Is SimplyBook.me an ideal fit for your business?
SimplyBook.me predominantly helps service-based businesses run their scheduling operations. While it offers a ton of features, most of them are restricted to their custom features module, and the limitations vary for each of their subscription plans.
The booking limit per plan could be a significant deterrent for growing businesses. Their Basic plan, for example, only allows you to book 100 appointments per month. Upgrading your subscription is the only way to book more appointments, but it's not exactly a win-win.
Comparing pricing and limits
 |  | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic | Standard | Premium | Basic | Premium | |
| Price | $13.86/month billed annually | $28.99/month billed annually | $58.10/month billed annually | /month billed annually | /month billed annually |
| No of users included | 5 | 15 | 30 | Billed per | Billed per |
| Bookings per month | 100 (Additional available as an add-on) | 500 (Additional available as an add-on) | 2000 (Additional available as an add-on) | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Custom features | 3 (Upgrade subscription for more) | 8 (Upgrade subscription for more) | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
Simplybook.me vs. Zoho Bookings: Feature comparison
Booking dashboards for multiple locations
Workflows
Customizable booking page
Custom booking domain
(Limited under custom features with an additional cost of $138.55)
Coupons and gift cards
(Limited under custom features)
Email customizations
(Limited under custom features)
Collective/panel meetings
Resource bookings
One-time booking links
Multiple reminders
Staff booking pages
Custom pricing for each staff member in a service
Browser extension
Share time slots via email
Calendar sync
(Limited under custom features)
Video conferencing integration
(Limited under custom features)
HIPAA
(Limited under custom features)
Limitations of SimplyBook.me
- Restricted scheduling features
- Complex setup
- Limitations on users
- Expensive white labeling
- Rising costs as your business grows
Restricted scheduling features
SimplyBook.me restricts many essential features—such as two-way calendar sync, custom form fields, appointment limits, email customization, and more—to paid plans. You can use all the custom features in their Premium plan or higher, starting at $58.10/month, while their Basic and Standard plans limit custom features to three and eight, respectively.
Zoho Bookings offers two pricing plans. The Basic plan starts at $6/month and includes essential scheduling features, while the Premium plan offers all features for $9/month.
Complex setup
SimplyBook.me's interface is clunky and not easy to navigate. It requires a learning curve to set up the booking system to your preferences, and the complexity is evident in the full account setup add-on they provide at $499.
Zoho Bookings offers a modern-looking interface that makes it seamless to navigate and manage your appointments. The AI-powered setup ensures your booking dashboard is customized end to end for your business and helps you get started in no time.
Limitations on users
SimplyBook.me has a cap on the service providers or staff members that you can have for each pricing tier. If you need 18 or 20 service providers, for example, you need to purchase their higher-priced Standard or Premium subscriptions. The option to add service providers as add-ons isn't available, so you'll inevitably have to upgrade your subscription as your team grows.
Zoho Bookings offers a per-user subscription, so you can add different service providers as you grow without having to upgrade to the next tier. The autonomy to upgrade comes down to the features you'd like for your business scheduling, and it's easier to choose between the two plans than to pick from the three that SimplyBook.me offers.
Expensive white labeling
While SimplyBook.me offers extensive customizations for your booking website, the option to remove their branding links is only available in their higher-priced plan, starting at $58.10/month. For other subscription plans, it isn't possible to remove SimplyBook.me's branding.
Zoho Bookings not only offers extensive customization for your booking pages but also a white-labeling option in the Premium plan from $9/month.
Rising costs as your business grows
As your business grows and starts receiving a high volume of appointments, your scheduling costs increase exponentially with Simplybook.me. When you hit the limit for any functionality, you have no choice but to upgrade your subscription or consider purchasing expensive add-ons.
Zoho Bookings is a great platform for growing your business exponentially compared to SimplyBook.me. There are no limitations to any of the features, and you don't need to upgrade or buy additional limits as add-ons.
Why Zoho Bookings has an edge over SimplyBook.me
With all that we’ve covered above, we can narrow it down to four categories:
- Service providers
- Appointment limits
- Features
- Pricing
If you're opting for SimplyBook.me, each category will have an effect on the others. Instead of helping you maximize scheduling automation for your business, SimplyBook.me's pricing plans are structured to increase your subscription costs along with extensive usage. Rather than focusing on business growth, you’d have to constantly keep an eye on the limits and plan your appointments or subscriptions accordingly.
Zoho Bookings eliminates all of these hidden obstacles and helps businesses make the most of their appointments. With straightforward pricing, there are no limits on your subscription, and you can grow your business with every booking without worrying about hidden costs.
With Zoho Bookings, you can:
- Create different meeting types, such as one-on-one, group, collective, recurring, and resource bookings.
- Connect with your preferred external calendars, video conferencing apps, and payment gateways.
- Assign multiple staff members to streamline team scheduling.
- Customize and brand your booking pages with white-labeling.
- Set up appointment limits and cancellation or rescheduling windows.
- Send appointment notifications via WhatsApp.
- Collect relevant information through different booking form fields.
- Create customized appointment notifications and reminders.
- Manage workloads with round robin appointment distribution
- And more!
Scheduling stories from our customers
Graham Todd, Director, Spaghetti Agency
“My diary's super full with sales calls now. It's been brilliant to use. We've actually built Zoho Bookings into our sales pipeline.”
Read more
Tanya Euler, Founder, Artifex Marketing Studio
“We swapped from Calendly to Zoho Bookings because of its easy integration with the other Zoho applications we use.”
Read more
Clifton Wareham, Director of Resource Centre Development, PropertyGuys.com
“By giving customers a straightforward, hassle-free way to book, we’re seeing more appointments, which means more revenue, more deals, and more profit.”
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Jeremiah Hartmann, Founder, Jeremiah Hartmann Live Event Hosts & MC's
“Since using Zoho Bookings, I've seen a 33% increase in conversions. It made it easier for my clients to book my services and keep track of their appointments.”
Read moreFrequently Asked Questions
1. What type of business is SimplyBook.me best suited for, and who is Zoho Bookings ideal for?
SimplyBook.me works for solo practitioners or small teams with predictable, low booking volumes. Zoho Bookings is built for businesses that want to grow without hitting a ceiling — unlimited bookings, per-user pricing, and all features included from the start, whether you're a solo consultant or a multi-staff team managing multiple locations.
2. What should I compare first when choosing between SimplyBook.me and Zoho Bookings?
Start with booking limits, staff capacity, and feature access. SimplyBook.me caps bookings on every plan and locks most advanced features behind its custom features module, where even the Standard plan gives you only eight slots. Zoho Bookings has no booking limits, charges per staff member rather than per tier, and includes all features on the plan without a separate slot system.
3. How do SimplyBook.me and Zoho Bookings differ in booking page experience and customization?
SimplyBook.me gives you a booking page, but changes like calendar sync, email customization, and a custom domain each consume one of your limited custom feature slots. Zoho Bookings includes all of that in the plan itself — no slot budgeting required.
4. Which booking platform provides better customization for branding and booking pages?
Zoho Bookings offers white-labeling on the Premium plan from $9 per month. SimplyBook.me only lets you remove its branding on its Premium plan at $58.10/month — so on lower tiers, SimplyBook.me's branding stays on every page your clients see.
5. Which platform is better for managing multiple staff, services, and locations?
Zoho Bookings. Its workspace model lets you create separate dashboards for different locations or teams, each with its own admin, booking page, and workflows. SimplyBook.me doesn't support separate location dashboards, so everything sits in one view as your operation grows.