A successful business depends on the relationship between service providers and customers. When talking about companies that sell services, the first instances of client-business interaction often are online booking systems.
Improving the process of scheduling appointments or making reservations for customers saves businesses time and eliminates the possibility of lost clients due to human error.
This article presents some of the best WordPress booking plugins and explores the features that make them stand out.
Table of Contents
- How to Choose the Right WordPress Booking Plugin?
- Top WordPress Plugins for Booking Functionality
- FAQ
- So, Which One Is the Best WordPress Booking Plugin?
How to Choose the Right WordPress Booking Plugin?
When choosing booking plugins, it’s important to identify the required website’s functionalities first. For example, if the company sells hotel reservations, property, and car rentals, then the plugin must provide the website with the features to manage daily reservations. Conversely, if the website focuses on appointments and scheduling of events for gyms, physicians, spa & beauty salons, consultancies, etc., the plugin must handle reservations on an hourly basis and have a different set of features.
In the following list, I will analyze 11 WordPress plugins based on their ease of use, design, functionality, and value price. It goes without saying that none of the presented tools require coding skills from users.
Top WordPress Plugins for Booking Functionality
Bookly (Free/Premium)
🏆 Best for managing the schedules of many employees using an approachable interface.
Bookly is a powerful, easy-to-use solution for business owners to schedule appointments with their clients.
This plugin packs most of the premium features needed for running appointment systems of dentist offices, private clinics, law consultancies, fitness classes, etc. Its strong sides are an attractive design on the front end and a user-friendly interface on the back end. The booking form is highly customizable, and adjusting it for your business’s needs can be done in just a few simple steps.
Key features:
- ability to include multiple employees in your schedule, each charging a different price for services;
- full mobile integration of the backend processes to manage the appointment system on the go easily;
- possibility to create an unlimited number of unique schedules on a single booking page;
- schedules categorization by the type of service they provide;
- integration of the schedules to employees’ Google Calendars;
- simple yet modern design;
- translation setup for ten languages.
Pricing: The free version of the Bookly plugin is a fundamental tool. It doesn’t support online payments and allows using booking for one employee only. The paid version comes for $89.
Pros:
- ability for employees to manage their schedules without having to enter admin’s panes;
- functional free version and affordable paid plan.
Cons:
- no multiple locations support;
- no custom calendar label.
WooCommerce Bookings and Appointments (Premium)
🏆 Best for users who need a feature-rich, all-in-one plugin for businesses of all types offering bookings in months, days, hours, or minutes.
The characteristic that sets WooCommerce Bookings and Appointments apart from most competitors is its versatility. It’s equally useful for services working on an hourly (bike rentals, spa salons, barber shops) and daily basis (hotels, car rentals). Once activated, it offers extensive control over bookings. For example, you can set up mandatory buffers before or after each booking and allow booking slots only for specific durations (1-hour, 4-hour, 1-day, 2-day).
Key features:
- dynamic total booking cost feature allows calculating the price based on the number of slots selected, time of the year, additional services, number of guests, discounts, etc.;
- offers bookings in minutes, hours, days, and months;
- booking notes field to gather additional information from clients;
- e-mail and SMS automatic notifications to admin, staff members, and clients for new bookings, confirmations, and cancellations;
- set up cost calculation rules and schedules for each of the staff members. The calendar will reflect employees’ availability;
- two-way Google Calendar sync. This way, you can permit staff members to manage their schedules directly from their Google Calendar;
- multiple language support.
Pricing: $99 for a Single Site, $149 for 5 Sites, and $259 for 25 Sites.
Pros:
- many advanced features in a single plugin;
- a 30-day money-back guarantee policy and reasonable pricing for the multi-site plan.
Cons:
- no free version;
- limited styling options.
JetAppointment (Premium)
🏆 Best for creating appointment calendars with dynamic features with flexible design settings.
JetAppointment is a powerful booking plugin for Elementor, WordPress Block builder, and Bricks editor, which allows managing hourly services and events directly from the WordPress admin dashboard.
Integration with the JetEngine plugin provides JetAppointment with multiple dynamic features. For example, you can set up different after-submit rules for appointments submitted by users, such as sending an e-mail, booking a time slot, or sending a request for approval to the admin.
When setting up the booking form, you get many design customization options, making it easy to match your brand style. Numerous plugin features are explained in Crocoblock’s knowledge base. Additionally, WordPress beginners will appreciate a detailed guided wizard and premade layouts offered by JetAppointment developers.
