Motion vs TidyCal

Motion is a project management tool that has a pretty awesome scheduling feature. If you're just looking for a standalone scheduler, skip Motion. But if you're looking for a way to organize your tasks, projects, and time and you only basic scheduling needs then Motion could be a great fit. We use it ourselves and have so for 4+ years.

The meeting scheduler itself gives you the ability to share availability or create simple booking pages (you can even ask participants a few questions prior to scheduling).

That said, if your business has heavy workflows around scheduling (e.g. you need round robin for leads routing, or want to take payments before a call), then Motion isn't for you.

• Seamlessly integrated with Motion’s task and project management system
• Fully synced with your calendar and real availability
• Customize templates (e.g., solo meetings or team meetings)

• Not built for complex scheduling workflows (taking payments, etc)
• No lead routing and automation compared to dedicated tools

We use it to create general or one-time links to share our availability. You can define your working hours and control exactly when people can book with you, so it does offer some flexibility.

You have the ability to avoid back-to-back meetings and the option to set daily meeting limits. You can also create separate scheduling templates, which gives you an added layer of organization (e.g. if you work two jobs, and want one scheduling link for weekdays vs weeknights).

You can set up booking pages for multiple team members. For example, we have a booking page that checks my calendar along with my co-founders so that someone can book in with both of us.

Motions prices range from $19 to $34 per month (Individual to Team plans), and the meeting scheduler is included within that broader system.

TidyCal might have caught your attention because it offers a one-time payment of $29 instead of a subscription model. It includes scheduling and payment features, which can be tempting...but let us tell you, it's not worth it.

First, we generally don’t recommend purchasing software with one-time payments because they often lack ongoing updates and support. Subscriptions ensure that a team is continuously improving the product and driving innovation, whereas a one-time fee usually means little to no advancement.

The other reason it's not worth it is because a newer scheduler called Cal.com offers everything that TidyCal does on their free tier 😅

TidyCal was more appealing when it only competed with Calendly, but now, with Cal.com on the market —well — you do the math.