How Much Does a WordPress Booking Plugin Cost? Pricing Comparison for 2026

A WordPress booking plugin costs $0 to $339 a year, or $55 to $899 as a one-time or lifetime license. Most plugins bill annually per site. Genuine free plans exist on 3 of the 7 tools compared here. Add-ons for deposits, SMS, and calendar sync then raise the real total well beyond the headline price.

This guide compares how 7 WordPress and WooCommerce booking plugins price their plans and what each pricing tier includes. It also covers the hidden costs that inflate the real total, and how to budget by scenario from solo operator to agency.

How Much Does a WordPress Booking Plugin Cost?

A WordPress booking plugin costs $0 to $339 a year, or $55 to $899 as a one-time or lifetime license. Most tools bill annually per site rather than per user. Add-ons for deposits, SMS, and calendar sync push the real total higher than the headline price.

Bookly, Amelia, and Booknetic ship genuine free plans, though each caps staff, services, or domains. WooCommerce Bookings, YITH, PluginHive, and ARB skip the free tier entirely, offering a live demo or a money-back guarantee instead.

Licensing runs per site, not per seat, in this category. A single license covers unlimited staff and bookings on that domain. A five-person salon and a fifty-person clinic pay the same base price for one site.

How WordPress Booking Plugins Are Priced

WordPress booking plugins use three core pricing structures: one-time or lifetime licenses, annual subscriptions, and freemium plans. A one-time license is a single lifetime payment, a subscription bills an annual recurring fee, and freemium pairs a free core with paid upgrades. A fourth layer, add-on and modular pricing, stacks paid extensions on top of the base model, so most tools combine at least two.

One-Time and Lifetime License Pricing

One-time and lifetime licenses charge a single upfront fee instead of a recurring subscription. ARB's Regular License costs $55 once. Bookly, Booknetic, and Amelia also sell lifetime alternatives to their annual plans, ranging from $99 to $899.

ARB sells a single Regular License for $55, with every core booking feature included: flexible durations, per-person and per-resource pricing, and quote mode. The license never renews.

Bookly, Booknetic, and Amelia each sell a lifetime option as an alternative to their annual plans. Bookly's lifetime tiers run $129 for Pro up to $799 for a 100-site Ultimate license. Booknetic's lifetime tiers span $99 for Basic, $239 for Standard, $599 for Premium, and $699 for Elite. Amelia's lifetime licenses start around $269 for a single-domain Standard plan and reach roughly $899 for an unlimited-domain Elite license.

A lifetime license removes renewal costs, but the support window still ends. Bookly's license includes 6 months of support. Booknetic's lifetime plans include 12 months, renewable after the first year. The plugin keeps working after support lapses, but new updates and help tickets stop.

Annual Per-Site Subscription Pricing

Annual per-site subscriptions are the category's dominant model. WooCommerce Bookings costs $249 a year, YITH costs $249.99 a year, and PluginHive costs $149 a year, each for a single site with automatic renewal.

WooCommerce Bookings bills $249 for one year or $398.40 for two years, a 20 percent discount over paying annually twice. YITH Booking and Appointment charges $249.99 a year and renews automatically; renewal charges are not eligible for a refund. PluginHive Bookings and Appointments costs $149 a year for a single site.

Amelia, Booknetic, and Bookly also offer annual tiers alongside their lifetime options. Amelia's annual plans span $49 for Starter to $339 for an unlimited-domain Elite plan. Booknetic's annual plans span $45 for Basic to $299 for Elite. Bookly's annual plans span $49 for Pro to $299 for a 100-site Ultimate license.

Support and updates stay tied to an active subscription across every annual plan in this category. Letting a license lapse stops new features and support, though the plugin itself keeps running.

Freemium (Free Plan Plus Paid Upgrades)

Bookly, Amelia, and Booknetic offer genuine free plans, not time-limited trials. Each caps a core resource: Bookly limits staff and services, Amelia limits domains, and Booknetic limits the feature set for testing.

Bookly's free plan allows 1 staff member and 5 services, with no add-ons installable. Its only payment gateway is Stripe through Bookly Cloud, at a 0.9 percent application fee. Amelia's free plan is a limited WordPress.org edition for individuals and small businesses. Booknetic's free version exists mainly for testing the interface before purchase.

None of these three plans expire. That distinguishes a free plan from a free trial. WooCommerce Bookings, YITH, PluginHive, and ARB skip the free tier entirely. Each offers a live demo or a money-back guarantee window instead.

Add-On and Modular Pricing

Add-on and modular pricing sells essential features separately from the base plugin. Bookly, PluginHive, WooCommerce Bookings, and YITH all gate deposits, SMS, or calendar sync behind individual paid extensions.