Key features:
- schedule layouts – choose between list, calendar, and timeline views;
- JetAppointment plugin supports multiple services on a single form, where one service is selected as default;
- WooCommerce integration allows multiple online payment options;
- step-by-step JetAppointment installation wizard;
- multiple variables for managing booking calendar – set up buffer time before and after appointments, maximum capacity for any slot in the calendar, days off, holidays, etc.;
- highly adjustable and informative front-end interface;
- top-notch booking forms design.
Pricing: The price of the JetAppointment plugin is $19 for one website and $39 for unlimited websites. To enjoy exclusive dynamic appointment features, additionally purchase JetEngine for $43.
Pros:
- unlimited styling options;
- advanced game-changing dynamic features that are easy to implement.
Cons:
- no free version;
- for users who haven’t used Crocoblock tools, it’s important to read supporting material.
WordPress Appointment Booking by MotoPress (Free/Premium)
🏆 Best for solopreneurs and small businesses to arrange online appointments and manage unlimited services.
The WordPress Appointment Booking plugin by MotoPress caters to the needs of service businesses to let their customers come through a step-by-step scheduling process. You can add and customize any number of services, employees, and locations.
In addition to multiple payment processing options, this plugin supports deposit payments and discount coupons. Also, it’s possible to extend the plugin’s functionality with the help of dedicated add-ons.
Key features:
- online & on-site payment options, which involve PayPal, Stripe (including Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Link), direct bank transfer, and on-site payments;
- multiple services bookable at one go to enable clients to add several services to the cart during one submission;
- breaks, days off, vacations, etc., included in schedules;
- email notifications and reminders are sent to the customer and admin;
- a centralized booking calendar to view all bookings on the backend;
- client accounts to log in and view reservations;
- connect staff calendars to their Google Calendars;
- built-in analytics dashboard to track performance insights;
- the ability to generate reports in CSV files;
- clients can add bookings to their personal calendars.
Pricing: the plugin is available in free and premium versions. A single site license costs $59, while an unlimited site license costs $199.
Pros:
- a feature-rich free version;
- a responsive booking widget;
- customization settings for a booking form;
- integrations with Gutenberg, Elementor, and Divi builders;
- a collection of WordPress themes bundled with the plugin for free.
Cons:
- doesn’t support options for event scheduling with multiple independent participants.
JetBooking (Premium)
🏆 Best for users who need a hotel booking plugin for advanced booking functionalities with flexible pricing rates.
JetBooking is another plugin by a team of Crocoblock developers. This one helps create booking calendars for hotels, car and property rentals, travel agencies, and other businesses that work with daily bookings.
The plugin’s functionality allows for the automation of booking calendars by setting up various rules for seasonal, weekend, holiday, and discount prices. You can even configure the prices to change depending on the length of the visitors’ stay.
The flawless integration with other JetPlugins allows the addition of new features that go beyond what booking plugins can normally perform: advanced after-submit options, booking filtration, and more.
Key features:
- customize booking forms according to client needs and get the user data by adding extra fields to the forms;
- integration with Google Calendar and other third-party services like Mailchimp, Zapier, PayPal, and others;
- the ability for clients to use many different filters when searching through property catalogs;
- maps are integrated into the descriptions of services;
- flexible pricing rates depend on the stay length, season, day of the week, and additional services.
Pricing: As with the JetAppointment plugin, you can get access to all of the premium features and a 1-year Zoom and Chat support for $19 per site or $39 for unlimited sites. Consider buying an All-Inclusive plan for $199 packed with tons of useful Elementor add-ons, from various animation and styling options to SEO tools.
Pros:
- advanced features for pricing rates automation;
- integration with other plugins for additional dynamic features.
Cons:
- no free version.
Amelia (Free/Premium)
🏆 Best for building simple and convenient appointment calendars for end users.
Amelia aims to address the needs of various businesses that offer services on an hourly basis. These include spa and beauty salons, gyms, repair services, etc. This plugin provides a smooth booking experience and many customization options to fit the booking form well within your chosen theme and design. Clients can view their appointments in monthly, weekly, or daily calendars or as an interactive list of events.
