Free · No sign-up · 27 systems checked Oct 4, 2026
Not the plan price. The plan × your staff seats, + card fees at your volume, + text reminders, + the commission some booking apps take on new clients. I checked every vendor's pricing page and ranked all 27 systems for your numbers.
Assumes 2 staff, 40% paid online and 50% by card in person. Change everything in the full calculator.
- 27booking systems
- 99plans priced
- 4marketplace commissions tracked
- Oct 4, 2026prices last checked
Cheapest fit for your numbers
160 bookings a month × $75
$331a month, all-in
with Fresha (Team)
The cheapest four
Its plan is $30 of that (the cheapest plan anywhere is $0); card fees and extras are the rest.
Same salon, six systems
The price on the pricing page is the small number
A 3-chair salon: 300 bookings a month at $70, 30% paid online, 60% by card in the chair, one reminder text each and 4 new clients a month from booking apps. Blue is the plan. Coral is the card fees.
Vendor list prices checked 4 October 2026. Square, GlossGenius, Fresha, Booksy, Vagaro and Timely all use their own card processing. Some texts beyond plan allowances aren't priced publicly. See every system for salons.
Plan price
What the pricing page shows. Often the annual price, shown per month.
Staff seats
Per-seat plans multiply. Booksy adds $20 a team member; Vagaro stops after 8 calendars.
Card processing
From a flat 2.6% (GlossGenius) to 3.3% + 30¢ (Square Free online).
Text reminders
Free on some plans, 7¢ a text on YouCanBookMe, 8¢ on SimplyBook.me.
Commissions
4 systems take a share of new clients their app sends you.
How it works
Three numbers in, every system ranked
Describe your week
Staff, bookings a month and your average price. Pick your trade to start from an example and change anything.
Say how clients pay
The share paid online at booking and by card at the appointment. Online and in-person rates differ on almost every system.
Read the receipt
Each system's cheapest plan that fits, with plan, seats, card fees, texts and commissions itemized and every source linked.
By trade
Built for how your business gets paid
Barbers live on volume, therapists on fewer, pricier sessions, trainers on online packages. Each page ranks only the systems built for that trade, at a typical volume.
The systems
27 systems, 99 plans, one page each
Every plan, the card rates, text-reminder rules, deposits, the catches and the sources, with the date each was checked. Add up to three to the compare tray.
Read before you sign up
The fees nobody puts in the headline
Sources, checked Oct 4, 2026
Every number has a source. Unknowns stay unknown.
I read every price on each vendor's own pricing and help pages. 17 plans are "contact sales" and are shown that way. Where a fee isn't published, the estimate says so instead of guessing.
- Calendly pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Acuity Scheduling pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Cal.com pricing page (opens in a new tab) · partly published
- YouCanBookMe pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Google Calendar pricing page (opens in a new tab) · partly published
- Microsoft Bookings pricing page (opens in a new tab) · partly published
- Square Appointments pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Setmore pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- SimplyBook.me pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Zoho Bookings pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Picktime pricing page (opens in a new tab) · partly published
- Appointy pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Vagaro pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Fresha pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Booksy pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- GlossGenius pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Goldie pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Mindbody pricing page (opens in a new tab) · partly published
- Booker pricing page (opens in a new tab) · contact sales
- Jane pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- SimplePractice pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Timely pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Wix Bookings pricing page (opens in a new tab) · partly published
- HoneyBook pricing page (opens in a new tab) · partly published
- Dubsado pricing page (opens in a new tab) · published
- Sign In Scheduling pricing page (opens in a new tab) · partly published
- Boulevard pricing page (opens in a new tab) · partly published
Questions people ask
What does "true monthly cost" mean?
The plan price, multiplied out for your staff seats, plus the card processing fees on what your clients pay, plus text-reminder charges, plus any commission a booking app takes on new clients it sends you. For most businesses that take card payments, the card fees are bigger than the subscription.
Where do the prices come from?
Each vendor's own pricing and help pages, read on 4 October 2026. Every system page links its sources. Where a vendor doesn't publish a number, I say "not published" or "contact sales" instead of guessing.
Why are some card fees marked "estimated with Stripe's standard rate"?
Many schedulers (Calendly, Acuity, Cal.com, Setmore and others) don't process cards themselves: you connect your own Stripe, Square or PayPal account. For those I use Stripe's standard US rate, 2.9% + 30¢ online and 2.7% + 5¢ in person, and label it. Your own processor's rate may differ.
Is the cheapest system the best one?
Not always. Check that it's built for your trade, that clients can book without creating an account, and that deposits and reminders work the way you need. The trade pages and system pages list the catches for each.
Does this site take a commission from vendors?
No. No vendor pays to be listed or ranked, and there are no affiliate links. I run this site myself (Consult With Ari), and I set booking systems up for small businesses.
Is my data saved?
The numbers you type are worked out in your browser and remembered only on your own device so the calculator opens where you left it. Nothing is sent to me.
No forms, no sales funnel
Want me to set it up for you?
I'll pick the system that fits your trade, set up your services, deposits and reminders, and connect the booking button to your website. Start with a free 20-minute call with me.
