12 Best Appointment Scheduling Software in 2026, Compared

Square Appointments is the cheapest way into this list, and it is not a stripped-down trial: the Free plan covers unlimited appointments, a booking website, unlimited staff calendars and automated email reminders for $0 a month, with Square point of sale built in so services and retail share one checkout. For a business already taking Square payments, booking costs nothing extra beyond card processing.

The catch is the same as on every free plan: the features that protect revenue sit behind the paywall. No-show fees, cancellation policies, the waitlist and Google Calendar sync all need Plus at $49 a month per location, and rooms and chairs wait for Premium at $149. Pick Square when the business already runs on Square and wants booking free; pick Vagaro or Booksy when discovery and marketing matter more than the $0 price.

Calendly is the simplest scheduler in this list, and for a solo professional who books meetings, consultations or calls, it is often all that is needed. The Free plan allows one event type and one calendar connection with unlimited meetings, and Standard at $12 a seat a month adds unlimited event types, multiple calendars, automated reminders and payments through Stripe and PayPal. Setup takes minutes, not a weekend.

The limit is the shape of the business it serves. Calendly schedules meetings, not services: there is no staff roster, no service menu with prices, no point of sale and no client marketplace. A consultant or coach who lives in one-on-one calls will never miss those features; a salon with five stylists and a service list needs Acuity or Vagaro instead. Buy Calendly for meetings, not for a service menu.

Acuity Scheduling is the service-business scheduler in this list: unlimited services and appointments, intake forms that collect client details before the visit, and payments through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo, all from the $20-a-month Starter plan. The price is flat per account, so adding staff does not raise the bill — only the number of calendars matters.

The tiers are about calendars and extras, not seats. Starter covers one calendar; Standard at $34 a month covers six and adds text reminders, packages, memberships and gift certificates; Premium at $61 covers 36 and adds the AI booking assistant, HIPAA compliance and logo removal. There is no free plan, only a 7-day trial, so try it with real bookings before paying. Pick Acuity when the business sells services and packages; pick Calendly when it sells meetings.

Setmore's free plan is the most useful $0 in this list: four users, a booking page, online payments and email reminders, with Reserve with Google included so the business can be booked straight from search. Pro is $12 per user a month, or $5 on annual billing — the cheapest paid step up here — and it adds text reminders, recurring appointments and two-way calendar sync.

The free plan has edges. It stops at four users, carries Setmore branding, and has no packages, memberships or gift certificates — the tools that turn one-off visits into steady revenue. Start on Setmore while the business is small and the volume is light; move to Acuity or Vagaro when memberships and packages start to matter.

For most small salons and spas, Vagaro is the simplest answer: $30 a month buys online booking, a calendar, client records, point of sale and marketing, plus a place on a marketplace where people already look for beauty and wellness services. The subscription is priced per bookable calendar, so the receptionist and the owner cost nothing extra — only the people who actually take appointments count.

What pushes the bill up is the extras. Text marketing starts at $20 a month, and new clients who arrive through the marketplace can carry a fee, so a business that leans on the marketplace pays more than $30. Even so, the 30-day trial is the longest here, and the starting price is the lowest all-in figure in the list — that combination is why Vagaro sits near the top.

A solo stylist pays less on Fresha than anywhere else: $19.95 a month for one person, with a marketplace that shows the business to clients already searching for beauty services. Teams pay $14.95 per bookable member, so a stylist who never takes bookings costs nothing, and appointments from the business's own website, Instagram and Facebook carry no commission at all.

The marketplace takes its cut on the other side: 20% of a brand-new client's first visit, with a $6 minimum, so a $100 first appointment costs $20. Loyalty is another $59.95 a month and review requests $14.95. Fresha is the right buy for a stylist who needs the marketplace to fill the chair; a business with a full book keeps more with Vagaro or Square.

Booksy removes the tier question entirely: one plan at $29.99 a month, with online booking, no-show protection, deposits, gift cards, memberships and reporting all included. Nothing is held back for a higher tier, and the marketplace reaches 40 million people looking for beauty services. Two thousand marketing texts a month are in the price, and reminders are always free.

Two numbers still move the bill. Every extra team member adds $20 a month, so five people cost $109.99, and Boost — the paid promotion — takes 30% of a new client's first visit, up to $100. There is no cheaper annual rate in the US. Booksy suits a business that wants one price and everything in it; Setmore suits one that wants to spend less.

SimplyBook.me prices by bookings, not by people, which makes it the cheapest way to cover a team: Basic is €13.90 a month, or €11.90 billed annually, and covers 100 bookings a month for up to five providers. Every plan comes with a booking website and widget, and payments and deposits are included from Basic, so a clinic or studio can take bookings and money from day one.

The cap is the thing to watch. A business taking more than 100 bookings a month outgrows Basic and needs Standard at €29.90 for 500 bookings and 15 providers, and SMS and WhatsApp reminders cost extra as credits. The free plan covers 50 bookings a month — enough to prove the system works before paying. Pick SimplyBook.me when the team is bigger than the booking volume; pick Setmore when the volume is bigger.

Goldie is built for the solo beauty or wellness professional who lives on a phone: the free Starter plan covers online booking, client management, payments and reminder templates for up to 20 appointments a month, with no credit card required and no commission on new clients. Pro at $19.99 a month removes the cap and adds automated SMS reminders, 500 free SMS credits and no-show protection.

The free plan is a real start, not a demo — but 20 appointments a month is about one booking a working day, so a busy pro will pay within the first month. Pro Plus at $39.99 a month adds team management, online forms and the AI assistant. Goldie suits a solo pro who wants booking on a phone for free; a business with staff and a front desk needs Vagaro or Square instead.

Appointy is built for service businesses juggling several staff, locations or bookable resources: the free plan covers one staff member, five services and 100 appointments a month with website integration and automatic reminders, and Growth at $29.99 a month adds unlimited services, Google Calendar sync and payments through Square, Stripe and PayPal. Extra staff cost $5 a month on Growth.

The tiers climb in clear steps: Professional at $59.99 a month covers five staff and adds gift certificates, staff logins and resource scheduling, while Enterprise at $99.99 adds multi-location support and removes Appointy branding. The free plan is generous enough for a solo provider to run a real business on it; a team that needs resource scheduling should price Professional before committing.

Timely is the option for a salon that cares about the client experience: scheduling, client records, marketing and payments in a clean interface, with no marketplace taking a cut of any booking. Build is $26 a month per bookable staff member and includes deposits, cancellation fees and 100 SMS per staff member a month; Elevate and Innovate add consultation forms, commission tracking and advanced marketing.

For a solo stylist the price is hard to justify: $26 against Fresha's $19.95, with no free plan and no marketplace to fill empty chairs. A second stylist doubles the bill, and part-timers are charged at the same rate as full-timers. Buy Timely when the salon is big enough that smart scheduling saves real hours at the front desk and the book is already full; while chairs are empty, Fresha or Booksy fill them faster.

Mindbody is the biggest name in this list, and its strength is discovery: a consumer app with millions of people booking classes and appointments, plus scheduling, memberships, point of sale, staff management and marketing in one system. Pricing is per location with unlimited staff logins, so a busy studio never pays more for hiring. Starter is $99 a month per location.

The price is the floor, not the ceiling: only Starter carries a published price, the higher tiers need a sales call, and most studios are quoted above $99 once features are scoped. A 20% commission, capped at $30, applies to new clients found through the app. Mindbody fits an established studio that wants the marketplace; a small one will find Vagaro or Square cheaper.