Best online booking and appointment software for Canadian small businesses

A Smithville sole prop who sells haircuts, consults, or clinic slots does not need a dispatch board. They need a public calendar the client can book, a deposit that actually sticks, and GST/HST on that booking if they are registered. Mixing that job with field-service software is how US roundups sell you Jobber for a coaching calendar.

This comparison is six honest options: Calendly (USD calendar + deposits on Standard+), Acuity Scheduling (Squarespace Scheduling, USD), Setmore (unlabelled dollars; confirm checkout), Book Like A Boss (freelancer dollars; teams page prints USD), Jane (Victoria clinic product, official list in USD), and Square Appointments (Canada appointments page in CAD). Online booking and appointment prices checked against public vendor pages, 6 September 2026. Buttons are official marketing URLs, not affiliate trackers.

Field dispatch and crew calendars live on scheduling software for Canadian small businesses. The till that takes Interac at the chair is POS in Canada. The invoice you still send when the booking tool is only a hold is invoicing software for Canadian freelancers.

Who this page is for

• A salon, studio, tutor, or coach who wants clients to book themselves and leave a deposit.
• A clinic comparing Jane to a cheaper calendar widget — and willing to read USD vs CAD.
• Someone already on Square Canada who wants appointments on the same CAD payouts and Interac table.
• Not a plumber with two trucks. That is Jobber, covered on the scheduling and trades guides.

Snapshot (public pages, 6 September 2026)

Calendly — USD seats, deposits on Standard+

Official calendly.com/pricing (6 September 2026): Free $0 — one event type, one calendar connection. Standard US$10/seat/month billed yearly (about US$12 on monthly display; page says save 17%). Teams US$16/seat/month billed yearly. Enterprise starts at US$15,000/year, billed in USD only, 50-seat floor. Payments, deposits, payment links, packages, and invoices listed on Standard and up (Stripe / PayPal). Calendly’s public pricing is USD per seat. Canadian subscribers are charged applicable GST/HST/PST/QST on the software invoice (Calendly help docs). That is tax on the SaaS, not tax you charge your clients. Source: https://calendly.com/pricing.

Calendar booking — not an Interac till. Do not treat Calendly as card-present Interac. If you only need a consult hold and you invoice later in Wave or FreshBooks, Free or Standard plus invoicing software is enough. If you take a deposit in Calendly, put 13% Ontario HST (or the right place-of-supply rate) on that charge yourself. Tax Calendly adds to your SaaS bill is unrelated.

Acuity / Squarespace Scheduling — USD calendars, deposits via Stripe

Official acuityscheduling.com/pricing (6 September 2026): acuityscheduling.com/pricing prints all plan prices in USD. The page says taxes are not included. No CAD list. Starter US$16/month billed yearly or US$20 monthly — one calendar. Emerging / Standard US$27/month yearly or US$34 monthly — up to six calendars; SMS, waitlist, packages, gift certificates. Growing / Premium US$49/month yearly or US$61 monthly — up to 36 calendars; HIPAA BAA, hide logo, API/CSS. Payments and deposits via Stripe, Square, PayPal, or Venmo. Seven-day trial, no credit card Source: https://acuityscheduling.com/pricing.

Acuity is the usual “I already have a Squarespace site” booking widget. Venmo on that payment list is a US rail — do not treat it as Interac e-Transfer. If the site itself is still the problem, see website builders for Canadian small businesses. Squarespace Payments and Acuity’s Stripe/Square checkout are different jobs; confirm which one actually pays you in CAD.

Setmore — cheap seats, no CAD label

Official setmore.com/pricing (6 September 2026): setmore.com/pricing does not print CAD or USD on the retrieved page. Treat the printed dollars as USD-style until checkout says otherwise. Do not invent a CAD SKU. Free $0 — up to four users. Pro: marketing also quotes $12 and $5/user/month; the compare table shows $5*/user/month billed annually, unlimited users. Deposits appear on the public compare table. Payments via Square, Stripe, PayPal. Live Receptionist add-on $99/month Source: https://www.setmore.com/pricing.

