(information updated as of February 2022)
Table of Contents
Introduction
Free Apps
Square Appointments
Google Calendar
Calendly
Paid Apps
Acuity
Wix Bookings
Vagaro
Equine-Specific Apps
Equine Office
Stablebuzz
Barn Manager
Comparison Chart
Final Considerations
Introduction
For many riding instructors, there comes a time where the logistics of managing lesson scheduling become burdensome or overwhelming. The constant communication with clients can create confusion, result in double bookings, and overwhelm you with the nonstop notifications.
Fortunately, with the wide range of scheduling apps available, there are multiple solutions for you to consider when you're ready to start using a scheduling app for your riding lesson program.
From free scheduling options that can replace your paper planner, to comprehensive software solutions that do everything from lesson scheduling to horse management, there's an option that will meet your needs and your budget.
Keep reading to learn about nine riding lesson scheduling app options, ranging from free scheduling tools to comprehensive barn management software solutions. Be sure to check out the comparison chart at the end, to quickly and compare each app so you can find the right tool for you and your lesson program.
Free Apps
Square Appointments
Overview
Square Appointments is a popular free scheduling app for several reasons. It's an easy-to-use, simple yet functional scheduling option that offers enough functionality to save you time without upgrading to a paid account.
Square Appointments offers many basic functions any instructor would want: the ability to require when clients pay, the ability to accept recurring payments for board or ongoing training, and the ability to send text and email reminders to reduce no-shows. You can also customize your cancellation policy including how soon to an appointment a client can reschedule or cancel without forfeiting their payment.
The introduction of Square Assistant has made Square Appointments even better: with Square Assistant, your clients can automatically respond to automated SMS messages reminding them about appointments to confirm, reschedule, or cancel a lesson or appointment.
Cost
Square Appointments offers three pricing tiers:
"Free" plan: $0/month
"Plus" plan: $29/month
"Premium" plan: $69/month
Pros
There are several reasons why Square Appointments is a popular choice for instructors:
Clients can book via Instagram, Facebook, Google, or your Square website
Customize late fees and no-show fees
Create and send contracts and agreements after a client books
Supports recurring appointments
Text and email reminders are available with the free plan
You can have an unlimited number of staff accounts
Saves client information for easy future bookings
Can be set up with a Square Reader to swipe clients' credit or debit cards from anywhere
Integrates seamlessly with a Square website
Cons
Some potential drawbacks to Square Appointments include:
Google Calendar sync only available with paid membership
Not as customizable as other paid options
A growing number of small businesses are complaining about Square withholding funds
Various transaction costs: these range from 2.6% + 10¢ to 3.5% + 15¢ per booking
Works best with Square payment processing: accepting payments via PayPal instead of Square can be confusing, and the transaction costs are higher
Free plan only allows one location
Text and email confirmations are only available with paid membership
Doesn't work well, if at all, with other platforms or programs; heavily reliant on other Square programs
Google Calendar
Overview
Google Calendar, while not technically a scheduling app, may offer some of the basic tools that a busy instructor needs to streamline scheduling and calendar management.
With Google Calendar, a client can see your availability and then call or text you to book a lesson or other appointment. Some instructors prefer the ability to maintain this level of control over their schedule, while others may find it cumbersome to have to manage communications for each booking.
Some more advanced scheduling options are available via Google Workspace, including setting appointment blocks, inviting clients to book appointments, and sending updates to clients who have booked an appointment or an appointment block.
Cost
There is no cost to use Google Calendar. However, Google's advanced calendar tools do require Google Workspace, which is a paid service starting at $6/month.
Pros
Google Calendar does offer some benefits:
Free to use
Easy to view multiple instructors' calendars in one place
Easy to restrict how much detail clients can see about your personal calendar items
Cons
As a scheduling tool, there are some drawbacks to using Google Calendar:
No payment integrations
No recurring scheduling options
No automations available
Appointment options are limited to calendars associated with a paid Google Workspace account ($6+ per month)
Calendly
Overview
Calendly is an online booking service that offers free and paid plans so you can choose the option that's right for you and your budget.
