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Acuity Scheduling is an appointment booking and scheduling platform covering online booking, client management, class scheduling, invoicing, point of sale, calendar management, availability controls, staff management, and a website builder — with a mobile app included. It’s positioned for a wide range of service businesses, from beauty and salons to fitness, wellness, education, and business services. Plans start at $16/month according to Acuity’s own page, but named tiers are not publicly detailed — you’d need to contact them or start a trial to see the full breakdown.
Some users report friction around scheduling and dispatch, the mobile app, customer support, and price/value — which makes this a reasonable moment to see what else is on the market.
The Alternatives at a Glance
Setmore
Setmore gives you a custom online booking page, calendar management, automated confirmations, email and text reminders, online payments, class booking, recurring appointments, and a website widget. It also covers virtual meetings and integrates with Google Calendar. The categories it serves span hair salons, barber shops, nail salons, massage therapy, personal trainers, pet services, real estate, financial services, tattoo studios, home repair, bridal salons, and more.
Pricing: $0/month, billed monthly (up to 4 users) or $5/user/month, billed annually for the Pro plan (unlimited users). That’s one of the most accessible price points in this comparison.
No recurring complaint themes stood out in the reviews we scanned for Setmore — though that’s a neutral observation, not a verdict.
SimplyBook.me
SimplyBook.me is built for service businesses and covers a broad set of features: AI voice booking, intake forms, multiple locations, service providers management, Reserve with Google, Facebook and Instagram bookings, design customization, reviews, a custom domain name, coupons and gift cards, and a POS-style setup that includes accepting cash, card, gift cards, and tap-to-pay (Apple Pay/Google Pay). It also supports memberships, product sales, service add-ons, coupon codes, automated “Come Back Soon” messages, a client-facing mobile app, SMS and email reminders, Mailchimp integration, Google Sheets, Slack, and push notifications. There’s also a business directory listing at booking.page.
Pricing: SimplyBook.me publishes its plans on its pricing page; we weren’t able to capture the current figures this round, so check there directly.
Some users report friction around scheduling and dispatch.
Book Like A Boss
Book Like A Boss is positioned as a landing page builder combined with an all-in-one scheduling platform — the emphasis is on converting visitors into paying clients. Features include unlimited booking pages, fully customized branding, charge and collect payments, automated reminders and follow-ups, displaying videos, photos, and FAQs, testimonials, live events, memberships and subscriptions, digital/physical products, offline payments, donations, and tips. For teams, it adds unlimited bookings per team member, custom permissions per booking page, round-robin scheduling, and centralized page management.
Pricing: $8.50/month, billed annually.
Some users report friction around scheduling and dispatch.
Appointlet
Appointlet focuses on making meeting scheduling straightforward — removing the back-and-forth email exchange. Its captured features include unlimited meetings, sync to Google and Outlook Calendar, web conference room creation, scheduling links, and website booking. It’s positioned for industries including retail services, health and wellness, legal and financial, recruiting and HR, property management, sales and marketing, and customer success.
Pricing: $12/month per member, billed monthly; or $9/month per member, billed annually. A free tier is mentioned in the captured data (“Start free”).
We don’t have usable third-party review data for Appointlet — too few reviews were sampled to surface a meaningful signal.
Appointy
Appointy covers scheduling for appointments and resources, classes, workshops, events, tours, rides, and activities. Feature highlights include website integration, Square Payments and Point of Sale, Zapier connectivity, automatic reminders, a mobile app, Google Calendar sync plus iCal feed, Stripe/PayPal/Authorize.NET payment acceptance, advanced booking features, staff login, gift certificates, resource scheduling, and SMS text customization. It spans health and wellness, education, medicine, fitness, salon and beauty, professional services, and government use cases.
Pricing: Three tiers, all billed annually:
– Growth: $19.99/month
– Professional: $49.99/month
– Enterprise: $79.99/month
We don’t have third-party review data for Appointy.
