If your business revolves around scheduling appointments or making bookings, it becomes troublesome for employees to maintain a record. You’ll be limited to making appointments via email or over the phone, which may lead to confusion. Here’s why the WordPress Booking Plugin comes to your rescue.
- What is a WordPress Booking Plugin?
- Can WordPress Schedule Appointments?
- What Should You Look for in a WordPress Booking Plugin?
- An In-Depth Look at the Best WordPress Booking Plugins
- WooCommerce Bookings
- WooCommerce Appointments
- Bookly
- Bookme – WordPress Appointment Booking Scheduling Plugin
- Bookings for WooCommerce
- Booking Calendar
- Amelia
- Booking Calendar – Appointment Booking System
- Appointment Booking Calendar
- Team Booking
- MotoPress Hotel Booking
- Salon Booking System
- CM Booking Calendar
- Booking & Appointment Plugin for WooCommerce
- Booknetic
- Simply Schedule Appointments
- BirchPress Scheduler
- WP Simple Booking Calendar
- StartBooking
- WPForms
- Appointment Hour Booking
- Easy Appointments
- Which of the Best WordPress Booking Plugins Should You Go With?
What is a WordPress Booking Plugin?
A WordPress Booking plugin lets you integrate a calendar on your website that displays all available slots. Your customers simply make their bookings by looking for a time that fits their schedule. This method is efficient and convenient as everything is managed in one place. You can save a lot of time you would have spent making appointments on-call or writing emails.
Likewise, your customers can make an appointment whenever they want and won’t have to wait for you to pick up a call or rely upon an email. With the help of WordPress booking plugins, you can stay a step ahead and make more customers.
Can WordPress Schedule Appointments?
WordPress cannot schedule appointments itself. However, it has many plugins to schedule appointments, make bookings, and more. Some of these plugins are free and have advanced features in their premium versions. The good thing is that WordPress as a platform is ideal for this use case scenario.
What Should You Look for in a WordPress Booking Plugin?
Booking engines are not limited to simple calendars and forms but have many other features that can make your booking calendar helpful to clients and lessen your workload.
Different businesses require different types of customizations for their calendars. For example, a gym may have many personal trainers, or a spa may have different masseuses. Each will have different schedules, which can be listed on your website with the help of a good booking plugin.
With these WordPress booking plugins, you can also incorporate the different services offered on your website.
You must look carefully for a good booking plugin with the features and functions most compatible with your business. Here are some features to look out for:
- An interface compatible with mobile devices so customers can easily make appointments directly on the phone
- A fully customizable calendar you can place anywhere on your website
- It can be integrated with online payment options so customers can pay while making appointments
- Should alert people about their appointments by sending reminders
- Should send a confirmation email once appointments are scheduled, with the option to cancel an appointment on the email
- Should integrate with Google Calendar
- Should be able to translate different time zones
- Should have areas for multiple agents or service providers so each of your employees can maintain their profile and calendar (ideal in a gym with multiple personal trainers or a clinic with many healthcare professionals)
- Customers should have the option to view and make alterations to their bookings
- Should support customizations to your calendar (for example, removing or adding holidays and subtracting time between appointments)
- It should let you mark areas you want as unavailable if your business is closed for a day or you want a break
- It should also have drop-down menus that make adding services or other offerings easier
An In-Depth Look at the Best WordPress Booking Plugins in 2022
We’ve compiled a comprehensive list of the best WordPress booking plugins for your needs.
1 . WooCommerce Bookings
WooCommerce Bookings is an ideal WordPress booking plugin for selling professional services, classes, training sessions, or property, such as a rental home. It’s also compatible with the WooCommerce plugin for WordPress.
Features
With WooCommerce, customers can only choose specific time slots selected by you. The plugin sends emails to customers about their appointments, including reminders. Customers can also cancel their bookings, which automatically get updated on your calendar.
All of your reservations will stay maintained on your dashboard, and you can set restrictions on how many people can book, as well as provide discounts for a certain number of reservations.
