founded2021Unknown

Identical on both: 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 Rise Calendar

  • Native Mac app
  • Natural language
  • Menu bar widget
  • Quick event creation
  • Minimal design
  • Google Calendar
  • iCloud
  • Outlook

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.

Rise Calendar

  • Schedulingnot Zcal
  • Appointment bookingnot Zcal
  • Time trackingnot Zcal
  • Resource managementnot Zcal
  • Team coordinationnot 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 Rise Calendar
  • A coach or recruiter who wants a branded page with a welcome video and intake questions before the call happensnot Rise Calendar
  • A small team that needs round robin distribution of inbound calls without buying a full sales engagement platformnot Rise Calendar
  • Anyone taking payment at the point of booking, where the Stripe connection removes an invoicing step afterwardsnot Rise Calendar

Where each one falls short

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

Rise Calendar

  • Product discontinued as of March 31, 2025
  • Failed to achieve sufficient commercial traction despite 900 teams and 30% month-over-month growth

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

Rise Calendar

$16/year
  • Annual$16/year
    • Full calendar
    • Menu bar access
    • Natural language

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 Rise Calendar if

  • You need native mac app.
  • You work on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows.
  • You also want natural language.
Rise Calendar 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 Rise Calendar or Zcal better?
Neither clearly leads. Rise Calendar starts at $16/year and Zcal at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Rise Calendar or Zcal?
Zcal has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $16/year for Rise Calendar and Free for Zcal.
Does Rise Calendar or Zcal run on more platforms?
Rise Calendar runs on iOS, Android, macOS, Windows. Zcal runs on Web.
Can I use Zcal for free?
Yes. Zcal has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Rise Calendar starts at $16/year.
What is Rise Calendar best used for?
Rise Calendar is most often used for scheduling, appointment booking, time tracking, resource management. Of those, scheduling and appointment booking are not what Zcal is typically brought in for.
What can Rise Calendar do that Zcal cannot?
Rise Calendar covers Native Mac app, Natural language, Menu bar widget, Quick event creation. Zcal covers Unlimited booking links, Branded booking pages, Meeting polls, Group events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Rise Calendar: Is Rise Calendar still available?

No, Rise Calendar was discontinued on March 31, 2025. The service shut down after failing to achieve commercial traction in a competitive market. All user data was permanently deleted.

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.

Rise Calendar: What were Rise Calendar's main features?

Rise offered calendar management with synchronization to Google Calendar, Outlook, and iCloud; integrated task and project management; scheduling optimization with FocusGuard; and cross-platform apps for iOS, Android, macOS, and Windows.

Source
Zcal: What do you pay for?

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

Zcal: Can I take payment for bookings?

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

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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