18 Best Scheduling Software

The best scheduling software plays a major role in ensuring a robust, efficient, and smooth workflow. Nowadays, project and business managers are constantly seeking new solutions that help them handle the bulk of responsibilities they have to handle daily. Everything including, employee scheduling, meetings, appointments, invoices, task management, and more can be daunting without the right tools.

Selecting the Best Scheduling Software

First of all, when you are looking for the best scheduling software, you will find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer number of the solutions available. 

With the fact that each scheduling software is different from the other in terms of services, purposes and a lot more, knowing and understanding these main variations can help you pick up the right choice for you. 

In this buying guide, we have included some of the chief factors one should consider when purchasing the best scheduling software.

1. Purpose of Purchase

The first thing you have to think of before starting looking for the right scheduling software for your business is the purpose of your purchase. In fact, the size of your business, the industry-target, the number of employees, your services, the targeted audience, are some of the main factors to take into consideration.

For instance, some software programs are not ideal for large-sized businesses. Others, on the other hand, do not support a large number of employees or are not compatible with certain kinds of services. For this reason, looking into these factors can help you pick what works best for you. With that said, set your purpose ahead in order not to waste your time and effort when looking for the best scheduling software.

2. Features of the Best Scheduling Software

Seamlessly, the best scheduling software platforms feature a great variety of attractive functionalities. While some software may share some mutual scheduling features and differ in others, it is essential to know exactly your needs and requirements.

Depending on your services and purposes, choose a scheduling software that satisfies your requirements, and provides features that are efficient and reliable to make your business operate smoothly and hassle-free. However, it is crucial to ensure that your choice fits with your priorities and try not to get diverted easily by exceptional yet not needed features. 

For instance, if you are looking for employee scheduling software, certain features must be available. These features can include schedule and work management, time management, communication, auto-assign shift, shift swapping, schedule template, employee profiles, resource forecasting, and more.

On the other hand, if you are looking for an appointment or booking scheduling software, then features like customers and staff scheduling, automatic reminders, calendar management, and more should be available.

In brief, the features will depend on first place on the type of business you have. Secondly, it will depend on the purpose you are using this software for as well as your targeted audience. For this reason, make sure to choose software that satisfies your business requirements and customer’s needs.

3. Integrations

This is another relevant factor to consider when purchasing the best scheduling software. certainly, software without third party integration is a disadvantage for your business’s growth. In fact, system integrations can be quite beneficial in streamlining your enterprise, diminishing costs, and guaranteeing a great performance.

With that said, it is important to select a scheduling software that provides strong and smooth integrations with social media or other third parties applications and platforms. You should also bear in mind, not all software programs have the same integrations. Therefore, pay attention to the different integrations options available that can be beneficial for your business. 

4. Ease of Use

Certainly, you want to ensure that both your staff and customers are capable of using the selected software easily. An easy to use scheduling software will not only make operations smooth and effective, but it will also ensure great user experience.

Additionally, certain scheduling software packages are too complicated to comprehend at a first glance, they include a large variety of features, making scheduling harder than what was expected. For this reason, customers tend to drop it, looking for simpler options. The more complicated the software is, the harder both your clients and staff will find it.

Also, it is better when the software offers tutorials or guide documentations to make it easier for users to refer to them when they are lost.

5. Compatibility

Assuredly, the best scheduling software must offer adequate adaptability with most if not all platforms and tools. For this reason, make sure to test the software compatibility with your devices when it comes to the operation mechanism. If you are using your phone or portable tablet, then the software that has a mobile application will be more convenient and efficient for this purpose.

6. Pricing

Pricing wise, you have to ask yourself two important questions; what is your budget, and does the pricing plan meet with your needs and requirements?

The answer to these questions will limit your options to the one that is suitable for your intents and budget. Once you have decided on your it, you may want to compare the plans available and the different features they incorporate. This way, you will know exactly what is the best scheduling software you will go for.