Key features:
- ability to manage multiple business locations on one page;
- a two-way Google integration allows employees to manage their schedules without logging into the admin panel;
- the step-by-step booking wizard will enable clients to schedule appointments by choosing one parameter (service type, employee, date) at a time;
- four built-in user roles: admin, manager, employee, and customer;
- insightful admin dashboard. You can track the performance of your business and individual employees and organize data in the most convenient form: charts, lists, or tables;
- a 5-star customizable design quality.
Pricing: The Amelia plugin comes as a free version, with some of its functionality reduced. It’s still good for small businesses that don’t have employees. The basic version starts at $59 per site. Pro Best value costs $109 and works with three sites. Finally, you can use the Amelia plugin on as many sites as you want for $249.
Pros:
- many integrations available, including Google Calendars, PayPal, MailChimp, and more;
- inbuilt settings for appealing designs.
Cons:
- doesn’t include options for hotel booking systems.
BookingPress (Free/Premium)
🏆 Best for appointment businesses with multiple employees working in different locations.
BookingPress is a WordPress plugin offering robust backend capabilities, customizable booking widgets, and diverse payment methods for appointment businesses like health, wellness, and professional services.
It boasts intuitive dashboards for both site administrators and staff members. Moreover, it provides seamless appointment management, flexible availability settings, and automated notifications. The paid version includes essential free add-ons, such as PayPal and Stripe integration, Zoom, Mailchimp, and more.
Key features:
- different dashboards for admins and staff members;
- many payment gateway options;
- conversion tracking;
- support of Elementor and Gutenberg;
- ability to insert custom booking fields that will be shown to users depending on their previous answers;
- accessible demo.
Pricing: a free plugin version is available with the basic settings and limited monthly appointments. The paid plans start at $99 per year with more advanced features and $199 for the full package.
Pros:
- configurable admin dashboards;
- supports booking services in different locations.
Cons:
- some users may find the premium plans to be on the higher end in terms of pricing.
Bookster – WordPress Appointment Booking Plugin (Free/Premium)
🏆 Best for users who need a comprehensive plugin for health, wellness, and beauty service sectors offering hourly bookings.
Bookster is a comprehensive scheduler compatible with all major WordPress themes, efficiently managing tasks from initial booking and rescheduling to handling cancellations. It’s well-suited for consultants, therapists, coaches, healthcare practitioners, beauty salons, and spa owners to streamline their scheduling processes and enhance client satisfaction.
The plugin’s feature enables customers to make reservations automatically through the booking form you set up on your website while also displaying your store’s availability to customers.
Key features:
- receive notifications when new appointments are booked on your WordPress site;
- update appointment booking information quickly in a built-in drawer without reloading the page;
- navigate the admin’s booking calendar efficiently using multi-select dropdowns, date jumps, and an agent search box;
- easily switch between day, week, and month views in the calendar for comprehensive organization and planning;
- send automatic booking confirmations and reminder emails to customers;
- accept payments through cash or PayPal.
Pricing: Bookster offers a free version, allowing you to experience the basic appointment scheduling and management features without any cost. For those who want more, the Pro version includes advanced branding features for booking forms, enabling a more customized and branded booking experience.
Pros:
- easy to set up and manage;
- user-friendly interface;
- many add-ons to try (coming soon).
Cons:
- not suitable for many daily or monthly booking systems.
Simply Schedule Appointments (Free/Premium)
🏆 Best for small businesses looking for a free WordPress booking plugin.
This scheduling plugin integrates perfectly with Elementor page builder, allowing WordPress users to use their drag-and-drop skills to match their booking form with their site. Notably, it has the highest (5.0 out of 5) ranking on the WordPress.org platform.
Simply Schedule Appointments developers offer consultants and small businesses booking calendars that are both appealing and easy to manage. Using this plugin’s wizard, you can set up a booking form for your website in under five minutes. Even the free version of the Simply Schedule Appointments plugin has tons of useful features to offer to private business consultants, entrepreneurs, lawyers, and other small businesses.
Key features:
- many details of the booking form are customizable to match your style and resonate with the clients;
- automatic syncing with Google Calendar;
- onboarding wizard ensures you’re set up to work with the appointment scheduling within minutes;
- professional customer support is available even for users of the free version of this plugin;
- plugin updates are frequent and come out regularly;
- Simply Schedule Appointments integrates with PayPal, Stripe, Mailchimp, Gravity Forms, and many other tools.
