# Alternative to Microsoft Bookings (Microsoft Bookings)

Source: https://terminio.ai/en/vergleich/microsoft-bookings-alternative

Microsoft Bookings or terminio.ai? Prices, features and limits compared honestly, with a switching guide and answers to the most common questions.

As of September 2026 · Sources: Microsoft 365 documentation and Microsoft's pricing page

## Verdict

- Microsoft Bookings fits if … your business already pays for Microsoft 365, wants everything inside Outlook and Teams, and appointment slots with an email confirmation are enough.
- terminio.ai fits if … you have customers who book from a list of services with durations and prices, get reminded by WhatsApp and should pay when they book.
- The biggest difference Internal calendar versus customer business. Bookings hands out slots inside your Microsoft account; terminio.ai brings WhatsApp, prepayment, a phone assistant and an app of its own.

## Prices

- terminio.ai: €0 – €19.99 a month · Pro Voice with phone assistant €129.99 · cancel monthly
- Microsoft Bookings: Paid for with Microsoft 365 included in Microsoft 365 Business, not sold separately · the suite starts at about €12.50 per user a month · no free plan of its own

## Honestly

Microsoft Bookings:
- If you already pay for Microsoft 365 Business, Bookings comes with it at no extra cost; there is no second subscription.
- It sits right inside Outlook and Teams, exactly where your calendar and your meetings already live.
- For internal appointments and advice calls with an email confirmation it is solid, with no commission and no customer account.

terminio.ai:
- A booking page with services, durations and prices, plus prepayment via Stripe – Bookings has no confirmed online payment.
- Reminders by WhatsApp from your own number, unlimited in Pro and with no cost per message; Bookings confirms by email, and SMS only in North America.
- A native app for iPhone and Android including your smartwatch, and in Pro Voice an AI phone assistant with a German number.

## Switching

1. Set up your services Tap your industry, adjust the prefilled services, set durations and prices. Your Bookings services become bookable services; ten minutes, and the page is live.
2. Bring your customers Import your contacts and confirm existing appointments once by WhatsApp. From then on reminders go out from your number instead of by email.
3. Swap the link Booking link in your signature, Google profile and website instead of the Bookings page. You keep Microsoft 365 anyway; only the booking moves.

## Common questions

**What does Microsoft Bookings cost?** Nothing extra if you already have Microsoft 365 Business: Bookings is included in it and is not sold separately, and there is no free plan of its own. The cost sits inside the 365 subscription, which starts at about €12.50 per user a month for the whole suite. terminio.ai starts at €0 with 50 bookings a month; Pro costs €19.99 and can be cancelled monthly.

**Can my customers pay online with Bookings?** No, Microsoft Bookings has no prepayment; you take the money on the day. With terminio.ai customers pay while booking, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay via Stripe – the cure for no-shows.

**Does Microsoft Bookings do WhatsApp or SMS?** WhatsApp is not confirmed anywhere on Microsoft's pages. What is confirmed is email confirmations and SMS, and SMS only in North America – so for a business in Europe that leaves email. terminio.ai sends confirmations and reminders by WhatsApp from your own number, five a month on the free plan and unlimited in Pro.

**Does Bookings answer the phone while I am working?** An AI phone assistant is not confirmed for Microsoft Bookings; the phone keeps ringing at your end. terminio.ai has one in Pro Voice at €129.99 a month, with a German number, that answers, books the appointment and sends the confirmation by WhatsApp.

**Is there an app for Microsoft Bookings?** Not one of its own: Bookings runs in the browser and inside Teams and Outlook, and there is no smartwatch app. terminio.ai has a native app for iPhone and Android and shows your next appointment on your watch.

**Can I use Microsoft Bookings and terminio.ai in parallel?** Yes, and it even fits well: Bookings for internal meetings and everything that belongs in Outlook and Teams, terminio.ai for everything your customers book with you. Whatever one hands out, you block in the other.


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terminio.ai is online appointment booking for small businesses with WhatsApp reminders and an AI phone assistant, from €0 a month, hosted in the EU. Provider: terminio.ai UG (haftungsbeschränkt), Großschönau, Saxony, Germany.