Best Appointment Scheduling Apps for Small Business

We compare the top booking apps based on price, features, and more.

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The best appointment scheduling apps for small business allow for quick bookings online, simple organization on the backend, and automated notifications for confirmations, cancellations, and modifications. 

There are tons of booking systems to choose from; thatโ€™s why we did the research for you by testing and comparing each once, which eventually got us to the absolute best appointment booking apps for small business. 

What is a Small Business Appointment Scheduling App? 

Appointment scheduling apps provide online tools for businesses to list their schedules. Clients then come to the website to book times, like how a patient might book a time to see their doctor. 

The best appointment booking apps for small business eliminate inconvenient scheduling processes (like through email or just writing down your schedule), getting rid of double bookings and back-and-forth messages. In short, these apps streamline everything.

Small business appointment scheduling apps, in particular, cater to smaller companies that need a simple configuration, affordable pricing, and the perfect amount of automation to make their lives easier. The small business scheduling apps also tend to offer plans designed for growth, where you can start with an inexpensive plan that supports 1 or 2 users, then upgrade when your business demands it. 

What to Look for in an Appointment Scheduling App for Small Business

The best appointment booking apps for small business include many features, but make sure you at least get these essentials: 

  1. An online calendar for clients to book appointments, and for the admin to set available times
  2. Integrations, and syncing with calendar apps like Outlook, iCloud, and Office 365
  3. Automated, real-time messages for things like confirmations, cancellations, and follow-ups
  4. Payment support to potentially collect money for each appointment
  5. Subscriptions, gift cards, and packages
  6. Video conferencing integrations
  7. Support for multiple team members, locations, and time zones

Best Appointment Scheduling Apps for Small Business

Now that you understand what to look for in a booking app, take a look at our recommendations for the best appointment scheduling apps for small business. 

1. Squarespace Scheduling

squarespace scheduling homepage - best appointment scheduling apps for small business

Squarespace mainly sells website building software, but it also has a product called Squarespace Scheduling (Powered by Acuity Scheduling). The scheduler integrates with any website, and includes a drag-and-drop module on Squarespace sites for instant sharing. 

This is by far the best appointment scheduling app for small business since it has a free trial, reasonable paid packages, and all the must-have features like multiple calendars, syncing, custom payments, and automated appointment reminder emails. 

Pricing

  • Emerging: $14 per month for 1 calendar per team member, employee, or location, along with calendar syncing, customer payment settings, a card vault, and automatic reminder emails
  • Growing: $23 per month for 2-6 calendars per employee or location, everything in the previous plan, plus SMS/Text reminders, packages, gift certificates, memberships, and subscriptions
  • Powerhouse: $45 per month for 7-36 calendars per employee or location, everything in the previous plans, plus HIPAA (BAA) compliance, API access, custom CSS, and multiple time zonesย 

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • Scalable pricing with reasonable rates throughout
  • Beautiful interface that integrates with your Squarespace website, or any website for that matter
  • Calendar syncing with Outlook, Google Calendar, Office 365, and iCloud
  • Integrations with Google Analytics, GoToMeeting, and more
  • Payment processing through Square, Stripe, PayPal, and more
  • Automated reminder emails
  • Unique payment options like memberships, subscriptions, and packages
  • One of the few appointment scheduling software with a HIPAA compliance option

Who is it Best For? 

We like Squarespace Scheduling for any small business with online booking requirements, whether youโ€™re accepting payments or allowing free bookings. Itโ€™s perfect for current or future Squarespace website users, or if youโ€™d rather just embed the calendar on a different site platform.ย 

2. Hubspot Scheduling Software

hubspot scheduling website

The Hubspot Scheduling Software is entirely free to use, and it offers a beautiful bookings page for you to share with clients or embed on a website. Hubspot mainly caters to companies with growing sales teams, so itโ€™s nice to see integrations with CRMs (customer relationship management software) and lead generation tools. 

Pricing

Free. 

You can upgrade to one of the Hubspot Marketing Hub plans for added integrations and features, but most of the scheduling tools are in the free plan. 

Here are the premium plans:

  • Starter: $45 per month for 1,000 marketing contacts
  • Professional: $800 per month for 2,000 marketing contacts and several automation tools
  • Enterprise: $3,600 per month for 10,000 contacts and full team management

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • Options to customize your meeting links
  • Group meetings
  • Sync with CRM contacts
  • Integrations with several video conferencing apps
  • Round-robin meeting links
  • Embed the calendar on any website

Who is it Best For? 

