Acuity Scheduling vs SimplerBook

Acuity Scheduling (owned by Squarespace) targets wellness, beauty, and coaching businesses with deep payment and membership features. It has no free plan — pricing starts at $20/mo after a 7-day trial.

Acuity Scheduling is best for:

Established businesses that sell packages, memberships, or group classes and need built-in payment processing.

SimplerBook is best for:

Solo operators and small teams who want a free booking page without committing $20/mo before they've booked a single client.

The bottom line

Acuity has deeper payment features; SimplerBook has a free plan and a faster path to your first booking.

Feature comparison

Feature	SimplerBook	Acuity Scheduling
Scheduling
Booking page	Yes	Yes
Monthly booking limit (free)	50/month	Unlimited
Service categories	Yes	Yes
Buffer time	Yes	Yes
Custom business hours	Yes	Yes
Walk-in mode	Yes	No
Customization
Custom colors & branding	Yes	Yes
Logo & cover photo	Yes	Yes
Remove platform branding	Pro ($7/mo)	Premium ($49/mo)
Communication
Email confirmations	Yes	Yes
Email reminders	Yes	Yes
SMS reminders	No	Standard ($34/mo)
Self-cancellation link	Yes	Yes
Payments
Online payments	No	Yes
Payment integrations	Instructions only	Stripe, Square, PayPal
Calendar
Google Calendar sync	No	Yes
Outlook sync	No	Yes
2-way calendar sync	No	Yes
Team
Team members	Pro ($7/mo)	Standard+ (extra calendars)
Team management	Pro ($7/mo)	Standard ($34/mo)
Pricing
Free plan	Yes	No (7-day trial only)
Starting paid price	$7/mo	$20/mo

Pricing comparison

Acuity Scheduling Starter

$20/mo

1 calendar
Online payments (Stripe, Square, PayPal)
Email reminders
No SMS
No packages or memberships

Acuity Scheduling Standard

$34/mo

Multiple calendars
SMS reminders
Packages and gift certificates
Membership subscriptions
Group classes

Acuity Scheduling Premium

$49/mo

HIPAA compliance
Custom CSS
API access
Remove Acuity branding
Priority support

SimplerBook Free

50 bookings per month
Branded Booking Page
Email reminders
Email confirmations
Single User

SimplerBook Pro

$7/mo

Everything in Free, plus
Unlimited bookings
Remove SimplerBook branding
Team Support
Team management tools
Loyalty rewards

Pricing verified February 2026. Check Acuity Scheduling's website for current pricing.

Where SimplerBook wins

Actually free

Acuity has no free plan. After a 7-day trial, you pay $20/mo minimum — even if you book five appointments that month. SimplerBook's free plan is free forever with 50 bookings/month, email reminders, and a full booking page.

Faster to get started

Acuity's setup involves payment configuration, intake forms, and calendar syncing before you can share a link. SimplerBook gets you to a live booking page in under five minutes. Add your services, set your hours, share the link.

Simpler interface

Acuity's admin panel has grown complex over the years. Multiple settings screens, nested menus, and features most small businesses never touch. SimplerBook shows you a calendar, your services, and your customers. That's it.

Flat pricing, not per-feature tiers

SimplerBook Pro is $7/mo for everything. Acuity splits features across three tiers: SMS costs $34/mo, HIPAA costs $49/mo. You pay more as you need more. With SimplerBook, one price covers all Pro features.

Where Acuity Scheduling wins

Online payment processing

Acuity connects to Stripe, Square, and PayPal on every paid plan. Customers pay when they book. SimplerBook only shows payment instructions — actual payment happens outside the platform.

Packages, memberships, and gift certificates

Acuity's Standard plan ($34/mo) supports prepaid packages (e.g., 5 sessions for $200), recurring membership subscriptions, and gift certificates. These are real revenue tools for wellness and coaching businesses. SimplerBook doesn't have these yet.

Group classes

Acuity lets you schedule group sessions where multiple customers book the same time slot. Useful for yoga classes, workshops, or group coaching. SimplerBook handles one-to-one appointments only.

HIPAA compliance

Acuity's Premium plan ($49/mo) includes HIPAA-compliant hosting for healthcare providers. SimplerBook does not offer HIPAA compliance.

Which one is right for you?

Choose Acuity Scheduling if…

You sell packages, memberships, or gift certificates
You need to collect payment at the time of booking
You run group classes or multi-person sessions
Your business requires HIPAA compliance and you're OK paying $49/mo for it

Choose SimplerBook if…

You want to start booking clients without spending $20/mo upfront
You collect payment in person or through Venmo/Zelle
You want a simple interface that doesn't require a setup guide to learn
You're a solo operator or small team looking for the fastest path to a live booking page

Common questions

No. Acuity offers a 7-day free trial only. After that, the cheapest plan is $20/mo (Starter). There is no free tier.

Yes. Squarespace acquired Acuity in 2019. It still operates as a standalone product, but billing goes through Squarespace. Some users report confusing billing experiences after the acquisition.

There's no automatic import. You'd recreate your services in SimplerBook and share your new booking link with customers. Your Acuity appointment history stays in Acuity.

If you run group classes and sell class packages, Acuity's Standard plan ($34/mo) fits better — it supports group scheduling and prepaid packages. If you do one-on-one sessions only, SimplerBook handles that for free.

No. SimplerBook lets you display payment instructions (Venmo, Zelle, cash, etc.) on your booking page, but doesn't process payments. If you need customers to pay at booking time, Acuity or a tool with Stripe integration is a better fit.

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