SavvyCal

Overview

SavvyCal is a recipient-first scheduling tool with overlay availability at $12-20/user/month, letting meeting invitees see their own calendar overlaid on yours to instantly find mutual free time - eliminating back-and-forth email scheduling through visual time-finding.

Unlike sender-focused competitors (Calendly shows only YOUR availability), SavvyCal's overlay availability feature displays the recipient's calendar transparently over your available slots, allowing them to visually identify mutual open time in seconds - positioning SavvyCal as the "Google Calendar-like booking experience" vs Calendly's static grid.

The UX-First Reality: SavvyCal suits solopreneurs, consultants, coaches, and small sales teams (1-20 people) prioritizing scheduling experience and recipient convenience over budget. At $12/user Basic or $20/user Premium, SavvyCal costs 20-100% more than Calendly ($10/user) or Cal.com (free) but differentiates through unique overlay UX, ranked availability (mark times as "preferred" vs "acceptable"), and recipient-proposed alternatives.

Overlay Availability (Signature Feature)

How It Works:

1. You create booking link and share with prospect
2. Recipient clicks link and sees YOUR available time slots
3. Unique to SavvyCal: Recipient's calendar automatically overlays on top of your availability (no manual input required)
4. Recipient visually identifies mutual free time (green = both free, gray = conflict)
5. Books meeting in <30 seconds vs 3-5 email back-and-forth

Why This Matters:

• Eliminates "Are you free Tuesday at 2pm?" → "No, how about Wednesday?" → "Wednesday doesn't work, Friday?" email chains
• Recipient sees THEIR schedule overlaid transparently (like looking at two Google Calendars stacked)
• Only SavvyCal offers this - Calendly, Cal.com, Chili Piper all show sender availability only

Technical Implementation:

• Works via browser calendar permission (recipient grants one-time access to read their Google/Outlook/iCloud calendar)
• No calendar data stored by SavvyCal (read-only access for overlay display)
• Falls back to standard availability grid if recipient denies calendar permission

Ranked Availability (Preferred vs Acceptable Times)

How It Works:

• Set certain time slots as "preferred" (9am-11am green) vs "acceptable" (4pm-5pm yellow)
• Recipients see color-coded preferences when booking
• SavvyCal guides them toward preferred times first
• You fill your calendar optimally without restricting availability

Why This Matters:

• Optimize calendar for deep work (prefer morning slots, accept afternoon if needed)
• Guide prospects toward ideal times without forcing rigid constraints
• Better than blocking times - shows flexibility while indicating preferences

Recipient-Proposed Alternatives

How It Works:

• If none of your available slots work, recipient can propose alternative times
• You receive proposal notification and approve/counter-propose
• Eliminates dead-end "none of these work for me" scenarios

Why This Matters:

• Prevents lost bookings when your availability doesn't match
• Maintains conversation momentum vs abandoning scheduling attempt
• Unique to SavvyCal - Calendly recipients must email separately to propose alternatives

Overlay Availability for Instant Mutual Time-Finding

Recipients see their calendar overlaid on yours automatically, identifying mutual free time in seconds without back-and-forth emails - only scheduling tool offering this UX.

What This Means:

• Booking time reduced from 3-5 email exchanges (avg 2-3 days) to <30 seconds click-to-book
• Recipient controls scheduling (sees THEIR conflicts overlaid on YOUR availability)
• vs Calendly: Calendly shows only sender availability - recipient must manually check their calendar separately

Ranked Availability (Preferred vs Acceptable Time Slots)

Mark certain hours as "preferred" (ideal for you) vs "acceptable" (available if needed) with color-coding guiding recipients toward optimal times.

What This Means:

• Fill calendar with preferred morning slots (9am-11am green "preferred") before afternoon slots (4pm-5pm yellow "acceptable")
• Maintain flexibility (don't block times entirely) while indicating preferences
• vs Calendly: Calendly treats all available time equally - no preference ranking

Personalized Booking Pages with Custom Branding

Fully customize booking page appearance (colors, logos, images, copy) to match personal brand vs generic Calendly blue.

What This Means:

• Consultants/coaches create on-brand scheduling experience (custom domain savvycal.com/yourname)
• Add personal photo, bio, testimonials to booking page
• vs Calendly: Calendly allows some customization but SavvyCal offers more design flexibility

Scheduling Limits (Per Day/Week/Month)

Cap bookings to X meetings per day, week, or month to prevent over-scheduling and preserve focus time.

What This Means:

• Limit to 3 client calls per day maximum (protect deep work time)
• Cap 10 sales demos per week (prevent rep burnout)
• vs Calendly: Calendly Pro includes similar limits but SavvyCal's implementation more intuitive

SavvyCal offers three pricing tiers (free plan very limited - can't schedule own meetings):

Free Tier (Very Limited)

$0 per user

• Limitation: Can receive bookings but CANNOT schedule your own meetings
• Use Case: Testing SavvyCal before upgrading - essentially unusable for active scheduling
• Reality Check: Not recommended - upgrade to Basic $12/user for actual functionality

Basic Tier

$12/user/month (annual or monthly - no annual discount)

• Bookings: Unlimited booking links and unlimited meetings
• Calendar Connections: Connect multiple calendars (Google, Outlook, iCloud)
• Key Features: Overlay availability, ranked time slots, personalized booking pages
• Integrations: Zoom, Google Meet basic integrations
• Best For: Solopreneurs, consultants, coaches (1-5 people) needing core scheduling with overlay UX

Basic Tier Value Proposition:

• 20% more expensive than Calendly Standard ($12/user vs Calendly's $10/user)
• vs Cal.com Free: Paying $12/user for overlay availability vs Cal.com's $0 unlimited bookings
• Justified if overlay UX and ranked availability worth $12/user premium