7. Language choices

Here, this factor is more relevant for large-sized businesses that are either global or have branches in other different countries. That means, your target audience will allow you to decide on the number of languages needed. Software that has various languages in this case is the right option for you. It is important to note that if your clients are not able to understand the language used in the software, they will not proceed with scheduling or booking.

8. Free Trial

The best scheduling software offers its users the chance to explore and test with its functionalities and features before proceeding with purchasing. 

To know if the software offers free trials, check out their pricing sections. Usually, if they offer this option, you can use the software freely from 14 to 30 days. Then, if you like the software, you can proceed with subscription, if not, you can cancel it at any time.

Moreover, there are cases where companies offer a free version of the software. This is also a good choice for small teams and businesses. However, you should bear in mind that the free versions provide limited and essential features and functions only. That means if you are looking for other advanced features, you will need to upgrade or purchase other available plans.

9. Customer service 

Customer support is another significant factor to consider when purchasing the best scheduling software. They can be a great help for those who have a hard time setting up the software or for those finding some issues in the process.

10. Report and Analysis

For one thing, there is no better way to check on the performance of your business without detailed reporting and analysis. With that said, make sure that the software offers a reporting feature that helps you learn about your business performance and operations.

11. Security

Last but not least is the security measurement. Undoubtedly, you want to ensure that all data, including your customers and staff’s sensitive information, are all secured and protected from cyber hackings. Therefore, software with a high level of security is an excellent option to contemplate. 

Without further ado, take a look at this list of 18 Best Scheduling Software available today. 

1. Simplybook.me

Starting off the list of the best scheduling software with Simplybook.me software. This software is ideal almost for all service-based industries including medical and health services, events and entertainment, education, personal meetings, beauty and wellness, and sports and fitness. 

All you have to do is to describe your services and providers. Then you showcase their availability for a meeting. And after that, you seamlessly proceed with booking. 

Besides, the software offers a sheer number of effective and compelling features. When it comes to websites and widgets, the software allows you to create and customize your booking website by offering you more than 20 templates and layout from which you can choose.

Nevertheless, if you are tech-savvy, you can even alternate the whole appearance of the template by using the custom CSS code. Besides, business and client management wise, the software enables you to stay ahead of the game by allowing you to monitor and compare your site performance and the number of bookings received.

Pricing 

SimplyBook.me offers four pricing plans:

• FREE plan. The Free plan comprises 50 included booking, one custom feature, three providers, and one user.
• Basic plan costs $9.9 per month. This plan includes 100 included booking, three custom features, ten providers, and two users.
• Standard plan costs $29.9 per month. Standard plan encompasses 500 included booking, eight custom features, 20 providers, and five users.
• Premium plan costs $59.9 per month. It covers 2000 included booking, unlimited custom features, 35 providers, and ten users.

You can save 17% if you pay annually. 

Pros

• Connect with google tag manager
• Drag and drop templates
• Promotion using codes
• Useful integrations
• Online booking 24/7
• Multiple locations

Cons

Include more templates and layouts.

2. Appointy

Appointy helps you grow your business. It offers its users powerful features that help them manage and grow their business easily and exponentially. If your business is service-based, then this software is a good option to consider.

Appointy highlights four main features. First, it allows customers all over the world to self-schedule 24/7. Second, it helps create a dynamic and more productive staff. Thus, it boosts productivity and manages staff and multi-locations effortlessly.

Third, Apponity uses its growing social media platform and other marketing strategies, including email marketing, to attract more customers. Lastly, It uses intelligent CRM to better understand their customers, and cover their needs. 

Pricing

Appointy offers four pricing plans:

• FREE plan. The Free plan comprises one staff and five services.
• Growth plan costs $29.9 per month. This plan includes one staff and unlimited services.
• Professional plan costs $59.9 per month with five staff included.
• Enterprise plan costs $99.9 per month with two locations included (multi-locations)

The company offers a 14 days trial.

