Consultants and coaches book fewer, higher-value calls paid online, often with proposals and contracts before the first meeting. Card fees are a percentage game here.
The example
A solo coach
- 1staff
- 30bookings a month
- $200average price
- 90%paid online
0% pay by card at the appointment, the rest cash or other. 1 reminder text per booking, no booking-app clients. This is an illustration, not a statistic about the trade: put your own numbers in.
Spread at this volume: $165 to $270 a month, a difference of $1,256 a year.
Cheapest all-in for consultants
Cal.com · Free
- Plan$0
- Card processing$164.70
- Text reminders$0.30
Card fees estimated with Stripe's standard rate. Vendor list prices checked 4 October 2026.
9 systems ranked
Partial estimates: some costs aren't published
These fit your must-haves, but at least one fee isn't public, so the real total is higher than shown. They're kept out of the ranking above.
Don't fit what you entered
What matters for consultants and coaches
Percentage over cents
At $200 a call, 30¢ hardly matters; the percentage does. HoneyBook's 2.9% + 25¢ and Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ end up close.
Client portals
HoneyBook and Dubsado add proposals, contracts and invoices; Dubsado Starter has no scheduler at all.
Calendar tools you may already pay for
Google Workspace Business Standard and Microsoft 365 include booking pages, with limits on payments and texts.
Questions from consultants and coaches
What is the cheapest booking software for consultants and coaches?
At my example (a solo coach: 30 bookings a month at $200), the cheapest all-in is Cal.com on Free at about $165 a month, including card fees. Third is Picktime at $174. Change the numbers to match your business; the order changes with volume and how clients pay.
How much of the cost is card processing for consultants and coaches?
For the cheapest option at this volume, card fees are about 100% of the monthly total. 90% of bookings in the example are paid by card.
Which booking systems are built for consultants and coaches?
15 of the systems I track list consultants and coaches among the businesses they target: Calendly, Acuity Scheduling, Cal.com, YouCanBookMe, Google Calendar, Microsoft Bookings, Setmore, SimplyBook.me, Zoho Bookings, Picktime, Appointy, Wix Bookings, HoneyBook, Dubsado, Sign In Scheduling.
No forms, no sales funnel
Want me to set it up for you?
I'll pick the system that fits your trade, set up your services, deposits and reminders, and connect the booking button to your website. Start with a free 20-minute call with me.
