Acuity Scheduling vs Apptoto (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Acuity Scheduling and Apptoto share a 2.2 GPA, neither has a free plan, and Acuity Scheduling starts cheaper, at $16 a month against $30 a month.
Checked Oct 5, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 10, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Acuity Scheduling grades higher on features. Apptoto grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Acuity Scheduling
Appointment booking, payments and reminders for service businesses
Apptoto
Appointment reminders, two-way texting and online scheduling
Which one is for you
Pick Acuity Scheduling if
- Fits if you run a salon, studio, tutoring or coaching business and want clients to book and pay themselves
- Works for businesses that take a deposit or the full fee at booking to cut no-shows
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to start free: there's no free plan, and the trial lasts 7 days
- Pricey if you're one person who just needs a booking link, at $16 a month ($20 monthly) for one calendar
- Tight if you have staff or locations: Starter has 1 calendar, Standard 6 and Premium 36
- Watch out: text reminders, the waitlist, packages, memberships and gift certificates start on Standard at $27
- Pricey if you need a HIPAA BAA, the Acuity footer removed, or the custom API: all Premium only, at $49
Pick Apptoto if
- Fits if you want reminders sent from Google or Outlook calendars
- Works for small offices that confirm appointments by text
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you are one person: the starting plan has a minimum of 3 users
- Watch out: messages draw on 450 credits a month, and outside the US and Canada they halve
- Pricey if you add reputation management: $30 a month more
- Watch out: premium setup and HIPAA are separate fees
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAcuity SchedulingFair | 2.2GPAApptotoFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DStarter is $16 a month billed annually, $20 monthly, and buys exactly one calendar. The dear end of this category is $10. Then the things a real business needs climb further: text reminders, packages and memberships on Standard at $27, and the HIPAA agreement and logo removal on Premium at $49, against a $6 middle. | C$30 a month for 3 users on yearly billing, then $10 each, against $8 in the middle of calendar tools. |
| Free plan and trial | CNothing free to keep. There's a 7-day trial of any plan with no card asked, and a week is short to build a booking page, set your availability and test a payment before the bill starts. | CA 14-day trial with no card needed, and no free plan. |
| Features | BCovers the whole booking job: a branded page, intake forms, deposits or full payment through Stripe, Square or PayPal, invoices, email reminders, buffers and daily limits, group classes, and tap-to-pay in the phone app. Text reminders, packages and the AI assistant wait on higher plans. | CReminders, two-way texting, booking pages and payments, with credits that run out and reputation tools sold as an add-on. |
| Ease of use | CNo rating on record, and the work falls on you before any client sees it: services to define, availability rules, buffers, daily limits, intake forms, a payment processor and a calendar to sync. Clients booking themselves from a link is the easy half. | CNo store rating on record, and you connect a calendar and build message templates. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb plus iPhone and Android, with no desktop app of its own. It does sync with Google Calendar, Outlook and iCloud so busy time is blocked, and connects out to Stripe, Square, PayPal, Zoom and Squarespace, with the custom API Premium only. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Google, Outlook and Exchange calendars and an API; no desktop app. |
| Best for | taking bookings and payment in one go | appointment reminders that work off your calendar |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Acuity Scheduling and Apptoto. How we grade
Price against what you get
Acuity Scheduling starts at $16 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Apptoto starts at $30 a month and scores 2.3.
Acuity Scheduling scores higher and starts $14 a month lower. Of the other calendar and scheduling apps on the chart, 17 score higher than Acuity Scheduling for less, and 41 score higher than Apptoto for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Acuity Scheduling also covers invoicing.
- Apptoto also covers calendar, business texting, appointment booking and review collection.
At a glance
| Acuity Scheduling | Apptoto | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $16 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) | $30 per month for 3 users and calendars, billed annually ($39 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of any plan, no credit card needed | 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Squarespace, Inc. | Apptoto |
| Price read from | acuityscheduling.com | apptoto.com |
| Checked | Oct 5, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Acuity Scheduling
- There is no free plan. When the 7-day trial ends, a paid plan is needed to keep using the account.
