Looking for the best scheduling app for your business? You’ll be pleased to know that today’s booking software has evolved. The majority of schedulers are now included as an essential feature in the latest business management software tools.
Whether you go with a tool that simply automates the booking process, or one that helps you manage and grow your business – with accounting, client management, and marketing functions – there are plenty of excellent options out there.
I’ve narrowed the list way down to save you time. Here are my top picks in 2023 for small business appointment scheduling and business management software tools, based on your business type.
What is the Best Scheduling App?
The best scheduling app is the one that fits your current needs, whether it’s simple or bundled together to help your business stay organized, connected and profitable.
Jobber for home & garden services, business and residential repair and maintenance. An all-in-one field services management platform.
JaneApp for medical offices, individual and group health and wellness practitioners. This HIPAA-compliant EHR software offers virtual appointments and robust client management.
Curve Dental for dental offices. Practice management solution alternative to Dentrix, Eaglesoft, and Denticon.
SimplyBook.me for hair salons & skincare services, professionals offering one-on-one services like massage, personal training, and business/life coaching. Includes business management and marketing features.
Session for photographers. A leaner, lighter alternative to Dubsado, Honeybook, Tave and Acuity.
SimplePractice for therapists needing HIPAA-compliant EHR management and clinical documentation software.
WellnessLiving for yoga, pilates, martial arts, and fitness studios of all kinds. This is a MindBody alternative client management software.
Calendly for individuals and teams. A simple, yet versatile scheduling app.
Hubspot Meetings for sales teams. Free with Hubspot’s (also free) CRM.
Square for local small businesses. A breeze to use with an option to add on a whole suite of business and marketing tools.
What’s the Best Free Scheduling App?
Square, Calendly and Hubspot Meetings have excellent free plans that will get most businesses started. All three offer unlimited appointments, automation functions and free tools, with the option to add on paid features as your business grows.
Is there a Google Scheduling Tool?
Yes: Google Calendar. With Google Calendar you can create customized schedules, events and meetings with auto-reminders. This tool works well for team collaboration, project management, and meetings as it seamlessly integrates with Gmail, Drive, Zoom, and even Microsoft Teams.
More FAQs follow this list.👇
Best Scheduling App for Home & Businesses Services
Jobber
Overview
Jobber is used by companies that handle repairs, installs, maintenance, landscaping, cleaning, and other services that require crews to work at customers’ homes, businesses, or in the field. It’s an all-in-one platform that helps you schedule jobs, optimize routes, send quotes and invoices via sms, and get paid on the spot.
Features & Benefits
- Attract new customers with online booking and receive a notification as soon as it happens.
- Win work faster with professional and customizable templates, signature approvals, and automatic follow-ups to clients about outstanding quotes.
- Empower your clients to approve quotes, check appointment details, pay invoices using a credit card, print receipts, or request more work – all in Jobber’s built-in client hub.
- Customize and automate notifications to keep your clients in the loop at key points before, during, and after the work.
- Gain insight into how your business is performing with over 20 built-in reports.
- Grow your business with ready-to-run email marketing campaigns, postcards, and more—powered by Mailchimp.
Pricing
Jobber’s pricing plans range from $9 to $249/mo. Lite ($9/mo) includes essential features like quoting, invoicing and payments. Core ($49/month) adds task management, online booking, and basic reports functionality, along with the option to list your services on the Jobber app marketplace where customers can find you. Connect ($129/month) adds automated reminders and tools for business operations to the mix. Grow ($249/month) includes advanced customization and automation features. All plans include unlimited customers and jobs.
My Take on Jobber
It’s clear Jobber knows its customer extremely well. Every feature is built around saving you time, keeping your customers in the loop, and growing your business.
Online booking is just one essential feature. The tool handles every touchpoint from there, making it both a highly customer-centric platform and powerful business management tool. Unlimited bookings, excellent customer service and built-in Jobber Card Reader (accepts Apple Pay and Google Pay) are a few stand-out features.
If you run any type of repair or maintenance service for home, industrial or business customers, you’ll want to consider this affordable field service management (FSM) software with its built in scheduling app and so much more.