Bookly sells more than 40 add-ons individually, priced $9.95 to $18.95 a year or $29 to $59 as a lifetime purchase each. PluginHive charges $69 to $99 a year per add-on for recurring bookings, Zoom meetings, Dokan multi-vendor support, and deposits.

WooCommerce Bookings routes deposits, on-page availability calendars, and recurring bookings to three separate paid extensions: WooCommerce Deposits, Bookings Availability, and WooCommerce Subscriptions. YITH takes the same approach with Deposits, SMS Notifications, Request a Quote, and Multi Currency, each sold as its own YITH plugin.

This is where the category's real cost hides. The Hidden Costs section below breaks down what add-on stacking actually adds to the base price.

WordPress Booking Plugin Pricing Comparison: What Major Plugins Cost in 2026

Booknetic's Basic plan is the cheapest annual entry point at $45 a year. YITH is the most expensive base subscription at $249.99 a year. ARB is the category's one-time outlier at $55. The table below compares pricing model, free-plan availability, starting price, top tier, and one-time options across all 7 tools, sorted by starting price. For a full feature-by-feature ranking beyond price alone, see our best WooCommerce booking plugins compared.

Prices verified July 2026 from each vendor's own pricing page, billed annually unless noted. Visit each vendor's site for current rates. Every figure above traces to a vendor's own pricing page verified against our how we review booking plugins methodology.

The gap between Booknetic's $45 entry and YITH's $249.99 base is not simple tier inflation. It reflects real differences in bundled add-ons, support windows, and calendar sync depth. ARB's one-time $55 sits outside both models entirely.

What Each Pricing Tier Includes

Free tiers cover only core booking with heavy caps. Entry tiers add reliable scheduling but strip most add-ons. Mid-tier and business plans add calendar sync, more domains, and longer support windows. Lifetime licenses trade a larger one-time cost for zero renewals.

Free Plans: What "Free" Actually Covers

Free plans cover basic booking with hard caps on staff, services, or domains. Bookly's free plan tops out at 1 staff member and 5 services. Amelia and Booknetic's free versions exist mainly for evaluation before upgrading.

Bookly's free plan allows 1 staff member and 5 services, with no add-ons installable. Payments run only through Stripe via Bookly Cloud, which adds a 0.9 percent application fee. Amelia's free plan is a limited WordPress.org edition aimed at individuals and small businesses. Booknetic's free version exists mainly for testing the interface before buying a paid tier.

None of the three free ceilings support real growth. A salon adding a second stylist outgrows Bookly's free plan immediately. For a deeper look at what genuinely free WordPress booking plugins can and cannot do, see our best free WordPress booking plugins guide.

Entry and Starter Plans ($45 to $55)

Entry plans cost $45 to $55 and cover one site with limited add-ons. Booknetic's Basic plan allows on-site payments only. Bookly Pro and Amelia Starter cost $49 a year each. ARB's $55 one-time license includes every core feature.

Booknetic's Basic plan costs $45 a year (listed at $89) and covers 1 domain. It includes 6 months of support, on-site payments only, and zero bundled add-ons. Bookly Pro costs $49 a year or $129 as a lifetime purchase. It removes the staff and service caps but still requires separate add-ons for deposits, coupons, and two-way calendar sync. Amelia Starter costs $49 a year for 1 domain.

ARB is the entry-tier outlier. Its $55 one-time license includes flexible durations, per-person and per-resource pricing, and quote mode in a single purchase. Booknetic, Bookly, and Amelia gate those same features behind higher tiers or paid add-ons at this price point.

Mid-Tier and Pro Plans ($99 to $149 Per Year)

Mid-tier plans cost $99 to $149 a year and add domains, gateways, and bundled add-ons. Amelia Standard and Pro, Booknetic Standard and Premium, PluginHive, and Bookly Business all fall in this range.

Amelia's Standard plan costs $89 a year and its Pro plan costs $149 a year for 1 domain or $199 a year for 5 domains. Booknetic's Standard plan costs $99 a year with 3 payment gateways and 6 bundled add-ons. Premium costs $149 a year with 5 domains, 16 add-ons, and a full year of support. Read our full Amelia review for the complete tier and feature breakdown.

PluginHive's single tier costs $149 a year for 1 site, including native staff management and 2-way Google and Outlook calendar sync. Bookly Business costs $149 a year for 1 site, bundling several of Bookly's most popular add-ons that cost extra on the Pro tier alone.

