makeabook.ing vs Setmore
Setmore is a solid free generalist scheduler. makeabook.ing is built specifically around solo service businesses that need to show a service menu with pricing. A comparison.
TL;DR: Setmore is one of the more genuinely usable free scheduling tools around, and it's a fair comparison to makeabook.ing on that basis — both offer a real free tier, not just a trial. The difference is focus: Setmore is built as a general-purpose scheduler for a wide range of industries, while makeabook.ing is built specifically around solo service businesses presenting a service menu with pricing.
At a glance
| Setmore | makeabook.ing | |
|---|---|---|
| Free tier | Yes, ongoing, with feature limits (verify current terms) | Yes, ongoing, scoped to 20 bookings/month with full features |
| Service menu with pricing | Supported — services can have duration and price | Core to how it works, built around this specifically |
| Industry focus | General-purpose — used across many business types | Solo service businesses specifically: beauty, wellness, tutoring, coaching, photography |
| Team/staff scheduling | Yes; free plan currently supports up to four users | Staff calendars supported |
| Payment collection | Via supported payment integrations | Not processed — collect payment separately |
| Setup experience | Broader tool, more general configuration options | Narrower, tailored to a single-person service business |
Where they actually differ
Setmore deserves credit here: it's a genuine free scheduling tool, not a time-limited trial dressed up as one, and it does support services with pricing and duration — this isn't the same gap as Calendly. Where it differs from makeabook.ing is focus and framing. Setmore is built to serve a wide range of businesses — real estate, healthcare, home services, professional services — which means its features, templates and defaults are general-purpose rather than tuned to any one of them.
makeabook.ing narrows in specifically on solo service businesses that sell appointments — nail and lash artists, massage therapists, tutors, coaches, photographers — and builds the whole experience, from the booking card layout to the language, around that one context. Less breadth, more fit.
Where the general-purpose design shows up
In practice, a broad tool like Setmore has to speak to a real estate agent booking a viewing and a hairdresser booking a colour appointment with the same set of fields and defaults. That usually means generic labels ("customers," "appointments," "staff") rather than language built around a service menu, and setup screens that ask about things — multiple locations, service categories that don't quite match a beauty or wellness business — that a niche tool wouldn't need to ask about at all.
None of that makes Setmore worse at scheduling. It means a solo nail tech or tutor is doing a small amount of translation work — fitting their business into a shape designed to fit many businesses — that doesn't come up on a tool built around their specific kind of work from the start.
Pricing
Setmore's free plan is a real one, with feature and user-count limits that ease as you move to paid tiers — worth checking current specifics, since free-tier scope is the kind of thing that gets adjusted over time.
makeabook.ing's free plan is scoped by booking volume rather than by feature set: 20 bookings a month, full functionality, then £19/month flat for unlimited.
Who Setmore is best for
Businesses that want a capable, genuinely free general-purpose scheduler and don't need the experience tailored specifically to a solo service-based business — or who expect to add staff and want a tool that scales into that.
Who makeabook.ing is best for
Solo service pros who want a booking experience — and a brand voice — built specifically for what they do, rather than configured down from a tool meant to serve many different kinds of businesses at once.
Switching over
Setmore doesn't lock in your data in a way that makes switching difficult — recreate your services, durations and prices on makeabook.ing, set your hours, and swap the link wherever you currently share your Setmore booking page. There's no reason you can't trial makeabook.ing alongside an existing Setmore account before fully committing either way.
FAQ
Is Setmore actually free, or is it a trial?
Setmore has historically offered an ongoing free plan with feature limits, not a time-limited trial — a fair point of comparison to makeabook.ing's own free tier. Confirm current limits directly, since free-tier scope can change.
Does Setmore support showing service prices like makeabook.ing?
Yes — Setmore's services can include pricing and duration, so this isn't a gap the way it is with a pure meeting scheduler. The difference is more about industry focus than missing functionality.
Why choose makeabook.ing over a free general-purpose tool like Setmore?
If you want the experience — layout, language, defaults — built specifically around a solo service business rather than general-purpose scheduling software, that focus is the main reason to pick the narrower tool.
Does Setmore support team scheduling if I grow beyond solo?
Yes. Setmore's free plan currently supports up to four users, while makeabook.ing also supports assigning services and availability to staff without charging per user.
Is makeabook.ing's free tier more generous than Setmore's?
They're generous in different ways — Setmore typically limits by feature and user count on its free plan, while makeabook.ing limits by booking volume (20/month) but includes the full feature set below that cap. Which one suits you better depends on whether feature access or booking volume matters more to your business.
Built for one kind of business, not every kind. Create your free booking link — free for your first 20 bookings a month.