On this pageThe table
Five ways to take bookings online, and their first-year cost
Read the price and the who-fixes-it column together. A tool you pay for monthly is fixed by the company behind it; an application built for you is fixed by whoever built it. A blank price is one that is set on a quote.
| Option | Real cost, first year | Hours it takes you | Who does the work | What breaks at six months | Who fixes it |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Keep booking by phone and messagesIf clients reach you and you answer | Nothing | None to set up, the calls stay yours | You | Calls you miss while you work | You, by calling back |
| A free booking tool, linked from your siteIf you work alone and sell one kind of appointment | $0Calendly Free covers one type of appointment. Square Appointments Free is for one professional per location, with payment processing fees on top. Recorded September 28, 2026, US connection. | An afternoon to set it up and add the link | You | The limits of the free plan, once you outgrow them | The tool's company, through its support |
| A paid scheduling tool, linked from your siteIf several people book, or clients pay a deposit | $120 to $588First year: Calendly Standard $10 a month per user, billed annually; Acuity Starter $16 a month billed annually, before tax; Square Plus $49 a month per location. Recorded September 28, 2026, US connection. | A day to set up services, hours and reminders | You, with the tool's setup guides | A price change or a plan change decided by the tool's company | The tool's company |
| A site built around your booking tool, Vicou StudioIf the tool works and the website is what is missing | EUR 1,190Paid once, EUR 357 on order and EUR 833 at launch, plus hosting in your name and the booking tool's own price. Billed in euros. | Gathering your text and photos, then reviewing | Me for the site, you for the content and the tool | WordPress updates continuously, and running those updates sits outside the fixed price. It is quoted case by case | Me for the site, quoted case by case; the tool's company for the booking itself. Six months of questions by email |
| A booking app built for you, Vicou Studio SignatureIf your way of booking fits no standard tool | Quoted: Signature from EUR 3,000, and the custom application from EUR 2,000 on top. The quote says exactly what it does before anything starts. | Describing how you work, then testing the app with me | Me | Whatever the quote did not describe | Me, on the terms written into the quote |
Keep booking by phone and messages
If clients reach you and you answer
- Real cost, first year
- Nothing
- Hours it takes you
- None to set up, the calls stay yours
- Who does the work
- You
- What breaks at six months
- Calls you miss while you work
- Who fixes it
- You, by calling back
A free booking tool, linked from your site
If you work alone and sell one kind of appointment
- Real cost, first year
- $0Calendly Free covers one type of appointment. Square Appointments Free is for one professional per location, with payment processing fees on top. Recorded September 28, 2026, US connection.
- Hours it takes you
- An afternoon to set it up and add the link
- Who does the work
- You
- What breaks at six months
- The limits of the free plan, once you outgrow them
- Who fixes it
- The tool's company, through its support
A paid scheduling tool, linked from your site
If several people book, or clients pay a deposit
- Real cost, first year
- $120 to $588First year: Calendly Standard $10 a month per user, billed annually; Acuity Starter $16 a month billed annually, before tax; Square Plus $49 a month per location. Recorded September 28, 2026, US connection.
- Hours it takes you
- A day to set up services, hours and reminders
- Who does the work
- You, with the tool's setup guides
- What breaks at six months
- A price change or a plan change decided by the tool's company
- Who fixes it
- The tool's company
A site built around your booking tool, Vicou Studio
If the tool works and the website is what is missing
- Real cost, first year
- EUR 1,190Paid once, EUR 357 on order and EUR 833 at launch, plus hosting in your name and the booking tool's own price. Billed in euros.
- Hours it takes you
- Gathering your text and photos, then reviewing
- Who does the work
- Me for the site, you for the content and the tool
- What breaks at six months
- WordPress updates continuously, and running those updates sits outside the fixed price. It is quoted case by case
- Who fixes it
- Me for the site, quoted case by case; the tool's company for the booking itself. Six months of questions by email
A booking app built for you, Vicou Studio Signature
If your way of booking fits no standard tool
- Real cost, first year
- Quoted: Signature from EUR 3,000, and the custom application from EUR 2,000 on top. The quote says exactly what it does before anything starts.
- Hours it takes you
- Describing how you work, then testing the app with me
- Who does the work
- Me
- What breaks at six months
- Whatever the quote did not describe
- Who fixes it
- Me, on the terms written into the quote
Depending on your situation
Clients reach you and you answer
Do not add a tool. Put your number and the hours you answer at the top of every page, and a messaging link beside it.
You miss calls while you work
A free booking link is the smallest fix. Try it for a month before paying for anything.
Several people take appointments
A paid scheduling tool handles team calendars better than anything you would build. That is what those companies do all day.
You already use a booking tool
Keep it. What matters is that the site sends people to it from every page, with a button that stays visible on a phone.
Your bookings follow a client over weeks
Sessions, packages and a client area are where standard tools start to strain. That is the case for something built for you.
The criteria that decide it
Most sites do not need booking built in
A booking tool the site links to does the job for most businesses that work by appointment. It is cheaper to start, someone else keeps it running, and you can change tools without touching the site. Building booking into the site itself only pays off when the way you book fits no tool.
The button matters more than the tool
The most common reason a visitor leaves without booking is that they could not find how. Whatever you use, the booking button belongs at the top of every page and stays visible on a phone. A great tool behind a hidden link books nobody.