Premium Tier

$20/user/month (annual or monthly - no annual discount)

• Bookings: Everything in Basic plus advanced features
• Payment Processing: Stripe integration for paid consultations
• Workflows: Automated reminders, follow-ups, custom notifications
• Integrations: All integrations including Zapier (5,000+ apps), Salesforce via Zapier
• Customization: Advanced branding, custom domain, remove SavvyCal branding
• Best For: Small sales teams (5-20 reps), paid consultants, coaches charging for sessions

Premium Tier Reality Check:

• 100% more expensive than Calendly Standard ($20/user vs $10/user)
• 33% more expensive than Cal.com Teams ($20/user vs Cal.com's $15/user)
• Justified only if paid bookings (Stripe) or advanced workflows critical

Student/Nonprofit Discount

25% off all paid plans for students and nonprofit organizations:

• Basic: $9/user/month (vs regular $12)
• Premium: $15/user/month (vs regular $20)

Recommendation:

• Choose SavvyCal if you prioritize recipient experience (overlay availability, ranked times) and can justify 20-100% premium vs competitors
• Choose Calendly if you want industry-standard scheduling at $10/user (17% cheaper than SavvyCal Basic)
• Choose Cal.com if you need unlimited free bookings ($0 vs SavvyCal's $12/user) or open-source self-hosting
• Choose Chili Piper if you need inbound routing + scheduling for revenue teams (different use case than SavvyCal's 1-on-1 booking)

Recommendation:

• Choose SavvyCal if recipient experience (overlay availability) is top priority and worth 20-100% premium vs competitors
• Choose Calendly if you want proven industry-standard at $10/user (17% cheaper than SavvyCal) with mobile app and more integrations
• Choose Cal.com if you need unlimited free bookings or open-source self-hosting vs SavvyCal's paid-only usability

G2 Reviews (4.9/5 stars, 45 reviews)

What Users Love:

• "Overlay availability is game-changer - prospects book in 20 seconds vs 5-email back-and-forth with Calendly" (Consultant, Solo)
• "Ranked time slots let me guide clients toward morning calls (preferred green) while keeping afternoon (acceptable yellow) open" (Coach, Small Business)
• "Interface feels like Google Calendar - instantly familiar for both me and my clients" (Sales Rep, Startup)

What Users Complain About:

• "$12/user 20% more than Calendly ($10/user) - hard to justify overlay feature premium on tight budget" (Founder, Seed-Stage)
• "No mobile app limits flexibility - must use browser on phone vs Calendly's native iOS app" (AE, Growth-Stage)
• "Free plan unusable (can't schedule own meetings) - forced to upgrade immediately to $12/user" (Freelancer, Solo)

Capterra Reviews (4.8/5 stars, 28 reviews)

Common Themes:

• Overlay Availability Best-in-Class: Users consistently praise unique overlay UX reducing booking friction vs Calendly's static grid
• Ranked Time Slots Optimize Calendars: Consultants/coaches love "preferred" vs "acceptable" color-coding guiding optimal bookings
• Pricing High for SMB: Many note $12-20/user expensive vs Cal.com free or Calendly $10/user without clear ROI justification
• UX Excellence: Interface praised as most intuitive scheduling tool with Google Calendar-familiar design

Our Take: SavvyCal earns Gold medal for best UX scheduling tool with unique overlay availability at $12/user (Basic) or $20/user (Premium) letting recipients see their calendar overlaid on yours for instant mutual time-finding in <30 seconds. The overlay feature (only SavvyCal offers this) eliminates 3-5 email back-and-forth by visually showing both calendars stacked, while ranked availability (mark times as "preferred" green vs "acceptable" yellow) guides optimal booking without rigid constraints. However, pricing is 20-100% higher than Calendly ($10/user) or Cal.com (free) making SavvyCal expensive for budget-conscious teams, no mobile app limits on-the-go access vs Calendly's iOS/Android apps, and free tier is unusable (can't schedule own meetings) forcing immediate $12/user upgrade. Verdict: Choose SavvyCal if you're solopreneur/consultant/coach (1-5 people) prioritizing recipient experience and overlay UX worth $12-20/user premium - but prefer Calendly ($10/user cheaper) for industry-standard with mobile app or Cal.com ($0 free) for budget-conscious unlimited bookings if not needing overlay availability.

SavvyCal integrates with major calendar platforms and offers Zapier connectivity - narrower native integration ecosystem than Calendly but covers core scheduling needs:

Calendar Platforms (Native):

• Google Calendar - Bidirectional sync with real-time availability and automatic event creation
• Microsoft Outlook - Calendar sync and booking confirmation emails
• iCloud Calendar - Apple users get automatic availability detection

Video Conferencing (Native):

• Zoom - Auto-generate Zoom meeting links for virtual bookings
• Google Meet - One-click Google Meet link creation with calendar invites

Payments (Premium Tier):

• Stripe - Accept payment for paid consultations and coaching sessions

Automation (Premium Tier):

• Zapier - Connect to 5,000+ apps including Salesforce, HubSpot, Notion, Slack, Airtable

What's Missing vs Calendly:

• ❌ No native Salesforce integration (requires Zapier vs Calendly's direct CRM connection)
• ❌ No native HubSpot integration (requires Zapier vs Calendly's built-in sync)
• ❌ No native Slack notifications (requires Zapier vs Calendly's direct Slack app)
• ❌ Fewer overall integrations (20-30 total vs Calendly's 100+)

Integration Comparison:

Recommendation: SavvyCal's integrations cover core scheduling needs (calendars, Zoom, Stripe payments) but Calendly/Cal.com offer broader native ecosystem for teams needing direct CRM/sales engagement tool connections.