Guide
Free WordPress booking plugin: the complete guide
How to choose, install and set up a free booking plugin on WordPress for nightly accommodation or appointments: features to check, what "free" really means, payments and page builders.
GDA Kraft Booking is available for free on WordPress.org. The free core works without an account for accommodation; a free Kraft GDA account adds online payments and appointments.
A booking plugin turns a WordPress site into a sales tool: the visitor picks dates or a time slot, sees the price, confirms and, depending on your settings, pays online. This guide brings together what you need to know to choose a free plugin without surprises, then set it up. Each step links to the detailed articles of the help centre.
GDA Kraft Booking, published by Global Digital Agency, is used as a concrete example throughout. Its free core is listed on WordPress.org; the criteria below apply to any plugin, though.
Nightly stays or appointments: two different needs
The first question is not "which plugin?" but "what is being booked?". The two logics have very little in common.
| Nightly accommodation | Appointments | |
|---|---|---|
| What is booked | A property or unit, for a number of nights | A time slot, with a service and a staff member |
| Price | Per night, varying with the season, number of guests and length of stay | Per service, sometimes per participant |
| Constraints | Minimum stay, arrival days, cleaning between stays | Duration, buffer time, each staff member's schedule |
| Payment | Deposit then balance, tourist tax | Payment when booking or on site, sometimes a deposit |
| Synchronisation | iCal calendars with Airbnb, Booking.com, Vrbo | The team's schedule |
Some tools only cover one of the two. If you are unsure, read Accommodation or appointments: which mode should you choose?.
Features to check before installing
A booking plugin quickly becomes the heart of your business, and switching after a few months takes time. Check at least the following points in the free version, not only in the paid one.
- Availability calendar per property or per staff member, with closed days.
- Rates: seasons, weekend prices, minimum stay, discounts, extra fees (accommodation) or price per service (appointments).
- Online payment: which provider, deposit, balance, refunds.
- iCal synchronisation if you also list on booking platforms.
- E-mails for confirmations and reminders, which you can edit.
- Compatibility with your theme and page builder.
- Data: where bookings and customer details are stored.
- Maintenance: date of the last update, compatibility with your WordPress version, support.
The full list of checks is in the checklist before opening online bookings.
"Free": what the word covers
The word covers very different business models: a Lite version of a paid product, a free base extended with paid add-ons, a complete tool funded by a fee on payments, or a volunteer project. None is better in absolute terms; each puts the cost somewhere else. The article Is there a truly free WordPress booking plugin? explains the four models and the questions to ask.
To compare in practice, use our comparisons, which cite the plugins' official listings:
- Which accommodation booking plugin should I choose for WordPress?
- Which appointment booking plugin should I choose for WordPress?
Listings and prices change: always check them at the source before deciding.
GDA Kraft Booking: two free editions
GDA Kraft Booking has no Pro version and no paid add-on. There are two editions:
| Edition | Where to get it | What it covers | Account |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free core | WordPress.org, from your WordPress dashboard | Accommodations and units, rates, seasons, calendar, iCal sync, manual bookings and booking requests (paid offline) | None |
| Full GDA edition | Kraft GDA customer area, Downloads | Everything in the core, plus Kraft Pay online payments (Stripe), appointments, Kraft Console, design modules, Kraft Fields, multilingual site and AI control | Free Kraft GDA account, no credit card |
The business model is a service fee on payments collected online: 0.9%, reduced to 0.45% until 30 June 2027 as a launch offer, shown to the payer. Offline payments and booking requests carry no fee. Stripe's own fees apply to online payments, according to Stripe's pricing. Details: Pricing and The 0.9% fee.
Installing the free core from WordPress.org
- In your WordPress dashboard, go to Plugins › Add New.
- Search for "GDA Kraft Booking".
- Click Install Now, then Activate.
- A Kraft Booking menu appears: create your first accommodation, its units and a rate plan.
For online payments or appointments, connect the site to a free Kraft GDA account and add the GDA Kraft Booking Connect add-on, or install the full edition directly. The step-by-step procedure is in Install and connect Kraft Booking.
