If there is 1 tool and it is successful, more will soon follow. These are all appointment scheduling tools in a row with a comparison of the most important features.
Which tool suits you best depends on the tools you already have in use and what specific requirements you have. We included the most common requirements in our comparison.
We did not include embedded tools such as Microsoft FindTime and HubSpot meetings in the comparison. These tools are free on these platforms, but offer much less functionality than the tools below. The basic functionality is fine, but the integrations are limited. If you do not have many requirements and use one of these tools, then it is a great alternative.
| Functionality | Calendar Hero | Calendly | Chili Piper | Doodle | Freebusy |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Send link is sufficient (do not schedule times yourself) | √ | √ | X | √ | √ |
| One-on-one appointments | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Schedule appointments with multiple people | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Taking into account 1 agenda | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Taking into account 2 agendas (useful for secondees and consultants) |
√ | √ | X | √ | √ |
| Integration with major video platforms | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| – Google Meet | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| – Teams | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| – WebEx | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| – Zoom | √ | √ | √ | √ | √ |
| Integration with CRM | √ | √ | √ | X | √ |
| – FreshSales | √ | via Zapier | X | X | X |
| – HubSpot | √ | via Zapier | X | X | X |
| – Microsoft Dynamics | X | via Zapier | X | X | X |
| – PipeDrive | √ | via Zapier | X | X | X |
| – SalesForce | √ | √ | √ | X | √ |
| – Zoho | X | via Zapier | X | X | X |
| Price per user in euros | 8 | 8 | 15 | 7 | 6 |
Conclusion
All tools have the basics in place. For example, they all have the option to schedule appointments with one or more people and connections to the major video conferencing platforms. The major differences between the tools is the integration with CRM software and the structure of their pricing plans.
Integration with CRM
For Sales, this is a must. It saves time and everyone knows you have an appointment with a client. That avoids a lot of ambiguity. It also makes registration a lot easier.
Precisely because of this integration and triggers you build after it, you have sales people to better keep up with their CRM, create meeting reports faster and follow up on opportunities.
Price
The most expensive tool is 2.5 times more expensive than the cheapest. Almost all of them also offer free versions of their software. As always with free, you are then limited in functionality. To make a good comparison, we chose the price of the paid version that offers at least 75% of the functionality.
A scheduling tool may seem like a small add on in a sales person’s daily life, but make no mistake. These tools are incredibly powerful for establishing a good customer experience and maintaining momentum for sales.
Our Tip:
Do not be guided by price, but primarily by added value and functionality. Choose a higher price plan if it offers the expanded functionality you seek. You will easily win back the difference of a few tens in the first week of using it.
The best tool
Two tools stand out: Calendar Hero and Calendly. These two are the most developed and offer a lot of functionality. Calendly has been around a bit longer and is considered more stable. Calendar Hero, on the other hand, has more standard integrations for CRM. Freebusy is a good runner-up if you use HubSpot or SalesForce and want more functionality than the embedded tools in these CRMs.
Stryfes choice:
We choose Calendly because of its good performance. So to integrate, we do need to use an additional tool: Zapier. As a tech implementation club no issue, but not everyone likes tools as much as we do 😊.
