Free Acuity Scheduling Alternative — No Caps, No Credit Card
Acuity Scheduling doesn't have a free plan — after the 7-day trial it's $16/mo for a single calendar. RZRV gives you unlimited bookings, unlimited staff and unlimited SMS reminders for exactly $0. No tiers, no credit card, nothing held back.
What Acuity Scheduling charges for
If you searched for a free Acuity alternative, you've probably already discovered the catch: there is no free Acuity. Acuity Scheduling offers a 7-day trial, and when it ends the cheapest way to keep even one calendar running is the Starter plan at $16/mo billed annually ($20 month-to-month).
From there, the ladder gets steeper. The Starter plan covers exactly one calendar — every additional staff member who needs their own schedule pushes you toward Standard (6 calendars) or Premium (36 calendars). And the SMS reminders that actually stop no-shows don't exist on Starter at all: they start with the Standard plan at $27/mo billed annually.
Keeping your calendar at all
There is no free tier. After the 7-day trial it's pay or stop — from $16/mo (annual) or $20/mo (month-to-month) for the Starter plan with a single calendar.
Every additional staff calendar
Calendars are the pricing lever: 1 on Starter, 6 on Standard, 36 on Premium. Growing your team means climbing plans.
SMS reminders
Text reminders aren't on the entry plan. They start with Standard at $27/mo (billed annually) — the feature that cuts no-shows is itself behind a higher tier.
The unlimited that isn't free
To Acuity's credit, services and appointments are unlimited on every plan. But every plan is paid — 'unlimited' starts at $16 a month, forever.
“There is no free Acuity — after the 7-day trial the cheapest way to keep one calendar running is $16/mo.”
Why switch to RZRV
$0 isn't a teaser — it's the only plan
RZRV has exactly one plan and it costs $0. No trial countdown, no premium tier hiding the good features, no credit card field anywhere in signup.
Unlimited staff from day one
No calendar tiers. Add every stylist, trainer, provider or technician on your team — each with their own availability, services and hours — without your bill changing, because there is no bill.
SMS and email reminders included, unlimited
The no-show killers Acuity gates behind its $27/mo Standard plan are free and unlimited on RZRV — text and email reminders for every booking.
No new lock-in
Your booking flow stays portable: a hosted booking page, an embeddable widget for your own site, Google Calendar sync, and a REST API with webhooks. All of it free.
Acuity Scheduling vs RZRV: the caps, side by side
Acuity is a mature, capable scheduler — this isn't a takedown. The comparison is about what you pay for those capabilities. Every Acuity figure below comes from Acuity's own pricing page, not from third-party blogs.
| What you pay for | Acuity Scheduling | RZRV — free |
|---|---|---|
| Bookings / month | Unlimited (paid plans) | Unlimited |
| Staff / users | 1 calendar on Starter; 6 on Standard; 36 on Premium | Unlimited |
| SMS reminders | Standard plan and up ($27/mo annual) | Unlimited, free |
| Email reminders | — | Unlimited, free |
| Event / service types | — | Unlimited |
| Locations | — | Unlimited |
| Calendar sync | — | Google Calendar, free |
| Commission / client fees | None stated | None — 0% |
| Payments on free plan | No free tier | No payment processing (and no fees) |
| Starts at | $16/mo (annual) or $20/mo (monthly) — Starter, 1 calendar | $0 — there are no paid plans |
Last verified: June 2026 — every figure above comes from the vendor's own pricing page, not third-party blogs: Acuity Scheduling pricing.
“—” means the vendor's own pricing page doesn't state it. We only print caps we could verify — we never guess.
What you get free with RZRV
There's no feature matrix to decode because there's only one plan, and it costs $0. Everything below is included for every account — no trial, no tiers, no credit card.
RZRV doesn't process payments — and doesn't take fees or commissions on your bookings. See the full breakdown on the pricing page.
Frequently asked questions
Does Acuity Scheduling have a free plan?
No. Acuity Scheduling offers a 7-day free trial, but there is no free tier — when the trial ends you pay from $16/mo (billed annually, $20 month-to-month) for a single calendar, or you stop using it. That's why so many people search for a free Acuity alternative.
What is the best free alternative to Acuity Scheduling?
RZRV is the only scheduling tool we know of where the entire product is free: unlimited bookings, unlimited staff, unlimited SMS and email reminders, Google Calendar sync, an embeddable booking widget and a REST API — with no credit card required. If you only need a solo meeting link, Cal.com's free individual plan is also worth a look.
Is RZRV really free, or is it a trial?
Really free. There's exactly one plan and it costs $0 — no trial clock, no usage caps, no paid tier holding features back, and no credit card field anywhere in signup. What you see on the pricing page is the whole product.
How much does Acuity charge for SMS reminders?
SMS/text reminders are not on Acuity's entry plan — they start with the Standard plan at $27/mo billed annually. With RZRV, SMS reminders are unlimited and free on every booking, which matters because reminder texts are how you cut no-shows.
How do I switch from Acuity Scheduling to RZRV?
Create a free account, add your services, staff and hours, and you're bookable in minutes — share your hosted booking page link or embed the booking widget on your own site. RZRV syncs with Google Calendar, so new bookings land on the calendar you already check. You can run it alongside Acuity during the transition.
When is Acuity Scheduling the better choice?
Honestly: if you need to take money at the time of booking, Acuity earns its subscription — its paid plans take payments through Stripe, Square or PayPal, and the product is built around deposits, packages, gift certificates and client intake forms, with Squarespace-ecosystem integration on top. RZRV doesn't process payments at all. If collecting payment up front matters more to you than $0 software, Acuity is the better fit.
More about Acuity Scheduling and switching
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CompareStop paying for caps. Keep the bookings.
Unlimited bookings, staff and reminders — live in minutes, free forever. No credit card to start, none later either.