Acuity vs Schedulicity: What's the Difference in Scheduling Apps?

Acuity or Schedulicity? What sets them apart from other scheduling apps, and what do they have in common?

Take the time to Google “salon appointment booking app” and you’ll more than likely find info on both.

The question is: How do you know which scheduling app is the best fit for your business?

In this blog, we’ll break down the big questions you might have about Schedulicity and Acuity, like customer service, pricing, and, of course, their best features.

Schedulicity or Acuity? Let’s dig in!

Acuity vs Schedulicity: What’s the Difference?

When you’re researching the right scheduling software for your salon, there are a lot of factors to consider.

Let’s start by looking at how some of Acuity’s features compare to Schedulicity’s.

Do they offer recurring appointments?

Acuity: Yes, Acuity gives you the option to set your clients up with recurring appointments.

Schedulicity: Absolutely! Schedulicity allows you to set up recurring appointments for clients — such as recurring weekly or monthly appointments — saving time for you and your clients + assuring future revenue for your business!

Do they have a mobile app?

Acuity: Acuity has mobile apps for both you and your clients.

However, since Acuity is now under the Squarespace umbrella, there can be some confusion when downloading the app.

Here’s a helpful tip from Acuity’s support page: “The app is called Squarespace Scheduling by Acuity in the Google Play Store, and Acuity Schedule Admin in the Apple App Store.”

Schedulicity: Schedulicity has mobile apps for you and your clients, as well. They can easily be found in the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store for Android users.

Do they offer customer service?

Acuity: According to their Capterra page, Acuity offers email and chat support. Plus, they have an extensive knowledge base for businesses to find answers on their own.

Schedulicity: Schedulicity’s award-winning support team — the Rockstars — are there to help you take your business to the next level!

Whether you’re looking to sign up for Schedulicity, or you’ve been with us for years, our Rockstars are there to help via email, chat, and by phone.

Do they have customer rewards programs?

Acuity: While Acuity does not have a true rewards program, they offer some pretty handy client management tools, like the ability to ban clients.

Schedulicity: No, Schedulicity doesn’t have a true rewards program either, but they do have tools businesses can use as a rewards program, like Package Management.

They also give you the ability to block clients or give them a free appointment via Package Management.

Do they have credit card processing?

Acuity: Acuity has integrations for payment processing with Stripe, Square, and PayPal, though they don’t have their own built-in payment processor. Each processor will have their own different payment processing fees.

Schedulicity: Yes, Schedulicity has their own built-in payment processor! Payments are easily connected to your appointments at one low rate:

2.6% + $0.10 for every transaction

Do they have an API or any integrations?

Acuity: Yes, Acuity has an API that developers can use, as well as code to embed into an existing website.

Schedulicity: Schedulicity has several integrations to help embed Schedulicity into your website or social media pages.

Using the website widget, you can easily add your Schedulicity booking page right into your website.

You can also add a Book Now button on Instagram for clients to book with you there!

Acuity vs Schedulicity: How Much Do They Cost?

Now, let’s talk pricing! When you’re on the hunt for a scheduling app for your salon, price is sure to be a factor.

Let’s see how Acuity and Schedulicity compare.

Acuity

With the option to save up to 10% by paying annually, Acuity has three different pricing tiers:

Emerging: $15/month for a solo provider and one location.
Growing: $25/month for up to six providers or six locations.
Powerhouse: $50/month for up to thirty six providers or locations.

Note: Acuity offers only a 7-day free trial.

Schedulicity

Schedulicity offers one subscription: Schedulicity Unlimited.

Starting at $34.99/month, Schedulicity’s Unlimited Plan comes with all the tools you need to manage and grow your business, including automated marketing, text reminders for your clients, payment processing, and more.

Pro Tip: Don’t forget to check out Schedulicity’s price comparison chart, so you can see how it stacks up against other scheduling software.

What Are The Reviews Like?

Acuity

Acuity has a 4.8/5 rating on Capterra but only a 3.8/5 when it comes to credit card processing.

While their overall rating is fairly high, they fall shorter in certain categories, like payment processing and appointment reminders.

Be sure to visit their full reviews page to learn more about what people love and don’t love about Acuity.

Schedulicity

With 4.5/5 across the board for ease of use, customer service, and value for the money, Schedulicity has a 4.4/5 overall rating on Capterra.

The biggest stat? Schedulicity comes in at 5/5 for appointment scheduling and a 4.7/5 for client management!

Visit Schedulicity’s full Capterra page to learn what other businesses have to say about their Schedulicity experience.

Acuity and Schedulicity: Who Are Their Competitors?

Acuity scheduling and Schedulicity are built for similar audiences, so their list of competitors is similar, too. Here’s a quick breakdown of two of their biggest competitors.

Calendly: Calendly is great for basic scheduling.

But Calendly is more for businesses that hold meetings — not for service-based appointments, like salons or barber shops.

Set up multiple meeting types, including webinars, one-on-ones, and sales demos.
Link up to six calendars per user to keep tabs on availability. (Keep in mind: Only one calendar is allowed on the free plan.)
Poll attendees for their availability to find the best time for everyone.

Pro Tip: If you’re looking for more of an appointment-based scheduling app, don’t miss our full breakdown of Calendly alternatives!

Vagaro: Vagaro is made for larger businesses, especially those that use Yelp for a large portion of their business and/or businesses with lots of employees.

Vagaro can handle a team of 20 (or 50) as well as multiple locations. This is great for franchise salons and gyms.
They offer payroll management and clock-in/clock-out tools.
Vagaro also has its own website builder.