Acuity Scheduling vs SimplyBook.me

Acuity Scheduling

• Salons, studios, coaches, tutors and other appointment-based businesses
• Taking a deposit or full payment at the time of booking
• Selling packages, memberships and gift certificates alongside appointments

SimplyBook.me

• Service businesses with several staff that prefer a flat fee over per-user pricing
• Combining booking with memberships, packages, gift cards or product sales
• Healthcare providers that need HIPAA features and intake forms

Acuity Scheduling

• There is no free plan. When the 7-day trial ends, a paid plan is needed to keep using the account.
• Plans are capped by calendars, which map to staff or locations: 1 on Starter, 6 on Standard and 36 on Premium.
• Text reminders, the waitlist, memberships, packages and gift certificates need Standard or Premium.
• Hiding the "Powered by Acuity Scheduling" footer, signing a HIPAA BAA, and custom API and CSS are Premium-only.

SimplyBook.me

• Plan prices are listed in euros. Add-ons such as SMS credits and extra bookings are listed in US dollars.
• Every plan caps monthly bookings: 50 on Free, 100 on Basic, 500 on Standard and 2,000 on Premium. Extra bookings are sold in packs of 100 for $4.
• SMS and WhatsApp credits ($8 per 100) and a custom domain ($119 with 3 years of SSL) are paid separately from the subscription.
• HIPAA and SAML SSO need Standard or above; accounting integrations and the white-label footer need Premium.

Acuity Scheduling

Branded booking page

Clients self-schedule, reschedule or cancel on a page with your logo and colors. Share it as a link or QR code, or embed it in a Squarespace site or another website.

Payments, deposits and invoicing

Take full payment, a deposit or a card on file at booking through Stripe, Square or PayPal, and send invoices. The mobile app accepts in-person payments, including tap-to-pay.

Reminders and intake forms

Automated email confirmations, updates and reminders on every plan, with custom intake forms at booking. Text message reminders start on Standard.

Calendar sync and availability rules

Syncs with Google Calendar, Outlook and iCloud to block busy times. Set daily appointment limits, buffers between bookings and room or resource restrictions.

Classes, packages and memberships

Offer one-to-one services or group classes and workshops. Standard and Premium can sell appointment packages, subscriptions, memberships and gift certificates.

AI Booking Assistant

An AI chat bot that helps clients get booked on the scheduling page. It is available on the Premium plan only.

SimplyBook.me

Booking website and widget

Every plan includes a mobile-responsive booking website, a widget for an existing site, and bookings through a Facebook page. Instagram and Google Business buttons are also offered.

Custom features

Extras such as intake forms, memberships, gift cards, classes, waiting lists and SOAP notes are toggled on per account. Premium ones count against the plan's limit of 1, 3 or 8.

Payments and point of sale

From Basic, take online payments, deposits and tips through gateways such as Stripe, PayPal and Square, or sell in person with the POS. SimplyBook.me adds no transaction fee.

Reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp

Automatic confirmation, reminder and cancellation emails are on every plan. SMS and WhatsApp messages use credits that are bought separately.

Ask Simply and AI Voice Booking

Ask Simply is a built-in AI chat for setting up services and managing bookings, and an MCP connection lets outside assistants run the account. AI Voice Booking uses paid credits.

Admin and client apps

The admin app for iOS and Android manages the calendar and bookings. Clients can book and reschedule in a client app, which can carry the business's own branding from Standard.

Acuity Scheduling

• Starter$16

  per month, billed annually ($20 billed monthly)

  1 calendar, payments through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo, email reminders, custom client forms and automatic time zone conversion.

• Standard$27

  per month, billed annually ($34 billed monthly)

  Up to 6 calendars, plus text reminders, an appointment waitlist, memberships, packages and gift certificates.

• Premium$49

  per month, billed annually ($61 billed monthly)

  Up to 36 calendars, plus the AI Booking Assistant, a BAA for HIPAA compliance, logo removal, per-staff time zones, and custom API and CSS.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Unlimited calendars and scheduling instances, VIP account management, additional APIs and a central dashboard; priced through sales.

SimplyBook.me

• Free€0

  50 bookings a month, 1 provider and 1 premium custom feature, with a booking website, widget and the admin app.

• Basic€11.9

  per month, billed annually (€13.9 billed monthly)

  100 bookings, 5 providers and 3 premium custom features; adds the client app, payments, deposits, tips and point of sale.

• Standard€24.9

  per month, billed annually (€29.9 billed monthly)

  500 bookings, 15 providers and 8 premium custom features; adds a branded client app, HIPAA features and SAML SSO.

• Premium€49.9

  per month, billed annually (€59.9 billed monthly)

  2,000 bookings, 30 providers and unlimited custom features; adds Payments PRO, QuickBooks, FreshBooks and Xero links, and a white-label footer.

• EnterpriseCustom

  Custom booking volume and providers, multi-location cluster interface, account manager, high-load API and a choice of data location; billed annually.

Acuity Scheduling

• Annual discount

  Save 20% by paying annually

  Acuity's pricing page lists a 20% saving on annual billing: Starter is $16 instead of $20 per month, Standard $27 instead of $34 and Premium $49 instead of $61.

SimplyBook.me

• Annual discount

  Save up to 17% with annual billing

  SimplyBook.me's pricing page puts the annual-billing saving at up to 17%, which it describes as two months free compared with paying monthly.

• Nonprofit

  Nonprofit and charity discounts on request

  The pricing FAQ invites nonprofit and charity organizations to contact SimplyBook.me to discuss qualifying discounts. No rate is published.