Pros

• Simple intuitive and easy to use
• Very functional features
• Powerful
• Customer support
• The ability to create an account for external referral associate

Cons

More integration capabilities

3. SuperSaas

If you are looking for an easy to use, flexible and affordable scheduling software, then SuperSaas never disappoints. Trusted by over 120.000 businesses all over the world, this software is exactly what you need for your business. Hence, it allows you to create your booking system by offering you the right tools to customize your layout to your business brand and needs.

Moreover, the software enhances booking allowing you to customize and send an email confirmation and follow-ups as well as SMS reminders for your customers. In this way, your customers will constantly receive reports on their daily schedule activity and updates on the latest booking trends.

Pricing

SuperSaas offers a free version and five pricing packages plans:

• FREE plan. The Free plan allows for a 50 number of appointments and 50 registered users maximum
• A package plan costs $8 per month. This plan offers a maximum of 100 number of appointments, and unlimited registered users.
• B package plan costs $16 per month, with a maximum of 300 number of appointments, and unlimited registered users.
• C package plan costs $ 26 per month with a maximum of 600 number of appointments, and unlimited registered users.
• D package plan costs $36 per month with a maximum of 900 number of appointments, and unlimited registered users.
• E package plan costs $46 per month, with a maximum of 1.500 number of appointments, and unlimited registered users.

Pros

• Easy to use, reliable, and fast
• Flexibility
• Affordable packages
• Promotions and discounts
• Website or FB integration
• 23 supported languages

Cons

The mobile app can be enhanced.

4. Bookafy

More than 15,000 businesses use Bookafy for appointment scheduling. The software has a sheer number of features, making the user experience better and smoother than you think. First, you can book all types of appointments, including, one customer with one staff, Group events, recurring appointments, one-off appointments, and more.

Besides, you can also book an automated online meeting using GoToMeeting or zoom, by generating links and passwords for all your invitees. Payment wise, you can use your Stripe or Authorize.Net account to accept payment at bookings.7

Moreover, to ensure that your customers are having the best booking experience, you can customize email notifications and SMS reminders. Nevertheless, the software automatically showcases time zones depending on your customer location, and it fixes the least lead time before a customer can schedule an appointment.

Pricing

Bookafy offers 3 Pricing plans

• FREE plan. 
• Pro plan costs $7 per month. 
• Pro+ plan costs $11 per month.

Bookafy offers 7 days free trial.

Pros

• Private server for secured and protected data
• Support 32 languages 
• Automated messaging
• Social media integration
• Email signature

Cons

Slow loading speed 

5. When I Work

When I Work is a workforce management and employee scheduling software. Designed for both small and large enterprises, this software offers businesses a simple yet effective system to schedule and communicate with their employees. It helps you save time, enhance communication, reduces excuses, promotes liability amongst your team, record time and presence, and develop your business.

Besides being ridiculously affordable, the software is easy to use and set up. Once done, you can start creating your whole work schedule with simple clicks, thanks to auto-scheduling. Then, once your employees are notified of their working schedule, you will be receiving their confirmation. The schedule and shifts will be visible for the entire team to avoid any confusion. 

Pricing

When I Work offers 4 Pricing plans

• FREE plan. 
• Basic plan costs $1.5 per user per month. 
• Pro plan costs $2.25 per user per month.
• Enterprise plan: You should contact them directly for a quote (Schedule a demo)

You can say it’s almost free software.

Pros

• Better working management
• Control overtime costs
• Payroll integration
• Ideal for all types of businesses

Cons

Schedule templates can be helpful

6. 7Shifts

7shifts is designed for enterprise restaurants and chains. The platform offers you the opportunity to create the perfect schedules for your employees, provide an engaging work environment, and compliance. You can use the drag and drop builder to design the schedule.

Once you finish creating and filling their calendar, you can share it directly with your employee’s emails or their phones. Moreover, 7shifts allows you to stay connected with your staff. This is made easy with group chats, DMs, News, Shift feedback, and more.

You can also share pictures, text, and Gifs and stay engaged and proactive with your team members. Furthermore, 7shifts helps you optimize the management of your labor by connecting to POS integrations. Besides, you can obtain comprehensive reports to recognize trends and optimize your enterprise.

