SimplyBook.me Review: Services, Pricing, & Alternatives

Are you looking for a way to streamline your appointment scheduling process? Have you ever wondered if there’s software that could automate this task to make it easier for both you and your clients?

SimplyBook.me might just be the solution you’ve been searching for. This intuitive platform is designed with one goal in mind –  to simplify the booking process.

It offers a comprehensive suite of features designed to handle all aspects of appointment management, from scheduling to reminders, making it an ideal choice for businesses of all sizes.

So, if you’ve been asking, “Is SimplyBook.me right for my business?” you’re in the right place. This review will delve into the ins and outs of the software, providing you with the information you need to make an informed decision. 

Now let’s take a deeper dive into what SimplyBook.me has to offer.

SMB Guide’s Verdict for SimplyBook.me

I’m giving this one an 8 out of 10. I am impressed with the custom features you have the flexibility to choose based on your needs and business model.

I couldn’t give it a perfect score because of issues with customer service complaints.

Factor	Rating (out of 10)
Pricing & Plans	9
Appointment Workflow Automation	9
Customization Options	8
Calendar Management Features	9
Automated Reminders and Notifications	8
Client Management and Communication	8
User Interface and User Experience	9
Integrations, Compatibility, and Supported Platforms	8
Customer Support	7
SMB Guide Rating	8

In this review of SimplyBook.me, I’ve followed SMB Guide’s detailed criteria for evaluating the appointment scheduling software.

Pricing & Plans

SimplyBook.me offers five plans to choose from based on what your organization needs. Each plan has a set number of custom features you can choose from. 

Custom features are options that are “add-ons” that expand your functionality. You can change the custom features on your account at any time.

Examples include accepting payments, using additional fields to collect intake information, syncing with a calendar, integrating with social media, using a dedicated client booking app, adding coupon codes/gift cards, etc.

Plans come with a 14-day free trial, allowing you to fully experience the system before committing to it and try multiple custom features before choosing your plan.

All plans have the option to purchase “Booking Packages” for an additional fee, starting at $14 for 200 bookings, if you need more bookings than your monthly plan allows.

Larger volumes of bookings, starting at 15,000 bookings, expire six months after purchase. Customers also have the option to purchase “SMS packages” for text messages to their clients.

Prices start at $5 for 50 credits.

Free

This is a free forever plan with great limits on features and functionality.

Price

• $0 per month
• $0 per year

Features

• 50 bookings a month
• 1 user
• 1 custom feature
• Admin app
• Booking website
• Booking widget

Who it’s for: Solopreneurs, freelancers, and other one-person businesses with basic needs.

Basic

This is the bottom-tier paid plan, which offers more features and flexibility than the free plan.

Price

• $9.90 per month
• $8.25 per month when billed annually 

Features

• 100 bookings per month
• 3 custom features
• 5 users
• Payments, Deposits, and Tips
• Admin App
• SimplyBook.me branded client app
• Booking website
• Booking Widget
• Directory Listing
• Coupons and Gift Cards
• Sales (POS)

Who it’s for: Startups and small businesses

Standard

A reasonably priced plan, this option is ideal for smaller businesses that need more than a few users.

Price

• $29.90 per month
• $24.90 per month when billed annually 

Features

• 500 bookings per month
• 8 custom features
• 15 users
• Payments, Deposits, and Tips
• Admin App
• SimplyBook.me branded client app
• Booking website
• Booking Widget
• Directory Listing
• Coupons and Gift Cards
• Sales (POS)
• HIPAA compliance

Who it’s for: The target audience/user types that can make the best of these.

Premium

This plan offers unlimited custom features and doubles the users compared to the plan below it.

Price

• $59.90 per month
• $49.90 per month when billed annually 

Features

• 2,000 bookings per month
• Unlimited custom features
• 30 users
• Payments, Deposits, and Tips
• Admin App
• SimplyBook.me branded client app
• Booking website
• Booking Widget
• Directory Listing
• Coupons and Gift Cards
• Sales (POS)
• HIPAA compliance
• Link Removal
• QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Xero integrations

Who it’s for: Growing businesses that need HIPAA compliance with their scheduling.

Premium Plus

The highest tier plan SimplyBook.me offers is geared toward larger companies that need all the features plus a higher user/staff count.

Price

• $9.90 per month
• $82.50 per month when billed annually 

Features

• 5,000 bookings per month
• Unlimited custom features
• 60 users
• Payments, Deposits, and Tips
• Admin App
• SimplyBook.me branded client app
• Booking website
• Booking Widget
• Directory Listing
• Coupons and Gift Cards
• Sales (POS)
• HIPAA compliance
• Link Removal
• QuickBooks, FreshBooks, Xero integrations

Who it’s for: Larger businesses with more staff requirements.

Appointment Workflow Automation

Using automatic notifications about booking confirmations and reminders, you can control some workflow automation.

However, to maximize your workflow automation, you’ll need to invest in Zapier integrations. Depending on the applications you want to integrate, this may mean paying for Zapier.

You can use Zapier to build automation for things such as creating tasks in other management tools whenever a new booking is created.

Everything is pretty straightforward as far as booking appointments goes.

Customization Options

The customization options depend on the custom features you choose. The number of custom features you can have active on your account at the same time depends on the service plan you choose.

Custom feature options include:

• Flexible Notifications Custom Feature: You can enable or disable booking notifications and adjust your templates accordingly.
• Package Custom Feature: This allows you to create a package of multiple services or combined services with additional items to provide flexibility in your service offerings.
• Custom Email Feature: This allows you to customize the emails you send to clients. You can create templates for different types of emails.
• Membership Custom Feature: Using this feature, you can offer services that only members can book as long as they have an active and paid membership.
• Custom Page Feature: This allows you to create your own custom static pages on your booking website and reorder all the booking site pages in your main menu.
• Other popular custom features include: Accepting payments, multiple locations, point of sale, coupons, and intake forms. 