Page builders: native blocks, widgets and modules
The booking form must fit into your layout without hacks. GDA Kraft Booking provides the same components (search, calendar, booking form, price summary) as:
- blocks for the WordPress block editor (Gutenberg);
- widgets for Elementor;
- native modules for Divi 5.
Native Bricks support is announced as coming soon; in the meantime, the shortcodes work in Bricks' Shortcode element. See Divi, Gutenberg, Elementor and Bricks.
Online payment: what to plan for
Accepting paid bookings requires a site served over HTTPS, an account with a payment provider and clear terms (deposit, balance, cancellation). With GDA Kraft Booking, payments go through Stripe via Kraft Pay: cards, Apple Pay and Google Pay, deposit then automatic balance collection, one-click refunds. PayPal is not among the announced features to date.
The full process is described in How do I accept bookings with online payment on WordPress?. If you are weighing a plugin against an independent online service, read WordPress plugin or SaaS booking software.
Limits to be aware of
- GDA Kraft Booking is in public beta (0.x versions); version 1.0 is planned for June 2027. Read the roadmap before going into production.
- The WordPress.org core includes neither online payments nor appointments: these require the free account and the Connect add-on (or the full edition).
- Online payment relies on Stripe only.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best free WordPress booking plugin?
There is no single answer: it depends on what you are booking (nights or time slots), on what is included without paying (payments, iCal, number of properties or staff) and on your page builder. Start from your needs, then compare the official listings.
Can a free plugin take online payments?
Yes, depending on the plugin. With GDA Kraft Booking, Stripe online payments are included for free with a free Kraft GDA account; only a service fee applies to payments collected online (0.45% until 30 June 2027, then 0.9%).
Does the free WordPress.org core require an account?
No. The edition published on WordPress.org works without an account for accommodation: rates, seasons, calendar, iCal, manual bookings and booking requests settled offline.
Where can I get help with the setup?
In the help centre, organised by topic, and from the site's online assistant. Questions about the published version can also be asked in the support forum of the WordPress.org listing.
Articles in this guide
- Is there a truly free WordPress booking plugin?“Free” covers several models: Lite version, paid add-ons, fee on payments. How to tell them apart and what to check before choosing.
- Accommodation or appointments: which mode should I choose?Accommodation mode sells nights, appointment mode sells time slots. How to choose for your business, and how to combine the two.
- Install and connect Kraft Booking on WordPressDownload the free plugin from your Kraft GDA customer area, install it on WordPress, then link your site to the Kraft GDA platform in a few clicks.
- Which accommodation booking plugin should I choose for WordPress? A comparisonA factual comparison of MotoPress Hotel Booking, WP Booking System and GDA Kraft Booking: free version, payment, iCal and how to choose.
- Which appointment booking plugin should I choose for WordPress? A comparisonA factual comparison of Amelia, Bookly, LatePoint and GDA Kraft Booking: free version, online payment, team, groups and limitations.
- How do I add a free booking calendar to a WordPress site?An availability calendar on its own, or a calendar that takes bookings and payments: the two uses, what GDA Kraft Booking covers for free, and step-by-step setup.
- How do you accept bookings with online payment on WordPress?Full payment, deposit then balance, or payment on site: how a WordPress booking plugin takes payments online, what it costs and how to enable it with Stripe.
- WordPress plugin or online booking software (SaaS): which should you choose?WordPress plugin or hosted software (SaaS, PMS): data, costs, channel manager, maintenance, and the cases where each option fits.
- Using Kraft Booking with Divi, Gutenberg, Elementor and BricksPlace search, calendar, booking form and appointment booking in your page builder, and manage day to day with Kraft Console.
- The 0.9% service fee: how does it work?The plugin is free. Only online payments carry a 0.9% service fee (0.45% until 30 June 2027), paid by the guest and collected automatically.
- Checklist: what should I check before opening online bookings?The checks to carry out before opening bookings: HTTPS, cron, emails, payment, rates, terms and conditions, GDPR and an end-to-end test booking.
- Is GDA Kraft Booking ready for production? Beta and roadmapGDA Kraft Booking is in public beta 0.1, with version 1.0 planned for June 2027. What is available, what is announced, and good practice for live sites.