Acuity Scheduling vs Zoho Bookings

Acuity Scheduling

• Salons, studios, coaches, tutors and other appointment-based businesses
• Taking a deposit or full payment at the time of booking
• Selling packages, memberships and gift certificates alongside appointments

Zoho Bookings

• Teams already using Zoho CRM, Bigin or Zoho One
• Solo users who need a free booking page with two-way calendar sync
• Businesses with several branches or departments taking bookings

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.

Zoho Bookings

• The free plan is limited to one user.
• Online payments, group and recurring bookings, SMS and WhatsApp notifications, white labeling and a custom domain all need Premium.
• Basic is limited to one workspace. Extra workspaces beyond Premium's three, and bookable resources, are paid add-ons.
• Revenue reports, the customer portal, appointment limits and the audit log are Premium-only.

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.

Zoho Bookings

Event types and booking pages

Four event types: one-on-one, collective, group and resource-based. Share a booking link or embed a widget. Group, recurring and resource bookings need Premium.

Workspaces

Workspaces group event types by location or department. Basic is limited to one; Premium includes three, with more sold as add-ons.

Round robin and routing forms

Both paid plans distribute appointments across users with a choice of four methods. Premium adds routing forms that send a customer to the right booking page.

Workflows

Email notification workflows come with Basic. SMS workflows and custom workflows built with a script builder are part of Premium.

Payments

Premium can charge for appointments at booking through providers that include Stripe, PayPal and Razorpay.

Zia setup and MCP server

Zia, Zoho's AI, configures an account and can build a booking page from a company's web address. An MCP server lets outside AI assistants manage appointments.

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.

Zoho Bookings

• Free$0

  One user, online meetings, notification emails and reminders, and two-way sync with Zoho, Google and Microsoft calendars.

• Basic$6

  per user / month, billed annually ($8 billed monthly)

  One workspace, one-on-one and collective bookings, round robin, email workflows, appointment reports, and Zapier and Zoho CRM integrations.

• Premium$9

  per user / month, billed annually ($12 billed monthly)

  3 workspaces, group, recurring and resource bookings, online payments, SMS and WhatsApp notifications, routing forms, white labeling and a custom domain.

• FlexCustom

  A tailored plan for organizations with custom requirements, quoted by Zoho's sales team.

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.

Zoho Bookings

• Annual discount

  Save 25% with yearly billing

  Zoho's pricing FAQ says an annual plan saves 25%: Basic is $6 instead of $8 per user / month and Premium is $9 instead of $12.

• Nonprofit

  Special pricing for nonprofits and education

  The pricing FAQ says nonprofits and educational institutions get special pricing on request by email. No rate is published.