The Hubspot Scheduling Software works well for growing sales teams, since the idea is to eventually combine the tool with a CRM. 

3. Calendly

Calendly homepage

The Calendly Scheduler features an intuitive online calendar for placing on any website platform, along with options to share the calendar with others. Itโ€™s ideal for scheduling appointments as a team, particularly due to the video conferencing integrations, lead generation tools, and automated follow-ups. 

Pricing

Calendly has several pricing plans to choose from:

  • Basic: $0 for 1 calendar connection per person, calendar syncing, 1 active event type, meeting polls, customizable booking link templates, automated event notification, branding, and several video conferencing integrations
  • Essentials: $8 per month for everything in the previous plan, plus unlimited event types, group events, email reminders, cancellation policies, metrics, and reporting
  • Professional: $12 per month for everything in the previous plans, plus 6 calendar connections per person, collective one-offs, customizable notifications, text notifications, automated workflows, redirections, the removal of Calendly branding, and team features like managed groups and permissions
  • Teams: $16 per month for everything in the previous plans, plus round-robin events, and event locking
  • Enterprise: Custom pricing to gain scheduling features like a Calendly account partner, onboarding, security reviews, and more

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • Thereโ€™s a free plan
  • Each user gets multiple calendar connections
  • Sync with iCloud, Office 365, Outlook, and Google
  • Meeting polls and customizable booking links
  • Group, one-on-one, one-off collectives, and round-robin meetings
  • Automated email and text notifications

Who is it Best For? 

Calendly is great if youโ€™d like to start with a free plan, and if you need deep calendar syncing and video conferencing integrations. The company states that itโ€™s primarily for small businesses in sales, marketing, customer success, recruiting, IT, and education. 

4. Square Appointments

Square appointments homepage

Square Appointments gets paired with the myriad of other products from Square, including its free ecommerce site builder and payment gateway. 

Square Appointments is free, it integrates with your physical point of sale, and youโ€™re even able to list appointment times on social media sites like Instagram.

Pricing

  • Free: $0 for standard credit card rates (if using the payment processing), a scheduling app for mobile devices, custom availability, automated text and email reminders, personal event blocking, recurring appointments, multiple time zones, and several tools for staff and client management
  • Plus: $29 per month for decreased in-person credit card rates, everything in the previous plan, plus multiple locations, a daily appointment limit, no-show protection, automated confirmations, Google Calendar syncing, multiple staff appointments, and processing time
  • Premium: $69 per month for everything in the previous plan, plus decreased credit card rates, resource management, and features for teams like custom permissions and multiple wage rates

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • Integrated with Square Payments
  • You get a free ecommerce website
  • Thereโ€™s a free plan
  • Integrate with your POS
  • Automated notifications (text and email)
  • Multiple locations
  • QR code and Book Now button
  • Reservations on Instagram and Reserve With Google
  • Staff and client management

Who is it Best For? 

Square Appointments makes the most sense for retail small business owners, or anyone using a POS and planning on accepting payments with their bookings. 

5. Fresha (Formerly Shedul)

Fresha homepage

Formerly called Shedul, the Fresha app combines sleekness and simplicity for one of the best appointment scheduling apps for small business. 

The app caters to salons and spas, but itโ€™s useful for similar businesses, too. It also has a booking marketplace, which provides free marketing to potential customers. 

Pricing

Fresha is subscription-free. You only pay for what you use; that means unlimited team members, locations, product inventory, and reporting, all for free. 

However, you will pay for: 

  • Payment processing: 2.19% +$0.20 per transaction
  • New marketplace clients: A commission of 20% to Fresha (only first-time customers who find your business through Fresha Marketplace)
  • Blast marketing: $0.06 per text and $0.03 per email
  • Automated notifications: 150 monthly texts for free + $0.01 for every additional text

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • Completely free; pay as you go
  • Options to send blast email and text marketing messages
  • Unlimited everything, from clients to bookings
  • Automated messaging
  • Sell physical products
  • Multiple locations
  • Built-in reports
  • A mobile booking app

Who is it Best For? 

We like Fresha for those with marketing in mind, since it has the Fresha Marketplace on your side, and paid tools for blast marketing. However, itโ€™s only recommended for spas, salons, and similar businesses like barbershops, massage therapists, and personal trainers. 