The free plan allows you to set the hours you're available for clients to book services, as well as customize the types of services clients can book. For example, you can customize your available hours as 11am-4pm Monday-Thursday, and 9am-4pm Friday-Sunday, and allow clients to book a 45-minute lesson, a 1-hour lesson, or other options.
When you create a Calendly account you can customize your availability for each event type you offer, to further control when clients can book specific services. It is easy to edit, share, or turn off events any time.
Cost
Calendly offers four pricing tiers:
Free: $0/month
Essentials: $8/month per person
Professional: $12/month per person
Teams: $16/month per person
Pros
Some of the advantages to Calendly's free option include:
Integrates with Google Calendar, Office 265, Outlook, or iCal
User friendly for you and your clients
Automated event notifications
Easy to customize each event including the event type, the description, and the information that's collected upon booking
Easy to embed your Calendly calendar into your website for easy access and booking by new and prospective clients
Email notifications when events are booked or cancelled
Can add branding to your booking page (color selections only available on paid accounts)
Cons
Some cons with Calendly's paid option include:
Only one appointment type available: to offer more types (like lessons, board, events, and more) you need to upgrade
Automated confirmations, follow-ups, and reminders are only available on paid accounts
Customized cancellation policy not available on free account
Customized email notifications and reminders only available on paid accounts at the Professional level and higher
No payment integration on free account: must upgrade to Professional level or higher to enable Stripe or PayPal payments
Paid Apps
Acuity
Overview
Acuity is one of the most popular app services for instructors and trainers for its ease of use and high functionality.
Acuity, now a Squarespace company, allows instructors to set schedules, offer lesson times, and manage rescheduling/cancellations all from a mobile device. Clients can also download the Acuity app to book lessons, reschedule or cancel, and make payments.
Acuity offers three tiers: Emerging, Growing, and Powerhouse. The "Emerging" tier will give many instructors the tools to get started with a scheduling app, including client self-scheduling; accepting payments through Stripe, PayPal, or Square; and sending confirmation, reminder, and cancellation emails.
While the "Emerging" plan is a helpful starting point, many instructors will be interested in the "Growing" plan for three additional features: text reminders, payment plans, and memberships + subscriptions. These three features will allow you to send automated text reminders or cancellation notices to clients, charge clients a recurring monthly fee for ongoing training or board, or book clients for a lesson package over a set period of time. The "Growing" plan also allows you to manage up to 6 instructors' schedules in one place.
Cost
Acuity offers three pricing tiers:
"Emerging" plan: $15/month
"Growing" plan: $35/month
"Powerhouse" plan: $50/month
Pros
There are many benefits that make Acuity such a popular option:
You can set up classes, workshops, events, and (depending on your membership tier) ongoing recurring charges for board or ongoing training
Easy to set up, use, and manage
Automatically accept all new appointments, or customize which appointments you want to review and accept
Highly customizable: Acuity offers the ability to customize many aspects of your schedule, including how soon to an appointment a client can book or cancel; how closely together two clients can book an appointment, when a client pays, how a client receives notifications or reminders, and more.
Customize your logo, color, and copy
Coupon and gift card options
Syncs with Google Calendar, Quickbooks, and Mailchimp
Intake forms: Gather custom information for clients when they book an appointment or register for an event
Cons
Some cons you might encounter include:
Complex user experience: some clients might get confused depending on the number of appointments or services you offer
High cost: compared to other options, Acuity is one of the most expensive
Doesn't calculate taxes
No waitlist function available
No phone support available
Wix Bookings
Overview
If you're looking for a website + scheduling combination with a free app integration both you and your clients can use, Wix may be a great solution. Together, your Wix website and Wix Bookings website and app allow you to set up highly customized yet easy to manage booking options for your clients.
