Your service business is leaking revenue every time a potential client can’t book an appointment at 2 AM. While you’re sleeping, your competitors with 24/7 online booking are capturing the customers you’ll never even know you lost.
The WordPress booking plugin market has matured significantly, with solutions now handling everything from simple consultation scheduling to complex multi-location, multi-staff operations. But choosing wrong means migration nightmares, lost bookings during transitions, and frustrated customers abandoning half-completed reservations.
After extensive testing and analysis of user reviews, feature sets, and real-world performance, here’s everything you need to know about the leading WordPress booking plugins in 2025.
Quick Comparison: WordPress Booking Plugins at a Glance
| Plugin | Starting Price | Best For | Free Version | Payment Gateways |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amelia | $49/year | Multi-location businesses, salons, clinics | Yes (limited) | 20+ included |
| BookingPress | $79/year | Budget-conscious businesses wanting maximum free features | Yes (generous) | 20+ included |
| Bookly | $49/year | Businesses needing maximum customization flexibility | Yes (basic) | PayPal/Stripe free; others paid |
| Simply Schedule Appointments | $99/year | Solo practitioners wanting simplicity | Yes (solid) | Professional tier only |
Amelia: The Premium All-in-One Solution
Amelia has positioned itself as the comprehensive choice for businesses that want everything included without nickel-and-diming through add-ons. Its modern, visually polished interface produces professional booking forms immediately upon installation.
Key Strengths
- Unlimited everything: Staff members, services, and locations included in base plans
- Native video integration: Zoom, Google Meet, and Jitsi built-in for virtual appointments
- Event management: Handle one-time events, recurring series, and workshops alongside regular appointments
- Waiting lists: Automatically notify customers when cancelled slots become available
- 20+ payment gateways: Stripe, PayPal, Square, Razorpay, and Mollie included at no extra cost
Pricing Structure
Amelia’s pricing starts at $49/year for the Starter plan and scales through Standard ($99/year), Pro ($279/year), and Elite tiers. Lifetime licenses are also available. The step-up in pricing reflects genuine feature expansion rather than artificial limitations.
Best For
Multi-location service businesses, medical clinics, fitness centers, and salons where comprehensive features justify the investment and where staff scheduling complexity demands robust tools.
BookingPress: Maximum Value, Minimum Cost
BookingPress takes a radically different approach: give away remarkable functionality for free, then offer affordable upgrades. The free version includes unlimited bookings, multiple services, customizable forms, and PayPal payments—features competitors lock behind paywalls.
Key Strengths
- Generous free tier: Unlimited services and bookings without paying a cent
- 20+ payment gateways: Stripe, Mollie, Square, Razorpay included in paid tiers
- Staff dashboards: Dedicated interfaces separating staff and manager functions
- Two-way calendar sync: Google, Apple, and Outlook calendar integration
- 60+ free add-ons: Staff management, invoicing, and more without additional fees
Pricing Structure
Free version available. Paid plans: Standard ($79/year), Professional ($129/year), and Enterprise ($249/year). Each tier unlocks meaningful features rather than arbitrary limitations.
Best For
Budget-conscious service businesses of all sizes, especially those starting their digital transformation who want to test extensively before committing funds. The free version alone handles most small business needs.
Bookly: Modular Flexibility for Power Users
Bookly implements the opposite philosophy from Amelia: a lean core with extensive paid add-ons. This approach means you pay only for what you need—but those add-ons add up quickly.
Key Strengths
- 43+ add-ons available: Pick exactly the features you need
- Maximum customization: Control nearly every aspect of the booking experience
- 40+ languages: Built-in multilingual support
- Collaborative services: Book multiple staff members for single appointments
- WhatsApp integration: Send notifications through WhatsApp (via add-on)
Pricing Structure
Core plugin: $49/year or $62 lifetime. But here’s the catch—payment gateways beyond PayPal and Stripe require $29-$49 add-ons each. Group bookings, custom fields, recurring appointments, and deposits each require separate purchases. A fully-featured setup can reach $200+ easily.
