Best 11+ free
online booking systems
for small businesses
As a small business owner, you know that time is money. You need to focus on growing your business, not wasting valuable hours scheduling appointments.
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That's where online booking systems come in. By allowing your customers to schedule appointments online, you can save time, reduce no-shows, and increase customer satisfaction. But with so many options on the market, how do you know which one to choose?
We've done the research for you and compiled a list of the top 11 free online booking systems for small businesses.
What makes a good online booking system?
Before we dive into the list, let's talk about what makes a good online booking system. A good system should be user-friendly, customizable, and flexible. It should allow you to set your availability, offer different services, and accept payments online.
It should also integrate with your website and other tools you use, like your calendar or email marketing software. And of course, it should be affordable, if not free.
Why do small businesses need an online booking system?
An online booking system can benefit small businesses in many ways. It can save you time and money by automating your appointment scheduling and reminders. It can reduce no-shows by sending automatic reminders to your clients.
It can also increase customer satisfaction by allowing them to book appointments at their convenience, 24/7. And finally, it can help you grow your business by attracting new customers through online booking platforms and social media integrations.
Now let's dive into our list of the top 11 free online booking systems for small businesses.
1. Vev
Vev is the number one online booking system for small businesses. It's a powerful, yet easy-to-use system that allows you to manage your appointments, payments, and customer data all in one place.
Vev is perfect for small businesses that need a customizable and flexible booking system that can handle a high volume of appointments.
And then there’s the automated confirmations, reminders, and creation of calendar events for all appointments. Meaning you can say goodbye to no-shows. Well, at least most of them. Oh, and you can use Vev to accept payments, too.
The most amazing thing about Vev is that it’s completely free, forever.
Pricing
Vev is completely free for small businesses.
Website
https://vev.co/online-booking-system
Features
Vev offers a wide array of features, including:
- Customizable booking forms with your own colors
- Automated reminders and notifications
- Online payments and deposits
- Customizable appointment types and durations
- Flexible schedule and availability
- Social media integrations
- Customer data management
- Reporting and analytics
- iOS app for iPhone and iPad
Who it's for
Vev is ideal for small businesses in a variety of industries such as beauty, wellness, fitness, and education that require a powerful and flexible booking system that can handle a high volume of appointments. But don’t think Vev’s limited to those industries - any small business can use it.
2. YouCanBook.me
YouCanBook.me is appointment scheduling software that ‘speaks your language’. How? It supports 44 languages and completely customizable booking pages delivering the best experience for all your customers.
This powerful scheduling tool makes it super easy to find times to meet and lets you eliminate back-and-forth with customers.
Pricing
YouCanBook.me offers a forever free plan with limited features and premium plans starting at $12/month.
Website
Features
Here’s a list of some of the most important YouCanBook.me features:
- Flexible schedule and availability
- Duration and appointment padding
- Time zones automatically detected
- Confirmations and reminders
- Customize your calendar events
- Automated follow-up emails
- Personalized booking link
- Tentative bookings
Who it's for
Small businesses in the service industry, such as consultants and freelancers. It also works great for teams who need flexibility, customization, and powerful automation.
3. Square Appointments
Square Appointments is a straightforward online booking system that integrates with Square's other business tools. It works wonders for businesses that already use Square for payments and point-of-sale systems.
Pricing
Square Appointments offers a free plan with limited features, as well as paid plans starting at $29 per month per location. You also pay a processing rate per transaction.
Website
https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments
Features
Square Appointments offers a variety of features, including:
- Online booking website
- Sell products in-store or for pickup/delivery
- Book Now button
- Instagram Integration
- Reserve with Google integration
- Booking website QR code
- SEO tools
Who it's for
Square Appointments is a good option for small businesses that already use Square's other business tools and need a straightforward booking system that's easy to use.
4. Setmore
Setmore is an online booking system that offers a lot of customization options. It offers a lot of control and is quite simple to set up.
Pricing
Setmore offers a free plan for small businesses and start-ups with up to 4 users and limited features. Paid plans start at $12 per user per month.
Website
Features
These features are included in the free plan:
- Unlimited appointments
- Accept payments
- Your custom Booking Page
- iOS and Android apps
- Customized notifications
- Email reminders
- Integrate with your favorite apps
Who it's for
Setmore is a good free option for small businesses and startups in a variety of industries, especially if they need a lot of customization options. However, most of the really powerful customization options are reserved for the paid plans and enterprise accounts.
5. Acuity Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling is a powerful online booking system that offers a lot of features and integrations. In their own words, Acuity call their tool a “cohesive, user-friendly system for running your business end-to-end.” Quite a mouthful, but it’s an accurate description.
Pricing
Acuity Scheduling offers a free 7 day trial with paid plans starting at $20 per month for a single user.
Website
Features
Acuity Scheduling offers a variety of features on the lowest tier plan, including:
- Client self-scheduling
- Confirmation, reminder, and follow-up emails
- Automatic time zone conversion for clients
- Embed scheduler into your website
- Accept payments and deposits through Stripe, Square, or PayPal
- Google Meet, Zoom, and GoToMeeting integrations for online meetings
Who it's for
Acuity Scheduling is a great fit for somewhat larger businesses in industries such as healthcare, beauty, fitness, and education that require a lot of flexibility in their booking process.
