If you’re a therapist looking to add booking functionality to your WordPress website, several free plugins can help you manage appointments efficiently, including options that allow categorizing clients by insurance type. Here are the most popular options:
Bookly Lite
Bookly’s free version offers a solid foundation for therapists with customizable services, staff management, and a clean booking interface. While the free version has limitations, it allows you to create different service categories that could be used to separate appointment types by insurance provider.
Simply Schedule Appointments
This user-friendly plugin offers a free tier with a clean interface that integrates well with most WordPress themes. You can create different appointment types that could correspond to various insurance categories. The booking form is customizable, allowing you to add fields for insurance information.
Easy Appointments
Easy Appointments is lightweight and straightforward, perfect for therapists just starting out. The plugin allows you to create multiple services and workers, and you can set up different appointment types based on insurance categories. It includes custom fields that let you collect insurance information during booking.
Appointment Hour Booking
This plugin offers both free and premium versions. The free version includes the ability to create appointment forms with different fields, making it possible to categorize appointments by insurance type. It also features email notifications and calendar integration.
BirchPress Scheduler
https://wordpress.org/plugins/birchschedule
A simple but effective free option that allows for basic appointment scheduling with customizable booking forms. You can create different service types that could correspond to insurance categories, though more advanced filtering would require the premium version.
Insurance-Specific Considerations
For specifically managing appointments by insurance type, consider:
- Using custom fields to collect insurance information
- Creating separate service categories for each insurance provider
- Setting up conditional fields to show relevant appointment slots based on insurance selection
Choosing the Right Booking Plugin for Your Therapy Practice
Selecting the right booking plugin for your therapy practice is more than just a technological decision—it’s an important part of your client experience and practice management strategy. While the free versions of these plugins offer excellent starting points, consider how your specific needs around insurance categorization might influence your choice.
For smaller practices or those just getting started with online booking, plugins like Easy Appointments or Simply Schedule Appointments provide user-friendly interfaces with enough customization to handle basic insurance categorization. As your practice grows, you might find that investing in premium features from Bookly or Appointment Hour Booking provides the additional flexibility needed to fully optimize your scheduling workflow.
Remember that the right booking system should reduce administrative burden, not add to it. Take advantage of free trials and demos before making your final decision, and consider how each plugin integrates with your existing systems, such as your EHR or practice management software.
Ultimately, the goal is to create a seamless booking experience that respects both your clients’ needs and your practice requirements. With the right plugin in place, you’ll save time, reduce no-shows, and create a more professional experience for your therapy clients, regardless of their insurance status.
Pricing for each of the plugins mentioned above:
*prices change – check the source for accuracy.
Bookly
- Free: Bookly Lite (basic features)
- Premium: Starts at $89 for a single site license
- Pro Bundle: $299 for all add-ons and extensions
Simply Schedule Appointments
- Free: Basic tier with limited features
- Plus: $99/year for a single site
- Professional: $199/year for a single site
- Business: $299/year for 5 sites
Easy Appointments
- Free: Core functionality
- Premium: $39 for a single site license (one-time payment)
- Business: $99 for 5 site licenses (one-time payment)
Appointment Hour Booking
- Free: Limited features version
- Premium: $59.99 for a single site license
- Developer: $199.99 for unlimited sites
BirchPress Scheduler
- Free: Basic version with limited features
- Personal: $99/year for a single site
- Business: $199/year for 3 sites
- Enterprise: $249/year for unlimited sites
Most of these plugins follow a freemium model where the core functionality is available for free, but advanced features—particularly those that would enhance insurance categorization and workflow management for therapists—require paid upgrades. The premium versions typically include better support, more customization options, and features like recurring appointments or advanced client management.