Interested? Start your free 14-day trial and access all Jobber features, no credit card required.
Best Scheduling App for Health & Wellness Professionals
Jane App
Overview
Jane is built for healthcare professionals needing a robust practice management software with telehealth and HIPAA-compliant features. Its scheduling app is just one of its many features that health professionals – including acupuncturists, chiropractors, physical therapists, naturopathic doctors, nutritionists, therapists, Ayurvedic practitioners and others – will use on a daily basis. (Attention therapists: Jane or SimplePractice may be the scheduling app for you.)
Both individual practitioners will find Jane to be an excellent fit for managing their practice scheduling needs, while integrative clinics with staff members offering multiple therapies will love Jane.
Jane also serves small business owners looking for the best scheduling app that helps with staff and appointment management across multiple locations or services.
Features & Benefits
- Turn website visits into appointments with easy online booking. Waitlist and class & group bookings included.
- Reduce the number of no-shows by automatically emailing patients helpful reminders.
- Sell prepaid packages and memberships, as well as herbs, supplements and therapeutic items along with a patient’s treatment.
- Simplify charting with a library of templates, or customize your own.
- Type, dictate or handwrite notes into a patient’s chart using any device. Upload video/photos to files using your built-in camera from desktop, iPhone or android.
- Grow your online reputation with a built-in ratings feature.
- Take charge of insurance billing with EDI claims submission and payment tracking features.
- Get a big-picture financial overview of your clinic in easy-to-read reports – with highlighted billings that require your attention, such as unpaid invoices and rejected claims.
- Join your telehealth sessions with confidence. Run HIPAA and PIPEDA-compliant sessions for up to 12 related clients.
Pricing
Jane’s Base Plan ($79/mo) covers booking, charting, payments – this is a great choice for cash practices or those outsourcing insurance billing. The Insurance Plan ($109/mo) is for clinics that take insurance. The Corporate Plan ($399/mo) is for larger clinics and includes a dedicated corporate training and onboarding program.
My Take on JaneApp
In the crowded EHR software market, Jane really shines.
If you’re an acupuncturist, chiropractor, physical therapist, naturopathic doctor, nutritionist, therapist or counselor, you don’t just need a scheduling app, you need a practice management tool that includes a great booking app, among many other things.
Jane strikes a balance as a technology-driven company that also knows its customer very well (the co-founder has lots of experience with clinic front desk management).They are extremely customer focused and want to hear from you about features you need.
And, Jane’s modern brand appeal is the cherry on top.
Interested? Jane offers a hassle-free demo to see if it’s right for your practice.
I met the fabulous people at Jane.app in 2018, when they were fairly new on the scene, and again in 2023 at the same continuing education conference. We asked our conference participants at the recent event, “Who here uses Jane.app?” and half the room raised their hands. (The other half comprised mainly of students.) A clear indication of Jane’s growing popularity among the health and wellness crowd!
Best Scheduling App for Dentists and Dental Offices
Curve Dental
Overview
Curve Dental is a cloud-based dental practice management software – and they want you to know why the cloud is better than the old ways of server-based data storage. This all-in-one platform handles everything from automatic appointment reminders to integrated payment processing, prescription management to business finance and operations.
Features & Benefits
- Simplify appointment scheduling with Curve’s intuitive scheduler that generates revenue even when the office is closed.
- Stay on top of insurance billing with the software’s built-in insurance management feature that helps maximize insurance reimbursements.
- Increase productivity with Curve Hero’s streamlined patient verification process that pulls patients’ insurance information in real-time.
- Save time with the software’s automated recall management system that sends patient reminders for upcoming appointments by call, text message, or email.
- Boost patient engagement with the software’s patient portal, that allows patients to book appointments, fill out forms, and check their appointment history in one place.
- Enhance clinical workflow with Curve’s easy-to-use charting and documentation capabilities that provide a customizable charting interface for each provider.
- Improve practice performance with access to comprehensive data and analytics that allow dental providers to make informed decisions about their practice.
Pricing
Curve Dental doesn’t post pricing. Request a demo to find out more.