Pros
- The plugin allows you to customize fields to your liking
- It’s easy to alter the prices of your services
- The core version of WooCommerce Bookings is free
- WooCommerce provides a full year of support
- Money-back guarantee feature so that you can test out the plugin
Cons
- It’s quite expensive
- Connecting to WooCommerce requires a fee
Pricing: The plan starts at $249/year.
2. WooCommerce Appointments
WooCommerce Appointments is a premium WordPress booking plugin (and scheduling tool) by BookingWP, suitable for eCommerce stores. If you run an online business, get your hands on this plugin.
Features
WooCommerce Appointments integrates with WooCommerce and Google Calendar – it allows a two-way Google Calendar synchronization so customers can make appointments, and the schedule gets automatically updated on Google Calendar (or vice versa). You can also integrate it with WooCommerce Print Invoices, Gravity Forms, and Extra Product Options for various payment options.
The plugin has advanced appointment scheduling software – that accepts only the appointments you can handle, so your schedule doesn’t get too full. You can receive and request payments and get employees to log in through a management system.
WooCommerce Appointments can convert time zones so people worldwide can use your website. Pricing your services is flexible, and developers can make whatever customizations they like to the plugin.
Pros
- Notifications are automatically sent to employees and customers
- Easy to set up
- User-friendly
- A good choice if you already have WooCommerce
Cons
- It’s pricey and doesn’t come with a free plan
Pricing
Pricing starts at $89 per site and can go up to around $299 for 25 sites.
3. Bookly
Bookly is easy to maneuver and has a practical back end. It’s a booking plugin for WordPress that helps small business owners manage their booking calendars in one place.
Features
With Bookly, you can automatically send messages via email and SMS. It allows you to include multiple service providers in the booking schedule. It has a variety of add-ons available, including one for discounts or adding more to your services.
The plugin lets you add unlimited services to the booking page, sort them into categories, and display booking and payment rules, making it easier for everyone to make their schedules. Bookly also makes it easy to integrate different calendars of your employees via Google Calendar integration.
Pros
- You don’t need prior knowledge of coding
- Easy-to-use interface
- Updated regularly
- You can collect payments and integrate the plugin with your client’s calendar
Cons
- Bookly stops working when WordPress updates, and you won’t get a heads-up before it happens
- You need to pay for the add-ons only available on the paid version
- It’s costly
Pricing: Use the Bookly free version with basic features or upgrade to Bookly Pro, with a lifetime payment of $89 and six months of support.
4. Bookme – WordPress Appointment Booking Scheduling Plugin
Bookme is another simple online booking plugin for WordPress that offers plenty of features for booking appointments and checking availability.
Features
Bookme shows its potential with the big list of add-ons that come for free, including custom fields, Google Calendar integration, Zoom meeting integration and various payment gateways for secure payments.
The appointment booking form is easy to work with, allows you to choose from multiple staff and services, and shows a complete calendar view. It also allows you to pay instantly and monitor your sales from the backend seamlessly.
Pros
- Plenty of add-ons for free
- Easy to work with and monitor
- Supports SMS/Email notifications
- Has Google Calendar sync
Cons
- Not updated regularly
Pricing: Bookme comes with a lifetime license, which costs $59 USD and comes with six months of support from the developer.
5. LatePoint
LatePoint is a standout WordPress booking plugin that’s revolutionizing appointment scheduling. With its user-friendly interface and powerful features, it’s a game-changer for businesses seeking efficient booking solutions.
Features
LatePoint simplifies appointment creation and management, offering seamless scheduling and robust time optimization. It’s easy to use thanks to intuitive dashboards and controls and helps any business manage appointments efficiently. Its adaptability suits businesses of all sizes, from solo entrepreneurs to large teams.
Pros
- Intuitive interface for easy navigation.
- Seamless integration with essential tools.
- Flexible customization options.
- Efficient time management.
- Integrates with Google Calendar, Mailchimp, and payment gateways.
Cons
- Learning curve for complex customization.
- No free option.
Pricing
Plans start at $49 per site.
