Free appointment scheduling software: 6 free plans and where each one stops

Free appointment scheduling software: the short list

Six free appointment scheduling options are worth comparing: Trafft, Calendly, Square Appointments, Setmore, SimplyBook.me and Amelia, and they stop in different places. Setmore's Free plan covers up to 4 users, Trafft's covers 1 user (a team member) with 100 appointments a month, and Square Free charges only card processing fees. Calendly, SimplyBook.me and Amelia cap events, bookings and features instead.

Free for one person: Trafft and Calendly

Trafft's Free plan has no time limit. It includes 1 user, 1 location, 100 appointments a month and 200 email notifications a month, plus a booking website, a shareable booking link and an embeddable booking form. It leaves out group bookings, buffer times, calendar sync, deposits and recurring appointments.

Calendly's Free plan is capped by event types: one event type and one calendar connection, with one-on-one scheduling and a customizable booking page.

Free for a small team: Setmore and Square Appointments

Setmore counts each staff calendar as a user and lets up to 4 of them book for $0. Free sends 1 reminder where Pro sends 2, and lacks recurring appointments and 2-way calendar sync.

Square Free has no monthly subscription costs; you pay processing fees when you take a payment, 3.3% plus 30 cents for online cards. Square lists appointment reminders and appointment deposits on every tier, and no employee limit applies.

Trafft Free has 1 location and no group bookings, Calendly Free has one event type, and Square's class booking starts on Plus. Trafft free plan lists what the Free plan leaves out.

Free by bookings or as a WordPress plugin: SimplyBook.me and Amelia

SimplyBook.me counts bookings: the Free plan allows 50 a month with 1 provider, a provider being a staff member who takes bookings. After its 14-day trial, SimplyBook.me says, an account can continue as a Free user under 50 bookings a month and one custom feature.

Amelia is a WordPress plugin from the same company as Trafft, per Trafft's own post. Its free limited version is on WordPress.org, and it has no free trial. Paid licenses are per domain, a domain being one website; Starter, at $49 a year, covers 1, per Amelia's checkout price list. Trafft is a hosted service; Amelia runs inside a WordPress site.

When a free plan stops being enough

Trafft's Free plan stops at 1 user, 1 location, 100 appointments and 200 emails a month. Mini lifts the appointment cap and adds 3 users, 3 locations, group bookings and calendar sync. Deposits start on Professional at $49.99 a month, billed monthly. Setmore's recurring appointments and 2-way sync start on Pro.

Pick Setmore Free for a team of up to 4, Square Free when card processing is the only cost you accept, and Trafft Free for one person who may later need rooms, from Professional. Best appointment scheduling software and Calendly alternatives cover the paid steps.

Trafft also lets you try its paid features for 14 days before you settle on the Free plan.