Self-Hosted Alternatives to Acuity Scheduling
Why Replace Acuity Scheduling?
Acuity Scheduling (now Squarespace Scheduling) charges $20-61/month for appointment booking. Since Squarespace acquired Acuity in 2019, prices have increased and the product has been increasingly tied to the Squarespace ecosystem. The Emerging plan ($20/month) limits you to one staff member. The Growing plan ($34/month) adds 6 staff. The Powerhouse plan ($61/month) adds 36 staff with API access.
Updated March 2026: Verified with latest Docker images and configurations.
| Acuity Limitation | Self-Hosted Solution |
|---|---|
| $20-61/month subscription | $0/seat (self-hosted) |
| Staff limits per tier | Unlimited staff |
| Squarespace ecosystem lock-in | Platform independent |
| API access (Powerhouse only) | Full API on all tiers |
| Data on Squarespace servers | Your data, your server |
| Limited customization | Full source code control |
| Payment processing fees + platform fee | Payment processor only |
| Squarespace price increases | Fixed infrastructure costs |
Best Alternatives
Cal.com — Best Overall Replacement
Cal.com matches Acuity’s scheduling capabilities without the per-seat pricing. Round-robin assignment, collective scheduling, buffer times, payment collection via Stripe, and automated reminder workflows are all built in. The booking page is professional and fully customizable.
For Acuity users specifically, Cal.com’s biggest advantage is unlimited team members at no additional cost. Acuity’s Growing plan limits you to 6 calendars for $34/month — Cal.com self-hosted handles 50+ calendars on a $10/month VPS.
Matches Acuity on:
- Appointment types with custom durations
- Intake forms and custom questions
- Multiple calendar integration (Google, Outlook, CalDAV)
- Payment collection (Stripe, PayPal)
- Automated email/SMS reminders
- Embed widgets for your website
- Client self-scheduling
- Buffer times and daily limits
Exceeds Acuity on:
- Unlimited team members (no tiers)
- Full API access on all plans
- CalDAV support (self-hosted calendars)
- White-label capability
- Open-source transparency
Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Cal.com
Rallly — Best for Group Scheduling
If you primarily use Acuity for finding times that work for groups (not one-on-one client bookings), Rallly is a focused alternative. Participants vote on proposed times — no accounts needed. It’s a single Docker container with minimal resource usage.
Best for: Internal team meetings, committee scheduling, group coordination.
Not ideal for: Client-facing booking pages, payment collection, service business scheduling.
Read our full guide: How to Self-Host Rallly
Migration Guide
Exporting from Acuity
- Log into your Acuity dashboard
- Go to Business Settings → Import/Export
- Export appointments as CSV
- Download client list separately
- Document your appointment types, intake forms, and availability rules
What transfers: Appointment history (CSV), client contacts, calendar data (via calendar provider).
What doesn’t transfer: Appointment type configurations, intake form designs, payment settings, embedded widget code.
Setting Up Cal.com
- Deploy Cal.com via Docker Compose (setup guide)
- Connect your calendar provider
- Recreate appointment types matching your Acuity types
- Configure intake questions
- Set up Stripe for payments (if needed)
- Update your booking links everywhere
Cost Comparison
| Acuity Emerging | Acuity Growing | Acuity Powerhouse | Cal.com (Self-Hosted) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly | $20 | $34 | $61 | $5-10 (VPS only) |
| Staff/calendars | 1 | 6 | 36 | Unlimited |
| Annual cost | $240 | $408 | $732 | $60-120 |
| 3-year cost | $720 | $1,224 | $2,196 | $180-360 |
| API access | No | No | Yes | Yes (always) |
| Custom branding | Limited | Yes | Yes | Full control |
| Payment processing | Stripe/Square + Acuity fee | Same | Same | Stripe only (no platform fee) |
What You Give Up
- Squarespace integration — if your website runs on Squarespace, Acuity’s native integration is seamless. Self-hosted requires embedding or linking.
- Zero-maintenance hosting — Acuity handles infrastructure. Self-hosted means managing updates and uptime.
- HIPAA compliance (Powerhouse plan) — Acuity offers a HIPAA-compliant plan for healthcare providers. Self-hosted Cal.com can be HIPAA-compliant with proper server configuration, but you’re responsible for compliance.
- Native mobile app — Acuity has iOS and Android apps for managing appointments on the go. Cal.com works via mobile browser.
- Client history and notes — Acuity tracks appointment history per client natively. Cal.com integrates with CRMs for this.
For service businesses with 3+ staff members, the cost savings from dropping Acuity easily justify the self-hosting overhead.
FAQ
Does Cal.com support Acuity-style intake forms with conditional logic?
Cal.com supports custom booking questions (text, select, checkbox, phone, email) attached to each event type. Conditional logic — showing different questions based on previous answers — isn’t built in yet. For complex intake workflows, embed a Typeform or use a webhook to trigger a follow-up form.
Can I accept payments through a self-hosted Cal.com instance?
Yes. Cal.com integrates with Stripe for payment collection during booking. Clients pay at the time of scheduling. Unlike Acuity, there’s no platform fee on top of Stripe’s processing fee (2.9% + $0.30 per transaction).
How do I handle timezone detection for international clients?
Cal.com detects the booker’s timezone automatically via their browser and displays available slots in their local time. The host’s availability is defined in their own timezone. This matches Acuity’s behavior with no additional configuration required.
Can multiple staff members share a single booking page with round-robin assignment?
Cal.com supports round-robin scheduling where incoming bookings are distributed across team members based on availability and workload. Configure it by creating a Round Robin event type and adding team members. This replaces Acuity’s Growing plan feature without per-seat fees.
Does Cal.com send SMS reminders like Acuity?
Cal.com sends email reminders and notifications natively. SMS reminders require integrating with a service like Twilio via Cal.com’s webhook system or using an automation tool like n8n to trigger SMS on booking events.
How do I embed a Cal.com booking widget on my existing website?
Cal.com provides an embed snippet — inline, popup, or floating button — that you add to any website. Copy the embed code from the event type settings. It works on any platform including WordPress, Squarespace, and static HTML sites.
Will my Google Calendar two-way sync work with self-hosted Cal.com?
Yes. Cal.com syncs bidirectionally with Google Calendar, Outlook, and any CalDAV calendar. Events created through Cal.com appear on your calendar, and existing calendar events block those time slots from booking availability.
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