Outside of that, you can customize the look and feel of your booking page with a template and color scheme.

Calendar Management Features

The calendar is easy to manage. SimplyBook.me offers two-way calendar synchronization with Google Calendar and Outlook.

You can also integrate with iCal, but the two-way sync doesn’t work with it. From the admin side, it is easy to get a glance at your appointment schedule.

It’s also possible to export and print versions of the calendar for each staff member.

Users can define their availability by customizing time slots for booking. The platform supports multiple calendars to make it easier for you to manage different services or schedules simultaneously.

It also updates the calendar in real-time, ensuring all appointments are current to prevent double bookings.

Automated Reminders and Notifications

Using SimplyBook.me, you can send Automatic notifications regarding booking confirmations and reminders to reduce no-shows and improve client engagement.

You can also enable or disable booking notifications and adjust their templates in the settings. You can customize all reminders and notifications sent either through email or SMS.

 The Book Soon notification system allows you to remind clients to return by sending a message a specific number of days after their appointment.

The flexible notifications’ custom feature allows users to manage their notification preferences more effectively. You can also set up various rules for confirmations, reminders, and notifications for clients and staff members.

Client Management and Communication

Personalize all reminders and notifications you send your clients. You can tailor these messages to be delivered via SMS or email to enhance the personal touch of your communication.

Client management is made easier with the admin app. You can view your booking calendar, upcoming bookings, recently booked appointments, and client list.

You can easily create, edit, and cancel bookings.

User Interface and User Experience

The user interface is simple and easy to use. Onboarding is simple – though setting up your services, pricing, and staff could take some time.

You’ll also need to spend time exploring the custom feature options and choosing the ones that make the most sense for you.

While many reviews from other users state that the user experience could use some improvement, some of them are years old.

Chances are SimplyBook.me has made improvements since those reviews were first posted.

Integrations, Compatibility, & Supported Platforms

SimplyBook.me is a web-based application, so it can be accessed from any device with an internet connection.

There are mobile apps for iOS and Android devices for admin and clients. The client app remains branded with SimplyBook.me on all plans and is considered one of your optional custom features.

As far as integrations are concerned, there are no native integrations. You must use Zapier to create the necessary integrations.

Zapier does have a free plan, but it is limited. Depending on the nature of the integrations you need, you may need to invest in a paid Zapier plan to accomplish your desired workflow.

Customer Support

In addition to live chat, SimplyBook.me has a help center and blog to help you get the answers you need.

There is no customer support phone number. There is a YouTube channel to help you see it in action, as well as case studies, and a “How it Works” resource available, too.

Many reviews state that customer support could use some improvement.

SimplyBook.me — Unique Features

SimplyBook.me’s unique selling point lies in its adaptability to your specific requirements. It achieves this by providing over 60 customizable features, with each subscription plan allowing a certain number of these features to be utilized simultaneously.

For instance, these custom features enable you to establish forms for data collection, generate and distribute coupons or gift cards, or even develop a dedicated app for your clients.

The highest-tier plans allow unlimited custom features, so you can use as many as you need.

What the Experts Say About SimplyBook.me

At the time of this review, SimplyBook.me has the following ratings:

• 7.5/10 stars at TrustRadius (20+ reviews)
• 4.6/5 stars at GetApp (1,000+ reviews)
• 4.5/5 stars at G2 (1,000+ reviews)

I uses it for more than two years. At least, i got too much items for rental, the Software isnt built for rental Business. I got to pay too much for more options. But for the beginning it was good. But need some better Features for documents

Stephan H., CE) – Verified Capterra reivew

Overall, SimplyBookMe is a fantastic service especially for the price. I started using this product when I launched my business and over the past 7-8 months have never looked back and am constantly improving my booking website through them. Again it’s fantastic.

Connor P., Detailing – Verified Capterra reivew

SimplyBook.me Alternatives

If you’re not convinced SimplyBook.me is the right solution for your business, take a look at these options.

Appointlet

Appointlet has received high ratings for its functionality and user experience. It holds a significantly higher market share in the appointments and scheduling category, which indicates a larger user base.

Appointlet is particularly suited for businesses looking to connect with prospects through emails and Landing pages. Pricing starts at $8 per user per month.

Get started with Appointlet for free!

Bookeo

Bookeo is also a robust scheduling solution that offers a variety of features. Though it has a slightly lower user rating compared to SimplyBook.me, it excels in user satisfaction.

Bookeo pricing starts at $14.95 a month and does not offer a free forever plan, making it a more expensive option.

Try Bookeo for free!

Bookafy

Bookafy is a highly similar platform in that it offers various features with a free forever plan. Pricing starts at $7/user/month with annual billing and $9/user/user/month with monthly billing, so it is slightly cheaper than SimplyBook.me.

Ultimately, both are highly customizable, but Bookafy excels because there are no booking limits.

Start your free trial of Bookafy!

Other options: Best SimplyBook.me Alternatives

Get Started with SimplyBook.me

SimplyBook.me is a versatile and user-friendly appointment scheduling platform that caters to businesses of all sizes.

Its wide range of features and high level of customization make it a robust solution for managing bookings. 

With competitive pricing, SimplyBook.me provides a good balance of cost and functionality. However, like all platforms, it’s not without room for improvement.

Based on user ratings and market share, it’s clear SimplyBook.me has established a strong foothold in the scheduling software market.

For businesses seeking a reliable and scalable booking management solution, SimplyBook.me is definitely worth considering.

Get your free SimplyBook.me account today!

FAQs

Related reading:

• SimplyBook.me vs. Calendly