Pricing: there’s a free version and three premium versions of the Simply Schedule Appointments plugin. Its free Basic Edition has a surprising amount of features and may even satisfy the needs of some small businesses. For those who need more premium features, there is a Plus Edition for $99, a Professional Edition for $199, and a Bussiness Edition for $399.
Pros:
- easy to use;
- sleek design;
- fully functional free version.
Cons:
- some advanced features are present in the highest-priced plan, more expensive than other such plugins.
WP Simple Booking Calendar (Free/Premium)
🏆 Best for creating and adding booking schedules to a WordPress site in a few minutes.
WP Simple Booking Calendar is specifically developed for usage by hotel and vacation rental owners. The admin panel helps you keep track of your bookings and add descriptions to each of them. On the front-end side, the booking form has a user-friendly interface that allows searching for available services by selecting specific dates.
Key features:
- extremely intuitive backend management of booking forms;
- ability to combine multiple calendars for different services into one layout. The title of each calendar can redirect to a page showing details of a specific service;
- assign user roles to manage specific calendars (if you have different employees managing different services);
- editing multiple dates with one click;
- syncing with any website that supports the iCal format (Airbnb, Booking.com, TripAdvisor).
Pricing: The free version of this plugin can be upgraded to a premium plan for $39 that includes all of the premium features listed above. A $69 plan allows using this tool on five websites, and a $139 plan puts no limit on the number of websites to work with.
Pros:
- easy to set up and manage;
- advanced user permissions system.
Cons:
- doesn’t have many customization options.
TheBooking (Premium)
🏆 Best for simple creation of the events in the calendar and updating the website schedule without entering the site dashboard.
TheBooking is another plugin for scheduling online appointments and events with an impressive list of features for an affordable price. It lets you create as many services as you need, each with a fully customizable booking form. There are three built-in forms: one for appointments (like individual classes, physicians, etc.), another one for events (group meetings, conferences, and so on), and the third one for unscheduled services (support tickets, requests for estimates, etc.).
The plugin focuses on the ease of creating online events and filling the website calendar via Google Calendar. This functionality is convenient for service platforms where multiple providers compete for time slots in a specific calendar.
Key features:
- the forms offered by TheBooking are modern and functional and need no additional customizing unless you want it;
- convenient approval system that allows both manual and automated approvals/denials;
- shortcodes make it possible to insert different widgets into the booking system;
- the 3-way Google Calendar integration system lets users create appointments directly from their calendars;
- payments with PayPal or Stripe;
- highly customizable front-end calendar style. Integrate maps for people to see the service location in their calendars.
Pricing: TheBooking plugin costs $39.
Pros:
- advanced booking functionality for a reasonable price;
- clean, user-friendly interface;
- Google Calendar integration is not just for displaying occupied time in the calendar but also for managing schedules.
Cons:
- no free version or a money-back guarantee.
FAQ
Choosing a WordPress booking plugin depends on many factors: the company’s goals, how big the company is, and what kind of services are sold. If you’re looking for free plugins, try Simply Schedule Appointments or Amelia.
It is a WordPress add-on created by third-party developers to add a professional online booking system to a WordPress website.
Most of the WordPress booking plugins have free versions with limited functionality.
Elementor works with most well-written plugins that respect WordPress rules. JetBooking and JetAppointment are the two plugins that were initially created specifically for Elementor and integrate seamlessly with this editor.
Most of the WordPress booking plugins require no coding skills from users.
So, Which One Is the Best WordPress Booking Plugin?
As we have seen, there’s more than one answer to that question because different businesses have different needs. Each of the booking solutions described above has its cons and pros.
Here’s a quick recap of what some of these plugins are best at:
- TheBooking is the best appointment plugin for companies where multiple employees manage scheduling calendars.
- WP Simple Booking Calendar and Bookster are the simplest tools for hotel managers, featuring extremely intuitive back-end management and a user-friendly interface.
- JetAppointment offers the most advanced dynamic features through dynamic integrations for a reasonable price.
- JetBooking is a top WordPress hotel booking plugin allowing flexible automated pricing rates.
- Simply Schedule Appointments and Amelia offer free functional versions capable of running some small businesses.
- WooCommerce Bookings and Appointments plugin is equally useful for services working on an hourly and daily basis.
- For the sleekest looks, check out Amelia, Bookly, JetBooking, and JetAppointment.
Have you tried some of these plugins in your business? If so, please share your experience and ideas with us!
