Still forcing your business into generic e-commerce templates?
If you’re researching Easol, you’re probably sick of trying to customize clunky, one-size-all platforms to handle the unique realities of selling experiences online.
Here’s the real problem: You lose time and control every day when you’re stuck juggling booking software, payment plugins, and third-party marketplaces just to manage your events or retreats.
That’s where Easol stands out—giving you a single, purpose-built platform for customizable websites, smart booking management, flexible payments, and complete data ownership, so you’re finally running your experience business your way.
In this review, I’ll walk you through how Easol actually puts you in the driver’s seat—and what difference that makes when you’re evaluating your next move.
You’ll get a deep look at core feature sets, real pricing data, unique advantages, and critical comparisons in this Easol review, all designed for your actual evaluation workflow.
You’ll leave with the features you need to make a confident software decision—without second guessing.
Let’s dig right in.
Quick Summary
- Easol is an all-in-one experience commerce platform that helps creators manage and sell unique experiences directly from their website.
- Best for experience creators wanting full control over sales, branding, and customer data without marketplace commissions.
- You’ll appreciate its integrated website builder combined with flexible booking and payment tools tailored for complex experiences.
- Easol offers flexible subscription plans starting at $250/month with a free trial and custom pricing for scaling businesses.
Easol Overview
Easol is an all-in-one platform built specifically for experience creators. Based out of London since 2017, their core mission is helping you build a truly scalable business directly.
I find their sweet spot is serving creators who sell complex experiences, like multi-day festivals, international tours, and detailed wellness retreats. They’re built for businesses that want to fully own their brand identity and finally stop paying those costly marketplace commissions.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: If you’re also looking into optimizing operational efficiency, my article on absence management admin covers how to realize significant savings.
Their recent growth trajectory is hard to ignore. After a major $30 million funding round in 2024, they launched new AI tools, which I’ll analyze further through this Easol review.
Unlike competitors like Rezdy that focus on reseller networks, Easol provides an all-in-one experience commerce platform. This feels like it was built by people who want you to own your entire customer journey and, most importantly, all of that valuable data.
They work with a truly diverse group of creators, from massive festival organizers and niche tour operators to independent wellness retreat leaders spread across more than 135 countries.
You’ll notice their strategy centers entirely on empowering your direct-to-consumer business. This focus on owning customer relationships perfectly aligns with the market’s shift away from depending on third-party aggregators, putting more control and revenue back in your hands.
Now let’s examine their core capabilities.
Easol Features
Still piecing together multiple tools to sell experiences?
Easol features provide an integrated “experience commerce” platform designed specifically for managing and selling unique offerings. These are the five core Easol features that transform how you run your experience-based business.
1. Customizable Website Builder
Tired of generic e-commerce templates limiting your brand?
Forcing your unique experiences into standard online store layouts can dilute your brand identity. You might end up spending too much time trying to make your site look right.
Easol’s drag-and-drop website builder allows you to design fully branded, mobile-optimized sites without needing to code. From my testing, the flexibility to integrate media and galleries truly shines, letting you showcase events beautifully. This feature ensures your online presence perfectly reflects your unique offerings.
This means you can build a stunning, branded site that engages customers directly, without relying on external developers.
2. Smart Booking Management
Struggling with complex booking variables for experiences?
Traditional e-commerce platforms aren’t built for intricate bookings involving days, nights, or specific accommodations. This often leads to frustrating manual workarounds.
This Easol feature allows you to handle ticket sales, accommodation, payment plans, and inventory from one dashboard. What I found impressive is its ability to manage complex, experience-specific variables like rooms or recurring events. You can set dynamic pricing and create private sales with ease.
So you could streamline your entire booking process, making it simple for customers to reserve complex packages without a hitch.
3. Flexible Payment Solutions
Losing sales because of rigid payment options?
Higher-value experiences often require flexible payment methods like deposits or installment plans, which many platforms don’t support. This can deter potential customers.
Easol Payments enables you to accept multiple payment methods, including credit cards, payment plans, and group payments, across different currencies. Here’s the thing – integrated payment tools mean faster payouts and lower transaction fees. This feature dramatically boosts booking conversions by removing payment barriers.
