8 Best WordPress Booking Plugins Compared 2024

Deciding on the best WordPress booking plugin for your needs? With numerous WordPress options available, and some in development, it can be challenging to make a choice. While many plugins offer similar features, prices, and integrations can vary.

To simplify your decision-making process, we have researched several best WordPress booking plugins, including such popular names as BookingPress, Booked, Amelia, Salon Booking System, and BirchPress.

We have compiled independent opinions on each product, as well as key pricing, download, and other relevant data when available, to facilitate easier feature comparisons and help you choose the best option for your service business.

Additionally, we have outlined the top features and potential drawbacks of each plugin to help you choose.

Please note, however, that we will not make a definitive recommendation on the “best” plugin, as we believe there are several valuable techniques to consider when choosing the right appointment plugin for WordPress – and we also add them at the end of this post, so make certain you read until the end.

BookingPress – WordPress Booking Plugin

bookingpress wordpress booking plugin Best for: Small service businesses with or without a team.
Users: 10,000+ users of a free version.
Payment methods: PayPal, Stripe, Mollie, Square, Razorpay, Braintree, 2Checkout, PagSeguro, Skrill, Authorize.net, Paystack, PayUMoney, PayFast, WorldPay, Klarna, Paddle.
Design customization:Fonts, colors, layouts, field titles, button labels, custom CSS.
Pricing: Starts from $79/year.

BookingPress has been around for a few years now. It puts backend capabilities, booking widget customization, and payment methods at the center of attention, giving you many more options for free that you wouldn’t encounter in other plugins.

It has all the features for admins and customers that are typically included with WordPress booking plugins of this sort. Some of them are handy dashboard booking calendars for the staff, flexible availability settings, automated notifications, and top-notch integration with various apps.

From a user’s perspective, it’s a good-looking, fast-loading, and feature-rich appointment scheduling solution. With a flat modern design for the step-by-step booking widget, BookingPress is deeply customizable, allowing you to go beyond just color or font changes and create a truly brandable widget for your WordPress site.

In our assessment of BookingPress, we found that it delivers a swift and straightforward appointment booking experience for clients, offers a ton of useful tools for administrators, and represents excellent value for money.

Pros:
  • Affordably priced, offering as many as 40+ premium add-ons and 17+ payment gateways for free to use (the basic cost covers all these features).
  • Supports all essential integrations, including WhatsApp, Google & Outlook Calendar, Mailchimp, Zoom Meeting, Google Meet, and more.
  • Manage multiple business locations and allow your customers to schedule appointments at their nearest or preferred location.
  • Easy-to-manage recurring appointments.
  • Well-developed features including PDF invoices, coupons, and deposit payments.
  • Fully accessible fronted & backend plugin demo for admins and customers.
  • Integrated WooCommerce support allows for connection to any payment gateway.
Cons:
  • There are some limited customization options for the booking form, but they continuously introduce new features and customization options to ease the appointment booking process.

Amelia Booking Plugin

amelia booking plugin Best for: Any service businesses with teams and in different locations.
Users: 50K downloads of the free version.
Payment methods: Stripe, PayPal, on-site.
Design customization: Fully customizable colors and fonts of the booking widget.
Pricing: Prices start at $79 per year.

Just like other WordPress appointment booking plugins, Amelia is made for gym events, private clinics, spa salons, and similar businesses. Constantly praised and glorified, Amelia has earned a good reputation since its release in 2018.

So is it so much better than its counterparts? Let us say yes and no.

‘Yes’ – because it’s a truly reliable solution; users name online payments, mobile access, and confirmation and reminder emails among its top features. The Amelia appointment booking plugin delivers top-notch features, a well-polished design, and multiple integration options, which are a big deal for service businesses.

Also, when you play with the demo, there is a feeling it’s made with real appointment businesses in mind at every step of the booking process. We also liked the backend features, with a truly informative and handy calendar for controlling all upcoming bookings. 

As for ‘no’, we don’t think Amelia significantly dominates the WordPress market but is rather another really good option. Our verdict is that you can 100% trust Amelia, but don’t overestimate it, since there might be just as decent but less advertised solutions for a more modest price.

