The main difference is the business workflow
Calendly is widely known for meeting scheduling and booking links. Acuity focuses on appointments and client scheduling. Setmore, Square Appointments and SimplyBook.me support broader appointment operations with different plans, integrations and ecosystems. Slotbook is built around a local business owning one public mini-site and one private workspace for services, availability, booking decisions, customers and team work.
Choose Slotbook when the booking page is part of your business presence
Slotbook combines a shareable branded booking page, QR code, services, custom questions, availability rules, customer history, staff roles and booking statuses. Customers can request an appointment without creating a Slotbook account, while the owner keeps control over what gets accepted.
- Public mini-site and booking link
- Service durations, prices and custom questions
- Opening hours, holidays, blocked time and business timezone
- Owner calendar, customers, staff and booking approvals
Google sign-in and Calendar sync are optional choices
Owners can sign in with Google or create a separate email-and-password account. After connecting Google Calendar, an owner can choose whether accepted Slotbook bookings should be added to the calendar and can pause or resume that sync without disconnecting Google.
- Google sign-in or email/password registration
- Forgot-password recovery for email accounts
- Optional Google Calendar connection
- Accepted-booking Calendar sync can be turned off or on
Compare the workflow, not only the feature count
The best tool depends on how you work. Meeting-first scheduling, appointment management, payments, custom modules and a branded local-business booking presence are different priorities. Use the comparison below as a starting point, then confirm current plans, regions and integrations with each provider before choosing.
At-a-glance workflow comparison
Use this matrix to understand the product focus. Feature availability, pricing and integrations can change by plan, country and setup.
| What matters | Slotbook | Calendly | Acuity | Setmore | Square | SimplyBook.me |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public booking page for a local business | Included mini-site | Scheduling page / links | Scheduling page | Booking page | Booking site | Booking website or module |
| Services, durations, prices and custom questions | Core workflow | Event types | Appointment services | Services | Appointments and services | Configurable services |
| Owner workspace for bookings, customers and availability | Core workspace | Meeting scheduling focus | Appointment focus | Local-business focus | Appointments, staff and payments | Modular booking platform |
| Staff roles and separate working hours | Pro workspace | Team scheduling varies by plan | Staff calendars vary by plan | Staff scheduling varies by plan | Staff and team tools | Depends on setup and plan |
| Shareable link and QR code | Included | Link / embed options vary | Link / embed options vary | Link and sharing options vary | Booking link | Link and site options vary |
| Customer creates a Slotbook account | No | Usually no customer account | Usually no customer account | Usually no customer account | Varies by workflow | Varies by setup |
| Accepted booking → Google Calendar | Optional toggle; pause or resume anytime | May depend on integration or plan | May depend on integration or plan | May depend on integration or plan | May depend on integration or plan | May depend on integration or plan |
| Google sign-in or email/password choice | Both options | Account login options vary | Account login options vary | Account login options vary | Account login options vary | Account login options vary |
| Branding, customer history, reminders and exports | One connected workspace; Pro adds depth | Depends on plan and integrations | Depends on plan and add-ons | Depends on plan | Strong payments ecosystem | Depends on modules and plan |
| Typical focus | Local service businesses that need a booking page and owner app | Meetings and scheduling links | Appointments and client scheduling | Small-business appointments | Appointments, payments and commerce | Customizable booking operations |