SimplyBook.me review
A genuinely free tier plus four cheap paid tiers from $11.90/mo, the largest review base in this catalog (1,291 on Capterra), and a real 25%/15% affiliate program.
SimplyBook.me is a general-purpose appointment-booking platform — not fitness-only — but it runs a dedicated "Scheduling Software for Fitness Classes & Personal Trainers" product line with group-capacity booking, membership billing via Stripe, session bundles, a loyalty system and a no-show-reduction toolkit, so it earns a place in this catalog as the budget option for solo trainers, yoga instructors and small studios rather than full-size gyms. Five tiers are published down to the cent: **Free $0** (50 bookings, 1 staff), Basic $11.90/mo, Standard $24.90/mo, Premium $49.90/mo, and a quote-only Enterprise tier — all billed annually (roughly 17% more billed monthly). Published add-ons go further than almost anything else in this catalog: $8 per 100 SMS credits, $4 per 100 extra bookings, a custom domain at $119. Capterra rates it **4.6/5 across 1,291 reviews** — by a wide margin the largest review sample of any platform here — with value for money the standout sub-score (4.5/5). The clearest weak spot: there is no generic client-facing app to vet in advance (clients book through a customizable web page); the business-admin app sits at a mediocre 4.1/5 across just 143 ratings. Reviewers also cite recurring technical glitches and a confusing payment-options setup. SimplyBook.me runs a real affiliate program — 25% of a referral's first payment, then 15% recurring for up to two years, explicitly open to site owners placing banners and links, not just existing customers.
Great
FitBizStack score · 6 weighted factors
Headline
$0/mo
True cost
$0–$49.90/mo
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Scorecard
How we scored SimplyBook.me
Six weighted categories. Weights are published and identical for every platform.
What we like
- Five tiers published down to the cent, including a genuinely free one (50 bookings, 1 staff member, 1 custom feature) — not just a trial
- Largest review base in this catalog by a wide margin: 4.6/5 across 1,291 Capterra reviews, with value for money the strongest sub-score (4.5/5)
- A real affiliate program — 25% of a referral's first payment, then 15% recurring for up to 2 years, free to join and open to site owners
- Published add-on pricing most competitors leave vague: $8/100 SMS credits, $4/100 extra bookings, $119 custom domain, "Full Setup" service from $499
- A dedicated fitness/personal-trainer product page with group-capacity booking, Stripe membership billing, session bundles and a loyalty/no-show toolkit
What we don’t
- No generic, well-reviewed client-facing app — clients book via a customizable web page; the only rated app is the business-admin tool (4.1/5, 143 ratings)
- "Recurring technical problems" is the single most-cited Capterra complaint (68% negative across 87 reviews), alongside confusing payment options (42% negative) and unreliable notifications (53% negative)
- A general booking tool, not fitness-native software — no workout programming, class-series progression tracking, or gym-specific reporting the way purpose-built platforms offer
- Enterprise tier is quote-only, and the affiliate program does not publish a cookie duration or payout minimum
At a glance
SimplyBook.me in four numbers
A genuinely free tier plus four cheap paid tiers from $11.90/mo, the largest review base in this catalog (1,291 on Capterra), and a real 25%/15% affiliate program.
$0
Free tier, 50 bookings/mo
25%
affiliate commission, first payment
4.6
Capterra rating, 1,291 reviews
4.1
business-admin app rating, 143 ratings
01 SimplyBook.me
The short verdict
SimplyBook.me is a general-purpose appointment-booking platform — not fitness-only — but it runs a dedicated "Scheduling Software for Fitness Classes & Personal Trainers" product line with group-capacity booking, Stripe membership billing, session bundles and a loyalty/no-show toolkit, earning it a place in this catalog as the budget option for solo trainers, instructors and small studios rather than full gyms. Five tiers are published down to the cent: Free $0 (50 bookings, 1 staff), Basic $11.90/mo, Standard $24.90/mo, Premium $49.90/mo, and a quote-only Enterprise tier — all billed annually (about 17% more billed monthly).
Capterra rates it 4.6/5 across 1,291 reviews — by far the largest review sample of any platform in this catalog — with value for money the standout sub-score (4.5/5). The clearest weak spot: there is no generic, well-reviewed client-facing app; the business-admin app sits at a mediocre 4.1/5 across just 143 ratings. SimplyBook.me also runs a real affiliate program: 25% of a referral's first payment, then 15% recurring for up to two years, explicitly open to site owners, not just existing customers.
