The 8 scheduling apps at a glance
One table, the same questions for every app: who it suits, starting price, free plan or trial, weekly lessons, payments and lesson packs, from each website, checked on 22nd of October 2026.
| App | Best for | Price from | Free plan or trial | Weekly lessons | Payments | Lesson packs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 SmartCookie | Private tutors and language teachers with weekly students, packs and payments | €19 a month, or €15.20 a month paid yearly, before VAT | 14-day trial, no card. No free plan | Yes: set the weekly lesson once | Card and Bizum through Stripe | Yes, the balance updates itself |
 Calendly | One booking link for meetings of any kind | €12 a month (Standard, billed monthly), or €10 a month billed yearly | Free plan (one event type) and a 14-day trial | No recurring bookings | Stripe and PayPal, on paid plans | Yes, from Standard (Stripe, personal events only) |
 Cal.com | A free booking link connected to many calendars | Free for one person. Teams: $12 per user a month, billed yearly | Free forever for 1 user; 14-day trial on Teams | Recurring events on Teams | Stripe and PayPal, on the free plan too | Not found |
 TidyCal | A booking link with no monthly fee | Free plan. Individual Lifetime: $29 once; Pro: $12 a month | Free forever (1 calendar) | Clients book several sessions at once (every plan) | Stripe and PayPal; 1% fee on Free and Lifetime | Yes, paid upfront (every plan) |
 Setmore | Service businesses with a small team | Pro: $12 per user a month, or $5 a month billed yearly | Free plan for up to 4 users | Recurring appointments on Pro only | Square, Stripe and PayPal, on the free plan too | Not found |
 Acuity Scheduling | Services that need client forms and packages | Starter: $20 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly | 7-day trial, no free plan | Yes, recurring appointments | Stripe, Square and PayPal | Yes, from Standard ($34 a month) |
 SimplyBook.me | Service businesses that want many staff on one flat price | Basic: €13.90 a month, or €11.90 a month billed yearly | Free plan (50 bookings a month, 1 provider) and a 14-day trial | Yes, recurring appointments | From Basic: Stripe, PayPal, Square and many more | Yes, credits with a validity period |
 Google Calendar | One booking page in the calendar you already use | Business Standard: €16.20 per user a month, or €13.60 a month with a 1-year commitment | One booking page with a personal Google account; 14-day Workspace trial | Not found | Card, Apple Pay and Google Pay through Stripe, on paid Workspace plans | Not found |
"Not found" means we didn't find it on their website, not that it doesn't exist. Prices are in the currency each website shows, and only some say whether tax is included. SmartCookie's are before VAT.
Each scheduling app, one by one
Each card says who the app suits, what it does well, what a tutor misses and what it costs, with the source and the date we checked it.
Scheduling apps are a bit like coursebooks: the right one is the one that fits how you teach, not the one with the prettiest cover. SmartCookie goes first because it's ours, so read it with that in mind; the rest follow the order of our comparison pages.
SmartCookie
Our productPrivate tutors and language teachers with weekly students, packs and payments
- What it does well
- Books the lesson and runs what comes after it: weekly lessons, packs, attendance, lesson notes, a student portal and card or Bizum payments, all in one place.
- What a tutor misses
- No free plan, and it doesn't issue legal invoices. It's built for lessons, so it won't book sales calls or other services.
€19 a month, or €15.20 a month paid yearly, before VAT
Prices checked on 22nd of October 2026. Source
One booking link for meetings of any kind
- What it does well
- A free plan with one event type, meeting packages and payment links on Standard, and more than 100 integrations.
- What a tutor misses
- No recurring bookings, so a weekly student books every lesson again. No attendance register or lesson notes (only a no-show flag and contact notes), and Bizum isn't listed.
€12 a month (Standard, billed monthly), or €10 a month billed yearly
Prices checked on 21st of October 2026. Source
A free booking link connected to many calendars
- What it does well
- Unlimited event types and calendars on the free plan, Google, Outlook and Apple calendars, 65+ languages and a one-click Calendly import.