6. Bookings for WooCommerce
Bookings for WooCommerce lets you sell rentals and other sellable products via WooCommerce. It offers many features and a free version to get started fast.
Features
This plugin integrates with WooCommerce, which improves your efficiency and control. It’s also compatible with other plugins, such as Add-Ons Ultimate.
Bookings for WooCommerce can be used in separate calendars and set a start and end time. You can also limit the booking period to days, months, or years.
You also have the option to offer discounts on bookings and limit them to a specific number of days. It’s an ideal plugin for booking rentals, such as property and vacation rentals, holiday homes, villas and apartments, gallery and exhibition space rentals, or hiring a vehicle.
Pros
- You don’t need any coding knowledge
- 14-day free trial, so you can try it before subscribing
- It lets you specify a day you want to start the booking on
- Allows setting different prices for bookings on whatever days you like
- Mark specific dates as unavailable
Cons
- It’s pricey and doesn’t have a Lite version
Pricing: The Basic plan costs $49/year and works on only one website, while the Pro plan costs $89 and works on an unlimited number of websites. You can also opt for their lifetime plans.
7. Booking Calendar
Booking Calendar is one of the oldest booking plugins available, with over 60,000 installations. It’s a good plugin choice for managing multiple appointments daily.
Features
Booking Calendar integrates with Google Calendar and is compatible with other third-party apps such as Airbnb, TripAdvisor, VRBO, FlipKey and Booking.com. It’s a widget-based plugin; you can place it in sidebars on your WordPress site.
Booking Calendar supports several different languages, making it possible to connect worldwide. You can customize the calendar’s colours, and once users have made appointments on the calendar, the plugin sends emails to the users and owners, and both have the option to either cancel or confirm it.
Pros
- It’s simple to operate and user-friendly
- You can limit the number of days booking is available (for example, you can make certain days or weeks unavailable)
- It doesn’t allow users to double-book slots
Cons
- You can customize the plugin style, but it’s best to use CSS on your own
- Their pricing plans can be a bit difficult to figure out
Pricing: The core plugin is free and has the basic features you’ll need. However, if you want advanced features, go for the Premium version, with plans starting at $47.40.
8. Amelia
Amelia is a simple yet powerful event and appointment booking calendar plugin with over 8,000 installations.
Features
You can use Amelia to send alerts via SMS to clients and work personnel to remind them of important meetings and deadlines. The plugin allows you to have appointments at multiple locations and easily add coupon codes.
You can integrate the plugin with WooCommerce, PayPal, and Stripe, and it syncs with the 2-way Google Calendar so employees and clients can keep all events in one place. It offers a graphical representation of the company’s performance KPI.
You can set specific days or days with a different schedule and add many employees along with their customized working hours and vacation days.
Pros
- User-friendly interface
- Easy installation and setup
- Automated scheduling on your website’s front and back ends
- Primarily focused on optimizing website performance
- Offers advanced technologies
- Free version suitable for small businesses
- You cannot customize its front-end design to too much of an extent.
- Schedule in-person meetings and appointments, such as the spa or gym, arrange a private meeting with a lawyer, etc.
- Excellent support team
- Offers a lifetime package
Cons
- Since it has many features, it may become hard to figure out what to do
- You can’t customize its front-end design very much
- Some titles on the plugin can be hard to translate, making them difficult to deal with
- No white-labelling for clients
- High price point
Pricing: Amelia offers three pricing plans, and each one has an annual or lifetime package. The Basic plan costs $59/year, or you could get the lifetime license for $189. The Pro plan costs $109, while the Developer one costs $249. The lifetime plan for the Pro and Developers plan costs $389 and $589, respectively.
9. Booking Calendar – Appointment Booking System
Booking Calendar – Appointment Booking System is a great plugin for creating reservation systems for your WordPress website.
Features
You can book an unlimited number of calendars with your Booking Calendar subscription. A simple plugin upgrade can give you access to reservations that can be edited later, a payment system, date formatting, and several discount codes, and you can update the plugin features without paying for a payment system.
