What is the amount of time you have dedicated to sending emails today?
It is likely that you are spending more time on unnecessary email coordination than you would prefer, and the return on investment is not significant. Typically, only about 20% of the emails sent are opened. By utilizing appointment scheduling apps and booking software, you can automate the process of scheduling meetings with both potential and current customers, without relying on email responses to determine a suitable time.
What is the reason for investing in an appointment scheduling app?
When it comes to return on investment, the primary advantage of utilizing scheduling apps is the ability to shorten the sales cycle. Additionally, these apps alleviate administrative responsibilities that may often feel tedious. As you consider implementing a scheduling app, there are three key features to look for that make for an exceptional one.
- It should reduce the number of emails you send to schedule a meeting.
- It should sync with your calendar.
- It should send reminders for your appointments.
This piece presents a range of scheduling apps, both free and paid, designed to expedite the sales cycle by facilitating appointments that are convenient for prospects. These applications also simplify the scheduling process by eliminating the need for extensive back-and-forth communication. Additionally, a number of these tools are capable of integrating with your calendar and issuing reminders to ensure that you and your clients don’t overlook valuable chances to connect.
Free Scheduling Apps
Many business owners find scheduling to be a tedious task that involves a lot of back-and-forth communication regarding availability, confirmation, and rescheduling. However, it is possible to simplify the process by using the right apps. The top scheduling apps remove most of the burden from you, allowing you to focus on showing up and performing your duties during appointments. We have evaluated the 10 most popular apps available and compiled a list of the top seven scheduling apps of 2023.
1. HubSpot Meetings Tool
Best for Small Businesses
This is suitable for those who work as sales representatives, marketers, as well as customer support team scheduling.
This is not advisable for companies that have only a few dealings with clients or customers.
With the HubSpot Meetings Tool, scheduling appointments is a breeze as it enables synchronization with your Google Calendar or Office 365 calendar, setting of availability, and allows prospects and customers to book appointments with you.
Incorporate form fields onto your meeting page so as to gather contact details such as the name, telephone number, email address, among others. The meeting page can be shared as a hyperlink via email or can be embedded within a website or landing page.
This tool frees up your schedule by automatically blocking off time on your online calendar and sending confirmation emails to clients or prospects who schedule appointments with you. This streamlines the scheduling process, allowing you to schedule more meetings efficiently.
Moreover, HubSpot has a direct integration with the CRM which enables you to monitor your contacts and appointments effectively. Whenever a potential lead schedules a meeting, HubSpot generates new records for them automatically.
2. Calendly
Best for Ease of Use
Ideal for: Individuals in the professional field seeking a simplified method for arranging their schedules.
Teams that have complicated scheduling requirements are advised against using this product.
With the free version of Calendly, you have the ability to link one calendar and schedule infinite meetings. Additionally, you can generate a customized Calendly link and send out automatic email notifications and reminders to guests who book meetings with you.
Calendly’s premium version offers several meeting options, such as individual meetings, round-robin meetings, collective sessions, and group meetings. It is an excellent choice for groups, as it includes team pages, metrics and reporting, as well as administrative tools to manage bookings.
Depending on your use case, there are numerous alternatives to Calendly that you can experiment with.
For each individual on a monthly basis, the Essentials plan costs $8, while the widely used Professional plan charges $12 per person per month when billed annually. As you upgrade through the platform selections, you will acquire team event scheduling, confirmation page links, and metrics and reporting. Moreover, the number of calendar connections per person escalates from one in the free plan to two in the Essentials plan and six in the Professional plan, broadening your appointment options.
3. Calendar
Best for Executives
Suitable for: Groups and individuals engaged in business matters.
Not suitable for: Team availability management or other advanced scheduling requirements.
Calendar is a solution for managing time, scheduling, and digital calendars that uses AI technology and is designed for both individuals and teams. It allows users to combine and personalize the views of their Google Calendar, iCal (Apple Calendar), and Outlook Calendar on a single dashboard that can be shared.
The digital calendar synchronizes on all devices and provides a virtual assistant that acquires knowledge on your agenda to manage meetings, invitations, and changes in scheduling.
With the paid versions, you can access meeting transcriptions and various analytics to track your time spent in meetings and interactions with individuals.
4. Setmore
Best for Mobile Teams
Suitable for: Small retail businesses and service providers.
This is not suggested for service-based enterprises that require appointment scheduling with advanced features and customization options.
With Setmore, you can create a booking page that is publicly accessible without any charge. The platform also offers a free account that can accommodate up to 20 staff calendars and logins. This means that your team can start scheduling meetings right away. Additionally, Setmore allows you to send automatic appointment notifications to individuals who book time with you.
Monthly billing or annual billing options are available for the three plans offered by Setmore.
- Free: The Free offer Setmore’s basic features, such as unlimited appointments, payment reminders and payments with Square.
- Premium: The premium plan is available for a special promotion of $5 per user, per month, with annual billing (58% off) or $12 per user, per month, with month-to-month billing–for up to two users. It includes everything from the Free plan, plus SMS reminders, calendar sync and additional payment processing options (Square, Stripe and PayPal).
- Pro: Businesses with three or more users can opt for the Pro plan, which also costs $5 per user, per month, with annual billing (44% off), or $9 per user, per month, with monthly billing. It includes e
5. Square Appointments
Best for Integrations
Ideal for service-oriented businesses seeking the top scheduling application for booking appointments and processing payments.
This is not a suitable option for enterprises that require customized scheduling for each department.
