A practical comparison of UK-friendly booking tools for SMEs

If you run a service business in the UK, you already know how important a reliable booking system is. Most people start with Calendly because it is simple, well known and easy to set up. But as businesses grow, the limitations of Calendly become more obvious, especially when you need more calendar types, more automation and reminders that actually reduce no shows.

So in this guide, we break down the best Calendly alternatives available to UK SMEs today - with prices, pros, cons and real customer feedback.

HighLevel

The all-in-one UK-friendly alternative to Calendly

HighLevel has become the leading alternative for UK businesses that want more than a basic booking link. It includes unlimited calendars, email and SMS reminders, CRM, pipelines, sales tracking, automations, and team management all in one place.

Pricing (via MarketerM8)

• £97 per month

• Unlimited calendars

• Unlimited users

• Unlimited contacts

• Email credits: £8 per 10,000

• SMS credits: 6p per 160 characters
  (Exclusive MarketerM8 pricing)

Pros

• Unlimited calendars for services, locations and team members

• Automatic email + SMS reminders

• Google, Outlook and Apple Calendar sync

• Full CRM and pipeline included

• Workflow automation

• Perfect for multi-service and multi-staff UK businesses

• One predictable monthly fee

Cons

• More features means more to learn

• Best results come with a guided setup (MarketerM8 provide this)

Customer Reviews (summarised)

• “We replaced Calendly, Mailchimp and our CRM in one go.”

• “No show rate dropped massively once SMS reminders were added.”

• “Huge value for money compared to buying everything separately.”

Zoho Bookings

A budget alternative for simple scheduling

Zoho Bookings is a low-cost tool for businesses already using Zoho CRM or wanting a simple Calendar solution.

Pricing

• Basic: around £6 per user per month

• Premium: around £8 per user per month

Pros

• Good value

• Works well if you already use Zoho tools

• Simple to set up

Cons

• Charged per user

• No SMS reminders built in

• Limited automations

• Not suitable for multi-service businesses with complex booking types

Customer Reviews

• “Great if you’re already a Zoho customer.”

• “Easy but limited.”

Acuity Scheduling

A Calendly alternative for wellness and coaching industries

Acuity is popular with fitness studios, salons, coaching businesses and therapists.

Pricing

• Emerging: £13 per month

• Growing: £23 per month

• Powerhouse: £38 per month

Pros

• Good for coaches and appointment-based businesses

• Clean interface

• Customisable booking pages

Cons

• SMS reminders require add ons

• Higher plans needed for multi-staff setups

• No CRM or pipeline

• More expensive than Calendly for teams

Customer Reviews

• “Great for yoga studios and therapists.”

• “Lovely design, automation is limited.”

Setmore

Free scheduling option with limited automation

Setmore is a basic but effective option for micro-businesses who need an entry-level tool.

Pricing

• Free plan available

• Premium: £7–£9 per user per month

• Pro: £17 per user per month

Pros

• Free plan available

• Good for very simple needs

• Easy to use

Cons

• Per user pricing makes it expensive for teams

• Limited reminder options

• No CRM

• Not suitable for growing businesses

Customer Reviews

• “Good free option.”

• “You outgrow it quickly.”

Calendly vs Alternatives - A Quick Comparison

Final Thoughts

The best Calendly alternative for UK businesses

If you need a simple link for a single user, Calendly and its competitors will work fine.
But if you are a UK SME with multiple services, staff or appointment types, and you need no show reduction, reminders and automation:

HighLevel via MarketerM8 is the strongest Calendly alternative by far.

You get:

• Unlimited calendars

• Unlimited users

• Built in CRM

• Built in email + SMS reminders

• Google, Outlook and Apple calendar syncing

• Full automation

• One simple monthly price

No per seat costs.
No extra reminder tools.
No separate CRM required.

Your Next Steps: Three Options

1. Book a discovery call with the MarketerM8 team

If you want help replacing Calendly with a more complete system, we will build everything with you.
👉 https://www.marketerm8.com/book-a-call

2. Go directly to HighLevel and subscribe yourself

You can buy HighLevel for £97 per month and build the system manually without guidance.

👉 https://www.gohighlevel.com/?fp_ref=ghl700311

3. Do nothing

And continue juggling multiple tools that do not fully talk to each other, costing you time, money and lost bookings.