Pricing

7Shifts offers 4 Pricing plans

• FREE plan. 
• Appetizer plan costs $19.99 per location per month. 
• Entrée plan costs $43.99 per location per month.
• The works plan costs $76.99 per location per month.

You can save 10% if you bill annually.

Pros

• Multi-Location support
• Guiding videos and articles
• Powerful integrations such as Toast, Square, Upserve, and more.

Cons

• Restaurants only
• The mobile app can be improved.

7. Jobber

If you are looking for the best scheduling software for service-based small home industries, then you should undoubtedly include Jobber on your list. An award-winning software, Jobber helps business owners to efficiently and effectively manage their business operations. With that said, scheduling, invoicing, payment collection, and work management are easy to handle.

Also, using Jobber for work schedules can be time-saving. The software features five simple steps. These steps include:

1. Scheduling: create jobs-tasks and events easily and assign them to your clients.
2. Dispatching: get a clearer vision on your team’s availability to prevent overbooking
3. Drag and drop calendar
4. scheduling in the field
5. Push notifications.

Pricing

Jobber offers 3 Pricing plans

• Core plan costs $39 per month for one user.
• Connect plan costs $129 per month for up to seven users.
• Grow plan costs $249 per month for up to 30 users.

You can try it for 14 days for free.

Pros

• Flexible and easy to use
• Great customization for emails and reminders
• Works perfectly on all devices
• Great customer service

Cons

Quite on the expensive side

8. Planday

Planday is another great employee scheduling software. Certainly, it helps you create and design clear schedules for your employees which include their availability, days off, payroll charges, and more. Not to forget to mention, it has powerful features that you will need to communicate, manage, and overview your staff and your business progress.

Some of these features, we can mention:

• Staff management: Via this software, your staff can request their vacation days. Once the request is confirmed, you are no longer able to schedule anything for that employee until he/she is back. Besides, staff can also show their availability for shifts and regular working days. Moreover, you can divide your team into different groups and departments.
• Scheduling: In this section, you can effortlessly publish, edit, and communicate your employees working calendar.

Pricing

Planday offers 2 Pricing plans

• Starter plan costs $2per month per user.
• Plus plan costs $4 per month per user

You can try it for 30 days for free.

Pros

• Straightforward and simple software
• Punch Clock; time tracking feature
• Schedule reports and work tracking
• Payroll overview forecast

Cons

More flexibility

9. Homebase

Homebase is the best scheduling software for small businesses. Indeed, it helps you manage your team and work progress effectively and efficiently. For instance, the software offers you the right tool to create schedules instantly and track your employees working time.

Yet, you can use the available templates and make the necessary changes to meet with your business brands and needs. Once you create schedules, you can share them with your team members for confirmation.

More importantly, the mobile application made things easier for your staff as they can easily stay up to date to announcements, changes, and their working schedules. Moreover, the work scheduling application helps you to determine labor costs and sales and prevent overtime and disagreements.

Pricing

Planday offers 4 Pricing plans

• Basic plan: Free
• Essentials plan costs $19.95 per month per location.
• Plus plan costs $49.95 per month per location
• All in one plan costs $99.95 per month per location 

You can save up to 20% if billed annually.

Pros

• User-friendly dashboard
• Flexibility 
• Dates customization and hours adjustment

Cons

Small businesses only

10. Deputy

Deputy is one of the top-notch scheduling software. In stressful times, it can be your top choice. Assuredly, it helps your business in terms of management and operation. By offering different products for a different solution, each product comes with a sheer number of powerful features.

Firstly, you can create a schedule in minutes, share it instantly with your staff, and confirm their reception of notes. Labor costing-wise, Deputy offers you a full vision on both the wages Vs sales performances and helps you make a clean comparison between the two.

Pricing

Deputy offers 4 Pricing plans

• Scheduling plan costs $2.5 per month per user.
• Time and attendance plan costs $2.5 per month per user.
• Premium plan costs $4.5 per month per user
• Enterprise plan: you should contact them for a quote. Learn more, here.

