1v1 Pricing Showdown
Acuity Scheduling vs SimplyBook.me
Side-by-side pricing breakdown for Appointment Booking Software decision-makers
Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
When choosing between Acuity Scheduling and SimplyBook.me for your appointment booking software stack, the right answer depends on three things: your budget, the specific features you actually use day-to-day, and your tolerance for renewal-price increases. Below we lay out the prices each vendor advertises today (verified against their live pricing pages), the plan limits that decide whether they'll fit your team, and the features that differ between them.
Acuity Scheduling starts at $16/mo; SimplyBook.me starts at $9.9/mo. The cheaper headline price isn't always the cheaper total cost — renewal pricing, per-user fees, and overage charges can shift the math. Use the plan-by-plan tables below to model your actual spend.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| unlimited appointments | All plans | — |
| online payments | Stripe + Square + PayPal | — |
| appointment types | Unlimited | — |
| email reminders | All plans | — |
| text reminders | Powerhouse only | — |
| group classes | Growing+ | — |
| memberships | Growing+ | — |
| packages gift certs | Growing+ | — |
| subscriptions | Powerhouse | — |
| custom api | Powerhouse | — |
| hipaa add on | Powerhouse | Standard+ |
| calendar sync | Google + Outlook + iCloud + Office 365 | — |
| 7 day trial | All features, no CC | — |
| squarespace integration | Native — Acuity is Squarespace-owned | — |
| responsive booking website | — | All plans |
| administrative tools | — | All plans |
| automated notifications | — | All plans |
| 77 custom features available | — | Unlocked by tier: 1/3/8/Unlimited |
| multiple languages | — | All plans |
| payment gateways | — | Multiple — PayPal, Stripe, Square, more |
| marketing tools | — | Standard+ |
| mobile apps | — | All plans |
| api access | — | Standard+ |
| 14 day free trial | — | Most features + 50 bookings, no CC |
Affiliate links — you pay the same price
Dive Deeper
Acuity Scheduling
SimplyBook.me
About the appointment booking software category
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).
How to choose between appointment booking software options
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.
Building Your Business Stack?
Decision-makers comparing tools often need more than one category. Here are related comparisons:
Frequently Asked Questions
- Is Acuity Scheduling cheaper than SimplyBook.me?
- SimplyBook.me is cheaper starting at $9.9/mo. Acuity Scheduling starts at $16/mo and SimplyBook.me at $9.9/mo.
- Does Acuity Scheduling or SimplyBook.me offer a free plan?
- SimplyBook.me offers a free plan.
- Which is better, Acuity Scheduling or SimplyBook.me?
- Acuity Scheduling scores 8.7/10 compared to SimplyBook.me's 8.6/10 in our analysis. Acuity Scheduling ranks higher on features and value, but SimplyBook.me may suit specific use cases — see the feature comparison above.
- Is Acuity Scheduling cheaper than SimplyBook.me for a team of 5?
- For a team of 5, Acuity Scheduling costs $16/mo (flat rate) and SimplyBook.me costs $9.9/mo (flat rate). SimplyBook.me is the cheaper option at this team size.
- Are there other appointment booking software alternatives besides Acuity Scheduling and SimplyBook.me?
- Yes. Our [Appointment Booking Software pricing comparison](/pricing/appointment-booking/) page covers all major providers with daily-verified prices. You can also see the [cheapest appointment booking software](/pricing/appointment-booking/cheapest/) for budget-focused options.