Business and Advanced Plans ($199 to $339 Per Year)

Business and advanced plans cost $199 to $339 a year and add multi-site licensing and full add-on sets. Amelia Elite, Booknetic Elite, Bookly Ultimate, WooCommerce Bookings, and YITH all sit in this range.

Amelia's Elite plan costs $249 a year for 20 domains or $339 a year for unlimited domains. Booknetic Elite costs $299 a year for unlimited domains, 50 or more add-ons, and 10 payment gateway options. Bookly Ultimate costs $249 a year for 20 sites or $299 a year for 100 sites.

WooCommerce Bookings costs $249 a year regardless of domain count, with no separate business tier. YITH costs $249.99 a year at the single price its product page discloses, with multi-site tiers not published.

Lifetime Licenses (One-Time Purchase)

Lifetime licenses trade a larger upfront cost for zero renewals. ARB costs $55, Bookly ranges $129 to $799, Booknetic ranges $99 to $699, and Amelia ranges roughly $269 to $899.

A lifetime license pays for itself once its cost exceeds the equivalent annual plan's cumulative renewals. The break-even math is straightforward.

• Bookly Pro: $129 lifetime versus $49 a year breaks even in roughly 3 years
• Booknetic Basic: $99 lifetime versus $45 a year breaks even in roughly 2 years
• Amelia Standard: about $269 lifetime versus $89 a year breaks even in roughly 3 years
• ARB: $55 one-time has no annual equivalent to break even against, since it never renews

Buyers who plan to run a booking site for 3 years or more usually save money with the lifetime or one-time option. It beats the matching annual plan over that span.

What Affects the Cost of a WordPress Booking Plugin?

Three factors drive the real price of a WordPress booking plugin. They are the billing model, the number of sites licensed, and the add-ons needed to match the features a business actually uses.

Billing Model: One-Time Versus Annual

Billing model compounds cost over time. A $249-a-year plugin costs about $1,245 over 5 years. A one-time $55 license costs $55 regardless of how long the site runs.

WooCommerce Bookings at $249 a year costs $1,245 over 5 years and keeps costing $249 every year after that. YITH at $249.99 a year follows the same trajectory. ARB's $55 one-time license costs $55 total, whether the site runs for 1 year or 10.

Number of Sites Licensed

Booking plugins license per site, not per staff member. Deploying the same plugin on 2 client sites usually means buying 2 licenses or a multi-site tier.

Amelia's Pro tier covers 1 domain for $149 a year or 5 domains for $199 a year. Elite covers 20 domains for $249 a year or unlimited domains for $339 a year. Booknetic's Premium tier covers 5 domains; Elite covers unlimited domains. Bookly's tiers scale by site count: 1, 5, 20, or 100 sites, each at a higher annual or lifetime price.

This category licenses per site with unlimited staff included, unlike per-seat SaaS tools that charge per user. An agency deploying bookings for 10 clients pays for 10 sites, not 10 staff accounts.

Add-Ons Needed for Feature Parity

The same feature costs nothing on one tool and $69 to $99 a year on another. Deposits, two-way calendar sync, and SMS notifications are the three add-ons that most often separate a plugin's base price from its real cost.

Deposits ship free inside Amelia's tiers but cost $99 a year as a PluginHive add-on, a separate YITH plugin, or a separate WooCommerce Deposits purchase. Two-way Google Calendar sync is native to PluginHive but sold as a $15.95-a-year or $49-lifetime Bookly add-on. ARB's Google Calendar sync is also a paid add-on, priced at $19 one-time.

SMS and Communication Volume

SMS and WhatsApp notifications are consumption costs, not flat fees. Bookly routes them through Bookly Cloud with per-message billing plus a 0.9 percent Stripe application fee. Booknetic uses Twilio or Amazon SNS pass-through pricing.

Bookly Cloud bills SMS, WhatsApp, and Voice notifications by consumption, separate from the plugin's annual or lifetime license. It also adds a 0.9 percent fee on Stripe payments processed through Cloud. Booknetic's SMS and WhatsApp notifications route through Twilio or Amazon SNS, both billed by message volume rather than a flat annual fee. ARB's SMS add-on is $15 one-time; add it to the base license when budgeting.

Hidden Costs of WordPress Booking Plugins

The 5 most common hidden costs in this category are add-on stacking, SMS and cloud fees, renewal lapses, multi-site licensing, and free-tier ceilings. Every one of them ties to a specific named tool below.

Add-On Stacking for Deposits, Coupons, and Calendar Sync

Add-on stacking is where the real cost hides. Bookly's individual add-ons cost $29 to $59 lifetime or $9.95 to $18.95 a year each. Matching a full-featured rival can add $300 or more across a dozen add-ons.

