Best picks · UK edition
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There's no single best online booking system: a barbershop, a physio clinic and a consultant need different things. This shortlist covers the tools most UK small businesses should look at first, with prices in pounds where the vendor publishes them and in dollars where it doesn't.
Prices as ofGBP or USD as published
Best free option for businesses taking card payments
Square Appointments
Free for one location with unlimited staff, with built-in card payments, POS and no-show fees, and native UK pricing in pounds.
- Free plan
- Yes: 1 location, unlimited staff (UK)
- Entry price
- From £29 per location/month
VAT basis not stated
Most flexible all-rounder
SimplyBook.me
A free plan (50 bookings a month), SMS and WhatsApp reminders, POS and a long menu of optional features. EU-based company.
- Free plan
- Yes: 50 bookings a month, 1 provider
- Entry price
- From $11.90 per month (annual billing)
US dollars; UK VAT may be added
Best for coaches and therapists
Acuity Scheduling
Intake forms, packages, memberships and gift cards, priced by calendars rather than seats. USD pricing, no free plan.
- Free plan
- No (7-day free trial)
- Entry price
- From $16 per month (annual billing)
US dollars; UK VAT may be added
Best for salons that want marketplace bookings
Fresha
A full salon suite with a consumer marketplace; it charges 20% on new marketplace clients.
- Free plan
- No (7-day trial; Fresha used to be free)
- Entry price
- From £9.95 per bookable team member/month
ex VAT (£11.94 inc VAT at 20%) Unconfirmed
Best free plan for small teams
Setmore
Free for up to four users, with a low per-user Pro plan on annual billing and 24/7 human support.
- Free plan
- Yes: up to 4 users
- Entry price
- From $5 per user/month (annual billing)
US dollars; UK VAT may be added
Best for booking meetings
Calendly
The widest integration list and polished meeting links, but built for meetings rather than appointments.
- Free plan
- Yes: 1 event type, 1 calendar
- Entry price
- From $10 per seat/month (annual billing)
US dollars; UK VAT may be added
Best budget option for Zoho users
Zoho Bookings
Low per-staff pricing, a free plan for one person and an EU data centre option.
- Free plan
- Yes: 1 staff member, 1 event type
- Entry price
- From $6 per staff/month (annual billing)
US dollars; UK VAT may be added
Best UK company for custom booking pages
YouCanBookMe
Highly customisable pages and a free plan, from a company registered in England and Wales.
- Free plan
- Yes: 1 calendar, 1 booking page
- Entry price
- From $8.10 per month (annual billing)
US dollars; UK VAT may be added
How we chose
We compared every tool we track against these criteria, using each vendor's published prices and features as of 2 November 2026. We haven't run hands-on tests of every tool for this edition; see the methodology.
- Fit for small service businesses taking client appointments
- Published prices and a usable free plan or trial
- Payments, reminders and the features most businesses ask for
- Third-party review volume on Capterra or G2 (as a signal, not a score)
Side by side
| Tool | Best for | Free plan | Entry price | Links |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service businesses: coaches, therapists, salons and studios | No (7-day free trial) | From $16 per month (annual billing) US dollars; UK VAT may be added | Review · Visit site | |
| Solo professionals, sales and recruiting teams booking meetings | Yes: 1 event type, 1 calendar | From $10 per seat/month (annual billing) US dollars; UK VAT may be added | Review · Visit site | |
| Salons, barbers and spas, especially in the UK | No (7-day trial; Fresha used to be free) | From £9.95 per bookable team member/month ex VAT (£11.94 inc VAT at 20%) Unconfirmed | Review · Visit site | |
| Budget-conscious small businesses and small teams | Yes: up to 4 users | From $5 per user/month (annual billing) US dollars; UK VAT may be added | Review · Visit site | |