6. Bookedin
Bookedin is easy to use appointment booking software with great features like appointment reminders and payment processing. We especially like their client profile feature that lets you create new contacts or import an external client list.
Pricing
Bookedin offers a free plan with limited features, as well as paid plans starting at $16.95 per month.
Website
Features
Bookedin offers a variety of features, including:
- Recurring appointments
- Custom booking forms
- Text message reminders
- Custom email reminders
- Google listings
- Facebook/Instagram integration
- Advertising analytics
- Get paid upfront
- Request payment any time
- Client profiles and more
Who it's for
Bookedin is an ideal solution for small businesses operating in the beauty, wellness, and education sectors, providing them with a seamless and user-friendly booking system.
Its features and functionalities are tailored to meet the specific needs of these industries, making it a perfect fit for businesses seeking a hassle-free way to manage their appointments and reservations.
7. Booksy
Booksy allows you to manage the demands of today, so you can create space to think about tomorrow. You decide how fast and how far you want to go. This online booking system offers two unique experiences: a table for your front desk, and a mobile solution for managing appointments on the go.
Pricing
Booksy offers a free trial, as well as paid plans starting at $29.99 per month + tax.
Website
Features
Booksy offers a variety of features, including:
- Calendar & appointments
- Business management
- Payment processing
- Marketing tools
- Bottom line protection
- Performance snapshots
These are the ‘Lite’ features. If you go for the ‘Booksy Biz Pro’ set, you’ll also get:
- Multi-modal team solution
- Staff & shift management
- Inventory management
- Gift cards, packages, & memberships
- Complete Point-of-Sale
- Stats & reports
Who it's for
Booksy is a good option for small businesses like barbers, nail artists, tattoo artists and other such entrepreneurs.
8. Appointy
Appointy is an online booking system that’s simple, functional and powerful. It has everything you need to grow and manage your business. You can accept payments, reduce no-shows, manage staff, get more clients - and do more
Pricing
Appointy offers a free plan for 1 staff and 5 services that’s free forever, as well as paid plans starting at $29.99 per month.
Website
Features
Appointy offers a variety of features, including:
- Clients self-schedule 24x7
- Integrate on your website and Facebook page
- Schedule classes, groups, events or individual appointments
- Appointment reminders
- Time zone conversions
- Automatic appointment assignment to staff
- Customizable deals and discounts
Who it's for
Appointy is a great fit for small businesses in industries such as healthcare, education, medicine, fitness and recreation, professional services and more.
9. Schedulicity
Schedulicity is an appointment scheduling software that lets you book unlimited client appointments, accept every form of payment, and use marketing tools the way you want to.
Basically, it gives you control over every aspect of your business. It’s also very simple to set up in just three easy steps.
Pricing
Schedulicity offers a 14-day free trial and premium plans starting at $34.99 per month.
Website
Features
Here are some of Schedulicity’s features, amongst others:
- Calendar management
- Client booking
- Appointment scheduling
- Appointment reminders
- Customer support
- Mobile scheduling app
- Payment processing
Who it's for
Small businesses in the service industry, such as hair stylists, skin care professionals, beauticians, chiropractors, personal trainers, etc.
10. SimplyBook.me
SimplyBook.me is a versatile online booking system that offers a wide range of features for small businesses. It's a great option for businesses that need a lot of flexibility in their booking process.
Pricing
SimplyBook.me offers a free plan for 1 user and up to 50 bookings, as well as paid plans starting at $10.99 per month.
Website
Features
SimplyBook.me offers a variety of extra features on the paid plan, including:
- Booking Website
- Booking Widget
- Directory Listing
- Coupons & Gift Cards
- Sales (POS)
Who it's for
SimplyBook.me is a good option for small businesses in industries such as healthcare, beauty, fitness, and education that need a lot of flexibility in their booking process.
11. Sign in Scheduling
Whether you’re an international organization or solopreneur, Sign In Scheduling gives you the power to make appointments happen effectively. Packed with features, it helps grow your business by giving you more time, and scales with you.
Pricing
Sign in Scheduling offers a free trial with limited features and premium plans starting at $7.20 / month.
Website
Features
Here’s a list of some of the most important features Sign in Scheduling offers:
- Unlimited services
- Multi-site bookings
- Manage bookings in multiple rooms in one location
- Zoom & MS team bookings
- Take online payments
- Support included
- Branding included
- Tools for HIPAA
- Manage teams across multiple time zones
Who it's for
Sign in Scheduling works well for businesses in the education, financial services, healthcare HR & recruitment, remote teams, retail and sales sectors. Whether that’s at individual, SME or enterprise level.
Which online booking system is best for me?
You’ll have to take a few factors into consideration when picking an online booking system for your small business. Besides, your specific business might need some features while others aren’t as relevant.
For instance, if accepting payments is essential for your business, maybe you should opt for software that doesn’t charge transaction fees. At the same time, you might not run a business where you need to hold online video calls. In which case, integrations with Zoom or Google Meets aren’t as important.
Asking yourself these questions before checking out some of the tools above will help you figure out whether to opt for more enterprise software like Acuity Scheduling, or choosing a completely free online booking system like Vev, instead.
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