My Take on Curve Dental
You can tell at first glance, Curve Dental is the Ferrari of dental management software. (But don’t worry – they do all the maintenance and upgrades to keep it running smoothly and in tip-top shape.) And frankly, is there any room for dental software that’s isn’t super-efficient, fits like a glove and smells like a new luxury automobile?
Compared to other leading dental management software programs, Curve Dental stands out when it comes to its billing solutions to increase efficiency with insurance providers, as well as its automated recall management system. Front desk staff will appreciate Curve Dental’s scheduling app: it’s built to reduce no-show appointments, save staff time, and improve your bottom line.
Interested? Sign up for a hassle-free demo to see if Curve Dental is the right fit for your dental office.
When I was a kid, my dentist drilled and drilled at a very nervy tooth, without giving me enough novocaine. Fortunately, I’m a forgiving person. Even more fortunately, I’ve had only good dentists since then. 🦷
Best Scheduling App for Hair Salons & Skincare Services (Also for spas, personal trainers, wellness coaches)
SimplyBook.me
Overview
SimplyBook.me offers an easy-to-use scheduling app makes it simple for business owners to take control of their appointment bookings and streamline the booking process.
SimplyBook.me is best suited for hair salons & skincare services, spas, personal trainers, life coaches, and other appointment-based businesses. This powerful tool also provides real-time analytics so you can track customer trends and optimize your services accordingly.
Features & Benefits
- Automate appointment scheduling with SimplyBook.me’s intuitive system.
- Streamline customer communication by sending automated notifications and reminders to reduce no-shows.
- Customize the booking page for your business to match branding and create a seamless user experience.
- Increase revenue with add ons, discounts, and promotions tailored to each customer’s needs.
- Access valuable insights into customer preferences using analytics reports that track total bookings, revenue generated, average time spent on services and more.
- Manage inventory easily without any additional software or plugins needed so you can optimize capacity planning in real time.
- Support multiple locations with integrated maps showing customers all of your available appointments at once.
- Provide HIPAA and GDPR compliant security measures through full encryption and secure data storage policies for added peace of mind around customer privacy concerns.
Pricing
SimplyBook.me offers a range of pricing options, starting with their free plan that supports up to 50 bookings per month. For growing businesses, they offer three additional tiers that support higher volumes of bookings: Basic ($8.25/mo billed annually, 100 bookings), Standard ($24.9/mo billed annually, 500 bookings) and Premium ($49.9/mo billed annually, 2000 bookings). Their most advanced tier is Premium Plus ($82.50/mo billed annually, 5000 bookings) with up to 60 admin users/providers.
My Take on SimplyBook.me
Like Square, SimplyBook.me is another versatile appointment scheduling app that can handle all kinds of appointment-based businesses.
I recommend SimplyBook.me for hair salons & skincare services and wellness services like massage, personal training, movement therapy, and health coaching. My only gripe is the appointment cap for each plan; a simpler pricing structure with unlimited appointments would be preferable.
SimplyBook.me’s business management and marketing features along with real-time analytics make it a great tool for tracking customer trends. Repeat business and referrals are essential to appointment-based businesses: this app will help you gain insight on buying patterns, find out what works (like promotions, packages, and loyalty discounts) and grow.
Interested? SimplyBook.me offers a free 14-day trial that includes most features and 50 bookings. No credit card required.
While I recommend Jane for medical practices, SimplyBook.Me may be a good fit for certain practices. Note the HIPAA privacy feature is included in Standard, Premium and Premium Plus plans.
Best Scheduling App for Photographers
Session
Overview
Session is an ideal scheduling app for photographers, offering features such as automated contracts and custom payment links to streamline billing processes. Session also offers customizable client onboarding forms and automated invoices with discounts that take the hassle out of managing multiple clients at once. With these tools, photographers can simplify the scheduling process and manage their workflow from one convenient dashboard.
Features & Benefits
- Automatically manage bookings, send email reminders, and integrate multiple calendar systems without leaving the app.
- Generate custom reports to track customer engagement over time or identify trends in booking behavior.
- Use advanced analytics to optimize schedules and maximize productivity.
- Create a professional website within minutes that includes all your services, pricing packages, business information and more.
- Customize your availability by location or offer different rates for specific types of services.