Four free users is the honest “try before you pay” offer in this set. The Pro dollar figures disagree with themselves on the same page ($12 vs $5/user/month vs $5*/user/month annual). This page quotes all three and will not pick a CAD equivalent. Confirm currency and tax at checkout.

Book Like A Boss — freelancer dollars; teams page says USD

Official blab.co/pricing/freelancer (6 September 2026): Freelancer monthly: $10 / $12 / $20 / $30. Freelancer annual: $8.33 / $10 / $16.66 / $25. Cappuccino ($20/month or $16.66 annual) is the advertised “charge for bookings” tier. Charge via Stripe, PayPal, Square. The freelancer pricing page prints $10 / $12 / $20 / $30 with no CAD label. The teams pricing page prints USD (example $8.50 USD/month). No CAD list on the public freelancer page. Sources: https://www.blab.co/pricing/freelancer; https://www.blab.co/pricing/teams.

If you need clients to pay when they book, Cappuccino is the advertised tier — not the $10 starter. There is no public CAD list on the freelancer page. Do not paste a blog “CAD” reprint onto a Canadian invoice.

Jane — Victoria clinic software, official list in USD

Jane is the usual Canadian clinic shortlist (booking, charting, reminders). Official list: USD $54/month (Balance), USD $79/month (Practice), USD $99/month (Thrive). Jane’s official pricing page lists Balance / Practice / Thrive at USD $54 / $79 / $99. Canadian blogs often quote the same numbers as CAD — confirm the currency at checkout; this page does not treat those blog figures as an official CAD list. Source: https://jane.app/pricing.

Jane Payments on that same page: Jane Payments online: 2.85% + $0.25 (as listed on Jane’s pricing page); Jane Payments in person: 2.6% + $0.10 (as listed on Jane’s pricing page). No published Interac debit table on Jane’s public pricing page we used Do not copy a Square Interac rate onto Jane.

Jane states PIPEDA-oriented privacy practices; it is a Victoria, B.C. clinic product. PIPEDA is a statute, not a hosting guarantee. Read Jane’s current privacy wording before you promise a patient that records never leave Canada. Clinic vs calendar vs field dispatch is also on the scheduling guide.

Square Appointments — CAD plans, published Interac, prepayments

Official squareup.com/ca/en/appointments/pricing (6 September 2026): $0/month for one location (Free plan), Plus $35 CAD/month per location (Plus), Premium $85 CAD/month per location (Premium). Prepayments included on Free, Plus, and Premium. Cancellation fees listed from Plus. Source: https://squareup.com/ca/en/appointments/pricing.

Payments are Square Canada, not a US Square account you “set to Toronto.” Published rates on that appointments pricing page: 2.5% in-person credit (same Square CA card table), Interac 0.75% + 7¢ Interac debit chip/PIN/tap (Square CA appointments pricing), online booking 2.8% + 30¢ online booking (Square CA appointments pricing), keyed 3.3% + 15¢ keyed-in (Square CA appointments pricing). CAD payouts to a linked Canadian bank account, as Square Canada. Same stack as the POS guide (https://squareup.com/ca/en/payments/our-fees). That is the one product in this set with a clear public Interac number and CAD software list.

GST/HST is a location tax in Square. The appointment receipt is not a GST/HST return. Square Payroll is still not a Canadian product.

A practical pick

1. Already taking Square cards in Canada and want the same till for bookings: Square Appointments Free, then Plus if you need cancellation fees or more than one location.
2. Clinic / allied health with charting: Jane. Confirm checkout currency. Do not treat blog CAD reprints as the official list.
3. Consults and coaching, invoice later: Calendly Free or Standard, plus invoicing software. Take deposits only on Standard+ and put GST/HST on that charge yourself.
4. Squarespace brochure site that needs a booking widget: Acuity. Prices are USD; taxes not included on the list.
5. Small team, wants a $0 start with more than one login: Setmore Free (up to four users). Confirm currency before you pay for Pro.
6. Freelancer who wants to charge at book without a clinic chart: Book Like A Boss Cappuccino. Treat the dollars as unlabelled / USD until checkout says CAD.
7. Two trucks and deposits on a job quote: not this page. Use scheduling and Jobber vs Housecall Pro.