You can save up to 20% if billed annually.

Pros

• Intuitive design
• Powerful features
• Multi-industry solutions
• Easy shifts swaps
• Auto scheduling

Cons

More enhancement on the mobile application

11.  HotSchedules

Hotschedules is the best scheduling software for restaurants and hospitality. In fact, it is an ideal option to effectively manage and direct your staff. For instance, the software offers you an easy to use drag and drop interface and pre-made templates to help you create and design the best schedules for your workforce faster and hassle-free. In this way, it prevents overtime, errors, or staff shortage.

Once you build a schedule, you can share them with your team for confirmation. Your team can either deny or approve the schedule by using any type of device. Moreover, Hotschedules has time and attendance features. This feature displays clocks in and ensures a diminished time theft.

Pricing

Hotschedules doesn’t display their pricing plans on their website. Therefore, you have to request a demo where you can state some details about your business. Nevertheless, details include the name of the company, your role, the department, and the number of locations.

However, for 30 users, HotSchedules costs $49 per month for one location.

Pros

• A full package software
• Easy to use drag and drop interface
• Pre-made templates 
• Online shift swaps

Cons

The need for automated reporting

12. Acuity Scheduling

If you are looking for the right tools that will help your business grow effectively and efficiently, then Acuity Scheduling should be on your list.

Eventually, you no longer need to go over and over with the client booking appointments. Now, your customers can self-book using this software. Firstly, all they need to do is to check the availability and then proceed with booking. Moreover, they can always reschedule if needed with just a few clicks.

Pricing

Acuity Scheduling offers four pricing plans:

• Freebie plan
• Emerging plan costs $15 per month with one calendar ( one location)
• Growing plan costs $25 per month with six calendars included (staff/locations)
• Powerhouse plan costs $50 per month with 36 calendars included (staff/locations)

You can try it for free for seven days.

Pros

• Time zone adjustment
• Self-booking 
• Easy cancellation and rescheduling process
• Flexible
• User friendly and straightforward

Cons

Layout customization

13. Shiftboard

Shiftboard tries to find solutions to challenges when it comes to scheduling. For instance, by using this software, you can retain employees, control labor costs, ensure labor compliance, optimize mobile workforce, and scale operations. With that said, the software plays a major role in achieving your goals. With scheduling at its core, the software offers other management solutions such as applicant tracking time and presence and more.

Pricing

Shiftboard offers three pricing plans including, basic, professional, and enterprise. However, the vendors don’t display the prices. Therefore, you have to request a demo. Thus, in general, the plans start from $3 per month per user.

Pros

• Automation
• Diminished errors
• Detailed reporting
• Tailor fit flexibility to meet your business needs.

Cons

Interface enhancement.

14. Proofhub

Trusted by over 85.000 users around the world, Proofhub has exactly what you need to start building your schedules. Unlike most software mentioned, Proofhub doesn’t use a per-user pricing approach. Instead, It has simple and fixed plans.

Moreover, Proofhub is project-oriented, it helps you plan and collaborate on your projects with the best tools available. When it comes to scheduling, Proofhub helps you plan and create tasks and your workflow of the project member for the day.

With that said, everything falls in its place, and things are much more organized when everyone knows what and when a task is scheduled.

Pricing

Proofhub offers two simple pricing plans:

• Ultimate control plan costs $99 per month ($89 if billed annually). This plan comes with 40 projects, unlimited users, and 15GB storage.
• Essential plan costs $50 per month ($45 if billed annually). It encompasses unlimited projects, unlimited users, and 100 GB storage.

Pros

• Ideal for all types and sizes of projects
• Automated reminders
• Recurring tasks and events
• Fats and easy communication
• Organization

Cons

Account Customization

15. Omnify

Omnify has the right tools to manage your service-based business online. Thus, it makes an ideal option for Sports spaces, Recreational Clubs, Sports events, Community Centres, and more. Indeed, the software comes with a set of powerful features including Service Store, Customer Account Profiles, Bookings and Payments, Calendars and Scheduling, Sales and Analytics, Team Management, Marketing Tools, Omnify Go, Priority Support.

