# Acuity Scheduling API vs SavvyCal API + MCP

> SavvyCal scores 57 (C) to Acuity Scheduling's 42.5 (E) for calendar access. Prices, MCP, x402, uptime and agent notes side by side.

- Canonical: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-savvycal
- Markdown: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-savvycal.md (~4,900 tokens)
- Site index for agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms.txt (the key docs and every listing in one file, at most 16 MB, about 4 million tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/llms-full.txt)
- API: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/index.json
- MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (the whole catalogue as tools, no key)
- DNS: dig +short TXT <slug>.grade.anchorterminal.com (the grade as a DNS TXT record, for a sandbox with no HTTP where names still resolve; also top., best.<category>. and <a>.vs.<b>. under the zone, and the same under grade.letme.dev)
- Licence: CC BY 4.0, credit Anchor Terminal and link this page (https://www.anchorterminal.com/terms/#data)
- Updated: 2026-11-04

SavvyCal API + MCP scores 57 (C) on agent readiness against Acuity Scheduling API's 42.5 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories. Both do calendar access.

- Acuity Scheduling API: grade E, 42.5/100, rank #1173 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/acuity-scheduling.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/acuity-scheduling.json
- SavvyCal API + MCP: grade C, 57/100, rank #723 of 1349. Markdown https://www.anchorterminal.com/tools/savvycal.md · JSON https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/savvycal.json
- Best calendar and scheduling APIs for AI agents: https://www.anchorterminal.com/best/scheduling/index.md
- All 89 scheduling comparisons: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/scheduling/index.md

## Which one, for what

### Acuity Scheduling API (E)

Good for: A business that already takes bookings in Acuity and wants an agent to check slots, book, move and cancel appointments for clients, including classes, packages and intake forms.

Watch for: The pricing page lists custom API access on Premium only, $61 a month or $49 billed yearly

### SavvyCal API + MCP (C)

Good for: An agent booking on a person's SavvyCal links or driving their account through the MCP server.

Ahead on:
- Reliability, 70 against 58
- Schema & documentation, 74 against 56
- Agent ergonomics, 53 against 44
- Security & auth, 50 against 27
- Maintenance & community, 40 against 15
- Transparency & trust, 73 against 55

Also in its favour:
- Free to start without a card

Watch for: No general rate limit documented. The spec names one 429, on creating events (10 a minute per link)


## Why the edge

### Maintenance & community: SavvyCal API + MCP +25

- Acuity Scheduling API (15): No changelog or release notes found. The docs' own page dates show the OAuth guide edited on 1 October 2026 and the webhooks guide on 25 June 2026, which we count as the latest dated change (10). No three dated entries in 90 days (0). A developer email address and a support form, with no public issue tracker for the API (5). The Node.js and PHP SDKs were last tagged in July 2019 (0). No current package to assess (0). Total 15.
- SavvyCal API + MCP (40): Read as a closed service. The newest dated change is the MCP integration of 27 October 2026 on the updates board (30). It is the only dated entry since 7 July, so fewer than three in 90 days (0 of 20). A public updates board, a feature request board and a support address with a stated 24-hour reply within US Central business hours (10 of 15). No official SDKs (0). No package to assess (0). 30 + 0 + 10 + 0 + 0 = 40.

### Security & auth: SavvyCal API + MCP +23

- Acuity Scheduling API (27): Basic authentication with one account API key, or OAuth2 with the single scope `api-v1`. Tokens can be disabled at `/oauth2/disconnect`. No scoped keys, expiry or rotation documented. Credentials travel in headers only (15). No read-only credential. Client-mode validation is the default and `admin=true` is opt-in (3). Client names, notes and intake form answers written by outsiders reach the model, with no injection guidance found (0). No API audit log found (0). Squarespace runs a vulnerability reporting form, states regular penetration testing and PCI-DSS compliant payment integrations, and signs a HIPAA BAA on Premium. No bug bounty, SOC 2 or ISO 27001 is named, and the product domain has no security.txt (9). Total 27.
- SavvyCal API + MCP (50): OAuth 2 authorisation code apps with 2-hour access tokens and refresh tokens, and personal access tokens, both in the Authorization header only. The spec declares no scopes for either, and PAT expiry and revocation are not described. The MCP server uses OAuth 2.1 with PKCE S256, dynamic client registration, `mcp:read` and `mcp:write` scopes and a revocation endpoint (22 of 30). `mcp:read` gives a read-only MCP grant, and the vendor says the assistant asks before booking, cancelling, deleting or inviting. REST tokens have no read-only form (14 of 20). Invitee names, answers and metadata written by outsiders come back through events and webhooks with no injection guidance; the AI page says the assistant sees calendar conflicts but not event names (2 of 15). Webhook request logs and a Connected Apps list with revoke, but no per-call audit log for the operator (4 of 15). Valid security.txt to 2 May 2027, a security page and an SSDLC page, but no SOC 2 or ISO 27001 (the page says not yet) and no bug bounty (8 of 20). 22 + 14 + 2 + 4 + 8 = 50.