Pros
- Straightforward to set up
- Pricing plans are reasonable – if a company doesn’t want to opt for payment processing, they can get their work done for free
- Offers flexibility with lots of customization possibilities, including the ability to create as many custom fields as you like
- You can add reservation details, add-ons, and FAQ questions to your calendar
- The free version offers an unlimited number of booking forms and widgets for reservation calendars
- The Pro version allows you to book events by hours, set marked day prices, redirect website visitors to a new page once they hit submission, and change font size and style
Cons
- The interface is not as easy to navigate as other booking plugins of the same type
- The calendar is not as modern-looking as other booking plugins
Pricing: Download it for free or buy one of the Pro Premium versions (starting at $60) with a one-time payment.
10. Appointment Booking Calendar
Appointment Booking Calendar is one of the only WordPress plugins that integrates with PayPal in its free version.
Features
Appointment Booking Calendar forms are connected to PayPal so customers can make reservations and payments simultaneously. You can add the booking capacity of any slot on your calendar and email customers to inform them about appointments. You can export plugin data to CSV files or Google Drive, and it’s easy to integrate it with Google Calendar and Outlook.
Pros
- You can clear out the dates and times you’re not free so customers only see the times you’re available
- Translated into multiple languages so it can be accessed worldwide
- Your customers can book specific time slots
- Gives your website a Captcha
Cons
- You need to purchase the Premium version to get more benefits
Pricing: You can go for the Premium version or the Professional version, which starts at $49.99.
11. Team Booking
Team Booking is an affordable and highly-rated booking plugin with a wide range of features and is also among the affordable ones for only $39 from the official reseller’s page.
Features
Team Booking can integrate with PayPal, Stripe, and Google Calendar. It sends customizable notifications to customers regarding appointments and does time zone conversions.
You can customize the form-builder however you like, alter pricing, offer discounts to the customers, and incorporate maps into a form when you need to send people a location.
Pros
- Affordable price for premium features
- User-friendly interface
- Compatible with WPML
- No coding knowledge required
- The forms are beautifully designed and easy to use
- Supports multiple languages
- You can have multiple events, appointments, services, and room bookings all in one place
Cons
- Installation is complex
- The plugin is rigid if you want to customize it through coding
Pricing: Pricing starts at $39.
12. MotoPress Hotel Booking
If you want to integrate a hotel booking system into your company’s hotel, campsite, or B&B website, MotoPress Hotel Booking will fit the bill.
Features
With MotoPress Hotel Booking, customers and employees receive booking alerts via email. You can make unlimited appointments/reservations during a single booking and classify your accommodation facilities by location, price range, etc.
The plugin lets you integrate your website with WooCommerce, giving customers more payment options. It also offers a two-way calendar option, so slots don’t become overbooked. You can create and offer discounts on bookings.
Pros
- Detailed video tutorials
- Accepts online payments
- Set flexible prices – you can alter prices as seasonal prices change or label them as refundable/non-refundable or change the rates on a weekly or monthly basis
Cons
- Doesn’t support cancellations
- Tough to figure out
- It does not show customers a price breakdown.
- The support team takes a long time to respond to your query.
Pricing: It costs $99 per site and $199 for unlimited sites.
13. Salon Booking System
The Salon Booking System plugin is developed for beauty centres, hairdressers, salon owners, nail salons, and other related service providers. This plugin might be a great option for professionals who provide reservation-based services.
Features
Salon Booking System supports two-way Google Calendar synchronization, and you can integrate the plugin with PayPal and Stripe to accept payments through them. The plugin sends customers alerts via email and SMS. You have complete control over the design of the booking form and can use the plugin to gather client feedback.
Pros
- Has been translated into more than 20 languages
- Comes with several APIs
- Simple to set up and maintain
- Keeps tabs on salon trends
- It’s cheap
- Easy to implement in WordPress
- Attractive design
Cons
- Customers face lots of issues with the interface
- Unhelpful support team
Pricing: This plugin costs $69.
14. CM Booking Calendar
The Creative Minds Booking Calendar lets users make appointments directly from the website.