- Enjoy secure payments processing so clients can pay online quickly and easily when they book an appointment through Session’s website builder feature.
Pricing
One of the things I love about Session is its flat-rate pricing: $19/mo for ALL 35 features. Includes a branded booking site, contracts, self-serve premium booking, multiple payment gateway integrations, client reminders, earning reports and more.
With the yearly plan, you’ll save $60 (3 months free) at a one-time payment of $168.
My Take on Session
If you’re a photographer looking for the best scheduling app that also helps you manage workflow and clients, Session is for you. They pride themselves on eliminating unnecessary bells and whistles of other scheduling apps. The testimonials speak for themselves:
Interested? Session offers a Free 14-day trial. No credit card required.
Best Scheduling App for Therapists
Simple Practice
Overview
SimplePractice nails it with essential elements for busy therapists: scheduling, billing, and note-taking. Users rave over its ease of use, thus helping Simple Practice truly live up to its name.
And, while built for different types of healthcare professionals, Simple Practice still stands above its therapy-specific software counterparts like TheraNest, TherapyNotes and Psych Advantage.
Features & Benefits
- Simplify scheduling and appointment management with online appointment scheduling, session reminders, and waiting lists, which help reduce no-shows and improve overall patient engagement.
- Facilitate digital documentation and progress notes with SimplePractice’s customizable templates and automated note-taking system. This feature saves therapists time and simplifies the documentation process.
- Enhance client engagement with a customizable client portal that simplifies appointment scheduling, messaging, and client information management.
- Manage client waiting times efficiently with SimplePractice’s check-in kiosk that simplifies the check-in process by allowing clients to check themselves in and complete digital intake forms, reducing wait times and improving efficiency.
- Streamline billing processes with SimplePractice’s automated insurance verification, simplified billing, and payment collection features that make the financial aspects of practice management easier.
- Increase compliance and security with SimplePractice’s HIPAA-compliant messaging system that ensures secure communication between service providers and their clients.
- Gain insight into client outcomes, treatment efficacy, and practice growth using SimplePractice’s analytical tools and automated reports. These tools provide valuable insights into the business side of the practice, guiding decision-making and enabling therapists to optimize their workflow and resources.
Pricing
Simple Practice offers three different pricing plans to meet the needs of any size therapy practice. The Starter plan ($29/mo) is designed for small practices and includes features such as secure messaging, appointment reminders, client portal access, and e-signatures. The Essential plan ($69/month) adds advanced customization options, telehealth support, and EHR integration support. The Plus plan ($99/mo) is ideal for larger clinics or medical groups and includes an automated billing system with claim scrubbing capabilities. All plans offer a 14-day free trial so you can find the best fit for your unique budget and practice needs.
My Take on Simple Practice
Like any healthcare professional running a business, therapists want to maximize practice efficiency and profitability. Free trials are great, but why not save yourself the time (and automated emails crowding your inbox) knowing that therapists like you already rely on Simple Practice?
There’s good reason SimplePractice continues to gain popularity among mental health therapists for its comprehensive practice management software.
Interested? Simple Practice offers a Free 14-day trial to see if it’s right for your therapy practice.
Have you heard of Sidewalk Talk? My friend Traci Ruble, MFT founded this nonprofit that provides free, anonymous mental health counseling by connecting trained volunteers with people in need on the streets. It started in San Francisco and has grown to over 50+ cities in 15 countries worldwide. Check out @sidewalktalkorg!
Best Scheduling App for Yoga & Fitness Studios
WellnessLiving
Overview
WellnessLiving is my recommended scheduling app for yoga, pilates, martial arts and fitness studios of all kinds. Its integrated payments, automated appointment reminders and notifications, client history tracking, and powerful analytics give you insight into your business’s performance. Compared to MindBody, WellnessLiving offers more efficient customer service solutions with quicker access times and better data security to keep your clients’ information safe.
Features & Benefits
- Streamline appointment scheduling with WellnessLiving, allowing you to effortlessly book and manage appointments online.
- Automate client communication by setting up customizable email and text message reminders for upcoming scheduled appointments.
- Store all the customer data you need in one secure place with the powerful CRM system on WellnessLiving.