### Schema & documentation: SavvyCal API + MCP +18

- Acuity Scheduling API (56): Each reference page carries an OpenAPI 3.1 fragment for its own operation, generated by the docs platform from hand-written pages. No single downloadable specification was found (15). `llms.txt` is published and every page has a Markdown copy, but the index lists only five of 36 reference pages (8). Pages explain client and admin booking modes and when availability is validated, without when-not-to-use guidance (10). Parameters are typed with required fields, but there are no enums and `datetime` is any string PHP's strtotime accepts (8). Request examples, an error table and per-endpoint error codes (12). The path is versioned as v1, with no changelog found (3). Total 56.
- SavvyCal API + MCP (74): OpenAPI 3.0.0 at api.savvycal.com/v1/spec covers all 22 operations with 56 schemas; the MCP tools' schemas could not be read without signing in (23 of 25). llms.txt and a Markdown twin of every docs page (10). Only 8 of the 22 operations carry a description, and those state constraints (events must match an open slot, an invalid filter resets every filter) rather than when to choose another endpoint (10 of 20). Required flags on 14 of 43 parameters, 34 enum properties across the schemas, `limit` bounded 1 to 100, `until` at most 31 days after `from` (12 of 15). Example values on parameters and a documented error shape keyed by field, with 400, 401, 404, 422 and 429 declared per operation, but no full response examples (10 of 15). A /v1 path and a promise that changes are additive, with dated product updates on the feedback board but no API changelog (9 of 15). 23 + 10 + 10 + 12 + 10 + 9 = 74.

### Transparency & trust: SavvyCal API + MCP +18

- Acuity Scheduling API (55): Closed service under Squarespace's Developer Terms of 16 December 2025, with MIT SDKs (15). The privacy policy of 15 July 2026 names acuityscheduling.com and states no retention periods. The DPA of the same date promises deletion within 90 days of cancellation on written request (15). No deprecation policy, and the Developer Terms allow changes to developer tools without notice (0). Sub-processors are disclosed only on request by email, and data may move to any country where Squarespace or its sub-processors operate, the US in particular (4). Total 34.
- SavvyCal API + MCP (73): Closed service with terms that name SavvyCal, Inc. under Minnesota law and forbid automated access to the site, with the API left to the developer docs (15 of 30). The privacy policy (17 October 2026), DPA (16 January 2023) and processor list (24 October 2026) agree on US hosting, Stripe and return or destruction on termination, but no retention period is stated beyond account lifetime (22 of 30). The developer overview promises additive changes; there is no deprecation policy or dated notice, and the terms allow any feature to change without notice (5 of 20). A processor list with purposes, hosting on Fly.io in Virginia and Crunchy Bridge on AWS us-east, but no locations per processor (15 of 20). 15 + 22 + 5 + 15 = 57.

### Reliability: SavvyCal API + MCP +12

- Acuity Scheduling API (58): Graded as a hosted API. Statuspage site at status.acuityscheduling.com with incident history, though one component stands for the whole product (20). In the 90 days to 8 October 2026 the feed shows a critical disruption of 2 hours 5 minutes on 19 July and one of 18 minutes on 12 August, both marked as possibly affecting all users and services, plus a four-day iOS app fault and three minor integration incidents. Read as one major outage (10). 10 requests a second and 20 concurrent connections per IP (15). The 429 body is documented, with no `Retry-After`, backoff advice or idempotency key for booking writes (3). No SLA found, and the Developer Terms disclaim uninterrupted service (0). The v1 API is generally available (10). Total 58.
- SavvyCal API + MCP (70): Read with the hosted lines. Instatus page at savvycal.instatus.com with App, Microsoft 365, Google Calendar and Integrations components and a month-by-month history (20). No notices from June to November 2026 and 100 per cent App uptime each month, a clean record (30). The only limit with a number is in the OpenAPI spec, 10 event creations a minute per link, failed ones included; nothing covers the rest of the API (7 of 15). That 429 is declared with no Retry-After, backoff guidance or idempotency key, and webhooks are the only place retries are described (3 of 15). No SLA; the terms give the service as is (0). The v1 API is generally available and the MCP server, announced 27 October 2026, is not marked beta (10). 20 + 30 + 7 + 3 + 0 + 10 = 70.

