15 Setmore Alternatives in 2026, Priced and Matched to Your Business

Why people look beyond Setmore

Setmore is hard to beat on price. Its Free plan covers four users with unlimited appointments and payments, and Pro costs $5 a user a month billed annually ^[1]. People still leave. The usual reasons are features it lacks, such as a waitlist, packages, memberships or round-robin routing, and SMS reminders that do not reach many countries, including Germany, France and India. For a European clinic, that SMS gap can decide the matter on its own. Texting is Setmore's main paid upgrade over Free, so a practice whose patients live in Germany or France would pay for Pro without being able to send them a single reminder text.

We read each rival's pricing page from a US connection in October 2026 and compared what a small service team would actually pay. Annual totals are our arithmetic from published prices. Tools aimed at the same kind of business as Setmore come first, then the salon, studio and clinic platforms, then the meeting schedulers. For each one we ask the same two questions: what it costs a small team, and what it does that Setmore cannot.

The alternatives at a glance

The closest rivals for a front desk

Acuity Scheduling: packages, memberships and a waitlist

Acuity Scheduling is the closest like-for-like rival. It serves the same kind of appointment business and adds what Setmore lacks: packages, memberships, gift certificates and a waitlist on its Standard plan, plus a signed BAA for HIPAA on Premium ^[2]. It has no free plan. Acuity prices per account by calendars, not per user: Starter costs $16 a month billed annually for one calendar, Standard $27 for six, and Premium $49 for 36. A massage studio can sell a five-session package or a monthly membership through Acuity, while Setmore's PayPal help states that subscriptions and recurring payments are not available.

The pricing models also pull in opposite directions. Six calendars cost $324 a year on Acuity Standard against $360 for six Setmore Pro users, by our arithmetic. Acuity's price stays at $27 a month on annual billing whether a studio runs two calendars or six, while a Setmore bill grows by $60 a year with every calendar. Setmore still wins at the small end. It is free for up to four users, while Acuity's cheapest plan costs $192 a year. Setmore also answers the phone, with human support 24/7 on every plan, and it connects LawPay for US law offices.

Square Appointments: free per location

Square Appointments is the natural pick for businesses that already take cards through Square. Its free plan has no subscription cost and no limit on staff calendars, and paid plans are priced per location, not per person ^[3]. Square Free costs $0, Plus $49 a month and Premium $149 a month, for each location, and the paid plans have a 30-day free trial. In-person card processing costs 2.6% plus 15 cents on Free and falls to 2.4% plus 15 cents on Premium. The middle plan also adds a waitlist, no-show fees and a cancellation policy.

For a busy single site, that model is generous. Twenty stylists on Square Plus cost the same $588 a year as two, while twenty Setmore Pro users on annual billing would cost $1,200, by our arithmetic. Even a ten-person salon pays $588 on Square Plus against $600 on Setmore Pro. Big single-site teams should price Square first. The trade is lock-in. Square ties every card payment to Square processing, while Setmore lets the same business choose among Square, Stripe, PayPal and LawPay on any plan. Setmore also offers a HIPAA path through Setmore Health and keeps 24/7 phone support on Free.

Cheaper seats or a flat price

Zoho Bookings: two-way sync on the free plan

Zoho Bookings is the low-cost per-user rival, most attractive to businesses already on Zoho's suite, since Zoho One customers get its Premium plan included. Its free plan covers one user with online meetings, notification emails and two-way calendar sync, which Setmore keeps for Pro. A solo consultant who lives in Google Calendar gets that sync free on Zoho. Basic costs $6 a user a month billed yearly or $8 monthly, and Premium $9 or $12; annual billing saves 25%. Rooms and equipment are paid add-ons, and nonprofits and schools get special pricing.

On annual billing, Zoho's seats cost a little more than Setmore's. Four users cost $288 a year on Basic and $432 on Premium, against $240 on Setmore Pro, by our arithmetic. The gap is small for one person but reaches $120 a year for a ten-person team on Basic and $480 on Premium. The free plan also stops at one user, against four on Setmore. Front-desk businesses with several staff will usually pay less on Setmore.