| Service businesses such as salons, clinics, tutors and fitness; EU-friendly | Yes: 50 bookings a month, 1 provider | From $11.90 per month (annual billing) US dollars; UK VAT may be added | Review · Visit site | |
| Salons, barbers, spas and any business taking card payments | Yes: 1 location, unlimited staff (UK) | From £29 per location/month VAT basis not stated | Review · Visit site | |
| Solo professionals, universities and small teams | Yes: 1 calendar, 1 booking page | From $8.10 per month (annual billing) US dollars; UK VAT may be added | Review · Visit site | |
| Budget small businesses and existing Zoho users | Yes: 1 staff member, 1 event type | From $6 per staff/month (annual billing) US dollars; UK VAT may be added | Review · Visit site |
Features at a glance
| Tool | Free plan | Payments | SMS reminders | UK/EU data angle | Teams | AI features | Marketplace | Video calls |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square Appointments | Yes: 1 location, unlimited staff (UK) | Square payments (built in) | Not checked | Not checked | Unlimited staff on Free (1 location) | Not checked | Reserve with Google | Not checked |
| SimplyBook.me | Yes: 50 bookings a month, 1 provider | Stripe, PayPal; POS | SMS and WhatsApp | EU company (GDPR) | Providers by plan | Not checked | No | Zoom |
| Acuity Scheduling | No (7-day free trial) | Stripe, Square, PayPal | From Standard | Not checked | Calendars by plan (1, 6, 36) | AI Booking Assistant (Premium) | No | Zoom |
| Fresha | No (7-day trial; Fresha used to be free) | Own payments | Not checked | Not checked | Priced per bookable member | AI Concierge add-on | Fresha marketplace (20% new-client fee) | Not checked |
| Setmore | Yes: up to 4 users | Square, Stripe, PayPal | Pro only | Not checked | Free for up to 4 users | Not checked | No | Zoom |
| Calendly | Yes: 1 event type, 1 calendar | Stripe, PayPal | Not checked | Not checked | Teams plan; routing | Notetaker and Callie AI (Plus plans) | No | Zoom, Teams, Meet |
| Zoho Bookings | Yes: 1 staff member, 1 event type | Stripe, PayPal | Not checked | EU data centre option | Priced per staff member | Not checked | No | Zoom |
| YouCanBookMe | Yes: 1 calendar, 1 booking page | Stripe | Not checked | UK company | Team plan | Not checked | No | Zoom |
'Not checked' means our research didn't confirm the feature either way; it doesn't mean the tool lacks it. Features are from vendor pricing pages and documentation as recorded on 2 November 2026.
Questions people ask
Which booking systems have a free plan?
Square Appointments (one location, unlimited staff), Setmore (up to four users), SimplyBook.me (50 bookings a month), Zoho Bookings (one staff member), Calendly (one event type), Cal.com (one user) and YouCanBookMe (one calendar). Which suits you depends on which limit you'd hit first.
Are these rankings paid for?
No. Rankings are never paid for. We may earn a commission from some links, and vendors can buy a labelled Verified or Featured listing, but neither changes the order on this page. Calendly, which has no affiliate programme, is ranked on the same criteria as everyone else.
Related
Sources
Prices and features as recorded on 2 November 2026 from these pages (research pass 26 October to 2 November 2026). Prices change: check the vendor's page before you buy. Spotted something out of date? Tell us.
- Square Appointments: https://squareup.com/gb/en/appointments/pricing
- SimplyBook.me: https://simplybook.me/en/pricing
- Acuity Scheduling: https://acuityscheduling.com/pricing
- Fresha: https://www.fresha.com/en-GB/pricing
- Fresha: https://theaitill.com/tools/fresha
- Setmore: https://www.setmore.com/pricing
- Setmore: https://www.setmore.com/llms.txt
- Calendly: https://calendly.com/pricing
- Calendly: https://calendly.com/help/choose-the-right-calendly-plan-for-your-team
- Zoho Bookings: https://www.zoho.com/bookings/pricing.html
- YouCanBookMe: https://support.youcanbook.me/hc/en-us/articles/17321826442007-YouCanBookMe-Pricing