Booqinq

Overview

Booqinq is an appointment-management platform for businesses that coordinate services, staff and client relationships. It is a strong fit for salons, wellness providers and studios that want booking and customer records alongside payment and communication tools. Its free tier is a useful starting point, but businesses needing multiple locations must move to Business.

Key features

Customers can book on a hosted page without an app or account, and the calendar handles staff, rooms, availability, appointments and deposits. That makes Booqinq more capable than a simple appointment diary, particularly for teams balancing shared rooms and service providers. Reserve with Google can also expose booking through Google Search and Maps, broadening the routes customers can use to schedule.

Client records can preserve visit history, preferences, intake answers and notes, and are exportable on every tier. Export access even on Free is a practical point for businesses that want to retain their records if they change systems. Technician scheduling, nail service menus, packages and memberships support the salon and studio workflows Booqinq targets.

Payments are processed through Stripe without a Booqinq markup, and card numbers go directly from the customer's browser to Stripe. However, payment processing and prepaid messaging credits cost extra on applicable plans, so the subscription alone may not represent operating cost. Integrations include Google Calendar, WhatsApp, SMS/email, HubSpot and AgencyAnalytics, alongside an API and webhooks. Business adds a hosted MCP endpoint for compatible assistants to check availability and book appointments; that is a specific advantage for businesses adopting assistant-based booking, not a reason for every smaller operator to upgrade.

Booqinq says customer data is kept in-region in US-East, EU-West (Frankfurt) or AP-Southeast, with storage, processing and backups there. On deletion, personal fields are anonymized before hard deletion after 30 days by default or seven days in purge mode; deletion and restore actions are audit-logged. The company says it does not display compliance badges it does not hold, a restrained approach rather than a substitute for any compliance certification.

Pricing

Free costs nothing, forever. It includes unlimited staff and bookings, one location and 500 email reminders per month, but the booking page carries Booqinq branding. That is a workable option for a single-site business validating online booking, though reminder volume and branding may become constraints as it grows.

Solo costs €25/mo month-to-month or €21/mo billed annually. It keeps the one-location and unlimited-staff structure while adding a custom domain, payments and deposits, full CRM, and WhatsApp/SMS/voice credits. It suits an independent business that wants a branded presence and fuller client management; messaging credits still carry additional cost.

Pro costs €69/mo month-to-month or €57/mo billed annually. It adds no Booqinq branding, AI rebooking, packages and memberships, and SDK/API access, while retaining a one-location limit. This tier makes more sense for a busy single-site operation that needs loyalty or integration tools than for a business whose priority is expansion across sites.

Business costs €129/mo month-to-month or €107/mo billed annually. Multiple locations, an AI phone agent, MCP and webhooks, and priority support distinguish it from Pro; for a growing multi-site operator, this is the first tier that removes the location ceiling. Agency has custom pricing and adds a white-label portfolio, wholesale credits and provisioning playbooks, making it the tier aimed at organizations managing a portfolio rather than a single salon. A 14-day trial is available. Payments and prepaid messaging credits can add costs on applicable plans.

Platforms

Booqinq supports Android, iOS, macOS, Windows and the web, giving businesses access across mobile and desktop platforms.

Who it's for

Booqinq is aimed at salons, barbershops, nail studios, spas and wellness businesses, tattoo studios, lash and brow studios, pet groomers and massage therapists. Its staff-and-room calendar and service menus suit appointment businesses with several providers; its paid tiers are most compelling when a business wants stronger branding, customer engagement or multi-location management. A small operator needing only a basic booking page may find Free sufficient, while those requiring multiple locations need Business.

Pros and cons

• Pros: Hosted booking needs no customer app or account, reducing friction for clients.
• Pros: Customer records are exportable on every tier, including Free.
• Pros: Stripe handles card data directly and adds no Booqinq markup.
• Pros: Business supports multiple locations and adds MCP, webhooks and priority support.
• Cons: Free and Solo are limited to one location, and Free also caps email reminders at 500 monthly.
• Cons: Free retains Booqinq branding; removing it requires Pro.
• Cons: Payment processing and prepaid messaging credits can add costs beyond the subscription.

Alternatives

Nail Salon Software is a category starting point for comparing tools aimed at nail businesses. Choose Anolla if a free online table-reservation setup is the priority, with paid features activated as needed. SalonHub360 is another freemium option with a Starter plan at $19.99/month for one staff member, online booking, service menu, client management and basic reminders; it may fit a solo operator seeking a defined low-cost paid entry tier. Salonnare offers a free plan capped at one staff member and 50 bookings monthly, or a €29/month Starter tier for three staff and unlimited monthly bookings, making it worth considering when those stated staffing and booking limits fit.

Nail Studio Pro offers a free plan with caps on clients, bookings, services and digital intake, so it is an alternative for readers whose needs fit those limits. Klippa has a free tier for one staff member and location with 50 SMS monthly before a 6c-per-message charge, which may suit a business focused on those limits and its API/web platform. Zolmi has a three-staff START example with stock limited to 10 products and SMS from A$0, an option to compare for a small team considering those terms. Bookify charges $20 per team member each month for its Pro plan and has no free trial; its web-only platform may suit a team that prefers per-member pricing. Salonized is a paid alternative with an Appointments plan at €21 a month base price, a free trial and an annual-billing discount; consider it if a paid-only model better fits your choice.

Verdict

Booqinq is a sound choice for appointment-led salons and service businesses that need more than booking, especially those valuing portable client records and a path from one location to several. Its strongest case is the combination of booking, operational scheduling and tiered growth options. Look elsewhere if you need multi-location management without stepping up to Business, or if branding and usage costs make the lower tiers too restrictive.