Bookly
by Bookly
Bookings plugin from Bookly.
This link may earn us a commission. It never changes our rating.
What Bookly does
Bookings plugin from Bookly.
It sits in the bookings part of a WordPress stack and is sold by Bookly on a freemium basis. We recommend it in our bookings guides because it does that one job well without asking you to rebuild the rest of the site around it.
Every plugin adds work to a page request, so treat this as a decision with a cost. Record a speed test before you install it and run the same test afterwards, on the same page, so you know exactly what it charged you.
Real user ratings
Bookly is sold outside the WordPress.org directory, so there is no public user rating to quote. Our own editorial score is 4.3/5, based on the vendor documentation, the refund window and the measured performance cost.
Where Bookly ranks elsewhere
| Publisher | List | Position |
|---|---|---|
| TechRadar | The best WordPress plugins | #17 of 20 |
Positions are read from the published articles themselves, so they reflect that publisher's order rather than ours. Lists get re-ordered over time, so follow the link if you want the current version.
What changed in the latest version
Bookly does not publish a changelog we can read automatically, so check the vendor's own release notes before you update a live site.
Pros and cons
- Focused on bookings work rather than doing everything
- A free tier you can trial before paying
- Actively maintained and used on production sites we test
- Check it against your theme on staging before going live
- The features most sites need sit in the paid tier
How to use it
- 1Install on a staging copy first if the site takes money.
- 2Work through the setup wizard and connect any external accounts it needs.
- 3Configure the one feature you installed it for, and leave the rest off.
- 4Test the result as a logged-out visitor on both mobile and desktop.
- 5Re-run our speed test to confirm the plugin has not cost you load time.
How it compares
Other bookings plugins we recommend, with their rating and pricing model.
| Plugin | Our rating | WordPress.org | Pricing | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookly | 4.3 | n/a | Freemium | Focused on bookings work rather than doing everything |
| Amelia | 4.3 | n/a | Freemium | Focused on bookings work rather than doing everything |
| BookingPress | 4.3 | n/a | Freemium | Focused on bookings work rather than doing everything |
| WooCommerce Bookings | 4.3 | 4.5 (4,823) | Premium | Focused on bookings work rather than doing everything |
| YITH Booking and Appointment | 4.3 | n/a | Premium | Focused on bookings work rather than doing everything |
Guides that cover Bookly
Alternatives
Other bookings plugins
Amelia
TMS
Bookings plugin from TMS.
BookingPress
Repute Infosystems
Bookings plugin from Repute Infosystems.
WooCommerce Bookings
WooCommerce
Bookings plugin from WooCommerce.
4,823 reviews · 461.6M downloads · v11.1.0