Bookly sells more than 40 individual add-ons at $9.95 to $18.95 a year or $29 to $59 as a lifetime purchase each. A store that needs deposits, coupons, two-way Google Calendar sync, group booking, and recurring appointments buys 5 separate add-ons. That adds roughly $300 in lifetime fees, or $75 a year on top of the $49 Pro license.

PluginHive stacks the same way on its $149 base:

• Deposits add-on: $99 a year
• Zoom integration: $69 a year
• Recurring bookings: $69 a year
• Product Add-Ons: $79 a year

A store needing all four pays $465 a year instead of the $149 headline price. WooCommerce Bookings requires separate paid purchases of WooCommerce Deposits, Bookings Availability, and WooCommerce Subscriptions to match those same capabilities. YITH takes an identical approach: Deposits, SMS Notifications, Request a Quote, and Multi Currency Switcher each cost extra as their own YITH plugin.

SMS and Cloud Communication Fees

SMS, WhatsApp, and voice notifications bill separately from the plugin license on most tools in this category. Bookly Cloud charges by consumption plus a 0.9 percent Stripe application fee.

Bookly Cloud bills SMS, WhatsApp, and Voice notifications by usage, on top of the Pro, Business, or Ultimate license. Payments processed through Bookly Cloud's Stripe integration also carry a 0.9 percent application fee, separate from Stripe's own processing rate. A high-volume salon sending daily reminders can add a meaningful monthly cost that never appears on Bookly's pricing page.

Annual Renewals and Support Lapses

Annual licenses auto-renew by default on YITH, Amelia, and WooCommerce Bookings. Missing a renewal does not disable the plugin, but it stops updates and support immediately.

YITH's license renews automatically each year, and YITH's own support confirms renewal charges are not eligible for a refund, unlike the initial 30-day guarantee. Amelia's annual plans also auto-renew; letting the subscription lapse keeps the plugin running but ends updates and support access. WooCommerce Bookings ties support and updates to an active subscription the same way.

A store that forgets to budget for the renewal date can face a full-price charge with no refund path, particularly on YITH's $249.99 annual license.

Multi-Site and Domain Licensing

A single-site license does not cover a second client site. Agencies deploying the same booking plugin for multiple clients pay for each additional site or jump to a multi-site tier.

An agency deploying Amelia for 3 clients on separate domains needs 3 separate 1-domain licenses, or one 5-domain Pro license at $199 a year. The same logic applies to Booknetic, Bookly, and PluginHive. Each additional client site needs its own license or an upgrade to a higher, multi-site tier.

ARB's one-time license model sidesteps annual multi-site fees. A developer deploying it for paying clients needs the higher-priced Extended License, not the $55 Regular License, per CodeCanyon's own licensing terms.

Free-Tier Ceilings That Force an Upgrade

Free-tier ceilings are deliberately tight. Bookly's free plan caps at 1 staff member and 5 services. That forces an upgrade the moment a business adds a second employee or a sixth service.

Bookly's free plan allows exactly 1 staff member and 5 services, with no add-ons installable at all. Amelia's free WordPress.org edition and Booknetic's free version carry similarly tight limits meant for evaluation, not production use at scale.

Every free plan in this category functions as an on-ramp to a paid tier, not a long-term destination for a growing business.

How to Estimate Your WordPress Booking Plugin Budget

Budget by scenario, not by headline price. Small businesses on a single site spend roughly $0 to $150 a year on most tools. Multi-site agencies invest $300 to $800 or more a year, or $600 to $750-plus for a lifetime multi-site deal. A solo operator, a single-site small business, and a multi-site agency each land on a different cheapest option once add-ons and renewals are counted.

Solo Operators and Single-Site Owners

Solo operators with light booking needs should start with a free tier if the caps fit, or a one-time license to avoid renewals altogether. Bookly, Amelia, or Booknetic's free plans, or ARB's $55 license, all work.

A solo consultant with 1 staff member and 5 or fewer services fits inside Bookly's free plan at no cost. A solo operator who needs dynamic pricing, per-resource booking, or quote mode outgrows every free tier. They should compare ARB's $55 one-time license against a $99 to $129 lifetime plan from Booknetic or Bookly, since none renew.

Small Businesses on One Site

A small business needing deposits, reminders, and calendar sync on one site should compare the 3-year total, not just the first year. A recurring plan's add-ons often exceed a one-time license's full price.

A salon needing deposits, appointment reminders, and Google Calendar sync on one site faces three real paths.

