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8 Best Appointment Scheduling Apps

Charlie Bedell

Are you still relying on phone tag or back-and-forth emails with clients to schedule appointments? Is your team trying to juggle their regular duties with appointment scheduling?

If you answered yes, it’s time to look for an online appointment scheduling app for your organization.

Online appointment booking tools can automate the process of scheduling appointments for you and your customers. They help you untangle workdays by letting you control availability, streamline your scheduling process, and avoid double booking.

In this article, we’ve compiled information to help you make the best decision when looking for a scheduling app. This includes 8 free and paid scheduling apps that will help make your organization more efficient – and your clients happier.

What are the benefits of using an appointment scheduling app?

Beyond making it easier for your organization to get work done, there are three major benefits of using an appointment booking software. It will allow you to:

  • Empower your clients to schedule appointments 24/7 and on any device. Many scheduling software also allow clients to edit or reschedule appointments on their own, so you and your team can spend time doing more important tasks.
  • Increase client loyalty and reduce churn by simplifying the booking process for you and your clients. When your schedule is organized, you have the time and insight to be ready for whatever clients ask of you.
  • Reduce no-shows and last-minute cancellations due to clients being able to see your full availability, choose their own appointment, get automated reminders, and reschedule at any time.

What makes a good appointment scheduling app?

When searching for a scheduling software for your organization, you should look for a few key features. A good scheduling app will: 

  • Provide flexibility and scalability for your organization’s ever-changing needs.
  • Make setting up and changing your schedule quick and simple.
  • Sync with your personal or work calendar and combine multiple calendars to avoid overbooking and double booking.
  • Automatically send appointment confirmations and reminders to clients.
  • Allow you to keep track of client contact and appointment information.
  • Accept payments and signed forms within the app.

Every organization has different scheduling needs, but these five features will make scheduling appointments easier for almost any business.

The best appointment scheduling and booking software

Now that you’re equipped with information about scheduling apps, here is our list of the 8 best appointment scheduling apps available.

TimeTap

Choose TimeTap if you need a scheduling tool purpose-built for complex, customized, and scalable scheduling. The software is intuitive and can operate across multiple time zones and languages.

TimeTap’s claim to fame is its ability to make complicated appointment scheduling – and all the confusion, mistakes, and frustration that come with it – simple and streamlined with nearly any customization your organization might need. 

You’ll be surprised how much time you will recoup by using TimeTap’s smart yet powerful scheduling features:

  • Tier multiple accounts for corporate oversight into second tier accounts.
  • Automate email and text messages for confirmations, reminders, pre- and post-appointment messages, and marketing campaigns.
  • Combine each staff member's schedule into a single booking site. Staffcan continue to manage their own calendars, if you choose this option. You and your clients can see all staff availability from a single booking page.
  • Set up automated, hands-off waitlists that automatically lets clients know when a spot opens up.
  • Store client information in TimeTap with its built-in customer relationship management (CRM) tool.
  • Feel confident about your client’s privacy with full HIPPA compliance and data security.

TimeTap is made for businesses with highly complex scheduling needs who still want to provide the most simple, professional appointment booking experience for their clients. If you don’t want to compromise on customization options, choose TimeTap as your scheduling app.

Calendly

Choose Calendly if all you want is something simple and easy to use.

Calendly doesn’t have all the robust features some scheduling apps on this list offer. Because of this, it’s likely not the best choice for organizations that rely on complex appointment booking for their business.

But Calendly’s easy and straightforward appointment scheduling makes it the perfect choice for those who just need a simple scheduling tool for personal or professional use.

This app is easy to learn and use – both for you and your clients. It also provides a nice array of features for individuals and small businesses looking for professional online appointment booking.

Get an overview of Calendly features in our blog, TimeTap vs. Calendly.

Appointy

Choose Appointy if you need marketing help alongside an online appointment booking app.

In addition to the range of scheduling features you’d expect in an online scheduling software, Appointy also offers unique marketing tools that can help boost your business.

These marketing features are especially helpful for small businesses that might not have the money or size for a dedicated marketing employee or team.

With Appointy, choose from marketing features like:

  • Create email campaigns and track information that helps your business grow, including email open rates and booking conversions from the campaigns.
  • Send promotions and discounts to clients directly from the app to encourage clients to schedule appointments.
  • Encourage customers to promote your organization on their social media after they book an appointment with you.

For businesses just starting out or in the early stages of growth, Appointy offers a wide range of features besides appointment scheduling that might be helpful. Explore Appointy if you want your scheduling app to be an all-in-one for small businesses.

Acuity Scheduling

Choose Acuity Scheduling if you need some customization in your schedule but care more about quick setup. This software is comparable to Calendly and a good alternative for some.

This app allows you to choose from features such as:

  • Designing your own booking page.
  • Asking clients to complete forms.
  • Accepting payments for services when an appointment is made.
  • Allowing clients to reschedule or cancel their appointments in the app – but only if you want elect this option.

You’ll appreciate how simple the app makes setting up customizations even for the least tech-savvy. This means you can get your schedule made quickly, and you can feel confident that anyone on your team could create or adjust the schedule at a moment’s notice.

Accuity Scheduling offers some of the key appointment booking customizations a business might need without the high-level, technical sophistication of other apps.

DaySmart Appointments 

Choose DaySmart Appointments, formerly AppointmentsPlus, if you need an appointment scheduling app that will scale with you as you grow.

Are you afraid you might outgrow a new scheduling app by the time you set it up and feel comfortable using it? If that’s the case, DaySmart Appointments is a good option. This app uses smart automations for everything from sending messages to building workflows.

With DaySmart Appointments, you can access features that streamline your work like:

  • Extensive API integration that can handle complex data synchronization, triggers, and updates or seamlessly integrate with your existing technology suite.
  • Automated workflows that send communications and provide your employees and clients with the information they need.
  • Build reports about your clients and organization, including customer metrics, service and product purchasing trends, and no-show rates.

Organizations that are scaling quickly will find that DaySmart Appointments is an option that can grow with them, especially if implementing their range of automations will help speed up your team.

SimplyBook.me

Choose SimplyBook.me if your organization thrives on international business.

Borders and time zones don’t need to limit the clients your organization can reach. But it’s not always easy to find software that accommodates clients from around the world.

SimplyBook.me supports 32 different languages and 35 international payments options. This helps ensure clients anywhere in the world get personalized, easy-to-use service no matter where your organization is located.

The app also makes it easy for you to set up your schedule and for your clients to book with you. SimplyBook.me is known for their intuitive scheduling process – clients will appreciate the simple, professional, and personalized experience offered by this app.

Setmore

Choose Setmore if you are looking for a simple scheduling software that offers less features for free or low cost pricing.

Maybe your organization is new to online appointment booking or still unsure about which features you really need. Before you pay for a scheduling app that might not be the right fit, try a Setmore Free account. This can help you discover how your organization will use an online booking tool and what you need to look for in a paid app.

With a SetmoreFree account, you get access to features like:

  • Email reminders
  • A custom book page with a unique URL
  • Payments with Square
  • Video meetings with Teleport
  • Social media integrations

Upgrade your Setmorefree account anytime to a paid Setmore subscription with access to additional features.

Ready to start scheduling appointments online?

An online scheduling app for any client-based organization at any stage of growth is out there.

With the right software, you and your team will be able to simplify your scheduling workflow and offer the most professional appointment booking to your clients.

Ready to upgrade your business with a custom scheduling software?

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