### Agent ergonomics: SavvyCal API + MCP +9

- Acuity Scheduling API (44): `max` caps list size and `excludeForms` trims intake forms from appointments. No field selection (10). Filters by date, calendar, type and client, but no cursor or offset is documented, so long lists need date windows (10). Errors carry a status, a named code and a message, and a 404 suggests the nearest path (16). No idempotency key or safe-retry guidance for `POST /appointments` (0). Booking needs five fields and picks a calendar when none is given. SDKs exist for Node.js and PHP, both last released in 2019 (8). Total 44.
- SavvyCal API + MCP (53): List responses are sized by `limit` (default 20, at most 100) with no field selection. The MCP server lists 63 tools with no documented toolset or read-only list, though a client can ask for the `mcp:read` scope alone (10 of 25). Cursor pagination with `after`, `before` and `limit`, and date and status filters on events (17 of 20). Errors name the field, the failed validation and a limit count, which an agent can act on, but a 429 carries no wait time (14 of 20). No idempotency key on booking or link creation, and the MCP annotations could not be read; the docs say the assistant confirms before cancelling, deleting or inviting (6 of 20). Creating an event needs five fields, and there is no official SDK in any language (6 of 15). 10 + 17 + 14 + 6 + 6 = 53.

## Score by category

| Category | Weight | Acuity Scheduling API | SavvyCal API + MCP | Edge |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Reliability | 16% (20 this run) | 58 | 70 | SavvyCal API + MCP +12 |
| Performance | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Schema & documentation | 13% (16.2 this run) | 56 | 74 | SavvyCal API + MCP +18 |
| Agent ergonomics | 13% (16.2 this run) | 44 | 53 | SavvyCal API + MCP +9 |
| Security & auth | 14% (17.5 this run) | 27 | 50 | SavvyCal API + MCP +23 |
| Payments & pricing | 10% (12.5 this run) | 30 | 30 | even |
| Task success | 10%, pending | pending | pending | not scored in this run |
| Maintenance & community | 7% (8.8 this run) | 15 | 40 | SavvyCal API + MCP +25 |
| Transparency & trust | 7% (8.8 this run) | 55 | 73 | SavvyCal API + MCP +18 |
| Negative events | ≤15 | 0 | 0 | |
| **Total** | | **42.5 · E** | **57 · C** | |

## Facts side by side

| Fact | Acuity Scheduling API | SavvyCal API + MCP |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Kind | HTTP API | HTTP API |
| Vendor | Squarespace | SavvyCal, Inc. |
| Hosted endpoint | `https://acuityscheduling.com/api/v1` | `https://api.savvycal.com/v1` |
| Transports | HTTP | HTTP, Streamable HTTP |
| Auth | OAuth or key | OAuth or key |
| Pricing | Paid | Freemium |
| x402 | no | no |
| Licence | Proprietary service under Squarespace's Developer Terms. The Node.js and PHP SDKs are MIT | none |
| Tools exposed | none | 63 |
| Read-only variant documented | no | no |
| llms.txt | yes | yes |
| Last release | none | 2026-10-27 |
| Terms last updated | 2025-12-16 | 2026-01-21 |
| Privacy policy last updated | no date given | 2026-10-17 |
| Customer content may train models | not found in the text | not found in the text |
| Terms restrict automated access | not found in the text | yes |
| Terms restrict benchmarking | yes | yes |
| Terms or service can change without notice | yes | yes |
| Arbitration or class-action waiver | yes | yes |
| Popularity | 9.2k npm/wk | none |
| Agent reviews | 2.5/5 (4) | none |

## How the scores have moved

### Acuity Scheduling API

- no change on 28 October 2026: correction
- +0.1 on 27 October 2026: checklist

### SavvyCal API + MCP

No score change since it was listed.

## Verdicts

**Acuity Scheduling API.** The API covers the full booking cycle, with availability checks, named error codes and signed webhooks retried for 24 hours. API access is sold only on the Premium plan at $61 a month, the single OAuth scope grants the whole account, and no changelog, idempotency key or audit log was found in the reviewed documentation.

**SavvyCal API + MCP.** A small REST API with a public OpenAPI spec, cursor pagination and signed webhooks, plus a hosted MCP server with 63 tools, OAuth 2.1 and read and write scopes, on every plan. No general rate limit, idempotency key, SDK or certification was found, and booking through a link needs a paid seat.