02 SimplyBook.me
Who SimplyBook.me is for
Solo personal trainers, yoga/Pilates instructors and small studios
wanting the cheapest fully-published tier in this catalog, including a genuinely free one.
Owners who want a large, trustworthy review sample
before buying — 1,291 Capterra reviews is the biggest base in this catalog by a wide margin.
Publishers and content sites
wanting a real, recurring-commission affiliate program — 25% on the first payment, 15% recurring for 2 years.
It is a weaker fit for a gym or studio wanting software built specifically for fitness — SimplyBook.me is a general booking platform with a fitness-flavored landing page, not a fitness-native product — and for anyone who wants a well-reviewed, dedicated client app, since the only rated app here is a business-admin tool.
03 SimplyBook.me
SimplyBook.me pricing in 2026, explained
We fetched simplybook.me's pricing page directly on October 8, 2026 to confirm all five tiers.
| Plan | Annual billing | Monthly billing | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | $0/mo | 50 bookings, 1 custom feature, 1 provider |
| Basic | $11.90/mo | $13.90/mo | 100 bookings, 3 custom features, 5 providers |
| Standard | $24.90/mo | $29.90/mo | 500 bookings, 8 custom features, 15 providers |
| Premium | $49.90/mo | $59.90/mo | 2,000 bookings, unlimited custom features, 30 providers |
| Enterprise | Custom | Custom | Custom bookings, features and providers |
A genuinely free tier, not a trial
The Free plan is a permanent $0/mo tier (50 bookings, 1 provider), not a time-limited trial — one of only a handful of platforms in this catalog with a real free option.
Add-on pricing is also published, unusually completely for this catalog: $8 per 100 SMS credits, $4 per 100 extra bookings, a custom domain at $119, and a "Full Setup" done-for-you service starting at $499. Only Enterprise requires a sales conversation.
04 SimplyBook.me
What you will really pay
The five tiers and most add-ons are published; the processing rate is the one real gap.
| Item | Price | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| SMS credits | $8 per 100 | Published |
| Extra bookings | $4 per 100 | Published |
| Custom domain | $119 | Published, one-time |
| Full Setup service | From $499 | Done-for-you onboarding, optional |
| Payment processing | Not published | Routes through Stripe; SimplyBook.me does not state its own markup, if any |
For a solo trainer or small studio, realistic cost is $0–$24.90/mo for most needs, climbing to $49.90/mo only once you need unlimited custom features or 2,000+ monthly bookings. Budget separately for SMS and any Stripe processing fees.
05 SimplyBook.me
What the plans include
Booking & scheduling
A customizable booking website, group-capacity classes, private-session booking, staff/service selection — all tiers.
Payments
Stripe-powered recurring memberships, session bundles at tiered prices, gift cards, point-of-sale for walk-ins.
Marketing
Intro coupons, a free-first-session offer, a loyalty system, and promotions for slow time slots.
Retention tools
Automatic review requests, booking reminders, and self-service cancel/reschedule links to cut no-shows.
Integrations
ClassPass and Instagram/Facebook booking integrations, plus a business-admin mobile app (not a client-facing one).
What is weaker: there is no fitness-native workout programming or class-series progression tracking the way purpose-built platforms offer, no generic client-facing app with a public rating, and reviewers cite recurring technical glitches (68% negative on that topic) and confusing payment-option setup (42% negative).
06 SimplyBook.me
What business owners say
Capterra puts SimplyBook.me at 4.6/5 across 1,291 reviews — the largest sample in this catalog by a wide margin — with value for money the strongest sub-score (4.5/5), followed by customer service (4.5/5) and features (4.4/5). Reviewers praise flexible automated scheduling (88% positive) and a simple, intuitive platform (89% positive).
The most repeated complaints: recurring technical problems (68% negative across 87 reviews), limited and confusing payment options (42% negative across 97 reviews), and an unreliable notification system (53% negative across 49 reviews). None of these dominate the overall score, but they are consistent enough to flag.
07 SimplyBook.me
SimplyBook.me vs the alternatives
| Platform | Pricing published? | Monthly floor | Free tier? |
|---|---|---|---|
| SimplyBook.me | Yes — 5 tiers | $0 | Yes — permanent free tier |
| Arbox | Yes — 4 tiers + Enterprise | $0 | Yes — always free |
| RhinoFit | Yes — flat + free start-up tier | $0 | Yes — for ≤20 active users |
SimplyBook.me is a general booking tool rather than fitness-native software, so it competes more on price and review volume than on fitness-specific depth. See SimplyBook.me vs Mindbody for the comparison against the category's generalist. Full ranking: best gym & studio management software.
