Bookly and Amelia are the two most complete self-hosted booking plugins for WordPress. Both handle appointments, multiple staff, multiple services, and payments. The meaningful differences show up in pricing model, included features, and which business types each fits best.
The Pricing Model Difference
This is the most practical difference. Amelia Pro ($109/year) includes the features most service businesses need: payment processing, multiple employees, group bookings, packages, and customer-managed appointments. One annual payment covers the full feature set.
Bookly charges a one-time fee for the base plugin ($89) then $29-49 per addon. Group bookings, cart, customer cabinet, packages, waiting list – each is a separate purchase. A fully-equipped Bookly installation for a medium-complexity business typically costs $200-350 upfront, with no ongoing renewal cost.
The break-even point: if you need more than 3-4 Bookly addons, Amelia Pro is cheaper in year one and cheaper every subsequent year (Bookly addon purchases are one-time; Amelia is annual). If you need 1-2 specific Bookly addons and the base plugin covers everything else, Bookly is cheaper long-term.
Booking Form Experience
Amelia’s booking form is more polished out of the box. The multi-step flow, mobile responsiveness, and visual design require no customisation to look professional. Bookly’s form is functional but more visually generic – it can be customised through the Bookly Appearance settings, but the default is plainer than Amelia’s.
For businesses where the booking form is customer-facing and brand perception matters, Amelia’s default form presentation is an advantage.
Calendar and Backend Management
Both have a backend calendar view. Amelia’s calendar is more visual and gives a cleaner overview of multi-employee schedules. Bookly’s calendar is functional but more basic. For businesses where staff check their own schedule frequently, Amelia’s calendar is easier to read.
| Feature | Amelia Pro ($109/yr) | Bookly base ($89 once) |
|---|---|---|
| Multiple staff | Yes | Yes |
| Group/class bookings | Yes | Addon ($29) |
| Cart (multiple services) | Yes | Addon ($29) |
| Customer self-management | Yes | Addon ($29) |
| Packages | Yes | Addon ($39) |
| Waiting list | Yes | Addon ($29) |
| Stripe/PayPal | Yes | Free addon |
| Google Calendar sync | Yes | Addon ($29) |
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Which to Choose
Use Amelia Pro if: you need multiple features from the table above, you care about booking form aesthetics, and you prefer a single annual payment over addon purchases.
Use Bookly base if: you have a simple single-service operation that fits within the base plugin’s scope, or you need 1-2 specific addons and the base covers everything else.
Use Bookly with multiple addons if: you have specific requirements covered only by Bookly addons not available in Amelia, or you prefer one-time payments over annual subscriptions and the total addon cost is lower than Amelia’s annual fee.