6. Zoho Bookings

Zoho bookings homepage

Zoho offers a free appointment scheduler along with its many other free tools. The app is excellent if youโ€™re familiar with the Zoho suite of products, since you can integrate with Zoho Sites, Meeting, CRM, Flow, and more.ย 

Pricing

  • Forever Free Plan: $0 for 1 staff member, tools to schedule meetings, notification emails, and two-way calendar syncing with tools like Zoho Calendar, Google, Outlook, and Office 365
  • Basic: $6 per month for everything in the previous plan, plus online meetings with Zoom, round-robins, customizations, automated messaging, Zapier integration, reports on appointments/staff, a brand color palette, mobile apps, custom fields for the booking form, and automated time zone conversionsย 
  • Premium: $9 per month for everything in the previous plans, plus online payments, syncing with Zoho CRM, 3 workspaces, removal of Zoho branding, custom text notifications, resource booking, recurring group events, revenue reports, and a booking page hosted on your domain

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • Thereโ€™s a free plan
  • Decent calendar syncing support
  • Integrate with most Zoho apps
  • Various event types
  • Automated messaging and time zone changes
  • Custom fields for the booking form
  • Options to host on your own domain
  • Round-robins

Who is it Best For? 

Consider Zoho if youโ€™re familiar with the Zoho suite of products or intend to use their CRM (or other tools). The integrations are seamless, and you can take advantage of the free plan. We also like Zoho Bookings for businesses with significant mobile requirementsโ€”the mobile scheduler from Zoho works very well. 

7. SimplyBook.me

Simplybook.me - best appointment scheduling apps for small business

SimplyBook.me provides one of the best appointment scheduling apps for small businesses in the service space. Clients can make bookings on a 24/7 basis, while notifications go out via text and email. The interface is simple enough for all small business owners, and it expands into a rather powerful scheduler since you have access to the API and several integrations (like for Instagram, Facebook, and Google My Business).ย 

Pricing

  • Free: $0 for 50 bookings and 5 users, along with a booking website, widget, app, and directory listing
  • Basic: $8.25 per month for 100 bookings, 15 users, everything in the previous plan, plus a client app, coupons, gift cards, and sales POS
  • Standard: $24.90 per month for 500 bookings, 25 users, everything in the previous plans, plus HIPAA compliance
  • Premium: $49.90 per month for 2,000 bookings, 50 users, all previous plan features, plus a branded client app, and link removalย 

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • One of the few appointment booking tools with HIPAA compliance options
  • Free booking website
  • Auto notifications through the browser and email
  • Both client and admin mobile apps
  • Payment processing and deposits
  • Integrations with Instagram and Facebook
  • Coupons and gift cards
  • Directory listings for improved marketing
  • Booking widget

Who is it Best For? 

SimplyBook.me works for many types of industries, from sports to healthcare, and retail to photography. Its customization makes for a pleasant experience, and itโ€™s particularly affordable, as long as you have no problem with SimplyBook.me branding on your booking pages.ย 

8. Picktime

Picktime homepage

For simplified online scheduling combined with payments, invoices, and solid reporting, consider Picktime. Itโ€™s one of the best appointment scheduling apps for small business due to its variety of features to sell class bookings, general appointments, and rooms/equipment.ย 

Pricing

  • Free: $0 for 3 team members, 2 locations, 2 classes, and unlimited appointments; you also receive import/export features, email notifications, PayPal payments, and an online booking page
  • Starter: $9.99 per month for everything in the previous plan, plus 5 classes, contact merging, Stripe payments, SMS notifications, timezone conversions, attendance, calendar syncing, and recurring bookings
  • Pro: $19.99 per month for everything in the previous plans, plus 20 team members, unlimited locations, a waitlist, packages, round-robin, discounts, SSO, captcha, and 20+ languages for the booking page

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • The best free plan on this list, with 3 team members, 2 locations, and unlimited appointments
  • Reasonable premium plans
  • Calendar syncing with Google, iCloud, Office 365, Outlook, and Exchange
  • Multiple languages
  • Excellent video conferencing support (Jitsi, Google Meet, Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and more)
  • Automated notifications

Who is it Best For? 