Nevertheless, when it comes to calendars and scheduling, Omnify features an easy to use calendars through which you can view and manage schedules, attendance, and more. Together with, you can easily reschedule or cancel a service at any time. To have better management of the workforce, You can fix working hours or services for each one of your staff members.

Pricing

For a single location, Omnify offers 3pricing plans:

• Essential plan costs $99 per month ($79 if billed annually)
• Plus plan costs $249 per month ($199 if billed annually)
• Pro plan costs $599 per month ($499 if billed annually)

For multi-location pricing plans, you can request a demo.

Pros

• Great integrations
• Easy booking process
• Easy management of services and staff
• Events Ticketing and Waitlist
• Responsive support team

Cons

One supported langue: English only.

16. Visibook

Visibook is a leading appointment scheduling software for services business including Beauty, Hair Salon, Fitness Trainers, Barbers, Massage facilities. Further, it includes plenty of features. For instance, it automatically sends text reminders and notification emails to the customers to lessen no-shows.

Markedly, the way the software functions is quite simple and hassle-free. First, you have to set up your availability for appointments, and you share it on your social media for a better reach. Then, customers schedule the meetings online in that exact time frame you have fixed. Finally, the customers will receive a notification of booking confirmation from the service provider.

Pricing

VisiBook offers three pricing plans:

• Free plan with up to 25 booking appointments.
• Basic plan costs $6 per month. You can book up to 50 appointments.
• Standard plan costs $13 per month with a maximum of 100 appointments.
• Unlimited plan costs $19 per month with unlimited booking appointments.

Pros

• Chat with customers
• Simple and straightforward interface
• Google Calendar Sync
• Affordable

Cons

Slow loading time, especially on the application

17. 10to8

10to8 is a cloud-based appointment scheduling software. Trusted by over 50,000 businesses worldwide, the software helps you achieve your goals faster and effectively. Moreover, it offers solutions forFor Sales Team, HR & Recruitment, Higher Education, Healthcare, Professional Services, Enterprise, and SMEs.

It provides a trust-oriented and stable relationship between business managers and their clients. Eventually, this is considered crucial for term-prolonged sustainability. 

Besides, it enables clients to book appointments online, no phone calls needed. It also reduces miscommunications and no-shows with reminders. Furthermore, it receives the payments from SagePay, PayPal, and Stripe with no added fee.

Pricing

10to8 offers five pricing plans:

• Small business plan for FREE.
• Basic plan costs $12 per month
• Grow plan costs $25 per month 
• Bigger business plan costs $50 per month 
• Enterprise plan: you can either book a demo or talk to a sales specialist for a quote.

Pros

• Transparency
• 2-way chats
• Over 1,500 app integrations

Cons

• Limited CRM tools
• More scheduling customization 

18. Setmore

The last but not least on the best scheduling software list is Setmore. To start with, this software stands out with its two distinct features. First, it allows customers to check appointments even when you are offline by using desktop applications.

Besides, it also sends emails and text reminders to reduce no shows and to keep everyone alerted and up to date to new announcements. Moreover, it integrates with an unmatched list of other social/marketing, management, payment, and business software including Slack, Facebook, MailChimp, Zoho CRM, Salesforce, and many more. 

Pricing

 Setmore has 2 pricing plans:

• Free plan
• Premium plan costs $25 per month and $199 per year.

Pros

• Plethora of integrations
• self-booking
• Google sync
• Website plugin

Cons

Lack of Guiding tutorials

Frequently Asked Questions

Final Thoughts

Scheduling software makes it easier for users and business owners to manage booking and their business processes. Undoubtedly, unlike the traditional way of booking and scheduling, the best scheduling software is cost-effective and time-saving.

No matter what type of software you will be using, rest assured that it is much more convenient and easy to use. Most importantly, you can access it from wherever and whenever you want as you are unrestricted with limited business hours.