Calendly Alternatives in India: 7 Options Compared (2026)
Seven scheduling tools compared honestly for Indian professionals — pricing in INR, GST compliance, free tiers, and who each one is actually for.
Finding a scheduling tool in India is not hard. Finding one that bills in INR, issues a GST invoice, and does not charge you enterprise prices for a one-person workflow — that is harder.
This post compares seven real options: Cal.com, Zcal, SavvyCal, Microsoft Bookings, Google Calendar appointment slots, Kaien, and TidyCal. I have used most of them. I am the founder of Kaien, which is one of the tools on this list. I will mark clearly where Kaien wins and where it does not — the goal is to help you pick the right tool, not to sell you mine.
The short version: if you are an Indian solo professional who wants INR billing and a GST invoice, Kaien is the only option on this list that provides both. If those things do not matter to you, several of the others are excellent.
Quick comparison
| Tool | Starting price | Free tier | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cal.com | Free (self-hosted) / ~₹1,250/mo cloud | Yes | Developers, teams wanting control |
| Zcal | Free | Yes (generous) | Freelancers wanting simplicity |
| SavvyCal | ~₹1,670/mo | No | Professionals who want invitee-friendly UX |
| Microsoft Bookings | Included with M365 | With M365 subscription | Microsoft-ecosystem businesses |
| Google Calendar slots | Free | Yes | Casual use, Google Workspace users |
| Kaien | ₹199/mo | Yes (real, not a trial) | Indian solo professionals, coaches, freelancers |
| TidyCal | ~₹2,500 one-time | No | One-time buyers who hate subscriptions |
INR conversions at approximately ₹83.5/USD. Cloud pricing for Cal.com and SavvyCal.
1. Cal.com
Cal.com is the open-source Calendly alternative that has attracted the most developer attention over the last two years. The core product is available on GitHub under an AGPL licence, which means you can self-host it for free if you have the infrastructure and the time.
Price: Free if self-hosted. The managed cloud version starts at around $15/month per user — roughly ₹1,250/month at current rates. Billed in USD, no INR option, no GST invoice.
Who it is for: Developers and technical teams who want full control over their scheduling infrastructure. If you can run a Node.js app on a VPS, the self-hosted version is genuinely powerful and costs nothing beyond hosting.
Strengths: Extremely feature-rich. Supports round-robin routing, collective events, workflows, webhooks, and a large integration library. The open-source community is active. If you need something custom, you can build it.
Weaknesses: Self-hosting is not trivial. The setup involves a database, environment variables, and ongoing maintenance. The cloud version solves this but reintroduces the USD billing problem. For a non-technical solo professional in India, neither option is ideal. The UI, while improving, is still more complex than it needs to be for simple use cases.
Kaien vs Cal.com: Cal.com wins on features and flexibility. Kaien wins on simplicity and India-specific billing. If you are a developer who wants to self-host, Cal.com is probably the better choice. If you want something that works in five minutes and bills in INR, Kaien is.
2. Zcal
Zcal is the minimalist option. It launched as a free, beautifully designed alternative to Calendly and has maintained that positioning. The free tier is genuinely generous — more so than most competitors.
Price: Free for the core product. A paid tier exists for team features, but most solo professionals will never need it. Billed in USD if you do upgrade.
Who it is for: Freelancers and solo professionals who want a clean, simple booking page without paying anything. If your needs are basic — one or two event types, standard availability — Zcal covers them well.
Strengths: The design is excellent. Booking pages look professional without any configuration. The free tier includes multiple event types, which is unusual. Setup takes minutes.
Weaknesses: Limited customisation. No buffer controls. Reminder functionality is basic. No INR billing or GST invoice. Analytics are minimal. If you need more than a simple booking page, you will hit the ceiling quickly.
Kaien vs Zcal: Zcal wins on price (it is free). Kaien wins on features — buffer controls, reminders, analytics — and on India-specific billing. If you are just starting out and want something free and simple, Zcal is a reasonable starting point. See our full Zcal comparison for more detail.
3. SavvyCal
SavvyCal takes a different approach to the scheduling problem. Instead of showing the invitee a grid of available slots, it lets them overlay their own calendar on top of yours to find times that work for both parties. The idea is that scheduling should feel collaborative, not one-sided.
Price: $20/month per user — roughly ₹1,670/month. No free tier, though there is a trial period. Billed in USD.
Who it is for: Professionals who do a lot of scheduling with other busy people — executives, consultants, anyone whose invitees are also calendar-constrained. The overlay feature genuinely reduces back-and-forth in these situations.
Strengths: The invitee experience is the best of any tool on this list. The overlay feature is genuinely useful. Good customisation options. Solid reminder functionality.
Weaknesses: The most expensive option on this list for a solo professional. No free tier. USD billing with no INR option. No GST invoice. The overlay feature, while clever, is overkill for most use cases — if your invitees are not also calendar-constrained, it adds complexity without benefit.
Kaien vs SavvyCal: SavvyCal wins on invitee experience. Kaien wins on price (₹199 vs ₹1,670) and India-specific billing. For most Indian solo professionals, SavvyCal is hard to justify at that price point.
4. Microsoft Bookings
Microsoft Bookings is included with most Microsoft 365 subscriptions. If your organisation already pays for M365, you have access to it at no additional cost.
Price: Included with Microsoft 365 Business Basic (₹125/user/month) and above. Not available as a standalone product.
Who it is for: Businesses already in the Microsoft ecosystem — particularly those using Outlook, Teams, and Exchange. Works well for service businesses that need staff scheduling (salons, clinics, consultancies with multiple staff members).
