Prices for M1 come straight from the price list, so they’re always current. Outside figures are linked to their sources.
What common booking tools cost
These are the published prices I found this month. Several tools only show US dollars or euros on their pricing pages from where I checked, so I’ve kept the currency they showed. Check the page yourself before you sign up, because prices and plans change.
| Tool | Monthly price | Deposits and payments |
|---|---|---|
| Square Appointments | A £0 plan for one location, Plus at £29 and Premium at £69 a month per location | Online payments on every plan, with Square’s card fee on each one |
| Fresha | £14.95 a month for one person, or £9.95 per bookable team member a month, plus VAT (per a UK review checked in August 2026) | Deposits, card capture and no-show fees can be set in its payment policies. Card fees apply, and new clients who find you through the Fresha marketplace carry a one-off commission with a £4 minimum. |
| Setmore | A $0 plan for up to 4 users; Pro at $5 per user a month billed yearly, or $12 billed monthly | Deposits are on Pro only. Payments run through Square, Stripe or PayPal. |
| SimplyBook.me | A €0 plan for 50 bookings a month, then from €11.90 a month billed yearly | Payments and deposits on every plan. SimplyBook.me says it adds no transaction fee; your payment provider charges its own. |
| Calendly | Standard at $10 a seat a month | Collecting payment at booking, through Stripe or PayPal, needs a paid plan. |
| Acuity Scheduling | From $16 a month billed yearly, or $20 billed monthly | Payments and deposits through Stripe, Square or PayPal on every plan. |
The cheapest plan is rarely the whole story. Check what the plan you need includes: text reminders, deposits, more than one staff calendar and removing the tool’s branding are often on the paid tiers.
The card fees on deposits
Every deposit taken by card has a fee, paid by you, taken off before the money reaches your account. It’s small per booking, but it adds up across a year, so work it out before you choose a tool.
- Stripe (used by many booking tools): on a £20 deposit paid with a standard UK card, the fee is 50p. Premium and overseas cards cost more.
- Square: on a £20 deposit paid online with a UK card, the fee is 53p.
The exact rates are in the sources below. Some tools, such as Fresha, run their own payments with their own rates, and some add VAT to their fees. Ask the tool what you’ll pay on a typical deposit, then multiply by the bookings you take in a month.
A deposit also needs clear rules: how much, when it’s refundable, and what happens if someone doesn’t turn up. Customers should see those rules when they book. See the glossary entry on the no-show deposit and the guide to reducing no-shows with deposits.
Setting it up yourself
Most of these tools are built for owners to set up themselves, and many offer a trial. Expect a few evenings to do it properly:
- List your services with their length, price and any gap you need between them.
- Set your working hours, days off and how far ahead people can book.
- Write your deposit, cancellation and no-show rules in plain words.
- Connect a payment provider and take a real test booking with your own card.
- Turn on reminders, and check what they say and when they go out.
- Put the booking link or widget on your website, your Google Business Profile and your social pages.
The part people skip is the last one. An online booking system that’s hard to find on your website won’t get used.
When a custom booking system makes sense
Off-the-shelf tools suit most appointment businesses. A custom system is worth it when the tools can’t fit how you work: bookings that depend on equipment or rooms, classes with memberships and credits, several businesses under one roof, or a booking flow that ties into your own customer portal.
A custom build has no per-user monthly fee to the tool maker, but it’s a bigger upfront cost, and hosting, card fees and upkeep still apply. At M1, booking systems start from £4,500, and the Scale Build, from £12,000, includes a custom booking system with a website and customer portal features.
Working out whether it’s worth it
Compare the yearly cost of the tool and its card fees with what no-shows and back-and-forth messages cost you now. The no-show cost calculator uses your own figures, runs in your browser, and shows what a deposit would cover. Its answer is an estimate, but it puts a number on a problem that’s easy to shrug off.
If most of your lost bookings come from calls you can’t answer rather than people who don’t turn up, text-back may be the better first fix: see the guide to missed-call text-back costs.
What M1 Studio charges
Online Booking & Deposits is a fixed £1,800, with no VAT. Customers book on your current website and pay a deposit when they book. Automatic reminders go out before each booking, and your cancellation and deposit rules are set up and shown when people book. I set it up with your services, times and prices. It’s paid £900 to start and £900 at launch, typically 2 to 3 weeks.
The booking tool’s monthly fee and the card fees on deposits are paid directly by you, and listed before you agree. You own the booking tool account.
Need something built around your business instead? Booking systems are from £4,500, scoped on a call and priced in a fixed proposal.
Sources
Prices are as shown on each page on the date below, in the currency the page showed. The card fee examples in the guide use these published rates: Stripe, 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards (2.8% + 20p for premium UK cards); Square, 1.4% + 25p for online payments with UK cards. The Fresha figures come from a UK review, because Fresha’s own page showed euros from where I checked; it lists Fresha’s new-client commission as 20% + VAT with a £4 minimum. Prices change, so check the current page before you buy.
- Square Appointments pricing, Square, accessed 30 September 2026
- What Fresha actually costs in the UK in 2026, JENA, accessed 30 September 2026
- Set up payment policies in Fresha, Fresha Help Center, accessed 30 September 2026
- Setmore pricing, Setmore, accessed 30 September 2026
- SimplyBook.me pricing, SimplyBook.me, accessed 30 September 2026
- Calendly pricing, Calendly, accessed 30 September 2026
- Acuity Scheduling plans and pricing, Acuity Scheduling, accessed 30 September 2026
- Stripe pricing (UK), Stripe, accessed 30 September 2026