Pick up your phone and consider how much information is contained in the palm of your hand—your finances, social media, eating habits, steps walked per day; the list could go on and on. Our lives are contained in small devices between 5–7 inches long. Think about what can go wrong if it’s poorly organized: appointments missed, crucial business meetings overlooked, social connections damaged or lost—which is why you need a scheduling app.
A popular choice for those looking to better control the information in their hands by streamlining all their meetings, appointments, etc., into one app is Setmore. It’s an understandable choice, with the Setmore app seemingly offering everything you could want from something designed to manage your meetings.
However, we think you deserve even better. Setmore is a good start, but there are better ways of taking the stress out of scheduling. That’s why we’ve done some research on the best Setmore alternatives currently available.
What is Setmore?
Setmore is a scheduling app that covers the basics of what you might expect. Set up as appointment scheduling software designed to streamline booking processes for service-based businesses, it naturally has an intended audience of entrepreneurs and the self-employed. The Setmore booking page is customizable, the app has payment integration with services like Square, Stripe, and PayPal, and automated reminders ensure you set more appointments simply.
However the app does have its shortcomings, starting with Setmore’s integrations which are rather limited in scope, and the app’s interface isn’t as user-friendly as it could be. It also doesn’t offer many customization options, and the setup process is surprisingly complex, requiring a lot of time to complete. The final point of concern about Setmore is its poor reputation for customer relations, which leaves a lot to be desired.
A scheduling app needs to be easily adapted into your life; it should be ready to work ‘out of the box’ with a high-quality customer support team on hand. As such, we have to view Setmore as an average app, with an average cost of $5 per month for most users (with a limited free plan available too). We believe you deserve better, which is why Calday is the better choice for you.
This is what happens when your scheduling app doesn’t integrate into your life.
Setmore vs Calday
Like Setmore, Calday was set up to provide high-quality, simplified scheduling to people working in the service industry, but it was also designed with other people in mind. Anyone can use Calday to effectively manage their meetings and appointments. It’s the best among the Setmore alternatives as it offers all the features required for a seamless scheduling app: a user-friendly interface, a high level of customization, excellent integrations, and high-quality customer support.
It’s simple to link your existing accounts with apps like Microsoft Teams and Google Calendar so you never miss another meeting, whether it’s personal or professional in nature. You can customize your automated reminders to make doubly sure nothing goes amiss, and it’s easy to navigate the high-quality Calday interface. This makes it really easy to get started—all you need to do is create an account by following the link, and you’ll be able to take advantage of Calday’s scheduling services.
Calday also offers a simplified pricing system to ensure our services can meet every budget. We offer two tiers and our standard service is completely free!
If you want to access some of our premium services, like unlimited integrations and unlimited scheduling to set more appointments, all you need to do is pay $10 per month. It’s great bang for your buck as this option offers a much more complete package than the premium options offered by Setmore and others competitors.
Setmore vs Acuity
We’ve given you the best with Calday, and we are more than happy to stand behind our product. Now, let’s consider the rest, starting with Acuity.
This scheduling app has become popular with people working in the healthcare sector, as its HIPAA-compliant plans make it a good option for therapists, chiropractors, and healthcare clinics. However, it’s not designed exclusively for this sector—it can also be used by businesses in a wide range of fields, as well as freelancers.
Setmore’s scheduling customization leaves much to be desired, and this is where Acuity steps in as a good alternative. The app is specifically designed for those who need adaptable scheduling. Among other features, it can automatically adjust bookings to the client’s time zone, create recurring appointments for regular clients, and gather client details, preferences, or agreements during bookings to generate custom reports.
If your work is particularly complex and requires a high level of customization, Acuity could be a good fit for you—especially if you work with international clients. However, for most users, the interface may prove to be overly complex, and like Setmore, it has a complicated onboarding process that could be off-putting. With no free version and a premium plan starting at $16 per month, it’s not budget-friendly either.
Setmore vs Square Appointments
The next entry on our list is a solid alternative to Setmore, though it suffers from something of an identity crisis: Square Appointments. First, the basics: Square Appointments was designed to be an all-in-one app for service industries companies like beauty salons and small gyms.
