Which Acuity Scheduling plan do you need, and does it come with a Squarespace site?

Summary

What each plan adds

Prices are in US dollars before tax. The published annual prices are rounded monthly equivalents; the annual bill is that figure multiplied by twelve.

• Starter, $16 a month billed annually or $20 monthly. One calendar, email confirmations and reminders, Zoom and Google Meet links, time zone conversion for clients, and payments through Stripe, Square, or PayPal.
• Standard, $27 annually or $34 monthly. Up to six calendars, plus text message reminders, appointment packages with payment plans, subscriptions, memberships, gift certificates, and a waitlist.
• Premium, $49 annually or $61 monthly. Up to 36 calendars, separate time zones for different staff or locations, the option to hide the "Powered by Acuity Scheduling" footer, a Business Associate Agreement (BAA) for US HIPAA requirements, custom API and CSS access, and an AI booking assistant.

A calendar is a separate bookable schedule, not a user seat. One calendar per employee is useful when each person takes appointments independently; the limit is not automatically a staff headcount limit.

How it connects to Squarespace

Every Squarespace site can start a free Acuity trial, but keeping it running means a paid Acuity plan, and the scheduling block that embeds the booking page on your site needs that subscription too. If you attach Acuity to a site, it's billed on the same card as the website. The old "Squarespace Scheduling" name is gone; Squarespace's help center now says it "is now officially Acuity Scheduling."

The trial is seven days if you start Acuity on its own and 14 days if you attach it to a Squarespace site. You choose one or the other when the trial begins and can't switch afterward. During the trial Acuity won't send emails or automated texts, but it does let you connect a processor and accept appointment payments. Once the trial ends, clients cannot book unless you subscribe.

Annual costs for separate schedules

A yoga teacher working alone. Starter covers one calendar at $192 a year. If she wants text reminders, the math changes: Standard at $324 a year, even though she only uses one of its six calendars.

A studio growing from four to eight instructors. Four instructors fit in Standard at $324 a year, or $408 if paid month to month. If each instructor needs a separate calendar, the seventh hire exceeds six calendars, and Premium costs $588 a year on annual billing.

Fees on top of the plan

Acuity doesn't charge for connecting a payment processor, and bookings taken through a Squarespace scheduling block aren't subject to Squarespace Commerce transaction fees. What you pay is the processor's own fee. You can pair PayPal with Stripe or with Square, but not Stripe with Square, and Squarespace Payments and buy-now-pay-later services like Afterpay or Klarna aren't supported.

Text reminders cost nothing extra to send, though your clients' carriers may charge them to receive. Each appointment gets one text reminder, sent only to clients who opted in, with the timing set in the reminder settings. Acuity can text more than 180 countries and publishes a list of places it can't reach.

Start with the number of independently bookable schedules, then check the features. One schedule with email reminders fits Starter; even one schedule needs Standard if SMS or memberships matter. If you only need an occasional inquiry form, a paid booking system may add little.

Pricing and trial conditions checked 10 October 2026; payment and SMS help checked 11 October 2026.

Sources

• https://acuityscheduling.com/pricing
• https://help.acuityscheduling.com/hc/en-us/articles/47293738502413-Acuity-Scheduling-plans-and-payment-methods
• https://help.acuityscheduling.com/hc/en-us/articles/16676862300813-Starting-an-Acuity-Scheduling-trial
• https://help.acuityscheduling.com/hc/en-us/articles/16676914206477-Choose-a-payment-processor
• https://help.acuityscheduling.com/hc/en-us/articles/16676915777293-Sending-appointment-reminders-via-text
• https://help.acuityscheduling.com/hc/en-us/articles/35086777275917-Where-can-I-send-Acuity-text-message-notifications
• https://support.squarespace.com/hc/en-us/articles/206545577-Scheduling-blocks
• https://www.squarespace.com/scheduling

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