Calendly
Scheduling tool in Productivity & writing
Link-based scheduler people find close to ideal for one-on-one meetings, worth its $12 monthly price. Critics say Cal.com is ahead.
5 people recommended Calendly in Hacker News comments, 1 had mixed feelings and 2 criticized it, November 2025 to October 2026.
Summary written by Claude from 10 comments. It was written before the November 2026 recount, and 8 of those comments still count.
8 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 5
- mixed feelings
- 1
- warn against or regret it
- 2
The record
Recommended in 3 of 12 months
In 4 different threads.
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: recommended
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 5 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 2.5 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 12 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
- Recommended in 4 threadsNeeds 5 or more, not met.
- The biggest thread supplies 40% of its recommendersNeeds half or less, met.
The same rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. Mixed feelings count toward neither side. How the badge works
What people say about it
Reasons grouped from a sample of 6 of the 8 opinions about it, picked in proportion to how many people recommend it, have mixed feelings and criticize it. Each mark is one comment in the sample. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Good for one-on-one scheduling
“Calendly seems pretty close to the perfect solution for one-on-one meetings”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: What weird or scrappy things did you do to get your first users?” “Calendly is great for link-based 1:1 scheduling”
Comment from 3 Feb 2026 in “Ask HN: What weird or scrappy things did you do to get your first users?” “Calendly is the incumbent, and it's good.”
Comment from 1 Oct 2026 in “Ask HN: Who is hiring? (October 2026)”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Cal.com seen as ahead
“Look at apps like Cal.com compared to Calendly and you’ll see it’s light years ahead”
Comment from 6 Feb 2026 on Hacker News Paying for many separate tools
“I still use a ton of SaaS services for things that I could probably do just fine myself.”
Comment from 16 Feb 2026 in “10 years building vertical software: are we cooked?”
What people said
6 of the 8 opinions about it, picked in proportion to the three counts, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Calendly is the incumbent, and it's good.”
“I still use a ton of SaaS services for things that I could probably do just fine myself.”
“Look at apps like Cal.com compared to Calendly and you’ll see it’s light years ahead”
“Calendly is great for link-based 1:1 scheduling”
“Calendly seems pretty close to the perfect solution for one-on-one meetings”
“more focused on people doing meetings from a single location don’t work”
Counts come from 1,791,911 Hacker News comments labeled by Claude, November 2025 to October 2026, with data through October 31, 2026. Counts updated 2 Nov 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.