- Track daily performance with business metrics tools and gain insight into customer trends with advanced reporting capabilities.
- Be everywhere your clients are with WellnessLiving’s mobile app and widget solutions. Promote your packages, events, shop and more, all while making it easy to book online.
- Integrate seamlessly with Google Calendar and Apple iCal for a streamlined user experience.
- Improve marketing efficiency with automation features such as automated email campaigns, targeted offers, referral programs, loyalty rewards and more to grow your business.
Pricing
WellnessLiving offers three main pricing options for their scheduling app. Starter ($89/mo) includes essential features for booking services, making sales, and simplifying your daily duties. Basic ($129/mo) adds email marketing and customer management tools to the mix. Business ($159/mo) includes enhanced marketing, client referral features, and forms. Finally, if you’re a multi-location enterprise looking for all-in-one business management software, the Enterprise plan is for you. Schedule a demo to see if WellnessLiving is right for you.
My Take on WellnessLiving
Firstly, I’m impressed with all the website widgets. Clients can view your studio schedule, book services, write reviews, book appointments, purchase goods and more — through your website, Facebook, Instagram (link in bio).
And I know, yoga and fitness studio owners, you all want to know: what makes WellnessLiving better than MindBodyOnline?
Pricing and excellent customer service are the two big reasons. They’ve got a handy price comparison tool so you can see exactly what features and corresponding savings you’ll get with WellnessLiving.
Overall, WellnessLiving customers love the comprehensive software platform that simplifies the booking process and includes excellent features like customer relationship management (CRM), point-of-sale (POS) integration, and membership tracking.
Interested? Book a demo with WellnessLiving and find out if it’s a good fit for you.
Best Scheduling App for Individuals and Teams
Calendly
Overview
Calendly is a scheduling app that makes it easy to set up meetings and events without the hassle of back-and-forth emails. Pure and simple.
Features & Benefits
- Create linkable booking pages for easy scheduling from any website or social media platform.
- Automatically sync with online calendars like Google Calendar and Outlook.
- Create multiple event types (meetings, calls, webinars) to customize your meeting experience.
- Invite guests instantly via email.
- Schedule meetings in multiple time zones.
- Automatically reschedule events due to conflicts or cancellations.
- Set up automatic appointment reminders to keep everyone accountable.
Pricing
Calendly offers five pricing plans: the “always free” Basic plan for individuals; Essentials ($8/mo/seat when billed annually) for scheduling automation; Professional ($12/mo/seat when billed annually) for customization features and group events; Teams ($16/mo/seat when billed annually) for advanced features like automated workflows, analytics and Salesforce integration; and Enterprise for 30+ teams (contact for details).
All plans (except Enterprise) come with a 14-day free trial so you can explore the features before committing.
What’s better, Calendly or Acuity?
Calendly’s free version comes with many features while Acuity requires payment even for basic scheduling activities. It offers automated time zone detection for meeting invites and the ability to customize bookings with individual participants. Finally, Calendly users can quickly set up multiple events with different attendees for a single occasion, making it easier for business owners with complex needs.
My Take on Calendly
I’ve booked plenty of appointments through Calendly (mainly for software demos) and it’s always been easy-peasy.
If you’re looking for a scheduling app that automates appointment booking, Calendly is a solid choice.
How many emails does it take to reschedule a meeting? None – if you use Calendly. 🤣
Best Scheduling App for Sales Teams (CRM Included)
Hubspot Meetings
Overview
Hubspot Meetings is part of Hubspot’s Sales Hub (which offers additional free and paid features). It’s the best scheduling app for sales teams, and is also free for up to 10 schedulers. Users add a public booking page so clients can view available slots and book directly from their browser. In comparison, Zoho Bookings charges $5 per user each month to access its features.
Features & Benefits
- Automate scheduling with Hubspot Meetings to save time and effort.
- Quickly book meetings from anywhere, anytime with a single click.
- Easily customize your availability preferences so that you can get the most out of each meeting.
- Instantly receive an email notification when someone books a meeting with you.
- Create unique custom links that make it easy for prospects to find an available time slot quickly and conveniently.