• ARB: $55 one-time, plus a $19 Google Calendar add-on and a $15 SMS add-on, with no deposits feature at all
• Bookly Pro: $49 a year, plus roughly $30 to $40 a year in add-ons for deposits and two-way calendar sync, totaling about $237 to $267 over 3 years
• WooCommerce Bookings: $249 a year, plus a separate WooCommerce Deposits purchase, totaling well over $750 over 3 years before add-ons

The one-time and lifetime paths win decisively once deposits, sync, and renewals are counted over 3 years. A single year's headline price hides that difference.

Multi-Site Agencies and Developers

Agencies deploying booking sites for multiple clients should compare per-client licensing costs, not per-site monthly rates. One-time licensing protects project margin better than stacking annual renewals across every client.

An agency running 5 client sites on Amelia's Elite tier pays $249 to $339 a year indefinitely. That recurring line item must be absorbed or re-billed to each client. The same agency on Bookly Ultimate pays $599 to $799 once for up to 100 sites, with no further renewal beyond the initial support window.

ARB's Extended License lets a developer deploy the plugin once per paying-client project. It avoids the ongoing per-site subscription that Amelia, Booknetic, and PluginHive all require. The Extended License is $249 one-time on CodeCanyon.

The Cheapest Option by Scenario

The cheapest real option changes with what a buyer is optimizing for.

• Cheapest annual entry: Booknetic Basic at $45 a year
• Cheapest with a genuine free plan: Bookly, Amelia, or Booknetic's free tiers
• Cheapest 3-to-5-year total cost of ownership: a one-time or lifetime license, such as ARB at $55 or Bookly Pro at $129 lifetime
• Cheapest WooCommerce-native option: ARB at $55, versus WooCommerce Bookings at $249 a year

ARB Pricing: What You Get for a One-Time Price

ARB costs $55 once as a CodeCanyon Regular License, with every core booking feature included in that single price. Over 3 to 5 years, that one-time cost undercuts every recurring plan in this comparison.

ARB's $55 Regular License includes every core booking feature in a single purchase, with no tiers to climb.

• Flexible durations from minutes to months
• Per-person-type and per-resource pricing
• Multi-axis range pricing
• Availability and capacity controls
• Quote and approval workflows
• An admin reservation manager

Developers deploying ARB on a paying client's site need the higher-priced Extended License rather than the $55 Regular License, per CodeCanyon's standard terms.

Two things are worth saying plainly. Google Calendar sync ($19) and SMS notifications ($15) are paid add-ons sold separately, both one-time on CodeCanyon. There are no deposits or partial-payment features at all, a gap that Amelia, Booknetic, and PluginHive's Deposits add-on cover instead.

ARB is not the cheapest entry point in this comparison. Booknetic's Basic plan starts lower, at $45 a year. What ARB offers instead is the lowest total cost over 3 to 5 years for a WooCommerce-native store. A one-time $55 payment never compounds into the $135 to $1,245 that a $45-to-$249-a-year subscription costs over that span.

See how the one-time license fits your store: try the ARB live demo before you buy.

FAQs

How much does a WordPress booking plugin cost per month?

Most plugins bill annually, not monthly, working out to roughly $4 to $28 a month depending on the tier ($45 to $339 a year). A one-time license like ARB's $55 has no monthly equivalent once paid.

Is there a free WordPress booking plugin?

Yes. Bookly, Amelia, and Booknetic all offer real, capped free plans, not time-limited trials. WooCommerce Bookings, YITH, PluginHive, and ARB skip the free tier and offer a demo or money-back guarantee instead.

What is the cheapest WordPress booking plugin?

The cheapest annual entry is Booknetic Basic at $45 a year. Over 3 to 5 years, a one-time or lifetime license, such as ARB at $55 or Bookly Pro at $129 lifetime, usually costs less overall.

How much does a booking plugin cost for a small business?

A single-site small business needing deposits and calendar sync typically budgets $50 to $250 in year one. Over 3 years it spends $150 to $750, depending on whether it picks a one-time license or an annual plan with add-ons.

Is a one-time booking plugin cheaper than a subscription?

Yes, beyond the break-even point, usually 1 to 3 years in. A $129 Bookly lifetime license beats its $49-a-year Pro plan by year 3; ARB's $55 license never has a break-even point to reach.

What is the best booking plugin for WordPress?

The best choice depends on billing model and the features a store needs, not price alone. See our best WordPress booking plugins comparison for a full feature-based ranking.

Do WordPress booking plugins have hidden costs?

Yes. The most common hidden costs are add-on stacking, SMS and cloud consumption fees, and auto-renewals with no refund. Multi-site licensing jumps and free-tier ceilings that force an early upgrade round out the list.