Best Cal.com Alternatives: Beyond Open Source Scheduling

Cal.com is free and open source. These alternatives add energy awareness and intelligent scheduling worth paying for.

Cal.com made scheduling open source. For people who value transparency, data control, and free unlimited scheduling, it’s compelling. The codebase is public, you can self-host, and there’s no vendor lock-in.

But open source isn’t the same as intelligent. Cal.com shows your available time and lets people book. That’s it. No awareness of your energy levels, no understanding that different meeting types need different mental states, no intelligence about when you’re actually suited for meetings.

The result is a free, transparent tool that treats your 9am the same as your 3pm. Both are “available,” so both get offered for booking. This works fine for routine meetings. It fails when meeting outcomes depend on your cognitive state.

This guide covers alternatives that add intelligence to scheduling—some open source, some proprietary—that go beyond basic availability sharing.

Why Look Beyond Cal.com?

Cal.com does several things well. It’s open source with transparent development. The free tier is genuinely functional for unlimited event types. Self-hosting is possible if you want complete data control. Active community development means features keep improving.

The limitations show up when you want scheduling to be intelligent, not just available.

• No energy awareness. Cal.com shows all your free time as bookable without considering whether you’re suited for meetings at those times. Your sharp morning hours and your tired afternoon hours are treated identically.

• No meeting type intelligence. All meetings get the same availability. But a strategy call needs you at your best. A casual check-in works anytime. Cal.com doesn’t differentiate—everything just needs an available slot.

• Feature parity still developing. Cal.com is catching up to Calendly’s features but isn’t there yet. Some integration and workflow features that exist in proprietary tools are still being built in Cal.com.

• Self-hosting complexity. If you want self-hosting (Cal.com’s big selling point), you need technical comfort with deployment, updates, and maintenance. The hosted version is simple, but self-hosting adds overhead.

• No task integration. Like all pure scheduling tools, Cal.com knows your meeting calendar but not your work schedule. It might offer meeting times when you need to be doing deep work.

These limitations matter when you realize free and open source are table stakes, not differentiators. The question becomes: do you just need availability sharing, or do you need intelligent scheduling?

The Alternatives

rivva – Energy-Aware Scheduling Intelligence

rivva takes a fundamentally different approach: instead of showing all available time, show suitable time based on your energy patterns and the meeting type.

Your cognitive capacity varies throughout the day. Your 9am slot when you’re sharp is different from your 3pm slot when you’re tired, even though both might be free. Scheduling should respect this.

Dynamic energy-aware availability: Connect health apps or wearables, and rivva learns your personal energy patterns. Instead of manually configuring preferences, the system continuously understands when you’re at peak performance versus coasting.

Meeting type matching: Create different scheduling links for different meeting types, each showing availability during appropriate energy windows:

• Morning peak → strategy sessions, important decisions

• Afternoon rebound → creative brainstorming, collaborative work

• Midday dip → routine updates, low-stakes check-ins

• Wind down → casual catch-ups, wrap-ups

The invitee sees normal time slots. They don’t know the reasoning. But the times offered are when you’re equipped for that meeting type.

Task integration matters—here’s the critical difference. Cal.com and all traditional scheduling tools only look at your calendar. If your calendar shows free, they offer that time for booking. rivva looks at both your calendar AND your task schedule.

Scenario: You have deep work scheduled 9-11am in your task manager. Your calendar shows “free” because you haven’t blocked it as a calendar event. Cal.com shows that time as available for booking. Someone schedules a casual check-in at 10am. Your deep work time is gone.

rivva prevents this. Your task schedule protects work time from meeting requests automatically. If you’ve scheduled deep work, those hours won’t appear as available in your scheduling links—regardless of what your calendar shows. This coordination between work and meetings doesn’t exist in pure scheduling tools.

Still accessible pricing. At $10.50/month (paid quarterly), rivva costs about the same as Cal.com’s paid tier but adds intelligence that Cal.com doesn’t have. You’re paying for capability, not just removing the open-source option.

Best for: People who want intelligence about when to schedule meetings, not just free availability sharing.

Key Features:

• Energy-based scheduling links (Apple Health, Google Fit, wearables)

• Multiple links for different meeting types

• Dynamic availability that adapts to your state

• Task integration prevents work conflicts

• AI assistant (Nia) for schedule management

• Two-way calendar sync (Google, Outlook)

• iOS, Android, and web apps

Pricing: $13.99/month (monthly) or $10.50/month (quarterly). 7-day free trial.

Pros:

• Actual intelligence about when you’re suited for meetings

• Energy awareness prevents important meetings during low capacity

• Task protection means meetings don’t displace scheduled work

• Similar price to Cal.com Pro but with added intelligence

Cons:

• Not open source (proprietary)

• Requires health app or wearable for full energy features

• Newer to market than established tools

rivva makes sense if you want scheduling intelligence, not just free open-source availability sharing.