SimplyBook.me: priced by booking volume

SimplyBook.me charges a flat monthly price for a set number of bookings and providers rather than per user. Free covers 50 bookings and one provider. Basic costs $11.9 a month billed annually for 100 bookings and five providers, Standard $24.9 for 500 bookings and 15 providers, and Premium $49.9 for 2,000 bookings and 30 providers. Standard adds HIPAA features, with a BAA on request, and SMS credits cost extra. A five-person team with fewer than 100 bookings a month pays $142.80 a year on Basic against $300 on Setmore Pro, by our arithmetic.

The booking cap is the trap. A five-provider team that books 30 appointments a week reaches roughly 130 a month, past the 100 included on Basic. That pushes it to Standard at $298.80 a year, by our arithmetic. Busy shops lose the advantage fast. SMS credits on top make it worse. The model rewards teams with many staff and modest volume, not a busy front desk.

Salon platforms with a marketplace

Fresha

Fresha combines booking software with a consumer marketplace. Independent costs $19.95 a month for one calendar column, and Team $14.95 per team member a month, each with a seven-day trial; Enterprise pricing applies above 20 team members. It also sells AI Concierge, loyalty and Google rating add-ons. Four team members cost $717.60 a year on Team, against $240 on Setmore Pro. That is before commissions. Fresha also takes a 20% one-time commission on brand-new clients who find you through its marketplace, with a $6 minimum, and nothing on returning clients. A new client who books a $90 cut costs $18 once, by our arithmetic.

Vagaro

Vagaro includes a marketplace listing, email marketing and SOAP notes on every plan, and says it is audited for ISO 27001, PCI DSS, SOC 2 and HIPAA. Pricing is a la carte by location, with no multi-location fee. It shows $30 a month for one location, with a promotional $23.99 for the first six months, and each bookable calendar license costs $10 a month, up to seven. There is a 30-day free trial, and every plan includes 1,000 free emails a month and unlimited reminders. It suits spas and wellness businesses that want all of that in one subscription. Businesses that want no marketplace and a free tier should stay with Setmore.

GlossGenius

GlossGenius sells plans for beauty businesses and separate Practice plans for medspas. Its selling point is one flat 2.6% processing rate with no Tap to Pay, card-on-file or manual-entry fees. There is no free plan, but there is a 14-day trial without a card. Standard costs $24 a month billed annually, Gold $48 for businesses with up to nine staff, and Platinum $148 for teams of ten or more. Gold adds Google Reviews, text marketing and waitlists. Because it prices plans rather than seats, a nine-chair salon pays $576 a year on Gold against $540 for nine Setmore Pro users, by our arithmetic. HIPAA compliance is a free add-on for medspas.

Booksy

Booksy pairs booking software with a free consumer app that brings new clients. It sells one plan with all features at $29.99 a month plus tax, plus $20 a month for each additional team member, and includes 2,000 free marketing texts a month. Confirmations and reminders are never charged. A four-person shop pays $1,079.88 a year, against $240 on Setmore Pro, by our arithmetic. Its Boost feature takes 30% of a new client's first visit, capped at $100. Booksy is a choice driven by its marketplace, not its price. It fits barbers and stylists who want to be found and will pay for the leads.

Studio and clinic software

Mindbody

Mindbody is wellness business software with memberships, class booking and a consumer app. Every plan includes unlimited users per location, and the entry plan starts at $79 a month in North America, or $948 a year, with no onboarding fee. Its app takes 20% of a new client's first purchase, capped at $30. A studio with fifteen instructors would pay about the same as fifteen Setmore Pro users at $900 a year, so the two converge as a studio grows. A yoga studio selling class packs and memberships to a hundred regulars needs what Mindbody does. A single trainer does not.

Jane and SimplePractice

Jane is clinic practice software with telehealth, an AI scribe for notes and insurance billing, and it lists HIPAA, PIPEDA and GDPR compliance on all plans. Balance costs $59 a month for one practitioner with 20 appointments a month; Practice costs $79 and Thrive $99. Insurance billing adds $20 a month. There is no free trial. Practice comes to $948 a year, almost sixteen times one Setmore Pro seat, a premium that buys clinical records rather than a better calendar.

SimplePractice is practice software for therapists, priced per practitioner. Starter costs $49 a month, Essential $79 and Plus $99, each discounted 50% for the first three months on the page we read, so Starter costs $588 a year after the promotion. Plus adds group appointments and group telehealth. Setmore cannot replace clinical software. Setmore Health gives a BAA and booking, but no clinical notes. A coach or massage therapist who only books and charges does not need either tool.

