Appointment Booking Software Pricing Comparison 2026

Appointment booking software in 2026 splits by target industry. 'Beauty and wellness salons' (Booksy $29.99-120+/month, Square Appointments $0-79/month): industry-specific features like service packages, tip management, stylist commission tracking. 'General service businesses' (Acuity $16-49/month annual, SimplyBook.me $0-59.90/month): flexible scheduling for coaches, consultants, therapists, tutors. 'All-in-one SMB' (Setmore $0-5/user/month annual, Square): try to serve everyone with core scheduling + payments + basic marketing. The category is differentiated from 'calendar scheduling' (Calendly, Cal.com, covered separately) — appointment booking tools emphasize paid services, staff management, commission tracking, and integrated payments; calendar schedulers emphasize meeting coordination. Square Appointments wins on payment processing integration (Square POS ecosystem). Booksy wins on beauty/wellness marketplace traffic (millions of consumers search Booksy directly for salons). Acuity is Squarespace-owned, the flexibility leader. SimplyBook.me has the widest international support (77 custom features, multi-language). Setmore is the freemium leader (4 users free, 200 appointments/month).

First: what industry? Beauty/hair/nails: Booksy for marketplace discovery, Square Appointments for payment integration. Health/wellness/medical (HIPAA): Acuity + HIPAA add-on, SimplyBook.me with medical add-ons. Coaches/consultants/tutors: Acuity or Setmore (simpler). Multi-location franchises: Square Appointments Premium ($79/location). Second: how do you take payments? Square POS ecosystem: Square Appointments is obvious choice — inherit the card reader, inventory, payroll. Stripe/other: Acuity (Stripe/Square/PayPal), SimplyBook.me (multiple gateways), Setmore (Stripe/Square/PayPal). Third: how many staff? 1-4 staff: Setmore Free is enough for most. 5-15 staff: Acuity Growing ($27/month annual) or SimplyBook.me Standard ($29.90/month). 15-30 staff: Acuity Powerhouse ($49/month) or SimplyBook.me Premium ($59.90/month). 30+ staff or multi-location: Square Premium ($79/location) or custom enterprise. Fourth: do you need marketplace traffic? Booksy includes directory listing on booksy.com — real consumer traffic for beauty businesses (15M+ US users). Square has Square Marketplace for discovery. Acuity/SimplyBook.me/Setmore have no marketplace. Fifth: international? SimplyBook.me supports most languages + currencies; Booksy strong in EU/US/Brazil; Square US/UK/CA/AU/JP/IE/FR/ES; Acuity global but US-focused; Setmore global.

For most solo service professionals (coaches, therapists, tutors, consultants): Setmore Free at $0 covers 200 appointments/month with 4 users — unbeatable free tier. Pair with Stripe/Square for payment processing. For small service businesses (2-6 staff) with payment processing needs: Square Appointments Free for solo or Plus at $29/location/month — the integrated Square POS + Appointments stack is unmatched for retail-adjacent services. For beauty and wellness salons (hair, nails, skin, barber): Booksy Starter at $29.99/month for solo operators, Biz at $60+/month for multi-staff — the Booksy marketplace drives real customer acquisition (15M+ US users search Booksy directly). For flexibility-first scheduling (coaches, consultants, classes): Acuity Emerging at $16/month annual ($192/year) is the category's Swiss Army knife. For international businesses or complex booking requirements: SimplyBook.me Premium at $59.90/month unlocks unlimited custom features and 30 providers with strong multi-language support.