Bookwhen vs Checkfront (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bookwhen grades higher than Checkfront: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Bookwhen grades higher on value for money and the free plan. Checkfront grades higher on features and platforms. They get the same grade on ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Bookwhen
Online booking system for classes, courses, workshops and events
Checkfront
Online booking software for tours, rentals and activities
Which one is for you
Pick Bookwhen if
- Fits if you run classes or workshops with fixed places
- Works for a solo teacher with fewer than 50 bookings a month
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you are staying free, as that is 50 bookings a month and free events only
- Pricey if you want payments, which start at Lite at $16 a month, plus Stripe or PayPal fees
- Watch out: bookings are capped at 300 on Lite and 800 on Standard
- Skip it if you want a phone or desktop app, as it is browser only
- Watch out: memberships, passes and waiting lists are on Standard at $29 a month
Pick Checkfront if
- Fits if you run tours, rentals or activities with limited availability
- Works for operators who sell through online travel agents
Look elsewhere if
- Pricey if you are small: $99 a month plus a 3% fee on every online booking
- Not for you if you book one-to-one meetings, as it is built for tours and rentals
- Watch out: the page says the price may vary by region and currency
- Not for you if you want a free plan or trial, as none is listed
How we grade them
| 2.0GPABookwhenFair | 1.8GPACheckfrontWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$16 a month on Lite, or $160 a year, which is around the dearer end of calendar tools; the middle one is $8. | D$99 a month plus 3% of online bookings, against $49 for the dearest tenth of calendar tools. |
| Free plan and trial | CFree plan: 50 bookings a month, 1 team member and free events only. A 14-day trial needs no card. | FNo free plan or trial on the pricing page; a demo is offered. |
| Features | CBooking pages, payments, memberships, waiting lists and attendance. Payments, memberships and waiting lists all sit above the free plan. | BAvailability by day, night or slot, widgets, payments, waivers, online travel agent links and automated messages. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. You build your events and booking page yourself. | CNo store rating on record, and an inventory of tours or rentals is yours to build. |
| Platforms and integrations | CBrowser only, with Zoom, Stripe and PayPal. No desktop or phone apps are listed. | BWeb service with 8 listed integrations; no phone or desktop apps listed. |
| Best for | booking classes and events online | booking software for tours, rentals and activities |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Bookwhen and Checkfront. How we grade
Price against what you get
Bookwhen starts at $16 a month and scores 2.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Checkfront starts at $99 a month and scores 2.7.
Checkfront scores higher, and starts $83 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other calendar and scheduling apps on the chart, 68 score higher than Bookwhen for less, and 18 score higher than Checkfront for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Bookwhen also covers booking links and class booking.
- Checkfront also covers calendar and channel manager.
At a glance
| Bookwhen | Checkfront | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free plan | Paid |
| Starts at | $16 per month, billed monthly ($160 billed yearly) | $99 per month, plus a 3% online booking fee |
| Free plan | 50 bookings a month, 1 team member, 1 booking page, free events only. | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of premium features, no credit card required | None listed |
| Web | ||
| Made by | Bookwhen Ltd | Checkfront Inc. |
| Price read from | bookwhen.com | checkfront.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Nov 13, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Bookwhen
- Plans cap bookings per month: 50 on Free, 300 on Lite, 800 on Standard and 1,800 on Plus.
- The Free plan allows free events only, so taking payments needs a paid plan.
- Payment processing fees are charged separately by Stripe or PayPal on top of the plan price.
- It runs in a browser only; no desktop or mobile apps are listed.
Checkfront
- Online bookings carry a 3% fee on top of the monthly subscription, which can be passed on to guests.
- The pricing page quotes $99 a month but notes that the price may vary by region and currency.
- There is no free plan or free trial on the pricing page; a demo is requested instead.
- It is built for tours, rentals and activities, not for one-to-one meeting scheduling.
Key features
Bookwhen
- Hosted booking pages
- Customers book from a Bookwhen page or from one embedded in your own website with an iframe or the API.
- Online payments
- Take payment through Bookwhen Payments (powered by Stripe), your own Stripe account or PayPal. The processor charges a separate fee.
- Memberships, passes and vouchers
- Sell recurring memberships, multi-session passes and vouchers. These start on the Standard plan.
- Waiting lists and reminders
- Full sessions can keep a waiting list, and reminder emails go to attendees. Both start on the Standard plan.
- Online sessions
- Paid plans connect to Zoom for online classes, and Standard and Plus add YouTube and Vimeo links.
- Attendance tracking and post-event emails
- Mark who attended a session and send follow-up emails afterward, from the Standard plan up.
Checkfront
- Flexible availability
- Products can be booked by the day, multiple days, the night, a timeslot or flextime, with capacity limits, rules such as guest minimums and cut-off times, and seasonal pricing.
- Booking widgets
- Four embed options: a catalog widget, a product widget, a booking widget and a Book Now button, plus WordPress, Drupal and Joomla connections.
- Resellers and online travel agents
- Connects to channels such as GetYourGuide, Viator, Expedia and Tripadvisor. The vendor says it adds no fee on top of OTA commissions.
- Payments
- Guests can pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay, iDEAL or Alipay, with receipts and invoices sent from the system.
- Waivers and guest forms
- Built-in online waivers and a custom form builder collect guest information at booking or afterwards.
- Automated email and SMS
- Reminders and review requests can be sent on custom booking statuses, with Twilio SMS and Slack notifications as add-ons.
Plans
Bookwhen
Free$0
50 bookings a month, 1 team member, 1 booking page and free events only.
Lite$16
per month, billed monthly ($160 billed yearly)
300 bookings a month, 2 team members, 1 booking page, online payments and Zoom integration.
Standard$29
per month, billed monthly ($290 billed yearly)
800 bookings a month, 5 team members, 3 booking pages, memberships, vouchers, passes and waiting lists.
Plus$59
per month, billed monthly ($590 billed yearly)
1,800 bookings a month, 10 team members, 6 booking pages and phone support.
EnterpriseCustom
Bespoke plans with a franchisor system, reseller accounts and class search portals.
Checkfront
Checkfront$99
per month, plus a 3% online booking fee
The only plan, for every business type. The 3% fee applies to online bookings and can be absorbed or passed on to guests; offline bookings have none.
Ways to pay less
Bookwhen
- Annual discount
2 months free with yearly billing
Bookwhen's pricing page marks its yearly prices as 2 months free compared with paying monthly.
- Nonprofit
20% off for charities and non-profits
The pricing FAQ offers 20% off to charities and non-profits; contact support before subscribing.
Checkfront
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Bookwhen or Checkfront?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Bookwhen is cheaper to start with: $16 a month, against $99 a month for Checkfront. Bookwhen starts at $16 per month, billed monthly ($160 billed yearly), and Checkfront starts at $99 per month, plus a 3% online booking fee.
Which has a free plan, Bookwhen or Checkfront?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Bookwhen has a free plan. Checkfront does not.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.