Staxly

PocketBase vs Cal.com

Open-source backend in a single Go binary
vs. Open-source scheduling infrastructure — the self-hostable Calendly alternative

PocketBase (OSS) ↗Cal.com website ↗

Pricing tiers

PocketBase

Self-Hosted
MIT-licensed single binary. Run on any VPS / Docker / bare metal. No usage caps — only limited by your server.
$0 base (usage-based)
PocketBase (OSS) ↗

Cal.com

Free (Cloud)
$0. 1 user. Unlimited event types. Unlimited meetings. Cal branding.
Free
Self-Hosted (OSS)
Free forever. AGPL-3.0. Docker/K8s deploy. Full feature parity with cloud.
$0 base (usage-based)
Teams
$12/user/mo. Round-robin, collective events, routing forms, Cal Video, Workflows.
$12/mo
Organizations
$37/user/mo. SSO, advanced routing, dashboards, analytics, dedicated support.
$37/mo
Enterprise
Custom. SAML, HIPAA, dedicated deployments, security reviews.
Custom
Cal.com website ↗

Free-tier quotas head-to-head

Comparing self-hosted on PocketBase vs free on Cal.com.

MetricPocketBaseCal.com
No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers.

Features

PocketBase · 12 features

  • Access Rules — Record-level access rules (filter expressions) referencing @request and @collect…
  • Admin Dashboard — Built-in web UI for schema + data management.
  • Auth — Email+password, OAuth2 (Google, GitHub, Facebook, Apple, Discord, Microsoft, etc…
  • Backups — Built-in backup/restore with S3 upload option.
  • Built-in Mailer — SMTP integration for verification, password reset, magic link emails.
  • Collections — Schema-defined record types with fields, validations, and record/admin/auth acce…
  • Embedded JS Engine — JavaScript VM (goja) lets you write hooks in JS without recompiling.
  • Extend as Go Library — Embed PocketBase in a larger Go app, add custom routes and events.
  • File Storage — Local filesystem or S3-compatible storage with access rules.
  • Hooks — Server-side Go or JavaScript hooks that run on CRUD events (OnRecordBeforeCreate…
  • Migrations — JS/Go migration scripts applied on startup.
  • Realtime Subscriptions — SSE-based subscriptions to collection changes.

Cal.com · 16 features

  • Availability — Multiple schedules per user.
  • Buffer Time — Padding between meetings.
  • Cal Video — Built-in video conferencing.
  • Embed — Inline/popup/floating-button embeds.
  • Event Types — One-on-one, group, collective, round-robin.
  • Insights Dashboard — Booking trends + team analytics.
  • Paid Bookings — Stripe integration for paid appointments.
  • Platform API — Embed scheduling in your SaaS.
  • Recurring Events — Weekly/monthly recurring bookings.
  • Round-Robin — Distribute bookings across team.
  • Routing Forms — Route leads by answers.
  • Self-Host — Deploy to your infra.
  • SSO — SAML + OIDC.
  • Timezone Detection — Auto-detect viewer timezone.
  • Webhooks — Outbound events.
  • Workflows — Automated email/SMS reminders.

Developer interfaces

KindPocketBaseCal.com
CLI—cal CLI (self-host)
SDKGo API (extend as library), pocketbase (Dart), pocketbase (JS SDK)@calcom/embed-react
RESTREST APICal.com REST API v2, Platform API (embed in SaaS)
OTHERAdmin Dashboard, Realtime SSECal.com Dashboard, Cal.com Webhooks
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to PocketBase and Cal.com may be affiliate links — Staxly may earn a commission if you sign up through them, at no extra cost to you. Pricing is verified against vendor pages at publication time — reconfirm before buying.

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