Features
The plugin can create multiple forms, and it’s fully responsive and adjusts to any device size it’s accessed in. All labels and texts are changeable and may suit any language or needs. Payments, group events, and iCal Sync are all possible add-ons for the plugin.
Pros
- The plugin lets admin users create multiple calendars with different time slots.
- You can set a specific number of seats for each event
- You have the option to customize booking forms
Cons
- The plugin doesn’t have a free plan.
Pricing: You can purchase the plugin for $39, and it includes lifetime access and one year of support and upgrades.
15. Booking & Appointment Plugin for WooCommerce
Booking & Appointment Plugin for WooCommerce is for all services you are offering. If you’re running a gym, a salon, a hotel, a sports equipment rental company, or a food business, this plugin might be just what you need.
Features
This plugin has a built-in two-way Google Calendar Sync, so both the admin and the client can keep track of their reservations. You can allow for different-length time slots for the same service (for example, if you’re the operator of a history tour, you can run lengthier trips on weekends). It’s also compatible with all of WooCommerce’s payment gateways.
Pros
- It has a 30-day money-back guarantee
Cons
- It doesn’t have a free plan
Pricing: The plugin costs $199 per store and $399 for up to ten stores.
16. Booknetic
Booknetic is an appointment scheduling plugin that works well for various industries, including beauty, medical, fitness, law, and education. Configuring and managing the plugin is simple and quick, with many features to offer.
Features
Booknetic lets you sync a calendar, so you don’t have to go through double booking, and users can sign in with Facebook and Google. You can place the booking widget anywhere on the calendar and add unlimited services and employees to your calendar. The admin can accept payments via Paypal, Stripe, Mollie, and more.
Pros
- It has a customizable design so that you can change it to your liking
- The online billing and invoicing option makes booking services easier
- Sends staff and employees notifications regarding appointments
- Can integrate with Zoom
- You can use the drag-and-drop builder to customize the calendar
Cons
- It doesn’t have a free version
Pricing: The plugin costs $79 for a single website.
17. Simply Schedule Appointments
Simply Schedule Appointments is an easy-to-use booking plugin with a five-star rating.
Features
This plugin comes with a helpful setup wizard. You can make an unlimited number of appointments and different types of appointments, and the premium versions allow you to take payments via PayPal and Stripe, making it simple to get paid for the appointments or reservations in advance. It’s compatible with many other technologies, for example, Gravity Forms, LifterLMS, and more.
Pros
- The interface is user-friendly
- Simple and easy to use
- You can quickly schedule phone calls, meetings, or sessions
- Regularly updated
Cons
- A little pricey
Pricing: It’s free to start, but premium plans start at $99.
18. BirchPress Scheduler
BirchPress Scheduler allows you to develop a sophisticated booking system and integrate it into the website. It has a unique and responsive design.
Features
You can integrate BirchPress Scheduler with PayPal and WooCommerce, as well as Google Calendar, iPhone, Android, and Outlook. It’s ideal for group bookings and has a pre-built form editor. You can assign certain tasks to specific staff members, automate email notifications, and limit the number of bookings at certain times or dates. The plugin offers time-zone adjustments and displays your days off, keeping people informed of your work schedule.
Pros
- Ideal plugin for service-based businesses (like spas, salons, or yoga studios)
- It’s developer-friendly
- It lets you customize your booking forms
Cons
- It has no free version
Pricing: Plans start at $99.
19. WP Simple Booking Calendar
WP Simple Booking Calendar is a popular booking solution for booking visitors to vacation houses, resorts, hotels, tour companies, and more. It can also be used by companies that rent out vehicle services.
Features
WP Simple Booking Calendar offers many language translation options, making it accessible to users worldwide. With this plugin, you can have unlimited booking calendars, integrate with many third-party apps such as Airbnb and Booking.com, and display the schedule for multiple days or months.
Pros
- Friendly user interface
- Backs up everything
- You can export data as CSV files
- Multiple calendar overviews
Cons
- Integration with third-party apps and unlimited calendar booking is only available in the Premium version
- You can book appointments on specific days or months, but not at specific times
- It doesn’t accept online payments
Pricing: The plugin is free initially, but for more features (such as a bulk calendar that lets you change many dates with a single click), you’ll need the $39 Premium version.