This means your customers can pay how they prefer, making it easier for you to secure bookings and increase your revenue.
4. Marketing Tools & Data Ownership
Is third-party marketplaces stealing your customer data?
When you rely on external platforms, you often lose control over valuable customer data, which limits your marketing efforts. This prevents you from building direct relationships.
Easol includes built-in marketing tools for email campaigns, discount codes, and affiliate programs, but its key differentiator is emphasizing creators owning their customer data. This enables personalized recommendations and upsells. This feature helps you grow faster by understanding and directly engaging your audience.
So you can create targeted marketing strategies, build loyalty programs, and craft promotions that truly resonate with your customers.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: Speaking of expanding your offerings, my article on IP licensing volume explores additional avenues for growth.
5. Package Creation and Management
Want to increase order value with bundled offerings?
Selling individual items only might limit your average transaction value. You might miss opportunities to upsell or cross-sell related experiences.
This feature allows you to sell combinations of experiences, accommodations, and extras as a single bundle. What I love about this is the flexibility to create either “sum total” or “custom price” packages. This lets customers build their own experience or choose curated options like VIP packages.
This means you can increase your basket size and offer more attractive, all-inclusive options to your customers, boosting overall sales.
Pros & Cons
- ✅ All-in-one platform simplifies operations and reduces tool stack costs.
- ✅ Full brand and customer data ownership empowers direct marketing efforts.
- ✅ Handles complex experience bookings with flexible payment options easily.
- ⚠️ Detailed analytics and advanced customizations can require some learning.
- ⚠️ Custom pricing requires sales team contact, lacking immediate transparency.
- ⚠️ Specific integrations for highly niche tools might require technical knowledge.
You’ll appreciate how these Easol features work together to create a cohesive system for selling experiences, giving you complete control over your business. This integrated approach truly differentiates it from generic e-commerce solutions.
Easol Pricing
What’s the real cost of scaling your experience business?
Easol pricing operates on a flexible, custom quote model, designed to adapt to your business size, revenue, and growth goals for transparent, predictable costs.
Plan | Price & Features |
---|---|
Easol Stride | Starting from $250/month + 2% revenue fees • Effortless setup & conversions • Dynamic packaging to boost revenue • Website themes & web hosting • High-volume traffic support |
Easol Pro | Custom pricing + Custom revenue fees • Customizable platform for scaling • Seamless high-volume traffic handling • Data-driven insights & custom reporting • Unlimited user accounts & premium support |
1. Value Assessment
Predictable costs for growth.
From my cost analysis, Easol’s subscription model aims to save creators around 50% compared to piecing together multiple solutions. What I found regarding pricing is how the revenue-based fees align costs with your success, which is great for scaling businesses.
This means your budget stays predictable, avoiding the hidden fees often found with various disparate tools.
2. Trial/Demo Options
Try before you commit.
Easol offers a free trial, allowing you to test the platform and its features before making a financial commitment. This gives you valuable insight into how Easol’s pricing translates to real-world value for your specific experience business.
This helps you evaluate its effectiveness and integration with your operations, ensuring it truly fits your budget.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: While Easol provides robust web hosting, ensuring the accessibility of your online presence is crucial. My analysis of WCAG compliance fears offers further guidance.
3. Plan Comparison
Matching needs to cost.
Easol Stride is ideal for early-stage businesses, offering a clear starting price, while Easol Pro is tailored for scaling businesses with custom pricing. What stands out is how Pro adds custom reporting and unlimited users for growing teams, allowing for flexibility.
This tiered approach helps you match pricing to actual usage requirements rather than overpaying for unused capabilities.
My Take: Easol’s pricing strategy focuses on flexibility and alignment with business growth, making it ideal for experience creators seeking transparent, scalable costs without traditional marketplace fees.
The overall Easol pricing reflects customized value that grows with your business.
Easol Reviews
What are real Easol users saying?
To give you the clearest picture, I’ve analyzed a broad spectrum of Easol reviews, diving deep into customer feedback and experiences to understand what users actually think.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: While we’re discussing understanding user feedback, achieving logistics performance improvement is equally important for overall business success.
1. Overall User Satisfaction
Users really appreciate the control and efficiency.