Wix offers three booking options: Booking Services for appointments, classes, and courses; Events for clinics, shows, and camps; and Memberships and Payment Plans for recurring charges like board or ongoing lesson programs. With these three options, you can quickly customize and then automate all of the booking needs your business might require, from summer camps to lesson packages.
For each service type you can customize the entire process, including the description, the instructor, the booking and cancellation window, the text and/or email notifications your clients get, and more.
Cost
Wix offers several pricing tiers. The Business Unlimited and Business Basic plans offer everything a riding instructor or trainer would need:
Business Basic: $30/month, or $23/month if paid yearly
Business Unlimited: $35/month, or $27/month if paid yearly
Pros
Wix offers many benefits as a fully customizable scheduling and website solution, including:
The ability to create appointments as individual bookings (like single lessons), classes (that you offer at a set day/time) or courses (scheduled like classes, but that have finite start and end dates)
Google Calendar integration for yourself and all of your instructors
Customized email and text reminders and cancellation notices for every appointment type
The ability to set how close to an appointment a client can book or cancel
Automatically accept all new appointments, or customize which appointments you want to review and accept
Multiple payment collection options including Wix Pay, Stripe, PayPal, Square, Alipay, and more
Customizable invoicing and payment reminders
Quickbooks integration
The ability to easily customize the information you gather from clients upon checkout via intake forms or embedded Google Forms
Easy to also sell merchandise on the same platform
The cost of your Wix website and Wix Bookings are combined, making this a customizable and cost-effective option
A free app that you and your clients can use to book, manage appointments, and more
Cons
Some drawbacks to Wix include:
No waitlist function available
Not a standalone app (but can be used as one)
Vagaro
Overview
A favorite of gyms, salons, and other service providers, Vagaro is becoming a popular lesson scheduling app option among instructors and equestrian professionals as well.
Vagaro focuses exclusively on app-based scheduling and business management, and offers a suite of app-based tools for managing your lesson program from your mobile device. With solutions for lesson booking, client notifications, recurring charges, invoices, merchandise sales, and more, Vagaro meets the needs of many busy instructors.
Cost
Vagaro charges per user:
$25/month
$10/month per additional user
Pros
Some of the benefits of Vagaro include:
Simple billing so there are no surprise costs when you get set up
Customize how close to an appointment a client can book or cancel
Customize how closely together two appointments can be booked
Automatically accept all new appointments, or customize which appointments you want to review and accept
Syncs with Quickbooks, Google Calendar, Outlook, and more
Charge no-show and cancellation fees automatically
Customize how a client pays: with a deposit, at the time of booking, or in person
Support via phone, chat, and email available
Can be integrated with a Wix, Wordpress, or other website, or build a Vagaro website
Vagaro's new mobile card reader allows you to swipe clients' cards anywhere
Waitlist function is available
Cons
Some downsides to Vagaro might include:
Higher base cost compared to other options
The sheer volume of scheduling options can make set up confusing
There are reports of poor customer service
Payouts take longer than some users expected
Their transaction fee structure can be difficult to understand
Equine-Specific Apps
Equine Office
Overview
Equine Office is a scheduling solution for busy barn managers looking to track a high volume of horses, instructors, and clients.
This app allows you to manage more than just scheduling, and includes options for managing horse notes, notes about clients' lessons and progress, and instructor comments. However, as a scheduling solution, the lack of a public-facing option that would allow clients to book on their own may be a limiting factor for instructors hoping to automate the scheduling process.
If you prefer to maintain control over your schedule, and want to maintain better notes about your students and horses, this may be a useful solution. At a high price point, however, it's worth deciding ahead of time whether this will offer all the functions you need to solve your scheduling woes.