Pros:
  • WooCommerce support for connecting any payment gateway.
  • Easy-to-manage recurring appointments.
  • Good level of native support for virtual meetings and online events (Zoom, Google Meet).
  • WordPress capabilities for user roles and permissions.
Cons:
  • Compared to other plugins, not so many out-of-the-box payment gateways are supported.
  • Some handy features, such as Whatsapp integration, are not included with the cheapest plan.

Salon Booking System

salon booking system Best for: Small service businesses and chains in various locations.
Users: 7K users of the free version.
Payment methods: Stripe, PayPal, Takepayments, PayU, Cardcom, Bancontact, Square, Paystack, Verifon, Mollie, Viva Wallet, Mercado Pago, Cardconnect, Swish, Boipa, Wordpay, RedSays, Paytrail, PolyPay, Walle, Payengine, Przelewy24.
Design customization: Size, colors.
Pricing: €69/year is a basic plan.

The Salon Booking system is another cool appointment scheduling system for WordPress that you have most likely seen around, as it has been available for 6 years now.

What sets it apart from competitors is that it ships with a benchmark list of tools for appointment businesses, including integrations (SMS solutions, marketing apps, payment methods, API for developers) and essentials, such as revenue reports, user accounts, and more.

This appointment booking plugin has been designed for both service entrepreneurs that work solo and chains that operate in multiple locations, with multiple service assistants. Flexible enough!

Personal customer account pages are very handy and easy for viewing upcoming reservations, bookings history, and more, which is awesome news if you are looking to build long-term relationships with loyal clients.

After reviewing its major features and customer reviews, we can safely say that the Salon Booking System plugin corresponds to its value and deserves its place in the list of the best booking plugins for WordPress.

Pros:
  • Fully-featured tools for all sides of the business: admins, customers, and service assistants.
  • Personal booking statistics on individual customers.
  • Google Calendar sync and SMS notifications integrated.
  • Easy feedback tools for customers.
Cons:
  • The €69/year basic plan includes PayPal, Stripe, and basic features, but the Business plan at €79/year is needed for other gateway connections and more features, including a mobile app for staff.
  • Many paid add-ons.

BirchPress Scheduler

birchpress scheduler Best for: Small service businesses and enterprise industries.
Users: N/A
Payment methods: PayPal and WooCommerce integration.
Design customization: Field labels
(only in Business and Business+ editions).
Pricing: Prices start at $99 per year.

BirchPress is another well-established name in the world of appointment WordPress booking plugins. It ensures that all essential booking features are included to create a functional WordPress appointment calendar and booking system for any service business. 

Since it has been on the market for a long time, BirchPress has proven its capability to cater to the needs of multiple businesses. However, it does not seem to have made much progress lately, especially in terms of design.

Its main attractive feature is its highly flexible backend system, which offers settings and options for every task. For instance, users can set booking availability for a specific time period, customize group bookings, or set a minimum time required before a booking.

All in all, BirchPress is a solid backend core plugin, although its design is plain and it is a little more expensive than its counterparts in our round-up of the best appointment booking plugins.

Pros:
  • A handy booking form editor.
  • iCalendar sync tools to seamlessly integrate with popular apps.
  • The page redirects after a booking is made.
  • A few booking widget layout variations, including a shop-styled one.
  • It comes with a range of functions, hooks, and filters for developers to create more personalized websites for clients.
Cons:
  • A booking widget design is functional but a bit too plain and would probably benefit from some visual interest for many businesses.
  • Many handy tools, including the booking widget customization options, are available only in Business and Business+ editions (more expensive plans). What’s more, you need to subscribe to a $249 plan if you need more payment gateway integrations via WooCommerce.

Booked Appointment Booking Plugin

booked appointment booking plugin Best for: For any type of service business.
Users: 16K users of the premium plugin.
Payment methods: Any via WooCommerce.
Design customization: Colors, custom fields.
Pricing: $49 once.

A simple and modern booking widget for WordPress, Booked has tons of downloads. It’s a rather no-frills plugin yet powerful and very affordable. This WordPress booking plugin is an ideal choice for coaches, clinics, salons, teachers, and team businesses as well.

Included in the plugin is a front-end booking calendar that can be customized for each service and placed anywhere on your WordPress website.

Users can easily make a reservation in just a few steps using the user-friendly interface and helpful tools that provide a seamless booking experience, no matter what device is used.