Some of this app’s features include integration with Square’s POS system, enabling businesses to accept payments and track sales, as well as management functions that allow owners to assign specific team members, track schedules, and set more performance metrics. The app also supports more integrations with calendar apps than average and allows businesses to automatically charge cancellation fees or require prepayment to reduce no-shows.
Square Appointments is designed with small business owners in mind, but its pricing doesn’t always reflect that focus, as it could prove to be too steep for some users. While there is a free version of the app it only includes basic functions like payment processing and the premium version starts at $29 and can increase to over $100, depending on your company’s requirements.
As such, it’s not competing with Setmore’s pricing or the pricing policies of most scheduling apps. It’s a niche solution, but the question remains: Who is occupying that niche? Its pricing range may put it out of reach for many in its intended audience.
Setmore vs Calendly
Calendly shares a number of features with both Setmore and Calday, and it’s one of the best-known scheduling apps currently available on the market. The reason why is apparent when you compare the Setmore booking page and the Calendly equivalent, as the latter’s interface is considerably more intuitive, allowing it to be used by a wider range of people.
Similar to Acuity, Calendly employs time zone detection to ensure meetings aren’t missed, and it syncs well with Google Calendar, Microsoft Outlook, Office 365, and iCloud. Users are able to take advantage of multi-event times while scheduling, and automated reminders and follow-ups come as standard. Payment processing via Stripe or PayPal is also included.
On the surface, Calendly comes across as a great app. However, where it falls short (and by some margin) is its notoriously poor customer support. A quick visit to Trustpilot will highlight that Calendly has a rating of 1 out of 5 based on nearly 200 reviews, and scores similarly low results on other websites.
That being said, Calendly comes cheap, with a free version available and the premium plan starting at $8 a month. If the app works well for you, you should have no problem, but if you need help, you will likely be on your own.
The ideal scheduling app includes multiple integrations, just like Calday.
Setmore vs Vcita
The life of an entrepreneur is exciting and alluring, and social media is awash with people talking about how they either live the entrepreneurial life or aspire to do so. All of these people need a scheduling app and Vcita was created to target this niche.
While the app isn’t exclusively for entrepreneurs, it’s designed with them specifically in mind. It aims to centralize client management, appointment scheduling, and payment processing into a single, simple-to-use interface.
It’s this entrepreneurial focus that has likely given Vcita an advantage over Setmore’s appointment integrations, offering options as varied as calendar apps, communication tools like Zoom, Mailchimp for CRM, and various payment systems like PayPal, Square, and Stripe. It also includes essential features like client self-scheduling and automated reminders. However, note the word "essential" here—its scheduling capabilities are fairly basic.
Compared to Setmore’s pricing (as well as Calday’s), Vcita is in a different, more expensive league. There’s a free 14-day trial, but the regular plan starts at $35 per month, which may be costly for small businesses or solo entrepreneurs. Unless you need the entrepreneurial add-ons like CRM integration, this raises questions about Vcita’s worth as a scheduling app for many potential users.
Setmore vs SimplyBookme.com
The final app on our list is one that initially seems similar to both Setmore and Calday but then packs in a surprise at the end of the review—and that’s SimplyBookme.com. Originally designed for service-based industries, the app has since grown to be utilized by individuals, entrepreneurs, and medium-sized businesses.
SimplyBookme.com is mobile first and the app has become quite popular. Its interface allows users to customize their booking page, take advantage of multi-language support, and link to major payment gateways like Stripe, PayPal, and Square.
Where SimplyBookme.com falls short is its inability to compete with Setmore’s appointment integrations; the options it currently offers are particularly basic. It should also be noted that while the customization options are considerable they’re also overly complex and will likely prove off-putting to new users.
There’s also the matter of SimplyBookme.com’s pricing policies, which can come as a bit of a nasty surprise, particularly compared to both Setmore’s pricing and Calday’s too. While there is a free version of the app, it’s very basic. In fact, the “basic” plan costs $9.99 per month, and the premium version is priced at $39.99—far too expensive for many budgets.