Simply Schedule Appointments vs WooCommerce Bookings
Updated 6 Oct 2026. 23 features compared side by side.
Straightforward appointment scheduler with unlimited booking calendars free, and paid editions for calendar sync, payments, SMS and team booking.
Official Woo extension that turns WooCommerce products into bookable appointments, rentals or classes, paid through the normal WooCommerce checkout.
Choose Simply Schedule Appointments if…
- You need Zoom & Google meet links and Outlook & iCal sync
- You also want staff dashboard
- You want the more complete feature set (79/100 vs 69/100)
- You want to start with a free version
Choose WooCommerce Bookings if…
- You need deposits & partial payments and WooCommerce checkout
- You also want coupons
Simply Schedule Appointments includes 3 features that WooCommerce Bookings lacks, including Outlook & iCal sync, Zoom & Google Meet links and Staff dashboard; WooCommerce Bookings has 3 that Simply Schedule Appointments lacks, including Deposits & partial payments, WooCommerce checkout and Coupons. Both include 15 of the 23 features we track.
At a glance
Feature comparison
Click a screenshot to see both plugins side by side.
Simply Schedule Appointments WooCommerce BookingsBookings & scheduling7/87/8
Unlimited booking calendars with double-booking prevention in the free Basic edition.
Customers pick an available date or time slot on the bookable product page.
Free has unlimited appointment types; staff with their own schedules need Business.
Staff are modelled as resources with their own availability; no staff user accounts.
No location manager; Business resource booking can model rooms or sites.
No location module; resources can represent rooms or venues with separate availability.
Set a capacity per time slot for classes and group events.
Persons settings set minimum and maximum participants per booking or slot.
Classes and group event booking with capacity from the Plus edition.
Classes and tours via persons and fixed slots, but not designed for one-off event tickets.
Booking a repeating series is not listed in any edition.
Woo's docs say Bookings is not designed for recurring events or series.
Free advanced scheduling options include minimum notice and per-day limits.
Buffers between bookings, minimum notice and maximum booking window per product.
Custom booking form fields come with Plus and higher.
Extra booking fields need the paid Product Add-Ons extension.
Payments1/54/5
Stripe and PayPal payments on the booking form from Professional.
Uses any WooCommerce payment gateway, such as Stripe or PayPal.
Each appointment type has one fixed price; no deposit or balance-due option.
Requires the separate paid WooCommerce Deposits extension.
No WooCommerce checkout integration; payments run through Stripe or PayPal.
Bookings are products paid through the WooCommerce cart and checkout.
No native coupons; possible through Gravity Forms or Formidable booking forms.
Standard WooCommerce coupons apply because bookings pass through the cart.
Appointment packages or bundles are not offered.
No appointment bundles or prepaid packages.
Customers & notifications4/44/4
Clients can edit, reschedule or cancel via links; logged-in users see their bookings.
Bookings listed in My Account with optional cancellation; no self-service rescheduling.
Free sends confirmations; time-triggered reminder emails need Plus.
Confirmation emails plus automatic reminders before the booking.
SMS notifications and reminders through Twilio; no WhatsApp option.
No built-in SMS; needs AutomateWoo (paid Woo extension) or another SMS tool.
Detects the visitor's time zone and shifts available slots automatically.
Can display availability in the customer's own time zone.
Integrations & admin6/63/6
Checks Google Calendar for conflicts and adds new bookings to it.
One-way or two-way sync with a single Google Calendar per site.
ICS subscription feeds show bookings in Outlook or Apple Calendar (one-way).
Calendar connection supports Google Calendar only.
Zoom and Google Meet links generated automatically; Webex also supported.
No automatic Zoom, Meet or Teams links.
Webhooks on appointment actions for Zapier, Make and similar tools.
REST API and WooCommerce webhooks; Zapier needs the separate WooCommerce Zapier extension.
Team members can log in to manage their own appointments, hours and sync.
Resources are not user accounts; staff cannot log in to manage their own schedule.
No built-in reports; Professional adds Google Analytics conversion tracking.
Bookings list and calendar views; revenue reporting comes from WooCommerce Analytics.
Statuses: Yes Pro Add-on Partial 3rd-party No ?
Pricing compared
Simply Schedule Appointments Freemium
| Free | $0 |
|---|---|
| Plus | $129 per year, 1 site |
| Professional | $249 per year, 1 site |
| Business | $499 per year, 1 site |
WooCommerce Bookings Premium
| 1-year subscription | $249 per year, 1 site |
|---|
Downloads trend
Simply Schedule Appointments
5,658 downloads last week
WooCommerce Bookings
No WordPress.org download data (premium-only plugin).
Verdict
Simply Schedule Appointments scores higher on our feature checklist (79/100 against 69/100) and includes Zoom & Google meet links, Outlook & iCal sync and staff dashboard that WooCommerce Bookings does not. WooCommerce Bookings still has the edge on deposits & partial payments and WooCommerce checkout. Only Simply Schedule Appointments has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Biggest differences
Simply Schedule Appointments: paid version (Plus). WooCommerce Bookings: not included. Zoom and Google Meet links generated automatically; Webex also supported.
Simply Schedule Appointments: not included. WooCommerce Bookings: via add-on. Requires the separate paid WooCommerce Deposits extension.
Simply Schedule Appointments: not included. WooCommerce Bookings: included. Bookings are products paid through the WooCommerce cart and checkout.
Simply Schedule Appointments: third-party. WooCommerce Bookings: included. Standard WooCommerce coupons apply because bookings pass through the cart.
Simply Schedule Appointments: partial. WooCommerce Bookings: not included. ICS subscription feeds show bookings in Outlook or Apple Calendar (one-way).
Simply Schedule Appointments: paid version (Business). WooCommerce Bookings: not included. Team members can log in to manage their own appointments, hours and sync.
Written from the feature, pricing and install data on this page, not from hands-on testing. How we compare.
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FAQ
Which is better, Simply Schedule Appointments or WooCommerce Bookings?
Simply Schedule Appointments scores higher on our feature checklist (79/100 against 69/100) and includes Zoom & Google meet links, Outlook & iCal sync and staff dashboard that WooCommerce Bookings does not. WooCommerce Bookings still has the edge on deposits & partial payments and WooCommerce checkout. Only Simply Schedule Appointments has a free version. Check the features you rely on in the table below before deciding.
Which has more features?
They are level: both include 18 of the 23 booking & appointments features we track.
Is Simply Schedule Appointments free?
Simply Schedule Appointments has a free version on WordPress.org. Paid plans start at $129/yr.
Is WooCommerce Bookings free?
WooCommerce Bookings is premium only. Paid plans start at $249/yr.
Feature data last changed 6 Oct 2026. Spotted something wrong? Suggest an edit to Simply Schedule Appointments or WooCommerce Bookings. Some links are affiliate links. We may earn a commission at no cost to you; it never affects our data or rankings.