Qualiform vs Acuity Scheduling for new inquiries

Acuity Scheduling is the better pick when a client already knows what they want, books it, and pays for it. Think paid sessions, classes, and packages. Qualiform is the better pick when a new inquiry needs questions first, so you can decide who should get a meeting at all. Some businesses will use both: Qualiform asks and scores, and an Acuity page does the booking.

Qualiform makes this page, so keep that in mind as you read. Every statement about Acuity comes from Acuity's own pages, read on the date shown under the table.

What does Acuity Scheduling do?#

Acuity books appointments. Its own page calls it "the online appointment scheduling software built to keep up with you and your clients." A client opens your branded booking page, picks an appointment type, picks a time, and books it. Acuity's pages say clients can "book, reschedule, or cancel appointments online."

Before the booking, Acuity can ask questions. You "create custom forms and attach them to different appointment types," and Squarespace's page says intake forms are "included in all plans." You can also make internal forms that only you and your team see.

You control the calendar side with scheduling limits. These set how far ahead clients can book, whether they can reschedule or cancel, and caps such as "a maximum number of appointments per week." Each appointment type can have its own availability. In short, the client chooses, and Acuity makes sure the time is free. That works well when the choice is already made. For when a calendar beats a form, see contact form or booking calendar.

How does Qualiform decide who gets a meeting?#

Qualiform starts from a different place. The visitor has not chosen an appointment yet. They have a question or a project. These four things happen after every message they send:

1. The AI replies. It reads what they wrote and answers anything they asked. Then it asks for one thing still missing.
2. Your settings score it. Each scored question counts for its share. Code adds the shares into a score out of 100. The AI never scores anyone.
3. Your rules route it. The score lands the inquiry on one of five rules, such as Book the soonest time, Book any time, Say you'll be in touch, or Say they're not a fit. The reason is saved on the lead.
4. The AI closes. When the rule offers a time, it says your closing line exactly as you wrote it, and the visitor picks a time without leaving the conversation.

In the Design or web studio template, for example, a score of 85 and up is offered your soonest open times. From 55 up, they can book any open time. Below 55, the AI says you'll be in touch. Read more about lead scoring.

When is Acuity Scheduling the better pick?#

Pick Acuity when the booking itself, and getting paid for it, is the main job.

• Paid sessions. Acuity lists deposits, invoices, coupon codes, gift certificates, add-ons, packages, and subscriptions. It "integrates with the leading payment processors." If clients book and pay up front, this is what Acuity is for.
• Classes and groups. Acuity runs group classes, where you "set size limits, offer one-off or multiple sessions." Its help center says group-class times cannot be booked over.
• Health practices. Acuity's solutions page says it is "HIPAA-compliant for those on our Premium plan." Qualiform may not be used to collect health information, including mental health information, unless Qualiform has agreed in writing. It is not built for HIPAA.
• Reminders, video, and a phone app. Acuity lists automated email and text message reminders, Google Meet, Zoom, and GoToMeeting, and a mobile app.
• Many staff and rooms. Premium allows up to 36 calendars, and Acuity suggests Rooms or Resources "if you have fewer rooms than staff."

Where does Qualiform win?#

Qualiform fits better when not every inquiry should land on your calendar.

• Questions answered in everyday words. A visitor can type "sometime after the holidays." The AI saves what it learned and works answers out of what they already said instead of asking again.
• Not everyone is offered a time. Only inquiries whose score lands on a rule that offers a time see one. A lead that answered too little gets Say you'll be in touch instead of the offer its score would earn.
• A next step for every inquiry. Five rules run from your soonest times down to a polite no. The not-a-fit rule stays off until you switch it on. The AI also closes off-topic messages, such as vendor pitches, politely.
• Partial answers kept. The lead is saved after every message, so someone who shares a budget and leaves still leaves you something to read.
• A reason on every lead. Each lead shows the rule it landed on and a line naming the numbers that decided it.
• A start for your trade. Five templates write the questions and scoring for studios, trades, B2B software, venues, and general inquiries.

Can you use Qualiform and Acuity Scheduling together?#

Possibly. On Qualiform's Booking tab, Your scheduling link lets you use your own scheduler instead of bookable hours. When a rule offers a time, the AI says your closing line and puts your link beside it. An Acuity booking page could be that link. Whether it needs anything beyond pasting the link is not confirmed here, so run one real conversation on your live form before you rely on it.

Used this way, Qualiform asks the questions and scores them. Only inquiries on a rule that offers a time see your Acuity link. Acuity then handles the booking, and anything you set up there, such as deposits or reminders, works as it does today.

Two things to know. Qualiform does not pass the visitor's answers or score to an outside scheduling link. They stay on the lead in Qualiform. And no time is offered to anyone until you save the Booking tab once. Until then, an inquiry on a rule that offers a time is told you'll be in touch. The guide to putting a qualifying form before your booking calendar walks through this setup.

How much do Acuity Scheduling and Qualiform cost?#

This page does not quote Acuity's prices, because they were not read on Acuity's own site. Read them on Acuity's pricing page.

One Acuity help article gives Standard "up to six" calendars, and another says "two to six." Qualiform's current prices are in the pricing section of the home page. Every Qualiform plan, Free included, has every scoring and booking feature.

Who should pick which?#

Find the line that matches you:

1. Clients pick a session, book it, and pay up front: Acuity.
2. You sell classes, packages, gift certificates, or subscriptions: Acuity.
3. Your practice handles health information: Acuity, which offers HIPAA on Premium. Not Qualiform.
4. New inquiries ask about a project, and only some should get a call: Qualiform.
5. You want your soonest times for strong leads and a polite reply for the rest: Qualiform, with its five rules.
6. You like Acuity for booking and payment but want questions asked first: possibly both, once one real conversation shows your Acuity link works.
7. You get a few inquiries a month and answer each one yourself: possibly neither. A plain contact form and a quick reply may be enough.

If you are weighing other schedulers, the Qualiform vs Calendly comparison looks at another one side by side.

Before you decide, write down the three answers that decide whether an inquiry gets a meeting. Then run three conversations in Qualiform's Preview with different answers. Its Endings buttons show the closing for each rule that is switched on, so you can check each answer lands where you expect.