Free plans have a ceiling
Free booking plans are real, and they are built to be outgrown: one type of appointment, one person, fewer reminders. That is fine to start. Know where the ceiling is before your clients hit it for you.
A monthly tool is a running cost
A paid scheduling tool bills you for as long as you use it, and its company can change the price or the plan. In exchange, it is maintained for you. An application built for you costs more up front and has no monthly fee to the builder, but somebody has to maintain it.
Deposits change the choice
If clients should pay or leave a deposit when they book, choose a tool that takes payments. Card processing fees apply on top of the plan price, and they depend on your volume and your processor, which is why this page does not quote them.
The quiz
Four questions to find the booking setup that fits how you work.
How do clients book with you today?
How many people take appointments?
Do clients pay or leave a deposit when they book?
Does your way of booking fit a standard calendar?
Your result
Keep booking by phone and messages
Your clients reach you, you answer, and nothing is lost. Online booking would add a tool to manage without solving a problem you have. Put your number and the hours you answer at the top of every page of your site, and a messaging link for people who prefer to write.
This costs nothing and needs nobody. It does not lead to me, and for many businesses it is the right answer.
A free booking link
You work alone, clients book one kind of appointment, and they pay on the day. A free booking tool gives them a link to pick a time without calling you. Put that link on a button at the top of every page, visible on a phone.
Check what the free plan limits before you rely on it: on Calendly, it covers one type of appointment.
A paid scheduling tool
You have several services, several people, or you want a deposit at booking. That is what paid scheduling tools do well: reminders, payments, team calendars. The site links to it from every page, and the tool's company keeps it running.
The tool bills you every month or year for as long as you use it. Compare that against how many missed calls it saves you.
A site built around the tool you use
You already have a booking tool that works, and what is missing is a website that sends clients to it. I build the site from your text and photos, with a booking button on every page that opens your tool. Whether the tool's calendar can also sit inside a page depends on the tool, and I check that before you order.
A booking app built for you
Your way of booking does not fit a standard tool: packages, sessions followed over weeks, a client area where people see their bookings. That is a custom application, built for how you work, quoted with you before anything starts, with the Signature package only.
The quote describes exactly what the application does. If a standard tool turns out to cover it, I will say so in that conversation.
The concrete case: Vicou Studio
Who it is for
A US business that works by appointment, already has or is ready to pick a booking tool, and needs a website that sends clients to it. If your way of booking fits no standard tool, the Signature package is the one to discuss.
What it costs
EUR 1,190 for the site, paid once: EUR 357 on order, EUR 833 when it goes live. The booking tool is billed by its own company. A custom booking app comes with Signature only, on the quote.
The timeline
15 business days, counted on the French working calendar, about three calendar weeks, from the start date I confirm in writing once the deposit has cleared and your content is complete.
What the fixed price does not cover
Setting up your booking tool's services, hours and reminders, which stays with you. Payment processing. A custom booking application, which is quoted separately with the Signature package.
When this is not the right answer
A booking tool is usually the better answer
For most businesses, a scheduling tool linked from the site beats anything built from scratch: it costs less to start and its company maintains it. This page puts it before my own options on purpose.
I do not set up your booking tool
I build the site and put your booking button on every page. Your services, hours, reminders and payment settings are configured in the tool, by you, because you are the one who will change them.
You are billed in euros
The dollar amount depends on the exchange rate the day you pay, and your card may add a foreign transaction fee. The booking tools on this page bill in dollars.
Frequently asked questions
Can I add online booking to my website for free?
Yes. A free booking tool gives you a link clients use to pick a time, and your site puts that link on a button. On Calendly, the free plan covers one type of appointment; Square Appointments has a free plan for one professional per location, with payment processing fees on top. Both were recorded on September 28, 2026 from a US connection.
Should the booking calendar be inside my website or on a separate page?
Either works for your clients, as long as the button is easy to find. A calendar inside a page keeps visitors on your site; a separate booking page is simpler and cannot break your layout. Whether a tool offers the first depends on the tool.
Which pages should have the booking button?
All of them, at the top, and visible on a phone. Visitors land on whatever page Google sends them to, not always the home page. The trade articles on the blog show where it goes for a hair salon or a personal trainer.
When is a custom booking app worth it?
When your way of booking fits no standard tool: packages of sessions, clients followed over weeks, a client area where people see their history. If a standard tool covers what you do, it will almost always be cheaper and better maintained than something built for you.
Written by
Victor Rouvreau
I've been building websites for four years, for myself and for clients.
The About pageSources and date checked
- Calendly Free, and Standard at $10 a month per user billed annuallyCalendly pricing page, recorded September 28, 2026 from a US connection
- Acuity Scheduling Starter at $16 a month billed annually, before tax, no free planAcuity Scheduling pricing page, recorded September 28, 2026 from a US connection
- Square Appointments Free and Plus at $49 a month per locationSquare Appointments pricing page, recorded September 28, 2026 from a US connection
- The Vicou Studio prices, timescale and exclusionsThe packages page, which is the contract
- Where booking sits on a salon websiteThe blog, what a hair salon website should include
Page updated on September 28, 2026. It is reviewed at least once a quarter. If something here looks wrong or out of date, write to contact@vicou.studio: the page is corrected, or the claim comes out.