Compare · vs TidyCal
CalFree vs TidyCal
TidyCal's pitch is that you pay once and never again, which is a real answer to subscription fatigue. CalFree's answer is a free plan with no caps, and a few dollars a month only for the extras.
The honest answer. TidyCal is a fine buy if you want a polished hosted booking page, paid bookings for a one-time fee, and you have no interest in APIs. CalFree is the better fit if you want an API, an MCP server for agents, or unlimited event types without paying — none of which TidyCal offers.
Side by side
CalFree and TidyCal
Event types on the free plan
- CalFree
- Unlimited
- TidyCal
- Limited bookings
Cheapest paid plan
list price, October 2026
- CalFree
- from $5/mo
- TidyCal
- one-time, from $29
Per-seat pricing
CalFree: on Teams only
- CalFree
- Teams only
- TidyCal
- No
MCP server for agents
- CalFree
- Yes
- TidyCal
- No
MCP with a plain API key
rather than an OAuth flow
- CalFree
- Yes
- TidyCal
- No
REST API on the free plan
- CalFree
- Yes
- TidyCal
- No
Team scheduling and round-robin
CalFree: round-robin only, no collective events
- CalFree
- Yes
- TidyCal
- Paid tiers
App and integration marketplace
- CalFree
- No
- TidyCal
- No
| Feature | CalFree | TidyCal |
|---|---|---|
| Event types on the free plan | Unlimited | Limited bookings |
| Cheapest paid planlist price, October 2026 | from $5/mo | one-time, from $29 |
| Per-seat pricingCalFree: on Teams only | Teams only | No |
| MCP server for agents | Yes | No |
| MCP with a plain API keyrather than an OAuth flow | Yes | No |
| REST API on the free plan | Yes | No |
| Team scheduling and round-robinCalFree: round-robin only, no collective events | Yes | Paid tiers |
| App and integration marketplace | No | No |
Checked October 2026, from TidyCal pricing. List prices change — check before you decide.
Both directions
What each one is better at
Where TidyCal is better
- One payment rather than a subscription, with no renewal to forget.
- Paid bookings and booking polls, all for one price.
- A hosted product with no infrastructure for you to run at all.
Where CalFree is better
- Free, with no purchase and no event-type or booking cap to run into.
- A REST API with API keys, an OpenAPI document and idempotent writes.
- An MCP server, so an agent can read your availability and book.
- Export or delete all your data yourself, any time.
Switching
Moving from TidyCal
Recreate your event types and repoint the link. CalFree does not take payment for a booking, so if you charge at booking time, stay where you are for those event types.