Meeting schedulers

Calendly: routing for sales teams

Calendly is built for meetings rather than paid appointments at a counter. Free allows one event type and one calendar connection. Standard costs $10 a seat a month billed annually or $12 monthly, Teams $16 or $20, and the Plus tiers with the Notetaker and Callie assistants $18 and $24 ^[4]. Teams adds round-robin distribution, lead routing and Salesforce, and Setmore has neither routing nor built-in AI. For a revenue team, those gaps decide the choice. Setmore wins elsewhere: four users free, phone support on every plan where Calendly keeps it for Enterprise, and a BAA where Calendly says it does not currently comply with HIPAA. Our Setmore vs Calendly comparison covers it in depth.

Cal.com, YouCanBookMe, TidyCal and SavvyCal

Cal.com is a scheduler whose free plan for one user includes unlimited event types, SMS notifications and Stripe and PayPal payments. Teams costs $12 a user a month billed yearly, with round robin and routing forms, and Organizations $28, with HIPAA, SOC 2 and ISO 27001 named. Four users on Teams cost $576 a year. YouCanBookMe builds booking pages on your calendar connections. Individual costs $9 a month, Professional $13 and Team $18 per member, with 10% off yearly, and SMS costs extra on every plan, while Setmore Pro includes 500 credits per team member a month.

TidyCal sells a one-time $29 Individual Lifetime deal and a $79 Agency Lifetime deal. The catch is a 1% platform fee on Stripe payments on Free and the lifetime plans. A solo coach who takes $1,000 a month that way pays $120 a year, twice one Setmore Pro seat. SavvyCal Basic costs $10 a user a month billed annually and Premium $17, with branding removal and paid bookings on Premium, and the page we read showed no free plan. All four are meeting tools. Service businesses at a counter will miss Setmore's cash register and Tap to Pay.

What a team of four actually pays

Totals are our arithmetic from each pricing page, and Acuity's figure covers one account with six calendars. The pricing model matters more than any single feature. At the bottom, four people pay $240 a year on Setmore Pro; at the top, $1,079.88 on Booksy. Payment terms widen the gap. Setmore takes no cut and lets you choose the processor. GlossGenius charges a flat 2.6%, Booksy 2.69% plus 30 cents on mobile and keyed-in payments, Fresha 2.79% plus 20 cents online, and TidyCal adds its 1% fee. Fresha, Booksy and Mindbody also charge for new clients their marketplaces bring. Setmore says it is not a marketplace and the customers stay yours.

For health practices the list narrows. Not every rival signs a BAA. Setmore offers a BAA through Setmore Health on Pro, Acuity on Premium, and SimplyBook.me lists HIPAA features from Standard. Jane lists HIPAA compliance on all plans, Cal.com on Organizations and GlossGenius as a free add-on. Calendly says it does not currently comply. That rules it out. Clinics that also need notes and insurance billing are really choosing between Jane and SimplePractice, not between schedulers.

Which alternative for which business

Salons that sell packages should look at Acuity Scheduling or GlossGenius. One-site teams already on Square should price Square Appointments. Sales teams belong on Calendly, and businesses that run on Zoho should try Zoho Bookings. Barbers chasing new clients can weigh Booksy's marketplace against its fees. Studios with memberships fit Mindbody, clinics that bill insurers fit Jane, and therapists fit SimplePractice. Developers who want a deep API and routing forms should look at Cal.com.

Stay with Setmore if you have four or fewer staff, if your customers read email, if you want to choose your card processor, or if human phone support matters to you. Few rivals beat $0 for four users. Fewer still match $5 a user once you pay. Our guide to whether Setmore is free shows exactly where the free plan stops.

How to switch without losing a booking

Leaving is simple. Export customers from Setmore as a CSV file, which goes to the account owner's email, and export your reports as XLS files from the browser. Move recurring clients first, since they are the bookings most likely to slip. Keep both tools running for a week so no booking falls between them, then switch the Book Now buttons on your site and social pages.

The bottom line

Setmore stays the cheapest real option for small service teams. Leave it for Acuity Scheduling if you sell packages or need a waitlist, for Square Appointments if you run one busy location on Square, for Calendly if you route sales meetings, or for Jane and SimplePractice if you need clinical records. For everyone else, the math favors staying. Four users cost nothing, and a paid seat costs less than most rivals on this list. Leave for a feature. Price rarely justifies it, except for big single-site teams.