Why You No Longer Need Calendly (Especially in Asia)

Calendly revolutionized online scheduling and deserves credit for making appointment booking mainstream. But after years of using it in Singapore and across Asia, the cracks start to show pretty quickly.

If you're an individual coach, consultant, or service provider in Asia, you've probably hit these walls: limited event types on the free plan, no WhatsApp integration, Stripe-only payments that don't make sense locally, and a generally Western-centric approach that misses how we actually do business here.

That's where kuai.io comes in.

What Calendly Gets Right

Let's give credit where it's due. Calendly pioneered the "send a link, get booked" experience that feels magical when it works. The basic user experience is clean, and it's helped millions of people worldwide move away from the painful email back-and-forth of finding a meeting time.

For simple use cases - like a consultant in San Francisco scheduling 30-minute discovery calls - Calendly works brilliantly.

But Where It Breaks Down for Us

The problems start when you try to use Calendly as an Asian business or individual:

Limited Event Types Kill Your Growth

The free plan restricts you to just one event type. Need a 30-minute consultation AND a 60-minute deep dive session? That'll be $8+ per month, please. For solopreneurs and small businesses just starting out, that's a significant monthly expense for basic functionality.

No WhatsApp, No Party

In Asia, WhatsApp isn't just another messaging app - it's the communication channel. Your customers expect booking confirmations, reminders, and updates via WhatsApp. Calendly's email-only approach feels outdated and disconnected from how people actually communicate here.

Stripe-Only Payments Miss the Mark

Calendly's payment integration only works with Stripe, which charges 3.4% + $0.50 SGD per transaction in Singapore. But many Asian businesses prefer local payment methods like PayNow, PayLah!, or NETS that have lower (or zero) fees. Why pay expensive processing fees when local alternatives are cheaper and more familiar to customers?

Western Holidays Only

Good luck trying to set up Calendly for Chinese New Year, Deepavali, or Hari Raya. The platform's holiday calendar is built for Western markets, leaving Asian businesses to manually block out important local holidays.

Too Many Menus, Too Complex

Calendly has grown into a feature-heavy platform with enterprise bells and whistles that most individuals and small businesses don't need. Finding basic settings requires navigating through multiple menus and tabs. It's the opposite of "kuai" (fast and simple).

What We Built Instead

kuai.io is designed specifically for individuals and small businesses in Asia who want something simple, local, and affordable.

Free for Individuals, Forever

Create as many event types as you want on the free plan. 30-minute consultation, 1-hour deep dive, 15-minute quick check-in - set them all up without hitting a paywall. You only pay when you grow into a business with multiple staff or locations.

Mobile-First Design

Built from day one for mobile users. Your booking page looks great on phones (where most of your customers will access it), and the admin interface works perfectly on mobile too. Because sometimes you need to check your schedule while you're on the go.

Simple Profile, Minimal Fuss

One clean profile page with your availability and event types. No overwhelming menus or enterprise features you'll never use. Just the essentials, done right.

QR Links Built In

Every booking page gets a QR code automatically. Print it on business cards, put it on flyers, or display it at your workspace. QR codes are second nature in Asia - kuai.io embraces that.

WhatsApp Integration (Coming Soon)

Booking confirmations, reminders, and updates sent directly to WhatsApp. Because that's where your customers actually check their messages.

Local Payments (Coming Soon)

PayNow, PayLah!, and other local payment options with lower fees than international credit card processors. Keep more of what you earn.

Pay Only When You Grow

Individual users stay free forever. Small businesses pay a flat monthly fee with no per-booking commissions. No surprise charges, no percentage cuts of your revenue.

The Bottom Line

Calendly opened our eyes to what online scheduling could be. But it was built for a different market with different needs.

kuai.io takes the best of what Calendly pioneered and adapts it for how people actually do business in Asia: mobile-first, WhatsApp-integrated, locally-optimized, and affordable.

If you're tired of paying monthly fees for basic scheduling features, or frustrated that your booking system doesn't support the payment methods and communication channels your customers actually use, it's time to try something built for our market.

Ready to Make the Switch?

Setting up kuai.io takes less than 5 minutes. Create your profile, set your availability, and share your booking link. Your customers can book you instantly, and you'll never have to play WhatsApp ping-pong to find a meeting time again.

Try kuai.io for free at kuai.io or book a demo with our team at kuai.io/kuai.

Because booking should be kuai (fast), not complicated.