Overall, Booked is a very suitable option if you need to quickly implement a powerful, working, and customizable booking software for WordPress.

Pros:
  • Simple, good-looking booking widget with a seamless booking experience for modern clients.
  • Looks and works great on both mobile devices and desktops.
  • Employee accounts and handy customer areas.
  • Even non-registered users can enjoy a quick and effortless checkout process.
  • Affordable one-time pricing.
Cons:
  • No payment gateways are available out of the box.

Team Booking

Team Booking Plugin for WordPress Best for: Small service businesses
Users: N/A
Payment methods: Stripe, iDeal, ApplePay, GooglePay, PayPal
Design customization: Frontend calendar style, Confirmation email, 
Pricing: $39

Team Booking is an excellent WordPress appointment booking plugin suitable for small to large businesses that require an easy-to-use and customizable booking system. With its user-friendly interface and flexible settings.

Team Booking WordPress Plugin offers a range of customization options, including the ability to create multiple booking forms, customize the form fields, and set up booking rules and restrictions. The plugin also includes a widget that can be added to any page or post, allowing customers to make bookings directly from the website.

Moreover, it provides email notifications and reminders to both the customers and the service providers, ensuring that appointments are not missed. Additionally, it comes with an analytics tool that provides insights into booking trends, allowing businesses to make informed decisions.

Pros:
  • Integrates seamlessly with your Google Calendar. 
  • The forms are designed to be modern and attractive, with few steps and large fields.
  • The map feature makes it easy to add location details to the booking form.
  • Create Customized Reservation Forms for Any Service.
Cons:
  • No WooCommerce integration support
  • Popular notification features like SMS, and WhatsApp are missing.

MotoPress Appointment Booking

motopress-plugin Best for: service businesses, large and small, such as beauty salons, barbershops, and many other industries.
Users: 100+ users of a free version.
Payment methods: PayPal, Stripe, Direct Bank transfer, Pay Later.
Design customization: Yes, customization is available.
Pricing: starts from $59.

The MotoPress Appointment Booking plugin is a scheduling solution developed by MotoPress. This particular reservation engine is specifically designed for managing appointments, hourly bookings, tours, rentals, and businesses in the service industry, such as beauty salons and coaches. 

It offers a comprehensive set of essential features at no cost, including availability scheduling, unlimited assistant management, location settings, and service customization. 

Whether you run a business with multiple locations and staff members, such as a dance school with numerous rooms or a beauty brand with several salons, this plugin provides all the necessary tools to efficiently establish and manage your appointment scheduling business.

Pros:
  • Integration support of WooCommerce payment gateway
  • Add & customize unlimited services
  • Can create discount coupons
  • Support for popular page builders with dedicated blocks.
Cons:
  • Limited customization options
  • Limited payment gateway options are available

StartBooking

startbooking-plugin Best for: A flexible system for arranging service appointments that can expand smoothly with demand.
Users: N/A
Payment methods: Stripe
Design customization: Custom Branding, Custom Fields, etc.
Pricing: Starts from $79/Year

Next on our list is the WordPress booking plugin, StartBooking. It offers a unique approach compared to other options. As premium online appointment scheduling software, it seamlessly integrates into your WordPress site, serving as an all-inclusive solution.

What sets StartBooking apart is its utilization of cutting-edge cloud technology to support its managed scheduling system. This platform offers various convenient features designed to enhance your booking process. From enabling unlimited appointments to facilitating the assignment of staff members to specific services, StartBooking provides a robust booking solution for efficient scheduling

Conclusion on the best appointment booking WordPress plugins:

You have just learned about our experience working with the plugin. We cannot decide for you which WordPress appointment booking plugin is best, but we can provide you with some decision-making techniques that might help you in your research:

  1. Trust the numbers: Consider the number of people using the plugin, its rating and the number of features available.
  2. Test it first-hand: No one can experience working with the plugin for you, and a good plugin should always have a demo.
  3. Compare plugin reviews across different platforms.
  4. Talk to the vendor representatives to find out what kind of support to expect.
  5. Check whether the features that are the top priority for you are paid or free.
  6. Pay attention to the value for money that a particular plugin delivers.

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Brain Denim

Brian Denim

Meet Brian, a WordPress expert with a decade of experience in web development and a passion for technical writing, watching movies, and camping.

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