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Scheduling · head to head

Picktime vs Sawyer

Picktime logo

Picktime

Scheduling

Appointment, class and resource booking with an unusually capable free tier

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Sawyer logo

Sawyer

Scheduling

Class and camp booking software for children activity businesses, with a marketplace that takes up to 30 percent

From
$189/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Picktime has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Picktime the Pro plan is cheaper per user than Starter because it is sold in a ten user block, so a business with four or five staff pays more per head than a business with ten and has no tier that fits it well.; Sawyer the Launch plan looks free but forces a marketplace listing at 30 percent commission, so a single high-value camp booking through the marketplace can cost more than a year of the Grow subscription would have.
  • They diverge on capability: Picktime covers Free tier with three staff, Sawyer covers Class and camp registration.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Picktime and Sawyer actually diverge.

Attributes where Picktime and Sawyer differ
AttributePicktimeSawyer
Starting priceFree$189/month
Pricing modelPer user per monthPer business per month, plus marketplace commission
Free tierYesNo

Identical on both: platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Scheduling).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Picktime

  • Free tier with three staff
  • Resource booking
  • Class and course booking
  • SMS reminders
  • Two way calendar sync
  • Payments
  • Multilingual booking pages
  • Booking approval

Only in Sawyer

  • Class and camp registration
  • Memberships and class packs
  • Consumer marketplace
  • Auto-billing
  • Waivers and e-signature
  • Multi-location

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Picktime

  • A public library booking study rooms and equipment where there is no budget for scheduling software at allnot Sawyer
  • A two person tutoring business that needs a booking page, reminders and card payment for under ten dollars a monthnot Sawyer
  • A community centre running classes with capacity limits and a waitlist across two venuesnot Sawyer
  • A small salon that wants staff and chair availability booked together rather than assuming every stylist has a stationnot Sawyer

Sawyer

  • A new kids activity studio with no mailing list that wants the marketplace to fill its first termsnot Picktime
  • An established music school moving off spreadsheets that will run Sawyer as software only and never list on the marketplacenot Picktime
  • A gym selling memberships, class packs and birthday parties that needs all three billed from one systemnot Picktime
  • A provider running summer camps alongside term-time classes who wants a single parent account for bothnot Picktime

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Picktime

  • The Pro plan is cheaper per user than Starter because it is sold in a ten user block, so a business with four or five staff pays more per head than a business with ten and has no tier that fits it well.
  • SMS is only on paid plans and the free tier is email only, so the no cost option loses the single feature that most reduces no shows.
  • Reporting is limited to basic booking counts and revenue totals, so any business that wants utilisation by resource, staff productivity or cohort retention will be exporting data and analysing it elsewhere.
  • Integrations beyond calendar, payments and Zapier are sparse, with no native connection to mainstream CRM or practice management systems, meaning customer data lives in a second silo that someone reconciles manually.
  • Support is email only with no phone or guaranteed response time, which is acceptable at three dollars a user but a genuine risk if the booking page goes down on a trading day.

Sawyer

  • The Launch plan looks free but forces a marketplace listing at 30 percent commission, so a single high-value camp booking through the marketplace can cost more than a year of the Grow subscription would have.
  • Marketplace commission applies to the order value, not the margin, so low-margin providers can lose money on a marketplace booking.
  • Payment processing fees are charged separately by Stripe on top of the subscription and any commission, which the plan comparison does not surface clearly.
  • The step from Grow to Scale doubles the monthly cost for account management and integrations rather than for capability most providers need, making the middle tier the only sensible choice for many.
  • It is built for consumer activity businesses, so providers who invoice schools, councils or corporate clients will find the billing model a poor fit.

Pricing, plan by plan

Picktime

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Three staff members
    • Two locations and three resources
    • Unlimited appointments
  • Starter$3/month
    • Per user, billed annually
    • Three staff and two locations
    • SMS notifications and reminders
  • Pro$2.25/month
    • Per user, billed annually, minimum ten users
    • Unlimited locations
    • Customisable emails

Sawyer

$189/month
  • Launch$undefined/month
    • No monthly subscription fee
    • 3 percent per transaction
    • Marketplace listing required, 30 percent commission on marketplace orders
  • Grow$189/month
    • 189 USD per month billed annually, 219 monthly
    • Marketplace listing optional, 20 percent commission if used
    • Advanced scheduling, waitlists, free trials
  • Scale$379/month
    • 379 USD per month billed annually, 399 monthly
    • Marketplace listing optional, 15 percent commission if used
    • Dedicated account manager and registration launch support
  • Enterprise$undefined/month
    • Custom pricing for large multi-site operators

Which should you pick?

Choose Picktime if

  • You need free tier with three staff.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want resource booking.
Picktime review

Choose Sawyer if

  • You need class and camp registration.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want memberships and class packs.
Sawyer review

Questions people ask

Is Picktime or Sawyer better?
Neither clearly leads. Picktime starts at Free and Sawyer at $189/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Picktime or Sawyer?
Picktime has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Picktime and $189/month for Sawyer.
Does Picktime or Sawyer run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, iOS, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Picktime for free?
Yes. Picktime has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Sawyer starts at $189/month.
What is Picktime best used for?
Picktime is most often used for a public library booking study rooms and equipment where there is no budget for scheduling software at all, a two person tutoring business that needs a booking page, reminders and card payment for under ten dollars a month, a community centre running classes with capacity limits and a waitlist across two venues, a small salon that wants staff and chair availability booked together rather than assuming every stylist has a station. Of those, a public library booking study rooms and equipment where there is no budget for scheduling software at all and a two person tutoring business that needs a booking page, reminders and card payment for under ten dollars a month are not what Sawyer is typically brought in for.
What can Picktime do that Sawyer cannot?
Picktime covers Free tier with three staff, Resource booking, Class and course booking, SMS reminders. Sawyer covers Class and camp registration, Memberships and class packs, Consumer marketplace, Auto-billing.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Picktime: Is the free plan actually usable long term?

Yes. It allows three staff, two locations and unlimited appointments permanently. The main limits are no SMS and PayPal only for payments.

Sawyer: Is the Launch plan really free?

No. It has no monthly fee but charges 3 percent per transaction and requires a marketplace listing that takes 30 percent of marketplace orders.

Picktime: Can it book rooms and equipment?

Yes. Resources are first class objects and can be booked alongside or independently of staff.

Sawyer: Can I use Sawyer without the marketplace?

Yes, on Grow and Scale the listing is optional. On Launch it is required.

Picktime: Why does Pro cost less per user than Starter?

Pro is priced for a block of ten users. Below that headcount the per user rate on Starter is what you pay.

Sawyer: What does the marketplace commission apply to?

The full order value of bookings originating on hisawyer.com, not to bookings from your own website.

Picktime: Does it take card payments?

Stripe and Square on paid plans; the free plan supports PayPal only.

Sawyer: Is there a contract?

Monthly plans are month to month with 30 days notice; annual billing saves roughly 5 to 14 percent depending on tier.

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