- What a tutor misses
- We found no lesson packs, attendance register or lesson notes, prices are in US dollars only, and SMS reminders cost credits on the free plan.
Free for one person. Teams: $12 per user a month, billed yearly
Prices checked on 21st of October 2026. Source
A booking link with no monthly fee
- What it does well
- Packs, paid bookings and multi-session bookings even on the free plan, plus a lifetime plan you pay once and never renew.
- What a tutor misses
- No attendance register or lesson notes (only intake questions), we found no client portal, prices are in US dollars, and Stripe payments carry a 1% fee unless you pay for Pro.
Free plan. Individual Lifetime: $29 once; Pro: $12 a month
Prices checked on 21st of October 2026. Source
Service businesses with a small team
- What it does well
- A free plan for up to 4 users with unlimited appointments and payments, no Setmore cut on transactions, and booking buttons for Google, Instagram and Facebook.
- What a tutor misses
- Weekly lessons need Pro, we found no lesson packs, and notes are per customer, not per lesson. Attendance is a status label.
Pro: $12 per user a month, or $5 a month billed yearly
Prices checked on 21st of October 2026. Source
Services that need client forms and packages
- What it does well
- Recurring appointments, group classes and client forms on every plan, plus packages, subscriptions and gift certificates from Standard, which covers up to 6 calendars.
- What a tutor misses
- No free plan, prices in US dollars, attendance is a no-show label and notes are per client. The admin app is in English only.
Starter: $20 a month, or $16 a month billed yearly
Prices checked on 22nd of October 2026. Source
Service businesses that want many staff on one flat price
- What it does well
- Packs with credits and an expiry date, a client login and app, two-way Google and Outlook sync and a long list of payment processors.
- What a tutor misses
- Packs are an extra feature that switches on payments and client login, every plan caps your bookings per month, and Bizum isn't listed.
Basic: €13.90 a month, or €11.90 a month billed yearly
Prices checked on 21st of October 2026. Source
One booking page in the calendar you already use
- What it does well
- Your booking page lives in Google Calendar, blocks your busy times and, with Workspace, comes with business email, storage and video calls.
- What a tutor misses
- We found no lesson packs, attendance or lesson notes, reminders and paid bookings need a paid plan, and you can't edit the text of the reminder emails.
Business Standard: €16.20 per user a month, or €13.60 a month with a 1-year commitment
Prices checked on 21st of October 2026. Source
How to pick a scheduling app for your lessons
Start from how you teach, not from the feature list: how often your students come, how they pay you and whether you only teach or also sell other services.
- 1
You only need a booking link
Your students book a trial lesson or the odd class, and you get paid some other way. The free plans of Calendly, Cal.com or TidyCal cover that, and so does one booking page in Google Calendar. No need to pay for more.
- 2
Your students come every week
Check the weekly lessons column before anything else. Calendly has no recurring bookings and Setmore keeps them for Pro. Acuity and SimplyBook.me offer recurring appointments; in SmartCookie you set the weekly lesson once.
- 3
You sell packs and want Bizum
If your students buy 10-lesson packs and pay you by Bizum, SmartCookie keeps the pack balance and takes card or Bizum payments through Stripe. Calendly, TidyCal, Acuity and SimplyBook.me sell packs too, but none of them lists Bizum.
- 4
You run a service business with staff
If you also book other services, have several staff members or take payments in person, Setmore, Acuity Scheduling and SimplyBook.me are built for that: a free plan for small teams, client forms, many providers on one price.
- 5
You'd rather not pay every month
TidyCal sells a lifetime plan you pay once, with packs and paid bookings on every plan. Watch the small print: on its free and lifetime plans, TidyCal takes 1% of each Stripe payment, on top of Stripe's own fee.
Try it with your real timetable
Try SmartCookie for 14 days, no card needed: add your weekly students, share your booking link and see whether it fits how you teach.