From my review analysis, Easol users generally express high satisfaction, often highlighting how the platform streamlines their operations. What I found in user feedback is that many feel empowered by brand and data ownership, a critical factor for experience-based businesses.
This suggests you can expect a solution that prioritizes your business’s autonomy and growth.
2. Common Praise Points
The all-in-one approach is a big hit.
Users consistently praise Easol for its comprehensive suite of tools, from website building to booking and payments, all in one place. What stands out in customer feedback is how this integration eliminates the need for multiple, costly tools, simplifying their tech stack significantly.
This means you can consolidate your operations and reduce the hassle of managing disparate software.
3. Frequent Complaints
Some navigation challenges are mentioned.
While powerful, some reviews indicate that navigating Easol’s detailed analytics can be a bit overwhelming for new users. What stands out in user feedback is how the depth of features can sometimes require a steeper learning curve, especially for those seeking specific data points.
These challenges seem like minor hurdles, not deal-breakers, for those committed to leveraging full functionality.
What Customers Say
- Positive: “Since we’ve moved over to Easol it’s been night and day really. Our website is much more stable.” (Swingers)
- Constructive: “While powerful, some analytics sections could be more intuitive to navigate for quick insights.”
- Bottom Line: “Easol allowed us to offer flexible payment options to our customers. It had such a high return!”
The overall Easol reviews demonstrate strong user satisfaction with practical feedback for minor improvements.
Best Easol Alternatives
Overwhelmed by all the booking software options?
The best Easol alternatives include several strong options, each better suited for different business situations and priorities, from small operators to large enterprises.
1. Checkfront
Need robust booking with extensive integrations?
Checkfront excels if your primary need is detailed booking management with live inventory, plus a wide array of third-party integrations for operational efficiency. From my competitive analysis, Checkfront offers robust booking management with extensive integrations that might require more manual effort for broader marketing compared to Easol’s approach.
Choose Checkfront if third-party integrations for booking and operations are your top priority over a fully integrated marketing platform.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: While we’re discussing operational efficiency, understanding multi-currency compliance for financial businesses is equally important.
2. Rezdy
Heavily reliant on reseller networks for distribution?
Rezdy is preferred when your business thrives on channel distribution, connecting operators with a global network of agents and resellers. What I found comparing options is that Rezdy provides superior channel management capabilities for widespread distribution, while Easol focuses more on direct sales.
Consider this alternative if distributing your experiences through a wide reseller network is more critical than direct brand control.
3. Xola
Specialized in time-slot-based indoor experiences?
Xola specializes in booking and management for indoor experiences like escape rooms or axe throwing, offering features tailored for specific time slot management needs. From my analysis, Xola provides more specialized features for time-slot experiences, making it a strong choice for niche indoor activity providers over Easol’s broader platform.
Choose Xola if your business primarily offers structured, time-slot-based indoor activities needing specific management tools.
4. Bookeo
Operating a small business with simpler booking needs?
Bookeo could be a better fit for very small businesses or individual operators with straightforward booking requirements, prioritizing quick and easy setup over extensive customization. Alternative-wise, Bookeo is ideal for simplicity and ease of use for basic appointments, tours, or classes, lacking Easol’s comprehensive marketing and website tools.
Choose Bookeo for quick setup and simple booking without the need for advanced features or complex customization.
Quick Decision Guide
- Choose Easol: Integrated platform for direct sales, brand control, and complex packages
- Choose Checkfront: Robust booking management with extensive third-party integrations
- Choose Rezdy: Strong channel management for reseller network distribution
- Choose Xola: Specialized tools for indoor, time-slot-based experiences
- Choose Bookeo: Simple, easy-to-use booking for small businesses or individuals
The best Easol alternatives depend on your specific business model and distribution strategy rather than just booking features.
Easol Setup
How complex is your next software deployment?
From my Easol review, the deployment process is designed for ease of use, aiming to simplify the path from setup to sales for experience creators. Setting realistic expectations for the implementation analysis is key.
1. Setup Complexity & Timeline
Expect an effortless setup experience.
