The honest Goldie alternative
Goldie is a great mobile-first starting point, but if reminders are paywalled and the processing rate is hard to pin down, the features that protect your income and your margins are unclear. Keptbookings includes reminders on every plan, runs transparent Stripe payouts, and adds the back-office depth a growing book needs.
Why people leave Goldie
- Goldie puts automated reminders behind a paywall, so the free tier most solos start on lacks the most effective no-show defense.
- The processing rate is opaque, making it hard to know what you’re actually paying on each transaction.
- The back-office tooling is light, so as your business grows you outgrow the reporting and client-management depth available.
- The free tier caps you at around 20 appointments, which a busy stylist clears quickly, forcing an upgrade decision early.
- Keptbookings includes SMS and email reminders on every plan, uses Stripe with transparent processing and fast next-day payouts, and offers deeper back-office tools.
How Keptbookings is different
- Reminders included on the free tier — value from your first prevented no-show.
- Transparent flat processing rate, published up front.
- Deeper reporting on revenue, no-shows and fees collected.
What Goldie does well
Goldie (formerly Appointfix) is genuinely good at being mobile-first. The app is built for stylists who run their whole business from a phone, the booking flow is quick, and the free tier — covering around 20 appointments — lets someone get started at no cost. For a solo provider who lives on their phone and is just beginning, Goldie is an easy, approachable entry point.
Where Goldie falls short for independents
The free tier’s limits surface fast. Automated reminders — the best tool against no-shows — are paywalled, so the people on the free plan to save money are missing the feature that protects their income. And the roughly 20-appointment cap means a busy stylist clears it quickly, turning the free plan into a short trial rather than a real home.
Pricing transparency is another issue. The payment processing rate is opaque, so it’s hard to know exactly what you’re paying per transaction — and an unclear rate quietly erodes margin in a way a published number wouldn’t. When you can’t easily see the cost, you can’t easily manage it.
Finally, the back-office is light. As your book grows and you want richer reporting, client history, and management depth, you start to feel the ceiling of a tool optimized for quick mobile booking rather than running a more substantial business. It’s great to start on and easier to outgrow than you’d like.
How Keptbookings is different
Keptbookings includes reminders for everyone. SMS and email reminders are standard on every plan, so no-show prevention isn’t something you unlock by paying more. Payments run through Stripe with transparent processing and fast next-day payouts, so you always know your rate and your money arrives quickly without holds.
The back-office is built to grow with you — deeper client history, reporting, deposits, and card validation — alongside a branded embeddable booking page and guest checkout, so you don’t hit a ceiling as your book fills up.
Pricing is flat and clear: a free tier to start, Solo around $19/month, and Team around $49/month flat for up to six. You keep Goldie’s easy, mobile-friendly feel while gaining the transparency and depth a serious book needs.
Switching from Goldie to Keptbookings
Keptbookings imports your clients and appointment history for free, so the bookings you’ve built on Goldie carry over. Setup takes about 15 minutes, and one-click export keeps your data portable. Moving up to included reminders and transparent payouts shouldn’t mean re-entering your clients by hand — and with Keptbookings, it doesn’t.
Who should choose which
If you’re just starting, work entirely from your phone, and stay under the free appointment cap, Goldie is a fine place to begin. As soon as you’re booking past the cap, want reminders without a paywall, or need to know your real processing rate, Keptbookings’s included reminders, transparent Stripe payouts, and deeper back-office make it the better long-term home.
Keptbookings vs Goldie
The differences that actually touch your money.
| What matters | Keptbookings | Goldie |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | One flat price | Free (20 appts) / $19.99 / $39.99 |
| Processing | Transparent flat rate | Built-in, rate not published |
| Commission on your clients | Never | None |
| No-show protection included | ||
| Guest checkout | ||
| One-click export |
Questions, answered
Is Keptbookings a good Goldie alternative?
Yes, particularly once you outgrow the free tier. Keptbookings includes SMS reminders on every plan, uses transparent Stripe processing, and offers deeper back-office tools than Goldie’s mobile-first core.
Can I move my clients from Goldie?
Yes. Keptbookings imports your client list and appointment history for free, with setup in about 15 minutes, so you don’t re-enter anything by hand.
Are reminders included with Keptbookings?
Yes. SMS and email reminders are part of every Keptbookings plan, unlike Goldie’s paywalled reminders, so no-show prevention works from the start.
Is Keptbookings’s processing rate transparent?
Yes. Keptbookings uses Stripe with transparent processing and fast next-day payouts, so you always know what you’re paying — unlike Goldie’s opaque rate.
Does Keptbookings have an appointment cap on the free plan?
Keptbookings offers a free tier to start and clear paid plans — Solo around $19/month and Team around $49/month flat for up to six — so you can scale past Goldie’s roughly 20-appointment free cap without surprises.
Does Keptbookings have stronger back-office tools?
Yes. Keptbookings offers deeper client history, reporting, deposits, and card validation than Goldie’s lighter back-office, so it grows with a busier book.
How fast are payouts with Keptbookings?
Keptbookings pays out through Stripe with fast next-day timing and no holds, so your earnings stay accessible.
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