Calendly – Industry Standard

Calendly is the proprietary alternative most people know. It’s not open source, doesn’t self-host, and costs about the same as Cal.com Pro. But it has broader integration ecosystem and more mature feature set.

For people considering Cal.com because it’s free but finding limitations, Calendly provides more polish and features at modest cost.

Best for: People who want mature, well-integrated scheduling without needing open source.

Key Features:

• Multiple event types

• Calendar integration (major providers)

• Buffer times and scheduling rules

• Team features (paid tiers)

• Extensive integrations

• Workflow automation (paid tiers)

Pricing: Free tier limited. Standard $12/month, Teams $16/month per seat.

Pros:

• Industry standard with brand recognition

• Mature feature set

• Strong integration ecosystem

• Well-documented and supported

• Team features available

Cons:

• Not open source

• Can’t self-host

• Free tier very limited

• No energy awareness

• Premium features expensive

Calendly works if you want established, well-supported scheduling without needing open source.

SavvyCal – Personalized Booking

SavvyCal focuses on making scheduling feel more personal than transactional. You can overlay availability on recipient’s calendar and let them propose times if nothing works.

It’s not open source, but if you’re considering leaving Cal.com for better UX rather than better intelligence, SavvyCal delivers polish.

Best for: People who want personalized booking experience over open source.

Key Features:

• Overlay availability on recipient’s calendar

• Recipients can propose times

• Ranked availability (manual preferences)

• Multiple participants can find mutual times

• Better personalization than Cal.com

Pricing: Starts at $12/month.

Pros:

• More personal than Cal.com or Calendly

• Better for mutual availability

• Clean interface

• Ranked preferences add some customization

Cons:

• Not open source

• More expensive without proportional intelligence

• Preferences are static

• No energy awareness

SavvyCal works if you value UX polish over open source and intelligence.

Rallly – Open Source Group Scheduling

Rallly is another open-source option, focused specifically on group scheduling and finding consensus times. It’s like Doodle but open source.

If you’re using Cal.com for group scheduling and value open source, Rallly might fit better for that specific use case.

Best for: Open-source advocates needing group scheduling specifically.

Key Features:

• Open source (MIT license)

• Self-hostable

• Poll-based scheduling for groups

• Find consensus times across participants

• No account required for participants

Pricing: Free (open source).

Pros:

• Completely open source

• Good for group scheduling

• Free forever

• Self-hosting available

• Simple deployment

Cons:

• Limited to group scheduling

• Not ideal for 1:1 booking links

• Smaller feature set than Cal.com

• Less active development

• No energy awareness

Rallly works for specific group scheduling needs if you want open source.

Doodle – Group Scheduling (Proprietary)

Doodle specializes in group scheduling through polls. Everyone marks their availability, you pick the time that works for most people.

It’s proprietary (not open source) but if you’re using Cal.com primarily for group coordination, Doodle does that specific job well.

Best for: Group scheduling without needing open source.

Key Features:

• Poll-based availability

• Multiple participants mark preferences

• Find consensus times

• Calendar integration

• Simple interface

Pricing: Free tier available. Pro is $6.95/month.

Pros:

• Excellent for group coordination

• Simple polling interface

• Free tier functional

• Works well for events

Cons:

• Not open source

• More friction than 1:1 booking

• Poll-based is slower

• No energy awareness

Doodle works for group meetings but isn’t ideal for 1:1 scheduling.

Motion – AI Calendar Management

Motion is the opposite of Cal.com’s philosophy: completely proprietary, AI-driven, expensive, but comprehensive. It manages your entire calendar—tasks, meetings, focus time—with AI.

If you’re leaving Cal.com because you want AI doing the scheduling work, Motion delivers that. But you’re paying $29+/month and giving up all control.

Best for: People who want AI managing everything and don’t care about open source.

Key Features:

• AI auto-scheduling for tasks and meetings

• Project management integration

• Calendar optimization

• Deadline-driven work scheduling

• Automatic meeting scheduling

Pricing: Individual Pro: $29/month (annual) or $49/month (monthly)

Pros:

• Comprehensive AI calendar management

• Handles tasks and meetings together

• Good for complex schedules

• Automatic optimization

Cons:

• Very expensive compared to Cal.com

• Completely proprietary

• No self-hosting

• AI can feel controlling

• No energy awareness (treats all hours equally)

Motion makes sense if you want AI managing everything. Complete opposite of Cal.com’s open-source control.

HCal – Simple Open Source

HCal is a minimalist open-source alternative to Cal.com. It’s much simpler—fewer features, less complexity—but also more lightweight if you want basic scheduling with open-source principles.

