1. Help Center
  2. Be A Calendly Pro
  3. Availability

How to use buffers

 

Buffers add extra time before or after your meetings. They help you prep, travel, or wrap up without feeling rushed.

What are buffers?

Buffers are short breaks before or after a Calendly meeting.
Use them to:

  • Prepare before a meeting
  • Travel between meetings
  • Take notes or reset after a call

Each event type can have its own buffer settings.

Add a buffer to an event type

  1. Go to the Scheduling page and locate your event type.
  2. Open the three-dots-icon.pngthree dots menu and select Edit.
  3. Click More options.
  4. Open the Limits and buffers section.
  5. Click + Set buffer time.
  6. Add your preferred buffer time before and/or after the meeting.
  7. Click Save changes.

Remove a buffer

For meetings not yet scheduled:

  1. Go to the Scheduling page and locate your event type.
  2. Open the three-dots-icon.pngthree dots menu and select Edit.
  3. Click More options.
  4. Open the Limits and buffers section.
  5. Set the buffer time to 0 minutes.
  6. Click Save changes.

For meetings already scheduled:

  1. Go to your Meetings page.
  2. Make sure Show buffers is turned on.
  3. Find the meeting and click the pencil icon next to the buffer.
  4. Edit or delete the buffer.

Show or delete buffers on your calendar

You can choose to display buffers on your connected calendar.

To turn this on:

  1. Go to your Availability page.
  2. Open Calendar settings.
  3. Under Sync settings, check Include buffers on this calendar.

When this is enabled, deleting a buffer from your connected calendar will also remove it from Calendly.

How buffer logic works

  • Buffers apply only to meetings booked through Calendly.
  • Calendly avoids overlaps by checking your entire calendar — including non-Calendly events.

Buffers__2.png

Example:
A 30-minute meeting with 15-minute buffers before and after needs 60 minutes of free time. The meeting stays 30 minutes long, but the buffer time protects your availability.

Buffers__1.png

Multi-user meetings and buffers

Buffer settings from one user can impact the availability of multi-user meetings.

  • Round robin: Buffers on other event types can cause uneven meeting distribution.

  • Collective events: Buffers on someone’s other events might block available time slots.

Troubleshooting: BUFFER message

Calendly’s troubleshooting tool may show a BUFFER message. This means buffer settings are blocking a time slot.

You may see it if:

  • A buffer overlaps with a meeting
  • The total time (meeting + buffer) doesn't fit in your calendar
  • Old buffer settings are still attached to a scheduled meeting

Troubleshooting other buffer issues

BUFFER shows but no Calendly meetings are booked

A non-Calendly event may be blocking time.
Try one of these:

  • Delete the conflicting event or set its calendar status to free (Remember to check your all day events!)
  • Change the buffer time to 0 minutes for the event type you're trying to schedule
BUFFER shows with outdated buffer settings

Buffers on scheduled meetings don’t update automatically when you change your event type settings. If a meeting was booked before you changed the settings, it will still follow the old rules.

To check or remove these:

  1. Go to your Meetings page
  2. Use the Show buffers toggle
  3. Edit the buffer directly
Why does my calendar look free, but meetings won’t book?

This might be caused by double buffers — using both a before and after buffer. When stacked, these buffers can block more time than you expect.

Buffers Explanation.png

To fix it:

  • Edit the event type to use only a before or after buffer, not both
  • For already booked meetings, adjust or remove buffers from your Meetings page
Was this article helpful?