--- title: "Golf O'Clock vs Birdie (2026): Pricing and Features Compared" description: "Golf O'Clock vs Birdie for golf simulator venues: price at your bay count, door access, simulator control, memberships and what each one does better." url: https://golfoclock.com/blog/golf-oclock-vs-birdie --- [Back to blog](/blog)Technology # Golf O'Clock vs Birdie: price, locks, simulator control and leagues Oct 14, 20267 min read Golf O'Clock and Birdie are both booking platforms built only for golf simulator venues, and on the basics they're close: online booking, memberships, door access, payments and no fee per booking. The differences are in price at your bay count, how deep pricing rules and simulator control go, and which payment processors and locks each one supports. We make Golf O'Clock, so read this with that in mind. Everything about Birdie below comes from [Birdie's own website](https://birdiegrow.com/), checked on October 14, 2026. We haven't used it, so confirm anything that matters to you with them directly. Birdie publishes its own comparison too. It describes Golf O'Clock as European-built and suggests checking the contract terms; Golf O'Clock is built in Montreal and is month to month with no contract. ## The short version Golf O'Clock Birdie Price $150/month for 4 bays, +$25 per extra bay From $197/month, no per-bay fee Fee per booking None None Contract Month to month Month to month Venues 200+ active venues 180+ active clients (Sept 2026) Online payments Stripe, Square Stripe, Square, Clover, Helcim (beta) In-person sales Lightspeed K-Series or Square Built-in food and beverage (menu, bay tabs, kitchen tickets), Square in-person sales Leagues No built-in module (recurring bay blocks, or league software) Teams, rosters, standings, scoring, GSPro SGT Door access Kisi, Avigilon Alta, RemoteLock, Rhombus, HTTP and QR locks, SmartLock Kisi, PDK, UniFi Access, Avigilon Alta, RemoteLock Simulator control Screen Marshal: locks the PC between bookings, Command Center for every bay Bay Agent: starts and ends sessions, opens the simulator software Pricing rules Peak, member, tier, package and utilization conditions, 2+ million combinations Peak, off-peak and time-of-day rates; off-peak-only plans Lapsed-customer win-back After a membership ends; by inactivity through GoHighLevel Lapsed-customer list and one-click reactivation campaigns Staff AI assistant Yes, sets up the venue from a description Not mentioned API, webhooks, MCP server Per venue, on every plan Not mentioned Website and ads services No Yes, on custom plans Getting started Demo, then the team configures it Walkthrough; "most venues are live within 24 hours" ## What it costs at your bay count Golf O'Clock prices by bay. Birdie prices from a flat starting point. That means the answer changes with the size of the venue. Bays Golf O'Clock (per month) Birdie (from, per month) 4 $150 $197 6 $200 $197 8 $250 $197 10 $300 $197 Golf O'Clock costs less up to 5 bays, by $47 a month at 4. At 6 bays they're level, and from 7 bays Birdie's starting price is lower. Keep in mind that $197 is Birdie's starting price for its booking system; its website-and-booking and full-platform plans are quoted separately. Birdie also charges a one-time onboarding fee, quoted on its walkthrough, so ask for that number. Birdie's price is in US dollars and it serves the US and Canada; Golf O'Clock charges the same numbers in the venue's own currency, so £150 in the UK and €150 in Europe. Golf O'Clock's full breakdown is on the [pricing page](/pricing), and how both compare with per-booking platforms is in [what golf simulator software costs](/blog/golf-simulator-software-cost). Neither one takes a fee per booking, which is the part that matters most as you get busier. A per-booking model is different: at Birrdi's published rates, 800 bookings a month comes to about $320. More in [Golf O'Clock vs Birrdi](/blog/golf-oclock-vs-birrdi). ## Where the two are close Both are golf-specific, so you don't spend the first month bending a salon or gym app around bays. Both run online booking against the same availability staff see, membership hour tracking, add-ons, and automated confirmations and reminders. Both let customers into an unstaffed venue with a smart lock tied to the booking, and Kisi, RemoteLock and Avigilon Alta work with either. Both also sit above your simulator software rather than replacing it. TrackMan, GSPro and the rest keep running the golf. The booking platform decides who gets the bay and when. ## Where Golf O'Clock goes further **Pricing rules.** Peak, off-peak, member, tier, package and promotional rates resolve in order on every booking, the same way online, at the desk and on the phone. Utilization itself can be a pricing condition. That's 2+ million combinations on a basic setup. If your pricing is more than "weekday and weekend," this is where the difference shows. More on [pricing rules](/features/pricing-rules). **Running the bays remotely.** [Screen Marshal](/features/screen-marshal) keeps each simulator locked between bookings, unlocks it for the customer who booked with a per-booking PIN or an unlock link, and locks it again when the time is up. Staff can lock, unlock, launch simulator titles and message every bay from one Command Center. Customers can also extend a running session and the bay unlocks again. **More lock options, and Lightspeed.** Rhombus, any lock with a web connection, QR entry codes and Golf O'Clock's own SmartLock on top of the shared ones. If you run Lightspeed K-Series, checking a customer in opens a tab with their bay booking on it. See [bay access](/features/bay-access) and [integrations](/integrations). **The AI assistant and the API.