Best For
Businesses with specific, well-defined needs where modular purchasing makes sense, or those comfortable with iterative feature adoption as requirements evolve. Not ideal if you’ll eventually need most features anyway.
Simply Schedule Appointments: The Simplicity Champion
Simply Schedule Appointments markets itself as “the Calendly of WordPress” and delivers on that promise. The legendary five-minute setup wizard genuinely works—you can have a functional booking system running before your coffee gets cold.
Key Strengths
- Five-minute setup: Genuinely achievable, not marketing hyperbole
- Clean, minimal interface: Reduces cognitive load for both you and customers
- Gravity Forms integration: Works seamlessly with popular form builders
- Google Meet/Zoom built-in: Video conferencing in Plus tier and above
- Accessibility-focused: Designed for users with varying technical abilities
Pricing Structure
Free Basic edition with unlimited appointments. Plus ($99/year), Professional ($149/year), and Business ($249/year). Payment processing requires Professional tier. Team scheduling requires Business tier—a significant jump for multi-staff operations.
Best For
Independent consultants, coaches, therapists, and solo practitioners where appointments involve one-on-one interactions and simplicity trumps feature comprehensiveness.
Feature Comparison Deep Dive
Payment Processing
Winner: Amelia and BookingPress (tie)
Both include 20+ payment gateways in their base packages. Bookly charges extra for most gateways. Simply Schedule Appointments restricts payments to higher tiers. For a deeper dive into payment integration options, see our WooCommerce payment gateways guide.
Calendar Synchronization
Winner: Amelia
Bidirectional sync with Google, Apple, and Outlook calendars. BookingPress matches this capability. Bookly and Simply Schedule Appointments offer more limited sync options.
Ease of Setup
Winner: Simply Schedule Appointments
The five-minute wizard is genuinely impressive. BookingPress and Amelia are straightforward but take longer. Bookly’s flexibility comes with configuration complexity.
Multi-Staff Operations
Winner: Amelia
Unlimited staff in base plans with individual calendars, availability settings, and service assignments. BookingPress handles this well too. Simply Schedule Appointments requires the expensive Business tier.
Value for Money (Free Tier)
Winner: BookingPress
The most generous free version by far. Unlimited services, unlimited bookings, calendar views, and PayPal payments—all free.
Which Plugin Should You Choose?
Choose Amelia if:
- You operate multiple locations or have 3+ staff members
- You want video conferencing integration out of the box
- You prefer all features included rather than add-on shopping
- Visual polish and modern design matter to your brand
Choose BookingPress if:
- Budget is your primary constraint
- You want to test extensively before paying anything
- You need solid features without premium pricing
- You’re starting digital transformation and want low-risk evaluation
Choose Bookly if:
- You have very specific feature requirements
- You’re comfortable managing multiple add-ons
- You need maximum customization flexibility
- You only need a few advanced features (making add-on costs manageable)
Choose Simply Schedule Appointments if:
- You’re a solo practitioner or independent consultant
- Simplicity matters more than features
- You want something working in minutes, not hours
- Technical complexity gives you anxiety
The Bottom Line
For most service businesses with multiple staff members, Amelia delivers the best balance of features, usability, and value. The all-inclusive pricing eliminates surprise costs, and the modern interface impresses clients.
For budget-conscious businesses or those wanting to test before investing, BookingPress offers remarkable value—its free tier alone handles what competitors charge $100+ annually to provide.
For solo practitioners prioritizing simplicity, Simply Schedule Appointments removes every possible friction point from the setup and booking process.
Skip Bookly unless you have specific customization requirements that justify its modular complexity and add-on costs.
Whichever you choose, implement online booking this week. Looking to streamline other aspects of your WordPress workflow? Check out our WordPress automation guide for more efficiency gains. Every day without 24/7 scheduling capability is another day your competitors are capturing clients while you sleep.