Last updated 20 October 2026
Online booking system for small business.
Short version: check what you already pay for before you buy anything. Microsoft 365 Business Basic includes Microsoft Bookings, and Google Workspace Business Standard includes booking pages. If you have neither, Square Appointments has a free plan that covers most cleaners, groomers, trainers and mobile trades.
The free plans differ in the three things that actually earn you money: taking a deposit, sending a text reminder, and putting a Book button on your Google listing. Here is which does what, from each company's own UK pages.
Check this first
You may already pay for one.
If your business email runs on Microsoft or Google, there is a booking system in the subscription. Whether it is good enough depends on the plan:
| You pay for | Booking you get | What it cannot do |
|---|---|---|
| Microsoft 365 Business Basic, £5.40 a user | Microsoft Bookings, a booking page you can put on your website | Take any payment or deposit; text reminders need Teams Premium |
| Google Workspace Business Starter, £5.90 | One basic booking page | Reminders, payments or spam checks |
| Google Workspace Business Standard, £11.80 | Booking pages with email reminders and Stripe payments | Text reminders; refunds are by hand |
| A free personal Google account | One basic booking page | Reminders, payments or spam checks |
Prices are per user a month on an annual plan, before VAT. Google Calendar takes no fee on a payment; Stripe charges its own. The short of it: Microsoft Bookings is fine if you never take a deposit, and Google Business Standard is fine if email reminders are enough for your customers.
The free plans, honestly
What "free" actually gets you.
Every comparison lists free plans. Few say what is missing from them. On each company's own pricing page:
| Tool | Free plan | Deposit on free? | Text reminders on free? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square Appointments | Unlimited staff, one location | Yes, prepayments | Yes |
| SimplyBook.me | 50 bookings a month, 1 person | No, from £12.90 Basic | No, bought as credits |
| Setmore | Up to 4 users | Card payments yes | No, Pro only |
| YouCanBookMe | One booking page | Yes, through Stripe | No, extra charge |
| Calendly | One appointment type | No, paid plans | No, paid plans |
| Acuity Scheduling | No free plan | n/a | n/a |
Square Free is the only one that does all three without paying. What it holds back is the no-show fee: charging a card on file when somebody does not turn up needs its £29 Plus plan. Setmore and Calendly show prices only in US dollars to UK visitors.
Where most bookings start
The Book button on Google.
The person who searches "dog groomer near me" and taps Book on your listing is the easiest booking you will ever get. There are two ways onto that button. A booking provider can connect through Google's Reserve with Google programme: Square and Setmore say they do on their free plans, and SimplyBook.me lists it as a free feature. Or you add your own booking page as a link, which works with anything, including Microsoft Bookings, Google's own booking pages and Calendly.
The own-link route gives you no booking statistics from Google, but it costs nothing and no partner sits in between. How each route works, and the rules Google applies to your link, are in Reserve with Google.
Pick for the job you do
The right tool for your trade.
| If you are… | What matters most | Start with |
|---|---|---|
| A cleaner or window cleaner | Regular customers, a text the day before | Square Free |
| A dog groomer or mobile groomer | A deposit on first visits, text reminders | Square Free, Plus if no-shows bite |
| A personal trainer or instructor | Block bookings, a team to share the diary later | Square Free or SimplyBook.me |
| A mobile mechanic or engineer | A deposit and enough detail to quote | Square Free, or a booking page with Stripe |
| An office-based consultant or tutor | Clean calendar links, no payments needed | What you already pay for: Microsoft or Google |
If you run a salon, barber shop or beauty room, the choice is different because the big salon systems come with marketplaces that take a cut. That is covered in booking system for salons.
The bigger picture
The tool is the easy part. Traffic is not.
A booking page nobody visits books nothing. The tool takes an afternoon to set up; the work is getting the right people to it. That means the booking link on your own website, in your Google listing, and at the end of every advert, so the customer goes from "I need this" to booked without waiting for you to finish a job and call back.
Every booking that comes through your own link is a customer who found you, not one a marketplace introduced and charged you for. If calls are still where most of your work starts, read how to get more calls too.
Why us
Why take our word for it?
We build websites and run ads that send customers to a business's own booking page, so we care which tools work. We do not sell booking software and make nothing from which one you pick. Every price and limit here comes from the company's own UK pricing or help pages, read in October 2026.
Straight answers
Questions owners actually ask.
- How much does an online booking system cost?
- Often nothing extra. Microsoft Bookings comes with Microsoft 365 Business Basic, £5.40 per user a month before VAT on an annual plan, and Google's booking pages come with Workspace Business Standard at £11.80. Square Appointments has a free plan with unlimited staff for one location. Paid booking tools start around £8 to £13 a month: YouCanBookMe Individual £8, SimplyBook.me Basic £12.90. You also pay card fees on anything taken online.
- Does Microsoft Office have a booking system?
- Yes, Microsoft Bookings, included in Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Standard and Premium. It gives you a booking page you can embed on your website and stores your customers' details in your own Microsoft 365. The catch is money: Microsoft says there is no payment support in Bookings, so you cannot take a deposit through it, and text reminders need Teams Premium on top.
- Does Google have a booking system?
- Yes, appointment schedules in Google Calendar. A free personal account or Workspace Business Starter gets one basic booking page. Email reminders, payments through Stripe and spam checks need Workspace Business Standard or above. There are no text reminders. The Book button on your Google listing is separate: it comes from a booking provider or from a link you add yourself.
- What is the best free booking app for a small business?
- For most service businesses, Square Appointments Free: unlimited staff for one location, text and email reminders, prepayments and a Book Now button for your Google listing, all at £0. What it does not do free is charge a no-show fee to a card on file; that needs the £29 Plus plan. SimplyBook.me Free is the alternative if you take under 50 bookings a month.
- Is Calendly really free?
- The free plan is real but narrow: one type of appointment and one calendar connection. Payments, reminders and text messages are on paid plans, from $10 a seat a month, priced in US dollars.
- Do I keep my customer list if I stop using a booking tool?
- It depends on the tool, so check before you start. Microsoft Bookings stores booking details in your own Microsoft 365. Setmore lets you import and export contacts on its free plan. Whatever you use, export your list regularly rather than waiting until you leave.
Keep reading
More straight answers for trades.
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