- Plans are capped by calendars, which map to staff or locations: 1 on Starter, 6 on Standard and 36 on Premium.
- Text reminders, the waitlist, memberships, packages and gift certificates need Standard or Premium.
- Hiding the "Powered by Acuity Scheduling" footer, signing a HIPAA BAA, and custom API and CSS are Premium-only.
Apptoto
- Price follows the number of users and calendars, and the starting plan has a minimum of 3.
- Automated messages draw on a monthly credit allowance; messaging outside the US and Canada halves the credits.
- Reputation management is an add-on at $30 a month billed annually ($39 billed monthly), and adds 200 message credits.
- A one-time premium setup is available for a fee, and a HIPAA option is priced separately.
Key features
Acuity Scheduling
- Branded booking page
- Clients self-schedule, reschedule or cancel on a page with your logo and colors. Share it as a link or QR code, or embed it in a Squarespace site or another website.
- Payments, deposits and invoicing
- Take full payment, a deposit or a card on file at booking through Stripe, Square or PayPal, and send invoices. The mobile app accepts in-person payments, including tap-to-pay.
- Reminders and intake forms
- Automated email confirmations, updates and reminders on every plan, with custom intake forms at booking. Text message reminders start on Standard.
- Calendar sync and availability rules
- Syncs with Google Calendar, Outlook and iCloud to block busy times. Set daily appointment limits, buffers between bookings and room or resource restrictions.
- Classes, packages and memberships
- Offer one-to-one services or group classes and workshops. Standard and Premium can sell appointment packages, subscriptions, memberships and gift certificates.
- AI Booking Assistant
- An AI chat bot that helps clients get booked on the scheduling page. It is available on the Premium plan only.
Apptoto
- Automated reminders and confirmations
- Reminders go out by text, email or voice call before appointments, and clients can confirm, cancel or ask to reschedule, with replies updating the calendar.
- Two-way messaging
- Clients reply over whichever channel they use, and staff carry on the conversation from the app, with opt-in and opt-out lists.
- Online scheduling
- Booking pages show real-time availability from Google Calendar, Outlook, Exchange and others, for one-on-one or group sessions.
- Campaigns and reputation management
- Calendar-based text and email campaigns, and automatic review requests, are offered; reputation management is a paid add-on.
- Payments
- Deposits, no-show fees, partial or full payments and refunds can be collected for appointments.
- Developer API and MCP server
- A public developer API and webhooks are listed, along with an MCP server for connecting an AI assistant.
Plans
Acuity Scheduling
Starter$16
per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)
1 calendar, payments through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo, email reminders, custom client forms and automatic time zone conversion.
Standard$27
per month, billed annually ($34 billed monthly)
Up to 6 calendars, plus text reminders, an appointment waitlist, memberships, packages and gift certificates.
Premium$49
per month, billed annually ($61 billed monthly)
Up to 36 calendars, plus the AI Booking Assistant, a BAA for HIPAA compliance, logo removal, per-staff time zones, and custom API and CSS.
EnterpriseCustom
Unlimited calendars and scheduling instances, VIP account management, additional APIs and a central dashboard; priced through sales.
Apptoto
Starting plan$30
per month for 3 users, billed annually ($39 billed monthly)
Includes 450 automated message credits a month, unlimited manual messages and booking pages. Each extra user and calendar adds $10 a month billed annually, or $13 billed monthly.
Ways to pay less
Acuity Scheduling
- Annual discount
Save 20% by paying annually
Acuity's pricing page lists a 20% saving on annual billing: Starter is $16 instead of $20 per month, Standard $27 instead of $34 and Premium $49 instead of $61.
Apptoto
- Annual discount
23% off when billed annually
The pricing page says paying annually saves 23% against monthly billing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Acuity Scheduling or Apptoto?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Acuity Scheduling is cheaper to start with: $16 a month, against $30 a month for Apptoto. Acuity Scheduling starts at $16 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly), and Apptoto starts at $30 per month for 3 users and calendars, billed annually ($39 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, Acuity Scheduling or Apptoto?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Acuity Scheduling nor Apptoto has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.