Calavai vs Acuity Scheduling: which is cheaper for paid 1:1 coaches?

Acuity Scheduling and Calavai are the two most-asked-about booking tools that have Stripe built in by default. Both let you sell paid 1:1 sessions, packages, and subscriptions. The difference is the pricing model — and at certain volumes, that difference is hundreds of dollars a year.

Quick disclosure: this is the Calavai blog. We'll be straight about where Acuity wins.

The two pricing models

• Acuity (Squarespace Scheduling): starts at $20/mo (Emerging) for up to 1 calendar with payments. $34/mo (Growing) for 6 calendars + packages. $61/mo (Powerhouse) for 36 calendars + memberships.
• Calavai: $0/mo, 5% per paid booking. No tiers, no feature walls.

Both charge Stripe's ~2.9% + $0.30 on top, regardless. That's a fixed cost in either model.

The fee math at different volumes

Annual cost at $150/session, year of activity (Stripe processing excluded since it's identical for both):

Honest take: Acuity is cheaper at almost every volume if you only need single-session payments.Calavai's pay-per-success model wins economically only at very low volume (under ~3 sessions/mo) or when you're evaluating tools and don't want to commit to a monthly fee yet.

So why pick Calavai?

Three cases where Calavai wins on more than just price:

1. Packages and subscriptions are native

Acuity puts packages on the $34/mo Growing plan and memberships on the $61/mo Powerhouse plan. Calavai includes both at every tier (which is just one tier, $0/mo). If you sell a 5-pack at $700 or a $200/mo subscription with 4 sessions, the Acuity plan you'll need is 1.6×–3× the price of Emerging.

Re-running the table with Powerhouse ($61/mo = $732/yr) for a coach selling memberships:

• 10 sessions/mo through Calavai = $900/yr.
• 10 sessions/mo through Acuity Powerhouse = $732/yr — but only if you actually use the multi-calendar features.
• 5 sessions/mo through Acuity Powerhouse = $732/yr.
• 5 sessions/mo through Calavai = $450/yr. Calavai wins.

2. Variable revenue months

Coaches don't have flat months. Some months are 25 sessions, some are 8. With Acuity you pay $20–$61 either way. With Calavai an 8-session month costs $60 (5% of $1,200 at $150/session). A 25-session month costs $187. Over a real year with seasonality, the variable model often comes out close to Acuity.

3. You're evaluating, not committing

Calavai costs $0 if you don't book anything. Acuity charges from day one. If you're still figuring out whether the booking-tool category solves your problem, pay-per-success is a saner experiment than a $20/mo subscription you'll forget to cancel.

Where Acuity clearly wins

• You already use Squarespace — Acuity is now Squarespace Scheduling, deeper integration with their site builder.
• You need staff scheduling for a multi-practitioner clinic — Acuity Powerhouse handles this; Calavai is solo / 2–3 person only.
• You need intake forms, custom fields, HIPAA — Acuity has them on Growing+. Calavai is leaner here.
• Class scheduling for in-person group fitness/yoga — Acuity has stronger group/recurring class flows.
• Predictable high volume (40+/mo) of single sessions — flat-fee economics dominate at that scale.

Side-by-side feature snapshot

Bottom line

• If you do only single sessions and 10+/mo: Acuity Emerging is $20/mo and almost certainly cheaper than 5%.
• If you sell packages or subscriptions: Calavai is dramatically cheaper because Acuity walls those behind $34/mo or $61/mo.
• If you have variable monthly volume or are still validating the channel: Calavai's $0 base is the lower-risk experiment.
• If you run a multi-staff clinic or need HIPAA / intake forms: Acuity wins on features, full stop.

→ Run our free no-show calculator to see what flakes are costing you in either tool — then pick by both fee math AND show-rate impact.