Strengths: No additional cost if you are already on M365. Deep integration with Outlook and Teams. Supports multi-staff scheduling and service-based booking (useful for businesses with multiple service types). Reasonably good customisation.
Weaknesses: Requires an M365 subscription — not useful if you are not already paying for it. The interface is more complex than it needs to be for solo use. Limited reminder customisation. No standalone INR billing (the M365 subscription itself may or may not be INR-billed depending on your plan).
Kaien vs Microsoft Bookings: If you are already on M365, Bookings is worth trying before paying for anything else. If you are not, it is not worth subscribing to M365 just for scheduling.
5. Google Calendar appointment slots
Google Calendar has had appointment scheduling built in for years, and in 2023 Google improved it significantly with "appointment schedules" — a proper booking page that works without any third-party tool.
Price: Free with a personal Google account (limited). Full appointment scheduling features require Google Workspace, starting at ₹125/user/month.
Who it is for: People already deep in the Google ecosystem who want the simplest possible solution. If you live in Google Calendar and do not need reminders or buffer controls, this is the path of least resistance.
Strengths: Zero additional cost if you are already on Google Workspace. Seamless calendar integration — bookings appear directly in your calendar. No setup beyond configuring your availability. Works reliably.
Weaknesses: Very limited customisation. No buffer controls. Reminder functionality is basic. No analytics. The booking page looks generic. Not suitable for anyone who wants a professional-looking scheduling experience.
Kaien vs Google Calendar slots: Google Calendar slots win on price and simplicity. Kaien wins on everything else — reminders, buffers, analytics, customisation, and a professional booking page. If you are a solo professional who cares about the experience your clients have, Google Calendar slots are not enough.
6. Kaien
Disclosure: I built Kaien. I will try to be fair.
Kaien is a scheduling tool built specifically for Indian solo professionals — consultants, coaches, freelancers, and small practices. It is priced in INR, billed via Razorpay, and issues proper GST invoices.
Price: Free tier (Quiet) — one booking page, unlimited bookings, email reminders. Paid tier (Considered) — ₹199/month, multiple event types, buffer controls, analytics, full customisation. See full pricing details.
Who it is for: Indian solo professionals who want scheduling to work without thinking about it, and who do not want to pay foreign-currency prices for that. Coaches, consultants, freelancers, and anyone who works with clients across timezones.
Strengths: INR billing with no forex markup. Proper GST invoice — if you are GST-registered, you can claim input credit. Automatic timezone detection for cross-timezone bookings. Buffer controls at the event type level. Email reminders that actually reduce no-shows. Simple enough to set up in under ten minutes.
Weaknesses: No Salesforce or HubSpot integration. No round-robin routing or team scheduling. No SMS reminders. No video conferencing built in. The feature set is deliberately narrow — if you need enterprise scheduling features, Kaien is not the right tool.
Kaien vs Calendly: The full Calendly comparison covers this in detail. Short version: Calendly has more features; Kaien costs roughly one-fifth as much for an Indian professional when you account for forex markup and GST.
7. TidyCal
TidyCal is AppSumo's scheduling tool, sold primarily as a lifetime deal. Instead of a monthly subscription, you pay once and own it.
Price: Approximately $29 one-time (roughly ₹2,500) for the individual plan. Occasionally on sale for less. Billed in USD.
Who it is for: People who hate subscriptions and want to pay once. If you are going to use a scheduling tool for more than a year, the lifetime deal maths out favourably against most monthly subscriptions.
Strengths: No ongoing subscription cost. Covers the basics well — multiple event types, booking pages, integrations with Google Calendar and Zoom. Simple interface. Good value if you are going to use it long-term.
Weaknesses: USD billing, no INR option, no GST invoice. The product has not evolved as quickly as competitors — it covers the basics but lacks buffer controls, advanced reminders, and analytics. Support is slower than dedicated SaaS products. No free tier to try before buying.
Kaien vs TidyCal: TidyCal wins on long-term cost if you are comfortable with a one-time USD payment. Kaien wins on India-specific billing, GST compliance, and ongoing feature development. At ₹199/month, Kaien pays for itself in about 13 months compared to TidyCal's one-time cost — after that, TidyCal is cheaper. But TidyCal does not issue GST invoices, which matters if you are registered.
Which one should you pick?
Solo coach or consultant: Kaien or Zcal. If you want INR billing and GST compliance, Kaien. If you want free and simple and do not care about those things, Zcal. The coaches and consultants page has more on what Kaien specifically offers this audience.
Freelancer: Zcal for free, Kaien for ₹199/month if you want reminders and buffer controls. TidyCal is worth considering if you want a one-time payment and are comfortable with USD. See the freelancers page for more context.
Sales team or SDR: Cal.com (self-hosted or cloud) or Calendly. Both have round-robin routing and CRM integrations that Kaien does not. Kaien is not the right tool for team scheduling workflows.
Developer or technical user: Cal.com, self-hosted. It is the most powerful option and costs nothing beyond hosting. If you want to customise your scheduling infrastructure, nothing else on this list comes close.
Conclusion
There is no universally best scheduling tool. The right choice depends on your context: your team size, your technical comfort, your billing preferences, and which features you actually use.
For Indian solo professionals who want INR billing, GST compliance, and a tool that covers the core workflow without unnecessary complexity, Kaien is the option built for that. For everyone else, the table at the top of this post is a reasonable starting point.
If you want to try Kaien, the free tier is real — one booking page, unlimited bookings, email reminders, no credit card required.
Pricing figures reflect mid-2026 rates. USD/INR conversion at approximately ₹83.5. All competitor pricing sourced from their respective websites.