Pricing, decoded
What SimplyBook.me really costs
Free tier plus four published paid tiers (Basic/Standard/Premium/Enterprise) billed monthly or annually (~17% cheaper annually); Enterprise is quote-only.
Headline price
$0/mo
What the marketing shows
True monthly cost
$0–$49.90/mo depending on tier, plus published add-ons (SMS, extra bookings, custom domain) and a quote-only Enterprise tier for larger operations
What you actually pay
| Plan | Monthly billing | Billed annually | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo | — | 50 bookings, 1 custom feature, 1 provider |
| Basic | $11.90/mo | $11.90/mo billed annually ($13.90 billed monthly) | 100 bookings, 3 custom features, 5 providers |
| Standard | $24.90/mo | $24.90/mo billed annually ($29.90 billed monthly) | 500 bookings, 8 custom features, 15 providers |
| Premium | $49.90/mo | $49.90/mo billed annually ($59.90 billed monthly) | 2,000 bookings, unlimited custom features, 30 providers |
| Enterprise | Custom/mo | — | Custom bookings, features and providers — priced after a discovery call |
Common add-ons
- SMS credits$8 per 100
- Extra bookings$4 per 100
- Custom domain$119
- Full Setup serviceFrom $499
Payment processing
Payments for memberships and sessions run through Stripe; SimplyBook.me does not publish its own processing markup, if any
True-cost calculator
See the true monthly cost, not the headline.
- Base plan
- $25
- Processing (2.90%)
- $348
- Add-ons
- $0
- True cost / month
- $373
Switch to to see the ~15% savings.
Headline was $0/mo. Estimated — vendor is quote-based.
Honest cons
Who should NOT buy SimplyBook.me
- Gyms or studios wanting software built specifically for fitness — SimplyBook.me is a general booking platform with a fitness-flavored landing page, not a fitness-native product
- Owners who want a well-reviewed, dedicated client app — there is none; the only rated app is a business-admin tool (4.1/5, 143 ratings)
- Teams allergic to technical hiccups — "recurring technical problems" is the single most-cited Capterra complaint (68% negative across 87 reviews)
FAQ
SimplyBook.me: frequently asked questions
How much does SimplyBook.me cost in 2026?
Five published tiers billed annually: Free $0/mo, Basic $11.90/mo, Standard $24.90/mo, Premium $49.90/mo (about 17% more if billed monthly), plus a quote-only Enterprise tier. Verified against simplybook.me's pricing page on October 8, 2026.
Is SimplyBook.me really free?
Yes, on its Free tier — $0/mo, permanently, for up to 50 bookings, 1 custom feature and 1 provider. It is not a time-limited trial.
Is SimplyBook.me fitness-specific software?
Not exactly — it is a general-purpose appointment-booking platform. It does run a dedicated product line marketed to fitness classes and personal trainers, with group-capacity booking and membership billing, but it lacks fitness-native features like workout programming found in purpose-built platforms.
Does SimplyBook.me have an affiliate program?
Yes, a real one. It pays 25% of a referred customer's first payment, then 15% recurring for up to two years, is free to join, and is explicitly open to site owners placing banners or links — not restricted to existing customers. The program does not publish a cookie duration or payout minimum.
Does SimplyBook.me have a client-facing mobile app?
Not a generic one with a public rating. Clients book through a customizable web page. The only rated app is a business-admin tool at 4.1/5 across 143 App Store ratings, which is not for clients.
How we verified this review
We fetched simplybook.me's pricing page directly to confirm all five tiers, the annual/monthly billing split, and the published add-on prices. We fetched the dedicated personal-trainer/fitness landing page to confirm SimplyBook.me genuinely markets to this audience rather than being purely generic. We fetched the affiliate program page directly (affiliate.simplybook.me) to confirm the 25%/15% commission structure and that it is open to site owners. The Capterra listing was checked directly for the overall rating, the four category sub-scores, and the specific pros/cons percentages cited above. We searched the App Store and found only a business-admin app (developer: Simplybook), not a generic client-facing app, and checked its rating directly. Scores follow our published methodology.
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