Square Appointments is an appointment scheduling application developed by Square, a renowned payment processor. One of the benefits of the app is its direct link to Square, allowing you to receive payment during the booking process. You can also impose penalties for late cancellations and no-shows to encourage customers to honor their appointments.
Furthermore, staying on top of your schedule is effortless thanks to the iOS or Android applications that synchronize with you on the move, ensuring that you never fall behind. Patrons can schedule appointments straight into your timetable and can also arrange for recurring appointments for routine services.
The integration of Instagram and Google is appreciated as it simplifies advertising and enables convenient booking of appointments directly from outreach and advertising into Google Calendar.
Square Appointments is a suitable option to explore for those seeking a booking and payment system that is accommodating. With the use of Square Appointments, you have the opportunity to:
- Set up a free customer booking website
- Activate automated text and email reminders
- Charge cancellation fees for no-shows
- Accept integrated payments from within one platform
6. Appointlet
Best for Unlimited Appointments
Ideal for: Groups seeking uncomplicated and reasonably priced booking arrangements.
This is not advisable for companies seeking team scheduling or payment management.
Salespeople can tailor their availability, design booking pages, and share them with customers and prospects using this software for appointment booking. Moreover, the booking pages can be integrated into emails, landing pages, and websites.
Appointlet provides a free version that is perpetual and unlimited regarding bookings, meeting types, and form fields despite offering a paid pricing plan.
7. CalendarHero
Best for User-Friendly Scheduling
Suitable for: Professionals with busy schedules who desire streamlined planning and minimal reliance on emails.
Unsuitable for: Companies seeking advanced scheduling functionalities.
CalendarHero provides typical features for scheduling meetings, including the scheduling links and internal scheduling for groups.
One of its benefits lies in its strong integration with your technology infrastructure. Its notification feature and intelligent timing options for meeting breaks guarantee that you will never be late for another meeting.
8. SimplyBook
Best for Payment Processing
Suitable for: Small and medium enterprises to arrange appointments and receive online payments.
Businesses seeking advanced scheduling features are advised against it.
Designed for service-based businesses, SimplyBook is an online scheduling system that allows integration with your website or the creation of a custom booking page on the platform.
Social media integrations are also available, which enable direct booking acceptance via Facebook and Instagram.
SimplyBook.me provides four different plans, starting with the Free option which has a limit of 50 bookings per month and five users. In addition to an administrative app that manages the calendar, a booking site is provided for your appointments. With the use of a booking widget, calendar scheduling can easily and professionally be added to websites and social media accounts.
By upgrading to the Basic plan, which costs $8.25 per month (when paid annually), users can make up to 100 bookings per month and allow up to 15 users to access their account. This plan includes features like coupon and gift card creation, as well as integration with sales platforms. Additionally, a client application is available for users to manage their accounts.
Both the Standard plan and Premium plan adhere to HIPAA regulations, with prices of $24.90 per month (when billed annually) and $49.90 per month (when billed annually) correspondingly. The major contrast between these two plans is that the Premium version has a link removal function, which simplifies calendar lists and raises the number of allowable bookings. While the Standard plan allows up to 500 appointments per month, the Premium plan provides up to 2,000. All packages are available for a 14-day free trial period.
9. Zoho Bookings
Zoho Bookings is ideal for businesses that require resource booking in addition to book service slots, offering a convenient way to do so.
Zoho cloud-based solutions provide several business platforms, including Zoho Bookings. The Basic plan costs $6 per person every month, if paid annually, and boasts various features such as two-way calendar syncing with Zoho, Google, Microsoft 365, and Outlook. It also enables users to access online meetings directly on Zoom or Zoho Meeting.
Three scheduling plans are available with Zoho Bookings.
- Free Forever: The free plan is available for one user. It includes email notifications and calendar synchronization.
- Basic: Get the features you need for $8 per staff, per month, with annual billing or $6 per staff, per month, with monthly billing. It allows teams to set round-robin appointments, allocating resources equally. There is unlimited Zapier integration so that you can automate your workflow with ease. Customers don’t need to figure out time zone differences as the system automatically converts it for them.
- Premium: For $9 per staff, per month, with annual billing or $12 per staff, per month, with monthly billing, the Premium plan includes everything in the Basic plan plus many additional features. Customers get a sign-up portal, and you can even have a booking page hosted in your own domain. It expands what people can book, moving from just appointments to booking equipment, rooms or other resources.
10. Appointy
Best suited for: Appointy is most suitable for individuals or organizations with numerous integrations that ensure streamlined workflow.
There are four different plans available through Appointy. The first option is the Free plan, which enables you to establish bookings through Google Calendar. Additionally, this plan includes integration with Square Payments and Point of Sale, allowing for prompt payment collection. Unlike competing scheduling apps that are free of charge, Appointy provides over 1,000 Zapier integrations for utmost automation and workflow customization.
Appointy provides four distinct plans, wherein the free plan offers automated reminders; however, you cannot exceed 100 appointments every month. Whereas, the Growth plan is an ideal option for professionals with busy schedules, albeit the price of $19.99/month when billed annually is a bit steep. It provides live chat and email support to assist with problem-solving and grants you permission to book up to 2,000 appointments daily, which should suffice for your needs.
For the Professional plan, which enables up to five team members to use the software, users will be charged $49.99 per month on an annual basis. Additionally, they can acquire gift certificates and benefit from resource scheduling. The Enterprise package is priced at $79.99 per month on an annual basis, and it provides text customizations while eliminating all Appointy branding.
