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Bookit — Booking & Appointment Calendar

By Nexcess

Bookings & Scheduling / Booking & Reservations

Reviewed by Abdul Hameid

Trusted WordPress expert with 20+ years of experience evaluating plugins for the WP ecosystem.

Bookit — Booking & Appointment Calendar Review - In-Depth Analysis

Bookit is an appointment booking and event calendar plugin for WordPress. It allows you to define services, staff, and availability while preventing double-booking. Users can submit bookings and receive email notifications.

Performance Overview

WPS Score

6.86/10

User Rating

3.8/5 (based on 24+ reviews)

Active Installations

4,000+

Update Frequency

Below Average It is calculated using the weighted average of same category plugins.

Security Score

6.43 / 10 (Medium Risk) It is calculated using the weighted average of all versions.

What It Does

Bookit adds an appointment booking system and event calendar to your WordPress site. You define services, staff, working hours, and prices; visitors pick a date and time and submit a booking. The plugin prevents double-booking and sends configurable email notifications.

What you can do:

Define multiple services with duration and price; assign staff and set their working hours and days.

Show availability in daily, weekly, or monthly calendar views.

Place a booking form on any page via shortcode or with Elementor and WPBakery widgets.

Let customers choose a service and staff, see available slots, and submit a booking (no account required unless you enable it).

Receive and send email notifications for new, updated, or upcoming appointments; templates are editable in settings.

Manage all appointments from the admin dashboard; optional Stripe payments in the free version.

Optional BookIt Pro add-ons add WooCommerce integration, Google Calendar sync, drag-and-drop custom fields, and additional payment options (e.g. PayPal). Documentation and support are available at bookitwp.com.

Comparing to Alternatives

Bookit is a booking and appointment calendar plugin with several direct competitors offering similar scheduling functionalities.

Top alternatives

Strengths

Offers a free version with many features that competitors charge for.
Includes a pro version with additional premium features.
Has a user-friendly interface for booking and appointment management.
Supported by the Events Calendar team, indicating ongoing development.
Integrates with Google Calendar (though some users report issues).

Weaknesses

Has had multiple security vulnerabilities in past versions, some critical.
Google Calendar integration is now a paid add-on, limiting free use.
Not fully translatable without editing plugin files, which is risky.
Compatibility issues with PHP 8.x and email notification problems reported.

User Sentiment Analysis

With a 3.8 rating from 24 reviews, most users appreciate the plugin's features and potential, but nearly 30% of ratings are 1 or 2 stars, reflecting significant user frustrations.

Positive highlights

"Worked great for me. Even the free version offers lots of features that others charge for." — George Pattichis
"Excelent" — marperacet
"Seeing the Events Calendar team picking this up means future updates coming up rock solid." — George Pattichis

Common complaints

Lack of support and refusal to refund for issues with additional plugins.
Google Calendar integration moved behind a paid add-on, reducing free functionality.
Plugin not fully translatable without risky manual file edits.
Incompatibility with PHP 8.x and failure of email notifications.

Weaknesses

Security vulnerabilities have been a concern in past versions.
Some features require paid add-ons, limiting free version usability.
User support has been reported as slow or unhelpful.
Certain booking functionalities like break times and overlapping bookings need improvement.

Who Should Use This?

Best for

Users looking for a feature-rich booking plugin with a free version that covers many needs and who are comfortable managing updates and potential security patches.

Not ideal for

Those requiring robust, out-of-the-box Google Calendar integration without extra cost, users needing full translation support without manual edits, or those on PHP 8.x environments without workarounds.

Pricing & Value

Free version includes

The free version offers many features that are paid in other plugins, providing good baseline functionality for booking and appointments.

Pro version

Premium features such as advanced booking options, additional integrations, and priority support are available in the paid version.

Final Verdict

Bookit offers a solid booking and appointment solution with a generous free version and a pro upgrade for advanced needs. However, users should be aware of past security issues and the shift of key features like Google Calendar integration to paid add-ons. Support responsiveness and compatibility with newer PHP versions have also been points of concern.

While it competes well with many alternatives, potential users must weigh the plugin's strengths against its weaknesses, especially regarding security and support. Those comfortable with managing these aspects may find Bookit a valuable tool, but others might consider more stable or fully supported alternatives.