Bookly

Bookly is a WordPress appointment booking plugin used by more than 60,000 businesses, and the usual answer for anyone who wants booking to live on their own site rather than on a scheduler's domain. A free version on WordPress.org covers the essentials, while Bookly Pro unlocks the full system.

The booking form is the centrepiece: a multi-step, mobile-friendly flow with custom fields, service and staff selection, and support for multiple locations, backed by a staff calendar with daily, weekly, and monthly views. Two-way Google Calendar sync runs across multiple staff calendars, with Outlook supported alongside it. Notifications go out by email, SMS, and WhatsApp as confirmations, timed reminders, and follow-ups, and payments run through 10+ gateways including PayPal, Stripe, and Square.

Bookly's modular structure is its main difference from all-in-one rivals: capabilities such as group booking, discounts, packages, and extra payment gateways are sold as separate add-ons. Pro is $49 a year, Business $149 (Pro plus the popular add-ons), and Ultimate $249 (everything plus priority support), all with a 30-day money-back guarantee and licensing per site rather than per user. Integrations include Zoom, Mailchimp, and Zapier. It fits WordPress service businesses that want to pay for exactly the features they use and are willing to host and maintain the plugin themselves.