Taking appointments and booking reservations directly on your WordPress site is easier than ever thanks to the many booking plugins available. But with so many options to choose from, it can be overwhelming to find the right solution for your business.
In this comprehensive guide, we tested and compared the top 10 WordPress appointment and booking plugins based on factors like features, ease of use, design, and value. Our evaluations come from real-world experience setting up and using the plugins so you can pick the best one for your specific needs.
How We Evaluated the Booking Plugins
We used the following criteria to test and compare each of the 10 plugins:
Features – What built-in features come with the plugin out of the box? Can it handle your business‘ specific booking needs? Does it provide the required functionality without having to install a bunch of extra extensions and add-ons?
Ease of Use – How difficult is the initial setup process? How intuitive is the backend interface for managing bookings and making changes? Can you easily customize the frontend booking widget/calendar/form with minimal effort?
Design – Does the booking interface match the look and feel of your website by default or is it easy to customize? How visually appealing are the calendars and forms?
Scalability – Can the plugin handle a growing business with multiple locations, services, and staff members? Does it allow for expansion?
Value – How does the free version compare to the paid plans? Do you get enough features from the free plugin or is an upgrade mandatory? Is the pricing reasonable and competitive?
With these criteria in mind, we tested each of these plugins from the perspective of various industries and use cases to see how they stack up for different business types and levels of complexity.
Best All-Purpose Booking Plugin: WP Bookings
WP Bookings is our choice for the most well-rounded and versatile WordPress scheduling plugin suitable for many different industries.
Key Features
- Book appointments for multiple services, staff members and locations
- Customizable booking widget and forms
- Calendar displays availability and bookings
- Automatic reminders and confirmations
- coupons and discounts
- Payments via Stripe and PayPal
- Zoom integration for virtual consultations
- Google Calendar sync
- Intuitive admin dashboard
We love WP Bookings for its balance of ease of use and powerful functionality. Both complete beginners and advanced WordPress users will appreciate how simple it is to customize the settings while still providing all the core features needed for online appointment scheduling.
The free plugin is quite capable for basic booking needs but upgrading to paid plans unlocks more advanced capabilities – and the pricing is very affordable especially compared to standalone scheduling tools.
Overall, WP Bookings strikes the perfect balance between features and simplicity. We think it‘s a great choice suitable for many different types of businesses.
Ideal for
- Service-based businesses
- Small clinics and salons
- Freelance consultants
- Coaches and tutors
Best Booking for Service Businesses: Amelia
Amelia is tailored made for appointment-heavy service businesses that offer multiple services across different locations. The Pro plan unlocks extensive capabilities perfect for complex operations.
Key Features
- Appointment scheduling for chains and franchises
- Class signup and event bookings
- Automated reminders via email, SMS and WhatsApp
- Customizable booking forms
- Client profiles and membership management
- Productivity dashboard and calendar views
- Payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal and Square
Amelia really shines when you need to schedule bookings across many locations for an enterprise-level service business. The package options make it scalable from single stores to national chains.
While the interface leans more towards advanced users, once configured even clients can easily book times online themselves. The free version still provides multiple staff and services.
This is great for growing companies when you are ready to level up beyond basic scheduling needs. The plethora of built-in features covers all aspects of managing and selling appointments.
Ideal for
- Salon/spa chains
- Fitness studio franchises
- Medical and dental clinics
- Large tutoring centers
Best Booking for Accommodations: Booking Calendar
Booking Calendar comes packed with features tailored specifically for booking lodging including vacation rentals, BnBs and apartments.
Key Features
- Availability calendars for unlimited properties
- Nightly, weekly and monthly rates
- Custom pricing rules
- Coupons and discounts
- Contact forms to manage reservations
- Multi-language support
- Sync bookings with Airbnb, Booking.com etc.
- Occupancy and revenue reports
This plugin is purpose built for accepting direct bookings for hospitality and accommodation providers. You can manage inventory for a limitless number of properties each with their own rates and availability calendars.
The reports provide great insights into occupancy and revenues. And syncing across major OTAs means less chance of overbookings from third-party sites.
While the interface is dated, the amount of customization and functionality specifically for lodging rentals makes this our top choice for accommodation businesses.
Ideal for
- Vacation rental owners
- B&Bs and boutique hotels
- Campgrounds
- Hostels
Best Booking for WooCommerce: WooCommerce Bookings
For those already using WooCommerce, the WooCommerce Bookings extension is a seamless appointment scheduling addition.
Key Features
- Native integration with WooCommerce store
- Book appointment slots as products
- Leverage existing customer accounts
- Consistent UI with other store pages
- Customers manage bookings in My Account
- Rental and reservation options
- Automatic Google Calendar sync
- Various customization options
Top advantages are easy integration along with leveraging your existing WooCommerce platform and customer accounts. That means a unified booking and shopping experience for your clients.
The Bookings plugin feels like an extension of your store rather than an awkward third party element. While features are more basic than some plugins, for WooCommerce users it‘s a no-brainer choice.
Ideal for
- WooCommerce stores
- Service businesses with existing customer logins
- B2B reservations and rentals
- Classes and events
Best Free Booking: Simply Schedule Appointments
Simply Schedule Appointments has the most robust free plan making it the top pick if you want to avoid paying at first.
Key Features
- Easy 5-minute setup
- Unlimited appointments
- Booking pages and widgets
- Buffer time between appointments
- Coupons
- Customize booking forms
- Client notifications
- Zapier integrations
The starter free plan comes shockingly fully featured. You can create and embed booking forms connected to a calendar showing your availability.
The interface is very intuitive allowing even novice users to configure it with minimal learning curve. But advanced features like payments, SMS reminders, and team scheduling require upgraded paid plans.
For solopreneurs and very small operations, embracing the free version may suit your needs quite nicely. It‘s a great way to test appointment scheduling on your WordPress site risk-free.
Ideal for
- Solopreneurs and freelancers
- Small service businesses
- Getting started for free
Conclusion
Adding easy online booking functionality can have a tremendous impact growing your service-based business. A purpose-built WordPress plugin tailored to your industry saves tons of time while providing clients self-service convenience 24/7.
While the plugins we covered have similarities, evaluating your specific use case helps narrow down the best solution. Factors like business type, current scale, growth goals, and budget play a role in the right plugin choice. Some excel for accommodations while others cater better to multi-location enterprises.
Keep the criteria we used around features, ease of use, design, scalability and value high on your list while researching plugins. Testing the free versions is the best way to experience first-hand how they work.
No matter where you are starting currently on your booking journey, there is a WordPress scheduling plugin that can help take your business to the next level.