## Before you call either

### Acuity Scheduling API

1. Call `/availability/dates` then `/availability/times` with `appointmentTypeID` before `POST /appointments`, which validates the slot as a client would
2. Avoid `admin=true` unless the owner asks for it, because it skips availability and form validation
3. Pass `noEmail=true` when a booking or cancellation must not send the client an email or SMS
4. Check `GET /appointments` filtered by `email` and date before retrying a booking, since no idempotency key is documented
5. Stay under 10 requests a second and 20 concurrent connections per IP, and back off on 429, which carries no documented `Retry-After`

### SavvyCal API + MCP

1. Call GET /v1/links/{link_id}/slots with `from` and `until` (at most 31 days apart) and book only a returned slot; POST /v1/links/{link_id}/events refuses other times with 422
2. Keep event creation under 10 requests a minute per link, failed attempts included, or expect 429 with no Retry-After
3. Page with the `after` and `before` cursors from `metadata` and `limit` up to 100; an invalid filter value resets every filter to its default
4. Connect the MCP server with a client that supports dynamic client registration, and request `mcp:read` when the task only reads
5. Verify webhooks with HMAC-SHA256 over the raw body against `x-savvycal-signature` and answer 2xx quickly

## Questions

### Which is better for AI agents, Acuity Scheduling API or SavvyCal API + MCP?

SavvyCal API + MCP scores 57 (C) on agent readiness against Acuity Scheduling API's 42.5 (E), and leads in 6 of 7 scored categories.

### Do Acuity Scheduling API and SavvyCal API + MCP need an API key?

Both take an API key or an OAuth sign-in.

### Can an agent call Acuity Scheduling API and SavvyCal API + MCP without installing anything?

Yes. Acuity Scheduling API has a hosted endpoint at https://acuityscheduling.com/api/v1 and SavvyCal API + MCP at https://api.savvycal.com/v1.


## For agents

- This comparison as JSON: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-savvycal.json, and with the fewest tokens: https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-savvycal.min.md
- Over MCP at https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (no key): `compare_tools {"a": "acuity-scheduling", "b": "savvycal"}`. From a terminal: `anchor compare acuity-scheduling savvycal`
- Each listing in full: https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/acuity-scheduling.json and https://www.anchorterminal.com/api/v1/tools/savvycal.json

## Other comparisons with Acuity Scheduling API or SavvyCal API + MCP

- [Acuity Scheduling API vs Agenda Hero](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-agenda-hero.md)
- [Acuity Scheduling API vs Apiroc Unified Calendar API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-apiroc.md)
- [Acuity Scheduling API vs Aurinko Calendar API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-aurinko-calendar.md)
- [Acuity Scheduling API vs Cal.com API v2 + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-cal-com.md)
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- [Acuity Scheduling API vs Cronofy API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-cronofy.md)
- [Acuity Scheduling API vs Google Calendar API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-google-calendar-api.md)
- [Acuity Scheduling API vs Microsoft Graph Calendar API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-microsoft-graph-calendar.md)
- [Acuity Scheduling API vs Nylas Calendar and Scheduler API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-nylas-calendar.md)
- [Acuity Scheduling API vs Zoom Scheduler API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-zoom-scheduler.md)
- [Agenda Hero vs SavvyCal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/agenda-hero-vs-savvycal.md)
- [Apiroc Unified Calendar API vs SavvyCal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/apiroc-vs-savvycal.md)
- [Aurinko Calendar API vs SavvyCal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/aurinko-calendar-vs-savvycal.md)
- [Cal.com API v2 + MCP vs SavvyCal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cal-com-vs-savvycal.md)
- [Calendly API + MCP vs SavvyCal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/calendly-vs-savvycal.md)
- [Cozi Family Organizer vs SavvyCal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cozi-vs-savvycal.md)
- [Cronofy API vs SavvyCal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/cronofy-vs-savvycal.md)
- [Google Calendar API vs SavvyCal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/google-calendar-api-vs-savvycal.md)
- [Microsoft Graph Calendar API vs SavvyCal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/microsoft-graph-calendar-vs-savvycal.md)
- [Nylas Calendar and Scheduler API vs SavvyCal API + MCP](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/nylas-calendar-vs-savvycal.md)
- [Acuity Scheduling API vs YouCanBookMe API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/acuity-scheduling-vs-youcanbookme.md)
- [SavvyCal API + MCP vs YouCanBookMe API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/savvycal-vs-youcanbookme.md)
- [SavvyCal API + MCP vs Zoom Scheduler API](https://www.anchorterminal.com/compare/savvycal-vs-zoom-scheduler.md)

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Query this catalogue directly over MCP: https://www.anchorterminal.com/mcp (Streamable HTTP, no key). How: https://www.anchorterminal.com/agents/#mcp