7 Best Consultation Booking Bots for Web Design

Calendly is one of the most popular scheduling tools worldwide, known for its clean interface and robust calendar integration. It allows you to create multiple meeting types—such as discovery calls, design reviews, or strategy workshops—each with its own set of questions and availability rules. The platform syncs seamlessly with Google Calendar, Outlook, Office 365, and iCloud, ensuring that double‑booking is virtually impossible. Calendly’s conditional logic lets you ask follow‑up questions based on a user’s answers, a feature that is especially useful for web designers who need to surface client needs before a call. Beyond basic scheduling, Calendly offers features like buffer times, round‑robin distribution for teams, and the ability to embed booking links directly into your website or email signatures. It also provides a basic analytics dashboard that tracks how many appointments are booked, cancellations, and no‑shows, giving designers visibility into the effectiveness of their outreach. Pricing starts with a free tier that supports one calendar and unlimited appointments. The Premium plan costs $12/month per user and adds features like custom branding, multiple event types, and advanced reporting. The Teams plan at $16/month per user unlocks additional collaboration tools, such as shared calendars and team scheduling.

Acuity Scheduling has long been a favorite among service‑based professionals, and its robust feature set makes it an excellent fit for web designers who need a flexible booking solution. Acuity allows you to create custom intake forms, set availability rules, and offer packages of sessions—perfect for bundling design consultations with follow‑up meetings. The platform’s automated email, SMS, and calendar reminders reduce no‑show rates, while its payment integrations let you collect upfront fees if you prefer to secure a consultation slot. Acuity’s user interface is highly customizable: you can choose from a variety of themes, add your logo, and tweak the color palette to match your brand. The platform also supports time zone detection, so clients in different regions can book without confusion. For larger agencies, Acuity offers a Teams plan that includes shared calendars and user roles. Pricing starts at a free tier that supports one user and unlimited appointments, with a paid Pro plan at $15/month per user adding features like custom domain, email reminders, and advanced reporting. The Teams plan is priced at $20/month per user, providing additional collaboration tools.

SimplyBook.me positions itself as an all‑in‑one booking platform, offering not only appointment scheduling but also marketing tools such as email campaigns, promotions, and a mobile app. For web designers, the ability to create a branded booking page that can be embedded into a website, shared via social media, or sent through email is a major advantage. The platform’s calendar integration supports Google, Outlook, and iCal, ensuring that appointments are automatically added to the designer’s schedule. SimplyBook.me’s free plan allows one user and unlimited bookings but comes with limited customization. The Premium plan at $12.95/month adds custom branding, payment gateways, SMS reminders, and a dedicated support line. The Pro plan expands on these features with additional integrations and advanced reporting. The platform also offers a plugin for WordPress, making it straightforward to embed booking widgets directly into a design studio’s site.

HubSpot Meetings is part of the HubSpot CRM ecosystem, providing a lightweight scheduling tool that integrates tightly with contacts, email sequences, and marketing automation. The platform allows you to set up meeting types, embed booking links, and set availability that is automatically updated based on your calendar. For web designers already using HubSpot, this integration can streamline lead capture: every booked appointment can be automatically logged as a contact, and follow‑up workflows can be triggered. HubSpot offers a free tier with basic scheduling features, making it accessible for small studios. Paid tiers of HubSpot’s marketing and sales hubs unlock additional automation, email personalization, and reporting. HubSpot Meetings itself does not have a separate pricing; it is included as part of the broader HubSpot plans. One notable limitation is that the tool is primarily text‑based and does not support AI chat. However, the depth of CRM data can be leveraged to personalize follow‑up emails and proposals.

Zoho Bookings is part of the Zoho suite and offers a flexible scheduling solution that can be embedded into any website. It supports multiple time zones, automatic reminders, and payment integration via Stripe or PayPal. For web designers, the ability to host a booking page with custom branding and integrate with Zoho CRM is a strong advantage, as it allows you to capture leads and trigger follow‑up email sequences. Zoho Bookings offers a free plan for one user with unlimited appointments, while paid plans start at $10/month for the Standard tier, adding features like custom branding, SMS reminders, and multiple staff members. The Professional tier at $20/month includes advanced reporting and team collaboration. The platform’s user interface is straightforward, but it lacks AI-powered chat; designers will need an additional chatbot if they wish to pre‑qualify leads.

Bookafy positions itself as a cloud‑based booking and scheduling platform that emphasizes ease of use and integration with popular calendar services. It offers features such as automated reminders, time zone detection, and a customizable booking page that can be embedded or shared via link. For web designers, Bookafy’s ability to create multiple meeting types and send payment requests via Stripe or PayPal makes it suitable for consulting or paid discovery sessions. The free plan allows unlimited appointments but is limited to one user and basic branding. The Pro plan at $12/month adds custom domain support, appointment limits, and advanced reporting. Bookafy also offers a Team plan for larger organizations, though pricing for this tier is available upon request. While Bookafy does not provide an AI chat component, its integrations with CRM tools like HubSpot, Pipedrive, and Zoho enable designers to capture leads and trigger follow‑up workflows.