- Improved workflow efficiency when you integrate Hubspot Meetings with other software such as Salesforce or Gmail.
- Sync calendar events across multiple applications, ensuring all parties are up to date on their obligations before each meeting start time.
- Leverage AI technology to analyze customer data and ensure sales teams have the necessary information at their fingertips during every call or presentation.
Pricing
HubSpot’s meeting scheduler is part of Sales Hub, and you can get started with it for free. If you’re looking for more advanced features to help automate and scale your sales operations, HubSpot also offers premium features with Starter, Professional, and Enterprise editions of Sales Hub.
My Take on Hubspot Meetings
Right out the gate, Hubspot Meetings is the best free scheduler for sales teams, offering powerful features like automated follow-up tasks and easy appointment scheduling. Paid add-ons like sales email automation and lead routing can shorten your sales cycle. For sales teams that want to streamline the sales process and improve client engagement, Hubspot Meetings is an excellent choice.
Interested? Sign up for free, or try a paid plan to shorten sales cycles and improve close rates.
Best Scheduling App for Local Small Businesses
Square
Overview
Square is an affordable and feature-packed scheduling app that offers businesses a simple way to schedule appointments with clients. It’s much less expensive than Thryv, with both free and paid plan options. Square’s automatic payment processing, text message notifications and calendar syncing make managing your business easier than ever before.
Features & Benefits
- Streamline operations with Square’s easy scheduling feature.
- Reduce administrative duties with automated Square appointments and payment processes.
- Get real-time notifications of upcoming appointments and cancellations.
- Automatically send reminders to customers about their upcoming appointments.
- Easily accept online payments for services provided through the app.
- Generate detailed reports of customer activity and spending data in one place.
- Optimize profits with employee performance metrics and labor cost tracking.
- Provide a seamless, contactless check-in experience for customers with digital sign-ins on mobile devices or kiosks set up at your business location.
Pricing
Square’s Free plan gets you up and running to sell in person, online, over the phone, or out in the field. Pay only processing fees when you accept a payment. The Plus plan starts at $29/mo and comes with additional tools for restaurants, retailers, and appointment-based businesses. Premium is for any business wanting a custom-based solution.
My Take on Square
The beauty of Square is that it’s tailored to your business. Only pay for the features you need. This modular approach combined with a competitively-priced fee structure makes Square a win-win.
I recommend Square for food & beverage, retail, and just about any kind of service. Those in the aforementioned areas like home services and health & fitness may want a more industry-specific software tool that meets their specific needs.
All in all, a great booking tool with lots of options and excellent pricing.
Interested? Square’s free plan gives you access to the basics, with the option to add tools (free and paid) as you need them.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a Scheduling App?
A scheduling app can be a standalone online booking tool for meetings and appointments.
It can also be a built-in feature for a more comprehensive business management tool, such as a practice management software for medical providers, field service management (FSM) software for home and business services, or customer relationship management (CRM) software for sales teams.
What features make one scheduling software better than another?
When looking for the ideal scheduling app, features such as a user-friendly interface, budget-friendliness and organizational tools can make one solution stand out from the rest. A good scheduling app should also be able to handle a variety of appointment types, allow for customization and integrate with existing tools like calendars and customer relationship management systems. Lastly, the software should offer secure data protection and a reliable customer support team that can help in case of any technical issues. When researching appointment software options, make sure to look for these features.
Bottom Line
Scheduling apps or software tools that include a booking feature are an absolute must-have, for 2 reasons: 1. Convenience for your customer/client/patient/team and 2. Efficiency for you.
As with emerging AI tools that help offload business and marketing tasks, so do booking apps help automate and assist with administrative tasks. (And as we’ve seen, they can do a boatload more.)
My favorite acupressure place doesn’t have a scheduling app, and it’s inconvenient! But I still go because they are strong and skilled, shockingly inexpensive, and have ZERO competition.
Make it easy for your customers and clients. Customer-centric is the way to go – it’s good for customers, and it’s good for business.
PS: Trying out a new business idea and looking for the best scheduling app that’s also free? Depending on your business type, Square, Calendly or Hubspot Meetings should do the trick!
