Trigger.dev vs Cal.com
Open-source background jobs with no timeouts and full observability
vs. Open-source scheduling infrastructure — the self-hostable Calendly alternative
Pricing tiers
Trigger.dev
Free
$0. 5K runs/mo. 1 concurrent run. 1 team member. 7-day log retention.
Free
Self-Host (OSS)
Free. Apache-2.0 license. Docker Compose + Postgres + Redis.
$0 base (usage-based)
Hobby
$10/mo. 50K runs/mo. 25 concurrent. Unlimited queue time.
$10/mo
Pro
$50/mo (starts at — usage scales). 250K runs/mo baseline. 100 concurrent. Priority.
$50/mo
Enterprise
Custom. HIPAA, SSO, dedicated clusters, on-prem.
Custom
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
Free-tier quotas head-to-head
Comparing free on Trigger.dev vs free on Cal.com.
| Metric | Trigger.dev | Cal.com |
|---|---|---|
| No overlapping quota metrics for these tiers. | ||
Features
Trigger.dev · 13 features
- Batch Trigger — Trigger many runs at once with limits.
- Environment Variables — Manage secrets in dashboard.
- Idempotency Keys — Prevent duplicate runs.
- Machine Sizing — Pick CPU/RAM per task.
- Queues + Concurrency — Named queues for controlled throughput.
- Realtime + React Hooks — Subscribe to run progress from client.
- Retries — Exponential + custom strategies.
- Schedules — Cron-triggered runs.
- Self-Hosting — Run locally or on your infra.
- Subtasks + triggerAndWait — Compose tasks by triggering children.
- Task Metadata — Attach arbitrary metadata to runs.
- Tasks — Define long-running TS tasks.
- wait.for / wait.until — Durable waits — minutes, hours, days.
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
| Kind | Trigger.dev | Cal.com |
|---|---|---|
| CLI | trigger.dev CLI | cal CLI (self-host) |
| SDK | @trigger.dev/react-hooks, @trigger.dev/sdk | @calcom/embed-react |
| REST | Trigger.dev REST API | Cal.com REST API v2, Platform API (embed in SaaS) |
| OTHER | Trigger.dev Dashboard, Trigger.dev Webhooks | Cal.com Dashboard, Cal.com Webhooks |
Staxly is an independent catalog of developer platforms. Some links to Trigger.dev 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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