specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: Zcal
providerId: zcal
created: '2026-06-21'
modified: '2026-06-21'
reconciled: false
tags:
- Scheduling
- Calendar
- Booking
- Meetings
- Webhooks
- FinOps
- Cost Management
- FOCUS
description: >-
  FinOps view of Zcal spend. Zcal is billed as a per-user SaaS subscription
  (Free, Pro, Business), not usage-metered API consumption — there is no
  public REST API and therefore no per-call or per-token billing. The main
  cost levers are: number of paid seats (Pro at $7/user/mo, Business at
  $12/user/mo), the monthly-vs-annual choice (annual Pro is roughly
  $72/user/yr), and payment processing — the Free plan adds a 3% Zcal fee on
  top of Stripe fees for paid bookings, which Pro removes. Webhooks (the only
  programmatic integration) carry no separate Zcal charge.
notes: >-
  Prices captured from public sources as of 2026-06-21 and not reconciled
  against an authenticated billing account. Verify at
  https://zcal.co/pricing.
sources:
- https://zcal.co/pricing
- https://help.zcal.co/pricing/pro-plan
- https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: Zcal
serviceCategory: Scheduling and Collaboration
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Subscription-Based
  billingFrequency: Monthly or Annual
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
  - Purchase
  - Usage
chargeCategoryNotes: >-
  Subscription seats are a recurring Purchase charge. The 3% Zcal payment fee
  on the Free plan is a Usage charge tied to processed booking payments.
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: Zcal
  ServiceCategory: Scheduling and Collaboration
  ProviderName: Zcal
  PublisherName: Zcal
  InvoiceIssuerName: Zcal
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Purchase
  PricingCategory: Subscription-Based
meters:
- name: paid_seats
  description: Number of paid user seats on Pro or Business, billed per user per period.
  unit: seats
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - plan
- name: subscription_period
  description: Monthly or annual subscription term selected.
  unit: period
  aggregation: max
  dimensions:
  - account
  - plan
- name: payment_processing_fee
  description: >-
    3% Zcal fee applied on top of Stripe fees for paid bookings on the Free
    plan; removed on Pro and above.
  unit: percent_of_transaction
  aggregation: sum
  dimensions:
  - account
  - plan
principles:
- name: Visibility
  description: Track active paid seats per plan and review the monthly Zcal invoice against headcount.
- name: Allocation
  description: Map seats to teams; tag which users genuinely need Pro/Business team features vs. Free.
- name: Optimization
  description: >-
    Right-size seats to actual users; choose annual billing for Pro to lower
    effective per-seat cost; move payment-collecting users to Pro to drop the
    3% Free-plan fee; reserve Business only where custom domains / unlimited
    teams are required.
- name: Accountability
  description: Assign a plan owner; review seat count and plan tier each billing cycle against budget.
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: kin@apievangelist.com