Booking Calendar vs Bookly
Compare WordPress plugins and tools side by side. Pick products with “Compare” in the software directory.
| Feature | Booking Calendar v11.9.1 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.8/5 Visit Details | Bookly v28.6 · checked 23 Oct 2026 Free + paid · ★ 4.4/5 Visit Details |
|---|---|---|
| At a glance | ||
| Active installs | 40,000+ | 60,000+ |
| Last updated | October 11, 2026 | October 13, 2026 |
| Editions | Booking Calendar · Booking Calendar Pro ($) | Bookly · Bookly Pro ($) · Bookly Cloud ($) |
| Pros | Full-day, time-slot and appointment bookings in one plugin; Booking and inquiry forms with email notices; Elementor widget and WooCommerce compatibility | Complete booking form, calendar and customer list in the free plugin; Gutenberg block, Elementor widget and Divi module for the booking form; Usage statistics are only sent when the admin turns them on |
| Cons | Large plugin with many admin screens to learn; Newer resource and service catalog needs the Pro edition; Payment gateways are not in the free code | Free version limited to one staff member and five services; Online payments need Bookly Pro or the paid Bookly Cloud Stripe service; Many admin screens advertise Pro and Cloud products |
| Mentioned in our posts | 1 | 1 |
| More features | ||
| Other features | Calendar and booking form shortcodes, Import of Google Calendar feeds into availability, Elementor booking form widget controls, Services and providers catalog (Pro-compatible resources) ($), Dashboard What's New page after activation | Booking form shortcode bookly-form, Booking form and AI assistant Gutenberg blocks, Elementor widget and Divi module, One staff member without Pro, Five services without Pro, Pay on site (local) payments, WP dashboard appointments widget, SMS notifications through Bookly Cloud ($), WhatsApp and voice notifications through Bookly Cloud ($), AI booking assistant via Bookly Cloud ($), WPML string translation support |
| Integrations | ||
| Payment | — | Stripe (Bookly Cloud) ($) |
| E-commerce | WooCommerce | — |
| Plugins | Elementor, Polylang, WPML | Elementor, Divi, WPML |
| Other | Google Calendar (iCal feed import) | Zapier (Bookly Cloud) ($) |
| Requires WordPress | 5.3 | 3.7 |
| Requires PHP | 5.6 | 5.3.7 |
| Tested up to | 7.1 | 7.1 |
| Phones home | Only if you agree | Only if you agree |
| External services | wpbookingcalendar.com | hub.bookly.pro, cloud.bookly.pro, app.bookly.pro |
| Blocks | 1 | 2 |
| Shortcodes | 10 | 2 |
| Custom tables | 3 | 33 |