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The clearest fork in the road between these two scheduling tools isn’t features — it’s pricing transparency. Setmore publishes exact plan prices right now; SimplyBook.me publishes its plans on its pricing page, but we weren’t able to capture the current figures this round, so you’ll want to check there directly before drawing any cost comparisons. That single fact will shape how you should read everything that follows.
Pricing
Setmore
Setmore keeps things straightforward with two published tiers:
| Plan | Price | Billing |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/user/month | Billed monthly |
| Pro | $5/user/month | Billed annually |
The Free plan supports up to 4 users. Pro opens to unlimited users.
SimplyBook.me
SimplyBook.me does publish its pricing on its own site — we simply couldn’t bind the current figures to named plans during our capture. Head to simplybook.me/en/pricing for the current numbers before making any decision.
Side-by-Side Pricing
| Setmore | SimplyBook.me | |
|---|---|---|
| Entry price | $0/user/month | Check their site |
| Paid tier | $5/user/month (billed annually) | Check their site |
| Free option | Yes ($0) | Not confirmed in our data |
| Pricing transparency today | Full | Publish on site; not captured this round |
If seeing a number before you sign up matters to you, Setmore wins that round by default — not because SimplyBook.me hides its pricing, but simply because we can confirm Setmore’s figures right now.
Features, Theme by Theme
Booking Page & Calendar
Both tools build around an online booking page and calendar sync. Setmore’s captured features include a Booking Page, Website Widget, All-in-one Calendar, and Google Calendar sync. SimplyBook.me similarly covers a booking system with a Custom page, Design customization, Custom domain name, and Reserve with Google — the last of which lets clients book directly from Google search and Maps. SimplyBook.me also lists Joomla, WordPress, and Site123 integration as a named category, while Setmore lists a Website Plugin. Both cover the basics; the exact depth of each integration isn’t spelled out further in the captured data.
Appointment & Class Scheduling
Setmore captures Recurring Appointments and Class Booking explicitly. SimplyBook.me captures a minimum-participant threshold for events (“if an event can only be held if a minimum number of participants have booked”), Multiple Locations, and the ability to connect service providers to specific services. Setmore’s Live Receptionist feature also appears in its captured feature list — SimplyBook.me has no equivalent item in our data.
Reminders & Notifications
Both tools handle automated communications. Setmore lists Automatic Confirmations, Email Reminders, and Text Reminders as distinct feature categories. SimplyBook.me captures Booking confirmations, Appointment reminders, and Cancellation notifications, plus a Send Mailchimp emails item and automated “Come Back Soon” messages for client retention. SimplyBook.me also captures an SMS report that tracks text communication history.
Payments
Setmore includes Secure Online Payments as a captured feature category. SimplyBook.me goes into considerably more detail in its captured data: accepting Cash, Card, Gift Cards, or Pay later; tap-to-pay, Apple Pay/Google Pay, and payment links; on-site sales for walk-ins; and the ability to Sell Products, Service add-ons, Memberships, and Gift Cards. It also captures Apply Coupon Codes upon checkout and Connect to scanners and scan product barcodes. Whether this means SimplyBook.me’s payment toolset is functionally richer is a conclusion you’d need to verify — but its captured detail is notably more granular.
Promotions & Marketing
SimplyBook.me captures a dedicated Promotion system in its positioning, including Coupons & gift cards, the ability to Offer promotions during low times, and a Sell products upon client booking flow. It also captures Intake forms, Photo gallery, Instagram photo sharing, and Sync your instagram photos with your booking page. Setmore’s captured features include Facebook, Instagram, and QR Codes as booking/visibility channels, plus a Reviews category and a Your branded app feature — a client-facing branded app — which has no direct equivalent in SimplyBook.me’s captured data.
Virtual & Remote Bookings
Setmore explicitly captures Virtual Meetings as a feature category. SimplyBook.me captures Microsoft 365/Teams integration — noting “You sign up with Microsoft 365/Teams and download their software (it’s free for now)” — but a standalone virtual meetings feature is not in its captured data.
Team & Admin
SimplyBook.me captures the ability to “Build your own system admin team with as many users as you want and decide who can do what,” plus Import Clients and Facebook client info. Setmore’s Pro plan lists unlimited users, while the Free plan caps at 4. Both tools support multi-user setups, but the granularity of role/permission controls is only described explicitly in SimplyBook.me’s captured data.
Client App
SimplyBook.me captures a client-facing app with the ability to book, reschedule, cancel, see booking history, purchase packages and memberships, and access tickets. It notes Android users receive push notifications while iOS users do not. Setmore captures a Your branded app category without further detail in the captured items.
Industries
Setmore names specific verticals in its captured feature items: Barber Shops, Personal Training, Bridal Salon, Real Estate, Tattoo Studios, Financial Services, Hair Salons, Home Repair, Interview Scheduling, Massage Therapy, Wedding Boutiques, Nail Salons, Pet Services, and Tour Booking. SimplyBook.me names medical use cases specifically (birthdate fields, treatment consent checkboxes, tickets for medical testing, QR codes for Covid testing/vaccinations) — verticals not explicitly called out in Setmore’s captured data.
Reviews
No recurring complaint patterns stood out in the Setmore reviews we scanned — worth noting neutrally, not as a positive verdict either way.
For SimplyBook.me, some users report friction around scheduling and dispatch.
Who Each Tool Is For
Setmore is a transparent-pricing option for service businesses that want a clean online booking page, Google Calendar sync, class booking, recurring appointments, virtual meetings, automated reminders, and social/QR booking channels — all at a published $0 (up to 4 users) or $5/user/month. The named industries in its data skew toward personal services, salons, fitness, and real estate.
SimplyBook.me covers booking fundamentals and layers in more granular payment flows, on-site point-of-sale capabilities, a promotion and coupon system, intake forms, multiple locations, detailed reporting, and medical-specific features. Its pricing is on its site but wasn’t captured in our latest data pull, so you’ll need a direct visit to compare costs.
Choose Setmore If…
- You want a confirmed price — including a genuine $0 entry — before you start evaluating.
- Your workflow centers on a booking page, class scheduling, recurring appointments, and automated reminders without needing a built-in POS or coupon system.
- You need Virtual Meetings as a captured, named feature.
- You want a branded app feature and Live Receptionist in the same product.
- Your business is in one of the named verticals (salons, fitness, real estate, pet services, etc.) and you prefer a simple, well-priced setup.
Choose SimplyBook.me If…
- You need multiple locations, granular role/permission controls for a larger admin team, or intake forms — none of which appear in Setmore’s captured feature data.
- On-site point-of-sale, tap-to-pay, Apple Pay/Google Pay, membership sales, product upsells, and coupon codes at checkout are important to your business model.
- You serve medical or healthcare clients and need the specific features (treatment consent forms, medical testing tickets) captured in SimplyBook.me’s data.
- You want to Reserve with Google or run a built-in promotion system for low-time offers.
- You’re comfortable verifying current pricing directly on their site before committing.
Pricing and features reflect data captured at the dates noted above. Verify current figures directly with each vendor before purchasing.