YCLIENTS alternative: how to choose and switch

YCLIENTS is one of the best-known booking systems for service businesses, and a search for "YCLIENTS alternative" usually hides one of two questions: "what will it cost us in the end?" or "do we need all of this?". Let's look at what the price of any booking system is made of, what "simpler" means in practice, what to check in an alternative and how to switch within a week without losing a single client.

Why people look for a YCLIENTS replacement

YCLIENTS was built for a broad market — from a solo specialist to a chain with dozens of branches — so it has a lot of modules, integrations and settings. A chain needs them. A salon with three to five chairs or a studio with one room may not need some of them, yet has to find its way around the whole system.

The second reason is the final bill. With any booking system, the price on the pricing page and the monthly total can differ: SMS, extra modules and employees are added to the subscription. So comparing only makes sense once you have calculated your whole month.

What the price of YCLIENTS and its alternatives is made of

Compare every cost line, not the plan price. Any booking system, YCLIENTS included, usually has five:

• Licence. For YCLIENTS it depends on the number of employees, the billing period and the plan — the exact calculation is on their website. Other systems use different models, for example one price for your team size.
• Apps and modules. Some YCLIENTS features are added through its app marketplace, and some of those apps are paid — the terms are in each app's description. Ask any system what is included in the plan and what is sold separately.
• SMS notifications. They are paid separately almost everywhere, in packages or per message. With hundreds of bookings a month this adds up.
• Online payments. The acquiring bank's fee plus sometimes the service's own fee on top.
• Setup and training. Paid onboarding, admin training and the owner's own time figuring the system out. This is the line people forget most often.

A practical way to compare: take last month — how many employees, bookings and SMS — and price it in each system. With any service, the gap between the "from" price on the pricing page and the real total can be noticeable.

What "simpler" actually means

"Simpler" sounds like a matter of taste, but it can be checked. A good alternative for a small team passes five tests:

• You can take your first online booking on the day you sign up, without a consultant or training.
• A specialist sees their own schedule and their own clients on their phone — and nothing extra.
• Monthly payroll can be calculated without opening Excel.
• An admin books a client in three steps: service, specialist, time.
• The owner sees how much the business made this month by opening one report.

YCLIENTS alternative: eight questions to compare

• What will your real month cost — licence, SMS, modules, payments?
• What is included in the plan, and what do you buy separately?
• In what currency and under what contract do you pay — this matters for accounting in Belarus.
• Can you upload your client base from an Excel file yourself?
• Is payroll calculated the way you pay: percentage, fixed rate, a combination?
• Is there an app for employees on iOS and Android?
• Can the owner export all company data themselves if they decide to leave?
• Where is support: do they answer quickly and in your language?

SetNow as a YCLIENTS replacement

SetNow is a CRM and online booking system for small and mid-sized teams: beauty salons, barbershops, fitness studios, clinics. We deliberately don't try to match YCLIENTS setting for setting — we build what a team uses every day:

• 24/7 online booking via a link — in Instagram, Telegram or on your website;
• SMS reminders to clients, so fewer of them miss appointments (SMS are paid in packages);
• payroll: percentage, fixed rate or a rate based on the specialist's workload — calculated in one click;
• memberships, a waitlist for group classes, stock and materials used per service;
• a financial report in Excel and analytics by branch;
• an app for employees in the App Store and Google Play.

The price depends only on the number of employees: payroll, stock, memberships and reports are included in the plan; only SMS packages and a branded client app are paid separately. Prices are in Belarusian rubles (BYN), support is based in Belarus, and all plans are on the Pricing page.

For example, a team of up to three pays 22 BYN a month, and a team of up to ten pays 70 BYN.

When it's better to stay on YCLIENTS

To be honest, not everyone needs to switch. Staying makes sense if:

• you run a chain with many branches and already rely on complex scenarios and marketplace integrations;
• a significant share of new clients comes from catalogues and services connected to YCLIENTS;
• your team has worked in the system for a long time, everything is set up — and the bill suits you.

But if you pay for features you don't use, or your admin still gets lost in the settings, it's time to price up an alternative.

How to switch from YCLIENTS in a week

• Day 1. Export your client base from YCLIENTS to a file — with phone numbers, names and visit dates.
• Day 1. Sign up in the new system and add your services, prices and employees.
• Day 2. Upload the client file: SetNow's import accepts Excel and CSV and suggests how to match the columns.
• Days 2–3. Set up the shift schedule and move over future bookings.
• Day 3. Replace the booking link in Instagram, Telegram and on your website.
• Days 4–7. Take new bookings only in the new system and keep the old one open for cross-checking. After a week, switch it off.

Quick answers

• Can a YCLIENTS alternative work out cheaper? It can — it depends on your team size and which modules you need. Compare the monthly total using your own numbers, not the prices on the pricing page.
• Will I lose visit history? You'll move clients and contacts with a file. Past visit history is easier to keep in the export: in the new system, history starts from the move.
• Do specialists need retraining? Not if the system is simple: a specialist only needs the app with their own schedule.
• What about bookings already made for next month? Move them by hand or with a file on day two or three — before you change the link.
• Can I try it without paying? With SetNow, yes: 14 days free, no card required.

Looking for a YCLIENTS replacement? Try SetNow free for 14 days: every feature for the whole team, no card required. Upload your client base, take your first online bookings and work out what you'd pay per month. If you don't renew, your data stays put and the workspace reopens as soon as a plan is paid.

YCLIENTS and DIKIDI are trademarks of their respective owners; SetNow is not affiliated with them. Information about third-party services is based on their websites as of September 2026 and may change — check current terms with the services themselves.