Acuity Scheduling vs TimeTap (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Acuity Scheduling and TimeTap share a 2.2 GPA, neither has a free plan, and Acuity Scheduling starts cheaper, at $16 a month against $22.45 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. TimeTap 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
TimeTap
Appointment scheduling with client records, texting and waitlists
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 TimeTap if
- Fits if you run a small service business that needs text reminders
- Works for teams already on Office 365 or Google Calendar
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as there is only a 14-day trial
- Pricey if you add staff or locations, as the price rises with each
- Tight if you want a waitlist, digital paperwork or automated triggers, which need Business at $40.45
- Watch out: the monthly-billing price was not readable, so the figures are the annual ones
- Watch out: SSO and tiered permissions are Enterprise only
How we grade them
| 2.2GPAAcuity SchedulingFair | 2.2GPATimeTapFair | |
|---|---|---|
| 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$22.45 a month for 1 staff and 1 location, billed annually. That is above the $16 where the dearer quarter of calendar tools starts. |
| 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. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial with no card. |
| 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. | CBooking page, client records, reminders, calendar sync and payments. Waitlist, travel time and paperwork are Business-only. |
| 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. You set up services, forms and calendar syncs first. |
| 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 with Salesforce, Office 365, Google Calendar, Outlook and Square. No phone or desktop app is listed. |
| Best for | taking bookings and payment in one go | appointment booking with texts |
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 TimeTap. 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. TimeTap starts at $22.45 a month and scores 2.3.
Acuity Scheduling scores higher and starts $6.45 a month lower. Of the other calendar and scheduling apps on the chart, 17 score higher than Acuity Scheduling for less, and 40 score higher than TimeTap 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.
- TimeTap also covers forms, appointment booking and class booking.
At a glance
| Acuity Scheduling | TimeTap | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $16 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly) | $22.45 per month for 1 staff and 1 location, billed annually |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 7-day free trial of any plan, no credit card needed | 14-day free trial of Professional or Business, no credit card |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Squarespace, Inc. | TimeTap |
| Price read from | acuityscheduling.com | timetap.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.
TimeTap
- Prices shown are for 1 staff and 1 location; the pricing page has a calculator for adding more.
- There is no free plan, only a 14-day trial of Professional or Business.
- Waitlist, digital paperwork and automated triggers are limited to Business or Enterprise.
- The monthly-billing price was not readable on the page; the figures above are the annual-billing defaults.
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.
TimeTap
- Booking page and embeds
- Every account gets a free scheduling page, and the booking widget can be embedded on your own website.
- Client management
- Keep client records, custom pre-booking forms and screening questions with each appointment.
- Text and email reminders
- Send text and email messages to clients. Automated message triggers and a dedicated text number come with Business.
- Calendar sync
- Two-way sync with Google Calendar, Office 365, Outlook and iCal keeps booked times from clashing.
- Waitlist and travel time
- Business adds an automatic waitlist and a travel time calculator for mobile services.
- Payments and class scheduling
- Accept payments at booking, and schedule classes and courses alongside one-to-one appointments.
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.
TimeTap
Team Professional$22.45
per month for 1 staff and 1 location, billed annually
Unlimited appointments, client management, 2-way calendar sync, custom booking forms and text messages. Price rises with staff and locations.
Team Business$40.45
per month for 1 staff and 1 location, billed annually
Adds automatic waitlist, travel time calculator, automated email triggers, digital paperwork and a dedicated text number.
EnterpriseCustom
Tiered accounts, unlimited locations, SSO login, vendor security agreements and tiered admin permissions.
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.
TimeTap
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Acuity Scheduling or TimeTap?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Acuity Scheduling is cheaper to start with: $16 a month, against $22.45 a month for TimeTap. Acuity Scheduling starts at $16 per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly), and TimeTap starts at $22.45 per month for 1 staff and 1 location, billed annually.
Which has a free plan, Acuity Scheduling or TimeTap?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Acuity Scheduling nor TimeTap has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Acuity Scheduling and TimeTap run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Acuity Scheduling lists iOS and Android apps. Both list a web app. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
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.