Astrocal vs Cal.com
Scheduling infrastructure without the infrastructure
Cal.com is open-source and self-hostable, but that means you're running it yourself. Astrocal gives you a hosted API, flat-rate pricing, and a whitelabel widget with zero ops work.
135+currencies supported
8MCP tools for AI agents
$0to get started
0per-seat fees
Which is right for you?
Astrocal is right for you if...
- You want a hosted scheduling API: no servers to manage, no Docker to configure
- You need flat-rate pricing without per-seat charges as your team grows
- You want native MCP support so AI agents can book meetings out of the box
- You need a whitelabel widget that renders in your DOM, not an iframe
Cal.com is right for you if...
- You need full control over the source code and want to self-host on your own infrastructure
- You have an ops team that can maintain a self-hosted scheduling stack
- You need HIPAA compliance or a dedicated database (Cal.com Enterprise)
Astrocal vs Cal.com
| Feature | Astrocal | Cal.com | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hosting model | Fully hosted SaaS: nothing to deploy or maintain | Self-hosted (free) or hosted cloud (paid per seat) | Cal.com's free tier requires self-hosting. Their managed cloud starts at $12/seat/mo. |
| Pricing model | Flat monthly fee: $49/mo for your whole team | Per seat: $12–$28/seat/mo on hosted cloud | A team of 5 on Cal.com Teams costs ~$60/mo. Astrocal Pro is $49/mo for everyone. |
| MCP / AI agent support | 8 tools: full booking lifecycle including waitlists | Official @calcom/cal-mcp on npm (9 core tools) | — |
| Widget embed | Native embed: renders in your DOM, not an iframe | Iframe embed available | — |
| REST API | Full read/write API with OpenAPI 3.1 spec | API available on Teams plan and above | — |
| White-label booking | Your domain, your brand. No Astrocal branding on paid plans. | Branding removal on Teams plan ($12/seat/mo) | — |
| Open source | No, hosted SaaS only | Yes: AGPLv3 core, enterprise features under commercial license | — |
| Webhooks | All plans including Free | Available on all plans | — |
| Stripe payments | Built in: taken at booking time on all paid plans | Stripe and PayPal on all plans | — |
| Google Calendar sync | Two-way sync on all plans | Two-way sync on all plans | — |
| Round-robin scheduling | Yes, included in Pro | Teams plan and above | — |
| Setup complexity | Sign up → create event type → embed. Under 5 minutes. | Self-hosted: Docker, database, environment config. Cloud: sign up and configure. | — |
| Free plan | Up to 10 bookings/month, full API, webhooks | Unlimited bookings, self-hosted only (1 user) | — |
What does it actually cost for a team of 5?
Astrocal
Team plan (hosted)$49/mo
Growing team (10 seats)$49/mo
Scaling team (25 seats)$49/mo
- No per-seat pricing
- Zero ops / fully hosted
- Waitlist tools in MCP
- DOM-native widget embed
Cal.com
Team plan (hosted)$60/mo
Growing team (10 seats)$120/mo
Scaling team (25 seats)$300/mo
- No per-seat pricing
- Zero ops / fully hosted
- Waitlist tools in MCP
- DOM-native widget embed
At the Scaling team (25 seats) tier, you’d Save $251/mo compared to Cal.com for a team of 5.
Migrating from Cal.com? Here’s how.
- 5 min
Export your event types
Note your Cal.com event type settings: durations, availability windows, buffer times, and custom questions. If you're self-hosting, you can query the database directly.
- 5 min
Recreate your services in Astrocal
Use the Astrocal dashboard to set up equivalent event types, or POST to /v1/event-types if you prefer the API. Match your durations, availability, and booking rules.
- 3 min
Update your booking links
Replace your Cal.com booking links wherever they appear: your website, email signature, social profiles. Or embed the Astrocal widget directly on your site.
- 5 min
Reconnect integrations
Connect Google Calendar via OAuth. Reconnect Stripe if you take payments. Set up webhooks for any automations you had running.
Total estimated time: ~20 minutes
What carries over
- Your availability preferences and working hours
- Service durations and buffer times
- Client contact details (export from Cal.com)
What to rebuild
- Custom branding and booking page theme
- Stripe payment connections
- Webhook and automation configurations
Simple, transparent pricing
Start for free. Upgrade as you grow. No hidden fees, no per-seat pricing.
Free
For prototyping
$0forever
- 10 bookings/month
- 1 calendar connection
- 30 req/min API rate
- Calendar sync
- Email notifications
Starter
For small teams
$12/month
- 50 bookings/month
- 3 calendar connections
- 60 req/min API rate
- Everything in Free
- Custom branding
Pro
Most PopularFor growing teams
$49/month
- 500 bookings/month
- 20 calendar connections
- 500 req/min API rate
- Everything in Starter
- Priority support
Business
For scaling up
$199/month
- 5,000 bookings/month
- 100 calendar connections
- 2,000 req/min API rate
- Everything in Pro
- Dedicated support
No per-seat pricing. Ever. See full pricing →
Frequently asked questions
Cal.com's free tier requires you to self-host: you set up Docker, a database, and manage the infrastructure yourself. Their managed cloud product starts at $12/seat/month. Astrocal's free plan is fully hosted with no setup required.
Open source gives you control over the code, but it also gives you ops work: server management, database backups, security patches, upgrades. If you'd rather spend time building your product than maintaining scheduling infrastructure, a hosted API is the better trade-off.
Astrocal covers the core scheduling workflow: event types, availability, bookings, Google Calendar sync, Stripe payments, webhooks, round-robin, and a whitelabel widget. Cal.com has features Astrocal doesn't, like routing forms, collective events, and HIPAA compliance. Both have MCP servers. Astrocal's differentiators are the DOM-native widget embed, zero ops hosting, and flat-rate pricing.
Yes. Run both in parallel: set up Astrocal, test your booking flow, and only switch your public links once you're happy. There's no requirement to shut down Cal.com first.
About 20 minutes for most teams. Recreate your event types, connect Google Calendar, and update your booking links. If you were self-hosting, you also get to decommission that infrastructure.
Yes. Up to 10 bookings per month, full API access, webhooks, and Google Calendar sync. No credit card required. No time limit. And no Docker containers to run.
Email us at support@astrocal.dev. We'll walk you through the migration and help you get set up.
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