Cost
Starts at $50/month
Pros
Some of the benefits of Equine Office include:
Easily view, manage, and print schedules for multiple instructors in one place
View and manage school horse workload
Track client and horse notes
Automatically email clients about rescheduled or cancelled lessons
Track make up lessons and attendance reports for each of your clients
Cons
Drawbacks of Equine Office as a scheduling solution include:
Clients cannot book lessons themselves
No separate event booking option
Limited information available without touring a sales demo
Limited cost information available without contacting the sales team
Stablebuzz
Overview
Stablebuzz is an all-in-one equine management software solution. With a single account you can manage all of the schedules, care notes, medical records, financial details, and files for your business.
If you are looking for a single program that can truly do it all, Stablebuzz might be a great option. However, if you don't need something quite as robust, Stablebuzz may not be worth the set up process (which must go through a sales team) or the cost (which isn't available online, but will likely be much higher than scheduling-only solutions).
It's also worth noting that online reviews of Stablebuzz are sparse, making it difficult to develop an informed understanding or opinion of the program without reaching out to the sales team. Limited online reviews could indicate that either not many people are choosing Stablebuzz, or it's just not well-known yet.
Cost
Stablebuzz does not publish their costs online.
Pros
Some of the advantages of Stablebuzz include:
Manage scheduling, invoices, release forms, horse management information, vet and farrier scheduling, and expense tracking all in one place
Public-facing portal allows clients to book lessons or events themselves
Form management tool allows you to send release forms and other documents, collect e-signatures, send reminders, and organize your forms within the program
Recurring event management allows you to modify repeat lessons or other events easily
Cons
Drawbacks to Stablebuzz as a scheduling app may be:
Must purchase through a sales process; can't independently 'click and go'
Pricing and demos not readily available online
As a robust software solution, it may be more costly than what someone looking for a scheduling solution would need
No information available about transaction fees or payment processors
Barn Manager
Overview
Barn Manager is a popular equine software program among large and small facilities, designed to help the busy trainer track and manage all the moving parts of a busy horse business.
Barn Manager offers two tiers, Starter and Essentials, with a third tier--Pro--launching soon. As a comprehensive barn management solution, both tiers currently available, and the upcoming Pro tier, make it easier for trainers to stay organized when it comes to finances, horse care, appointments, lesson scheduling, and more.
As a scheduling solution, however, Barn Manager may fall short--it does not offer a public-facing interface where clients can book directly. If you want to give your clients the ability to independently book lessons based on your schedule, Barn Manager may not be the right solution. If you want to retain control of your schedule, and manage scheduling requests yourself, this may be a good choice.
Cost
Barn Manager offers three pricing tiers:
Starter: $10/month
Essentials: $50/month
Pro: $70/month (Coming Soon)
Pros
Benefits that Barn Manager offers include:
Unlimited users and horses for all pricing tiers
A free integrated mobile app available for all pricing tiers
Contacts management, document and file storage, and records maintenance for all pricing tiers
The Essentials tier allows you to create a shared calendar yourself and your team can collectively use
The Essentials tier also includes reminders for upcoming events or appointments, and equine medical history tracking
Cons
Potential downsides to Barn Manager may be:
Clients cannot book lessons themselves
Must purchase through a sales process; can't independently 'click and go'
Many of the most appealing features--including Quickbooks integration, payment processing, and invoicing are only available through the not-yet-released Pro tier
Comparison Chart
Use this quick-reference chart to compare the costs and features of the nine scheduling apps discussed in this article:
| Monthly cost | Clients can schedule | Email notifications | Text notifications | Payment collection | Transaction fees |
Square Appointments | Free (paid plan available) | Yes (paid version) | Yes | Yes (paid version) | Yes (paid version) | 2.6% + $.10 - 3.5% + $.15 |
Google Calendar | Free (paid plan available) | Yes (paid version) | No | No | No | N/A |
Calendly | Free (paid plan available) | Yes | No | No | No | N/A |
Acuity | $15-$35 | Yes |