Consider Picktime if you need to integrate with video conferencing tools, since itโ€™s the one software on this list with support for all the big names. We also think Picktime has the most offerings out of any free plan on this list.ย 

9. YouCanBookMe

YCBM - best appointment scheduling apps for small business

YouCanBookMe (YCBM) cuts out the back and forth that comes with appointment scheduling with a personalized booking page, automated time zones, and top-notch integrations with a wide range of business apps.ย 

Pricing

  • Free Forever: $0 for basic scheduling, 1 booking page, personalizations, and 1 linked calendar through Microsoft or Google
  • Paid plan: Starting at $8 per month for all free plan features, plus powerful automation, custom notifications, rescheduling, booking records, exports, custom availability, group bookings, appointment types, tentative bookings, password protection, and much moreย 

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • Thereโ€™s a free plan, and just one other paid plan for maximum simplicity
  • Calendar syncing with Outlook, Office 365, and Google Calendar
  • Video conferencing through Zoom, Google Meet, and Microsoft Teams
  • A tentative bookings feature
  • Advanced customizations for booking pages, messages, and overall branding
  • Automated and customizable notifications (both SMS and email)
  • Automatic rebooks, parent/teacher conferences, and time zone detection
  • Payments
  • Variable length appointments

Who is it Best For? 

YCBM is your choice if you want the ultimate customization without any need to tap into an API. You can format with Markdown, match the booking page with your brand, and customize every message that goes out. We also enjoy YCBM for its tentative bookings functionality.ย 

10. Setmore

Setmore homepage

Setmore is one of the best appointment scheduling apps because of its free booking software with video conferencing integrations and no-show prevention. Youโ€™re able to get paid in advance with Setmore, and the app works flawlessly through Android and iOS mobile versions. It even has a long list of integrations to video chat, sync with calendars, and share bookings on social media.ย 

Pricing

  • Free: $0 per user per month for up to 4 users, unlimited appointments, payments with Square, email reminders, a custom booking page, Teleport video meetings, social integrations, CRM integrations, website integrations, and analytics connections
  • Premium: $5 per user per month for everything in the previous plan, plus 2 users, two-way calendar syncing, payments with Square, Stripe, and PayPal, along with SMS reminders, customized notifications, recurring appointments, Teleport Pro, and moreย 
  • Pro: $5-9 per user per month for everything in the previous plans, plus 3+ users, and HIPAA compliance

Pros ๐Ÿ‘

  • One of the few appointment apps with HIPAA compliance available
  • Accept appointment bookings on social media and your own website
  • Support for three payment gateways
  • Recurring appointments
  • Thereโ€™s a free plan
  • Unlimited appointments on all plans
  • Decent iOS and Android apps
  • SMS reminders

Who is it Best For? 

Just about any professional would be happy with Setmore for appointment scheduling, particularly if youโ€™re interested in a free plan, HIPAA compliance, and payment processing. Some industries known to use Setmore include legal, consulting, accounting, real estate, healthcare, trade services, creative, wellbeing, education, and beauty.ย 

Which Appointment Scheduling App is Right for Your Small Business?

While browsing the best appointment scheduling apps for small business, take into account the features you need long before you commit to one solution. You may find that getting rid of the platformโ€™s branding requires the highest tiered plan, or maybe the bookings are limited in each of the plans. 

The idea is to ensure you have all the features necessary for your unique operation. 

If youโ€™re still struggling with your decision, here are our final recommendations:

  • Squarespace Scheduling: Best all-around scheduling app for small business; no free plan, but beautiful interface and smooth features; integrate with any website, or use the Squarespace widget
  • Hubspot Scheduling Software: Free software; robust interface with several upgrade opportunities; mainly for small businesses with sales teams
  • Calendly: For growing businesses with sales departments; free plan; solid customizations
  • Square Appointments: Best if you intend to accept payments; integrated POS and payment processing; free website
  • Fresha: No subscriptionsโ€”pay as you go; built-in marketplace for easy marketing; optional email marketing; mainly for spas and salons
  • Zoho Bookings: Free plan; perfect for Zoho enthusiasts; awesome mobile apps, smooth integrations
  • SimplyBook.me: Affordable, with free plan; any industry could use this; unfortunate they require SimplyBook.me branding for most plans
  • PickTime: Best free plan we could find; top-tiered video conferencing integrations
  • YouCanBookMe: For any industry; top-rated customization tools
  • Setmore: For any industry; free plan; HIPAA compliance

Do you have experience with any of the best appointment booking apps for small business? If so, please let us know your favorites in the comments below. 

Joe Warnimont

Joe Warnimont is a Chicago-based writer who focuses on eCommerce tools, WordPress, and social media. When not fishing or practicing yoga, he's collecting stamps at national parks (even though that's mainly for children). Check out Joe's portfolio to contact him and view past work.

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