Best Booking Appointments Plugins for 2026
Why Your WordPress Site Needs a Solid Appointment Booking Plugin
Let’s be honest: if you’re still handling bookings through email or phone calls, you’re losing customers. People expect to book appointments 24/7, and they want it done in a few clicks. The right WordPress appointment booking plugin eliminates that endless back-and-forth, sends automatic reminders, and actually reduces no-shows.
After digging through the leading options on the market, I found that Amelia and BookingPress stand out for most businesses. But Bookly and Simply Schedule Appointments definitely have their place depending on your specific needs. The best choice really comes down to your business size, budget, and whether you need just appointments or events too.
The good news? These plugins have gotten seriously good. We’re talking payment processing, calendar sync with Google and Outlook, video meeting integration for Zoom calls, and even WhatsApp notifications. Whether you run a salon, coaching practice, medical clinic, or fitness studio, there’s something built for your workflow.
Quick Comparison Table
Before we dive deep, here’s a side-by-side look at what each plugin brings to the table:
| Feature | Amelia | BookingPress | Bookly | Simply Schedule |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Starting Price | $69/year | $89/year | $59/year | $99/year |
| Free Version | Limited (1 employee) | Yes (unlimited appointments) | Limited (1 staff, 5 services) | Yes (basic) |
| Multi-Staff | Yes | Yes | Yes (Pro+) | Business tier only ($399/yr) |
| Event Booking | Yes | No | Add-on | No |
| Payment Gateways | 4+ (Standard plan) | 20+ included | Add-ons required | Stripe/PayPal (Pro+) |
| Calendar Sync | Google, Outlook | Google, Outlook, Apple | Google Calendar | Google Calendar |
| Video Integration | Zoom, Google Meet | Zoom, Teams, Google Meet | Yes | Zoom |
| WhatsApp Notifications | Pro plan | Included | Add-on | No |
| Lifetime License | Yes | Yes ($229-$599) | No | No |
| Best For | Growing multi-staff businesses | Value-seekers, payment flexibility | Modular needs | Solo practitioners |
BookingPress: All Add-Ons Included at One Price
BookingPress takes a completely different approach to pricing, and I love it: all add-ons come included in premium plans (45+ in Standard, 60+ in Professional/Enterprise). No nickel-and-diming for payment gateways, no extra charges for calendar sync.
For anyone tired of calculating total costs across multiple add-ons (looking at you, Bookly), this is refreshing.
The plugin supports unlimited services, appointments, and staff with zero per-booking commissions. The booking widget is fully customizable with colors, fonts, and field arrangement. Multi-staff bookings (assigning multiple employees to one appointment) come included in Professional and Enterprise tiers.
Payment gateway support is exceptional with 20+ options:
- PayPal, Stripe, Square, Authorize.net
- Mollie, Razorpay, Braintree, Klarna
- Regional options like PagSeguro (Brazil), Paystack (Africa), ECPay (Taiwan)
- Enterprise plan includes Stripe POS for in-person payments
Notifications cover email, SMS (30+ gateways), WhatsApp, and Telegram. Calendar integration includes two-way sync with Google, Outlook, and Apple Calendar. Video conferencing works with Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Google Meet with automatic meeting link generation.
BookingPress Pricing:
- Free: Unlimited appointments/services, PayPal only
- Standard: $89/year for one site with staff management and all payment gateways
- Professional: $139/year for 3 sites with locations, recurring appointments, gift cards
- Enterprise: $249/year for 20 sites with Stripe POS and custom roles
- Lifetime licenses: $229-$599 one-time with 3 years premium support
Amelia: The Enterprise-Grade Solution for Growing Businesses
Amelia positions itself as a comprehensive all-in-one booking solution, and it delivers. What makes it special is the combination of appointment and event booking in one package. Not many competitors pull that off.
The booking wizard walks customers through everything step by step: selecting services, choosing employees, picking locations, finding available times, and paying. It looks polished and professional out of the box.
What Amelia does really well:
- Group appointments with capacity limits (perfect for classes or workshops)
- Recurring bookings on daily, weekly, or monthly schedules
- Service packages that bundle multiple offerings at discounted prices
- Resource management for sharing rooms or equipment between staff
- Cart feature so customers can book multiple services at once
- Employee panel for staff to manage their own appointments without backend access
- Customer self-service portal for rescheduling and cancellations
For multi-staff operations, Amelia really shines. Each team member gets their own schedule, custom working hours, break times, and days off configuration.