Calendly
Calendly is a scheduling automation platform with a strong emphasis on integrations and team workflows. Captured features include scheduling automation, a Meeting Notetaker, customizable availability, mobile apps, browser extensions, meeting routing, event types, email and website embeds, reminders and follow-ups, meeting polls, admin management, video conferencing, payment processors, Sales and CRM connections, recruiting and ATS integration, API and connectors, and security and compliance. It positions itself for individuals, small businesses, and large companies.
Pricing: $10/month per seat (Standard) or $16/month per seat (Teams), both billed annually. A free tier is available.
Some users report friction around price and value — worth factoring in if budget is a key consideration.
Square Appointments
Square Appointments is part of the Square ecosystem, focusing on appointment management alongside payments — both online and in person. Captured features reference booking, real-time syncing, reminders, client attraction and retention tools, team scheduling and payment, reporting and analytics, and compatibility with Square hardware (card readers, etc.). It covers beauty salons, nail salons, hair salons, day spas, tattoo and piercing, med spas, and a range of service business types.
Pricing: Three tiers, all billed monthly per location:
– Free: $0/month
– Plus: $49/month
– Premium: $149/month
We don’t have usable third-party review data for Square Appointments.
Pricing Comparison Table
| Tool | Starting Price | Top Published Price | Billing |
|---|---|---|---|
| Acuity Scheduling | Starting at $16/month (per page headline) | Not publicly detailed | Contact/trial |
| Setmore | $0/month | $5/user/month | Free: monthly; Pro: billed annually |
| SimplyBook.me | Published on their site | — | Check pricing page directly |
| Book Like A Boss | $8.50/month | — | Billed annually |
| Appointlet | $9/month per member | $12/month per member | Annual or monthly |
| Appointy | $19.99/month | $79.99/month | Billed annually |
| Calendly | $10/month per seat | $16/month per seat | Billed annually |
| Square Appointments | $0/month | $149/month | Billed monthly per location |
Consider Each Alternative If…
Consider Setmore if you want the lowest possible cost of entry — $0 for up to four users, or $5/user/month on an annual plan — and still need core features like a booking page, automated reminders, class booking, and Google Calendar sync. It’s especially relevant if you serve clients in beauty, personal training, home repair, or pet services.
Consider SimplyBook.me if your business needs a feature-dense setup with multiple locations, AI voice booking, a built-in POS-style checkout (including tap-to-pay and Apple/Google Pay), membership sales, coupon and gift card tools, and deep customization of the booking form. Check their pricing page directly for current plan costs.
Consider Book Like A Boss if you want your scheduling page to double as a sales landing page — with testimonials, videos, FAQs, and the ability to sell memberships, subscriptions, digital and physical products, and collect tips or donations alongside bookings. At $8.50/month billed annually, it’s a budget-friendly option for those who want that combined presence.
Consider Appointlet if your core need is removing email back-and-forth from meeting scheduling, with Google and Outlook calendar sync and web conference room creation built in — and you want a per-member pricing model with a free entry point. Note that third-party review coverage is thin, so a hands-on trial is the best way to evaluate it.
Consider Appointy if you need tiered pricing that scales from a single operator up to an enterprise setup, with resource scheduling, staff logins, gift certificates, and connections to Square POS and Zapier alongside standard booking features. The $19.99/month entry point and structured plan ladder make it straightforward to see what you’d pay as you grow.
Consider Calendly if your focus is on meeting scheduling within a professional or corporate context — with routing, meeting polls, CRM and ATS integrations, admin management, and compliance features. It’s built explicitly for individuals, small businesses, and large companies. Some users flag price/value concerns, so weigh the per-seat cost carefully as your team grows.
Consider Square Appointments if you’re already using or open to the Square payments ecosystem and want appointment scheduling tightly coupled with in-person and online payment processing, hardware compatibility, and business management tools in one place. The $0/month free tier makes it easy to start without commitment.