20. StartBooking
The Scheduling Plugin from StartBooking is a relatively new plugin in the WordPress booking plugin market and is also slightly different from the rest.
Features
StartBooking’s plugin is an all-in-one solution for booking appointments that uses creative cloud technology to help individuals and businesses manage their bookings. You can integrate it with Google Calendar, make online payments, and book classes or group bookings.
The plugin informs you about booking analytics, and you can customize and send email notifications or reminder alerts to users.
Pros
- Easy to manage services and staff
- It’s a helpful plugin if your company offers group bookings or classes
- Their Basic and Business plans come with a 14-day free trial
- You can designate specific staff members for certain services
Cons
- The interface is difficult to understand
- You can face payment restrictions on some WordPress plugins
Pricing: You can try Start Booking for free or go for their Basic plan, which costs $25/month, and the Business plan, which starts at $75/month.
21. WPForms
Not only is WPForms a well-known form builder, but it can also help you schedule appointments via your website.
Features
The plugin has many pre-built templates and offers a drag-and-drop form builder, making it easier to compile forms. It offers protection from spam and integrates with third-party apps such as PayPal and Stripe, allowing customers to make payments while scheduling appointments. It also allows you to make all sorts of forms for different occasions – such as signup, booking, survey, or contact forms.
Pros
- The plugin allows you to set sections in the ‘required option’ – the form is not processed until customers fill out these fields, which saves you time
- You can incorporate forms on pages, posts, sidebars, and widget areas almost anywhere on your website
Cons
- While many features are available on WPForms Lite, you will have to install the Pro version to get all the benefits
Pricing: You can install and use this plugin for free, but you’ll need to download the Basic version and access more features. Basic plans start at $49.50/year.
22. Appointment Hour Booking
Appointment Hour Booking can help you schedule specific appointment times.
Features
Appointment Hour Booking lets you set appointments with their starting and ending times and ensures that no two appointments clash simultaneously. It displays multiple services, each with its own details and timings.
The plugin has an automatic price calculator that sums up the cost of all purchased services and sends customizable alerts via email notifications.
Pros
- Building forms and calendars is easy
- Ideal for setting a time for classes, workshops, events, or meetings
- Integrates with PayPal and lets customers make payments directly through your website
- User-friendly interface
- Customize and configure the plugin however you like
- Customers receive confirmation emails once they schedule an appointment
- Export your calendar to Google Drive
Cons
- Advanced features are only available on the Premium version
- The plugin only accepts payments via PayPal in the free version
Pricing: The Professional version costs $6.99/month, or you can stick to the free version with its limited features.
23. Easy Appointments
If you own a business that offers multiple services, such as a law office or a cleaning company, then Easy Appointments is the booking plugin for you.
Features
The plugin can integrate with Google Calendar, PayPal, and WooCommerce. It sends customers notifications regarding email appointments and confirmation messages and lets you cancel meetings and update their status. You can customize form fields to your liking and display multiple locations, employees, and services.
Pros
- Highly rated
- Pre-built reporting tool that helps you keep track of everything
- Attractive and easy-to-use forms
- Format the output in a 1-2 column style, add pricing and labels, and localize the date picker
Cons
- Many features, but not as many as other plugins have
- It can be hard to navigate the interface
- WooCommerce integration is only available in the Premium version
Pricing: You can install it for free, but the extension packages, starting at $39, should be purchased if you want more features.
Which of the Best WordPress Booking Plugins Should You Go With?
The best plugin is the one that suits your needs best – install a plugin that suits the type of business you’re running.
It could be an eCommerce store, a resort that requires booking for days or months, a gym with many personal trainers (and schedules), or a services company offering multiple services. You need to determine which features will suit your needs best!
You’ll also need to choose a plugin that fits with your budget. All the plugins we’ve covered vary in price range – some also have free versions and premium features.
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