Amelia Pricing:
- Amelia Lite (Free): 1 employee, Square payments only
- Starter: $69/year for basic automation
- Standard: $179/year with multiple payment gateways and calendar sync
- Pro: $99-$349/year with packages and WhatsApp integration
- Elite: $249-$599/year for unlimited domains and REST API access
- Lifetime licenses are also available for one-time purchase
The Standard tier at $179/year hits the sweet spot for most businesses. You get PayPal, Stripe, Mollie, Razorpay, plus Google Calendar, Outlook, Zoom, and Google Meet integrations.
Bookly: Modular Flexibility Through Add-Ons
Bookly goes the opposite direction from BookingPress with a modular add-on system. You pay only for what you need. This works great if you have specific requirements and don’t want to pay for features you’ll never use.
But fair warning: costs add up quickly if you need multiple add-ons.
The core plugin gives you a clean, professional interface with color-coded calendar views (daily, weekly, monthly, timeline) and unlimited appointment management. Staff members get individual profiles with custom schedules and pricing. Two-way Google Calendar sync prevents double-bookings.
Bookly Pricing:
- Free: 1 staff member, 5 services
- Pro: $59/year with unlimited staff, Google Calendar, WooCommerce, online meetings
- Business: $199/year with custom fields, group booking, Stripe, locations, recurring appointments
- Ultimate: $399/year with chain appointments, invoices, packages, waiting lists, events, and 20+ additional features
The add-on model cuts both ways. Basic payment processing might cost you less than all-inclusive competitors. But features like PayPal and Stripe require separate add-ons. Users also report that multiple add-ons sometimes conflict and cause bugs.
Simply Schedule Appointments: Simplicity First
Simply Schedule Appointments markets itself as the WordPress-native Calendly alternative, and it nails the simplicity angle. The five-minute setup wizard gets most businesses accepting bookings almost immediately.
The interface consistently earns praise for accessibility, with excellent screen reader compatibility. Booking forms blend naturally with your site design instead of looking like embedded widgets. Deep integration with page builders like Elementor, Divi, and Beaver Builder makes placement easy.
Simply Schedule Appointments Pricing (introductory rates):
- Basic (Free): Unlimited calendars, basic scheduling
- Plus: $99/year with Google Calendar sync and Zoom
- Professional: $199/year with Stripe and PayPal
- Business: $399/year with team scheduling and resource booking
Important: These are first-year introductory prices. Renewals jump to $129, $249, and $599 respectively (roughly 25% higher).
The catch: Team scheduling requires the $399/year Business tier, making this expensive for multi-staff operations. No native multi-location support exists, and SMS notifications need Professional. On the plus side, customer support gets exceptional reviews with average one-day response times.
Which Plugin Should I Choose?
The decision really comes down to your business model and where you’re headed.
Go with Simply Schedule Appointments if:
- You’re a solo operator with straightforward scheduling needs
- Setup speed matters more than advanced features
- You want the cleanest, most accessible interface
Choose between Amelia and BookingPress if:
- You have multiple staff members
- You need robust payment processing
- You’re scaling across multiple locations
Pick Amelia specifically when:
- You need both appointments AND events (classes, workshops, conferences)
- A polished, modern interface matters to you
- You want comprehensive employee management
Pick BookingPress specifically when:
- Budget predictability is important (all add-ons included)
- You need extensive payment gateway options
- You want a lifetime license option
- In-person payments via Stripe POS would help
Consider Bookly when:
- You want modular pricing (pay only for what you use)
- You have specific, targeted feature needs
- International audience requires extensive language support
All four plugins offer free versions worth testing on a staging site. Pay attention to the actual booking experience from your customer’s perspective. The smoothest checkout flow often matters more than the longest feature list.
Final Thoughts
The best WordPress appointment booking plugin depends entirely on your situation.
Amelia delivers the most comprehensive feature set for businesses needing both appointments and events, with particularly strong multi-staff and multi-location capabilities. The learning curve and pricing require commitment, but you get enterprise-grade functionality.
BookingPress offers the best value with all add-ons included, extensive payment gateway support, and competitive pricing that scales well. Both BookingPress and Amelia offer lifetime license options for those wanting to avoid recurring costs.
Bookly provides modular flexibility for businesses wanting granular control over features and costs, particularly those with specific integration requirements.
Simply Schedule Appointments excels at simplicity, offering the fastest setup and cleanest interface for solo practitioners and small businesses.
Start by testing the free versions on a staging site. Focus on the actual booking experience from your customer’s perspective. The plugin that matches your workflow and makes scheduling frictionless for clients will deliver the most value.
If you are looking for WordPress themes with built-in booking features check our article: Best 5 Directory WordPress Themes