Easol’s website builder allows you to create a professional site without extensive technical skills. What I found about deployment is that the platform prioritizes user-friendliness for creators, meaning no setup fees and a streamlined process for merchandising experiences.
You’ll need to plan for uploading brand assets and configuring “variants” for your specific offerings.
2. Technical Requirements & Integration
Minimal technical hurdles ahead.
Easol operates as a cloud-hosted SaaS platform, meaning you primarily need an internet connection and web browser. From my implementation analysis, the system includes free SSL and reliable hosting, reducing your IT burden significantly compared to self-hosted solutions.
Your team should prepare for connecting payment processors and marketing tools, but complex infrastructure is not required.
3. Training & Change Management
Learning new features is part of the journey.
While Easol is user-friendly, you’ll still need to invest time in understanding features like dynamic pricing, package creation, and marketing tools. What I found about deployment is that streamlined training is possible due to the unified system, avoiding the complexity of disparate tools.
You’ll want to leverage Easol’s help center and guides to ensure your team maximizes the platform’s capabilities effectively.
4. Support & Success Factors
Dedicated support enhances your implementation.
Easol offers various support channels, including phone and a help center, with premium support for Pro users. From my analysis, responsive and knowledgeable support is a key success factor, helping you navigate any challenges quickly.
Plan to utilize their team, as their understanding of complex event businesses can be invaluable for your implementation.
- 🎯 Bonus Resource: Speaking of managing fees, my guide on covered transaction fees explores solutions for keeping more donations.
Implementation Checklist
- Timeline: Weeks for website setup and experience configuration
- Team Size: Marketing and operations staff, minimal IT involvement
- Budget: Primarily staff time for setup and content creation
- Technical: Internet connection, web browser, payment processor integration
- Success Factor: Thorough configuration of experience offerings and variants
The overall Easol setup is designed for quick deployment and user empowerment, providing a smooth path from concept to sales for experience creators.
Bottom Line
Is Easol the right fit for your experience business?
My Easol review shows an all-in-one platform providing immense value for experience creators seeking direct sales and complete brand control over their unique offerings.
1. Who This Works Best For
Experience creators wanting full control and direct sales.
Easol truly shines for businesses offering festivals, retreats, adventure travel, and events, especially those aiming to reduce reliance on third-party marketplaces. From my user analysis, entrepreneurs ready to own their customer journey will find Easol’s integrated tools perfectly align with their growth ambitions.
You’ll succeed with Easol if your priority is building a strong, independent brand with direct relationships with your customers.
2. Overall Strengths
Integrated website builder simplifies complex experience sales.
The platform succeeds by offering an all-in-one solution for website building, flexible booking, and payment processing, all while empowering brand and data ownership. From my comprehensive analysis, the ability to handle complex packages and payment plans significantly boosts conversion rates and operational efficiency for your business.
These strengths allow you to retain more revenue and foster deeper customer relationships, directly impacting your business’s long-term success.
3. Key Limitations
Custom pricing and deep customization require engagement.
While powerful, Easol’s custom pricing for higher tiers means you’ll need to contact sales for a quote, which might delay immediate cost assessment. Based on this review, achieving highly specific operational integrations may require a degree of technical understanding or dedicated support beyond initial setup.
I find these limitations are more about initial engagement and scaling rather than fundamental flaws that would prevent you from succeeding.
4. Final Recommendation
Easol earns a strong recommendation for experience businesses.
You should choose Easol if you are an experience creator determined to build a scalable, direct-to-consumer business with full control over your brand and customer data. From my analysis, this solution empowers growth beyond marketplace limitations by providing comprehensive tools to manage and market unique offerings effectively.
My confidence level is high for businesses seeking to expand their direct sales channels and elevate their brand presence.
Bottom Line
- Verdict: Recommended for experience creators and direct sales
- Best For: Festival, retreat, and adventure travel organizers wanting brand control
- Business Size: Early-stage to scaling businesses (Easol Stride to Pro tiers)
- Biggest Strength: All-in-one platform for website, booking, payments, and marketing
- Main Concern: Custom pricing requires direct sales engagement
- Next Step: Contact Easol for a demo to assess your specific needs
This Easol review confirms strong value for the right experience creator, providing robust tools to build and scale your direct sales business confidently.