Best for: People who want the absolute simplest open-source scheduling.

Key Features:

• Open source (MIT license)

• Self-hostable

• Basic availability sharing

• Lightweight and fast

• Simple setup

Pricing: Free (open source).

Pros:

• Very lightweight

• Simple deployment

• Open source

• Fast and minimal

• Easy to understand codebase

Cons:

• Very limited features

• No team features

• Smaller community

• Less active development

• No energy awareness

HCal works if you want absolutely minimal open-source scheduling.

Mixmax – Email-Embedded Scheduling

Mixmax embeds scheduling into Gmail. It’s proprietary and expensive but solves a specific problem: scheduling without leaving email.

If Cal.com’s limitation is requiring people to leave email to book, Mixmax fixes that. But you’re paying $29/month for email features beyond just scheduling.

Best for: Gmail power users who want embedded scheduling regardless of open source.

Key Features:

• Gmail integration for embedded scheduling

• Availability appears in email

• Email tracking and templates

• Workflow automation

• Poll creation in email

Pricing: Free tier limited. SMB starts at $29/month.

Pros:

• Smooth Gmail integration

• No separate booking page needed

• Good for email-heavy workflows

• Additional productivity features

Cons:

• Not open source

• Expensive for just scheduling

• Gmail-only

• No energy awareness

Mixmax works if Gmail integration matters more than open source principles.

Which Alternative Is Right for You?

If you want scheduling intelligence, not just open source → rivva provides energy-aware scheduling at similar pricing to Cal.com Pro.

If you want mature feature set without needing open source → Calendly delivers established, well-integrated scheduling.

If you want better UX over open source → SavvyCal makes booking feel more personal.

If you need open source specifically for group scheduling → Rallly focuses on that use case.

If you want group polling without caring about open source → Doodle does group scheduling well.

If you want AI managing everything → Motion is comprehensive but expensive and proprietary.

If you want minimalist open source → HCal provides basics with lightweight deployment.

If Gmail integration matters most → Mixmax embeds scheduling in email.

The fundamental question is what you value: open source principles (Cal.com, Rallly, HCal), scheduling intelligence (rivva, Motion), or established ecosystem (Calendly, SavvyCal).

FAQ

Should I stick with Cal.com’s free tier or pay for alternatives?

Depends on what you need. Cal.com’s free tier is genuinely functional for unlimited events. If basic availability sharing is enough, stay with it. If you want energy awareness, meeting intelligence, or task integration, those capabilities justify paying for rivva or Motion.

Can I self-host alternatives to Cal.com?

Rallly and HCal support self-hosting. rivva, Calendly, SavvyCal, Motion, and Mixmax are hosted only. If self-hosting is essential, your open-source options are Cal.com, Rallly, or HCal.

Is open source worth the feature limitations?

That’s a values question. Open source gives you transparency, control, and no vendor lock-in. But it often means fewer features, less polish, or more technical overhead. Whether that trade-off makes sense depends on how much you value open-source principles versus functionality.

What if I like Cal.com’s philosophy but need better features?

Use Cal.com for basic scheduling and add complementary tools for what’s missing. For example, Cal.com for booking plus a separate task manager for work scheduling. Or contribute to Cal.com’s development to add features you want—that’s the open-source model.

Can I migrate from Cal.com without breaking existing links?

No—new tools mean new links. Anywhere you’ve shared Cal.com booking pages needs updating. Most people run both tools during transition, gradually updating links to the new platform over time.

Conclusion

Cal.com solved the open-source scheduling problem. For people who value transparency, data control, and free unlimited scheduling, it delivers. The code is public, you can self-host, and there’s no vendor lock-in.

What Cal.com doesn’t solve is intelligent scheduling. It shows available time without considering whether you’re suited for meetings at those times. Your sharp morning hours and tired afternoon hours get treated identically. This works for routine meetings but fails when outcomes depend on your cognitive state.

The alternatives fall into camps: other open-source options (Rallly, HCal), proprietary with better features (Calendly, SavvyCal), AI-driven management (Motion), or intelligent scheduling (rivva).

If open source is your primary requirement, Cal.com remains the best full-featured option. If you want intelligence about when to schedule meetings based on energy patterns and meeting types, that capability exists outside open source.

rivva approaches scheduling by understanding that available time isn’t suitable time. Strategy calls land during peak thinking hours. Creative sessions happen when you’re mentally fresh. Routine updates fit natural energy dips. The person booking sees normal availability, but it’s actually your optimal time for that meeting type.

Try rivva free for 7 days to see how energy-aware scheduling ensures meetings happen when you’re equipped to handle them well, not just when your calendar shows free.