I could be wrong, but I’m going to hazard a guess that setting up appointments is not your favorite part of your job. It can be pretty tedious to keep up with which days and times you’re available and then remember to attend appointments after you schedule them.
Thankfully, there’s some software that can help with that. On this page, we’ll be talking about some of the best appointment scheduling apps for your business. These tools can help you streamline your process so you don’t have to spend all your time hunched over a calendar.
An appointment scheduling app is a tool that people can use to set up appointments with your business. Typically, clients can set up the appointments directly in the tool, meaning you don’t have to be involved in the process at all. Scheduling appointments doesn’t take any time out of your day.
What are the benefits of using an appointment scheduling tool?
Based on what we just established, the biggest benefit of using an appointment scheduling app is clearly the fact that it saves time. Think of all the businesses that still park employees next to phones so they can spend hours on end simply scheduling appointments manually for customers over the phone. You can avoid that with the right tool.
Additionally, the best appointment schedulers can automatically close off any dates or times when you’re unavailable or when you’ve already scheduled appointments. That prevents overbooking, something that might otherwise happen due to human error.
What features should you look for in a scheduling app?
You might be wondering what sets apart the best appointment schedulers. The answer largely comes down to their features. So, which features are those? What should you look for in a scheduling app?
Some of the features to keep an eye out for include:
Calendar syncing
Integrations with other tools
Ease of use
Professional presentation
All of these things are critical in an effective appointment scheduling tool.
Of course, another factor to consider in pricing. When researching your appointment scheduling tool options, keep in mind that pricing structures vary. Some tools charge per user per month, some charge per location per month, and others—like Nutshell Scheduler—offer one simple, all-inclusive price for your whole company.
The 6 best appointment scheduling tools
Now let’s move on to the main purpose of this page—our list of the best scheduling software out there. In total, we’ll look at six different tools. Here’s a simple summary of how these tools stack up against one another:
Now, keep reading for a more in-depth comparison of these top scheduling apps!
1. Nutshell Scheduler
Price: $37 per month for your whole company + Nutshell subscription
First on our list of best appointment schedulers is Nutshell Scheduler. Scheduler is part of Revenue Booster, an add-on to Nutshell’s customer relationship management (CRM) platform. For that reason, it’s the ideal option if you’re also in the market for a CRM.
Scheduler has all the key features of a good scheduling tool, including a deep integration with the core Nutshell CRM tool. That means you can track appointments with your leads and clients alongside all your other marketing and sales data about them.
2. Calendly
Price: Free for individuals, $10 to $20 per seat per month or custom enterprise plan
Next up, we have Calendly. This is one of the most popular scheduling apps, so you may have already heard of it. One of the best things about this tool is its free version, although it is pretty limited.
In terms of features, Calendly has all the necessary scheduling features described in the ‘features to look for section’ above. It also allows you to set up automations to guide users through the tool and help them schedule the right meeting for them. Plus, individual staff members can go in and set their availability.
3. Acuity Scheduling
Price: $16-$61 per month
Acuity is another tool that checks all the right boxes. It’s one of the easiest appointment scheduling tools to use, with plenty of high-quality integration options. It also offers quite a lot of email templates that can be sent out to users to confirm and remind them about their appointments.
Acuity also has a nifty feature called “Make me look busy” that makes your schedule look more filled than it actually is, so you never look like you’re hurting for business. That’s something unique to this tool.
Unfortunately, Acuity does not offer a free plan.
4. Book Like a Boss
Price: $9-$100+ per month
The biggest thing to know about Book Like a Boss is that it’s not just a scheduling tool. One of the main sources of appeal for this tool is that it also functions as a website builder, letting you deeply integrate your scheduling system into your site.
For that reason, this tool is best for companies looking to create a new website. If you’re already happy with your site, Book Like a Boss probably isn’t worth it for you to get, especially since the higher-priced plans are on the pricey side.
5. Picktime
Price: Free to $4 per user per month
Yet another of the best scheduling software options is Picktime. This tool has several different benefits. Firstly, it scores big when it comes to ease of use—it’s super intuitive and easy to set up. Secondly, it offers widgets for multiple different sources. Those sources include Google Maps, Facebook, and various site builders.
Finally, Picktime is great for businesses that deal with a multilingual client base because it’s available in over 30 different languages. And you get all of that on a free plan!
There’s a lot to like about this tool. Firstly, this tool is offered by Square, which also offers tools for invoicing and point-of-sale (POS). As a result, a POS functionality is built right into Square Appointments. On top of that, the platform is designed to be very mobile-friendly.
Overall, Square’s features are pretty simple and minimalistic, but that might be a plus for people who don’t want anything too complicated. It also has a free plan, though that plan is limited to one business location. For multiple locations, you’ll want the paid plan.
Integrate your booking tool with Nutshell CRM
Whichever of the best scheduling software options you choose from this list, you’ll want to ensure it integrates with other tools. For example, CRM integration is important for ensuring that you accurately track your leads’ journey toward becoming customers.
If you’re in the market for a CRM, be sure to consider Nutshell. Our CRM includes a built-in scheduling tool, Nutshell Scheduler, and integrates with various booking tools, so it’s a great way to streamline your marketing and sales processes.If you want to see Nutshell in action, check out our 14-day free trial!