** Staff can describe what they want, such as a membership with included hours or an off-peak rate, and the [AI assistant](/features/ai-assistant) sets it up, with every action shown for approval first. Every venue also gets its own API, webhooks and MCP server, so a developer, ChatGPT or Claude can work with the venue's data once its managers allow it. **Multiple sites.** Birdie lists one login with a location switcher. On Golf O'Clock, a group can share pricing, memberships and credit balances across sites, though there's no single combined dashboard across them. ## Where Birdie goes further **More payment processors.** Clover and Helcim (in beta) as well as Stripe and Square. Golf O'Clock supports Stripe and Square only, so if you're tied to another processor, that settles it. **More lock brands on the shared side.** PDK and UniFi Access are on Birdie's list and not on ours. **Leagues.** Birdie lists teams, rosters, weekly billing, standings and scoring, plus GSPro SGT integration. Golf O'Clock has no league module: leagues run on recurring bay blocks or separate league software (see [how to run a golf simulator league](/blog/golf-simulator-league)). **Food, drink and staff tools.** Birdie lists its own menu, bay tabs and kitchen tickets, and staff shifts with a time clock and payroll exports. Golf O'Clock has no built-in point of sale; it connects to Lightspeed or Square instead. **Win-back built in.** Birdie lists lapsed-customer identification and one-click reactivation campaigns. Both platforms send review requests after a visit. Golf O'Clock runs win-backs after a membership ends, and inactivity-based campaigns through its GoHighLevel integration, which is an extra tool to set up. **Website and ads.** Birdie's custom plans include building the venue's website and managing Facebook and Google ads. Golf O'Clock doesn't sell marketing services. **Speed to start.** Birdie says most venues are live within 24 hours. Golf O'Clock starts with a demo and the team configures the venue with you; it doesn't publish a go-live time, so ask for one on the demo. ## The facts about Golf O'Clock, for the record For the record, since other comparisons get these wrong: Golf O'Clock is built in Montreal, Canada, and runs 200+ venues across North America, the UK and Europe. It's month to month with no contract. Reporting includes bay utilization by bay and hour, revenue, member and package activity and unused prepaid balances, all exportable to CSV. Memberships cover recurring plans, included hours, punch cards, seasonal passes, guest fees and member booking windows. ## Which one fits your venue Pick Birdie if you take payments through Clover or Helcim, use PDK or UniFi Access, run leagues and want them in the booking system, want food and drink on its own point of sale, want your website and ads handled by the same company, or want to be live tomorrow with simple pricing. Pick Golf O'Clock if your pricing has real structure (members, tiers, packages, times of day), you run unstaffed and want the simulator itself locked between bookings, you sell food and drink through Lightspeed, you want sites to share memberships and credit balances, or you want an API and an AI assistant on the account. Up to 5 bays it's also the cheaper of the two. Either way, take your own bay count, your real monthly bookings and your lock and processor to both demos, and ask the same questions. Our [comparison of nine booking platforms](/blog/best-golf-simulator-booking-software) has the rest of the field, and [golf simulator booking software](/golf-simulator-booking-software) covers what Golf O'Clock does end to end. Birdie and other product names are trademarks of their respective owners, used here only to identify their products. Golf O'Clock is not affiliated with or endorsed by them. Details about other platforms come from its public website as of October 14, 2026 and may have changed since. If anything here is out of date or wrong, email [info@golfoclock.com](mailto:info@golfoclock.com) and we'll correct it. Written by [Mathieu Morin](/about), CRO at Golf O'Clock. Based on operating data from 200+ indoor golf venues. ## Frequently asked questions **Is Golf O'Clock cheaper than Birdie?** Up to 5 bays, yes. Golf O'Clock is $150 a month for the first 4 bays and $25 per extra bay, so $175 for 5 and $200 for 6. Birdie lists its booking system from $197 a month with no per-bay fee. At 6 bays the two are level, and above that Birdie's starting price is lower. Ask each about one-time setup costs. **Do Golf O'Clock or Birdie charge per booking?** Neither. Golf O'Clock charges by bay count with no fee per booking at any volume. Birdie states no per-booking fees and no percentage of revenue. Your payment processor's card fees apply on both. **Which one controls the golf simulator?** Both do, in different ways. Golf O'Clock's Screen Marshal runs on each bay's Windows PC, keeps the simulator locked between bookings, unlocks it for the customer who booked, and lets staff lock, unlock and launch simulator titles on every bay from one Command Center. Birdie describes a Bay Agent that starts and ends sessions with the booking and opens the simulator software automatically. **Which smart locks work with Golf O'Clock and Birdie?** Golf O'Clock works with Kisi, Avigilon Alta, RemoteLock, Rhombus, generic HTTP locks, QR code locks and its own SmartLock. Birdie lists Kisi, PDK, UniFi Access, Avigilon Alta and RemoteLock. Kisi, RemoteLock and Avigilon Alta work with both. **Can I switch from Birdie to Golf O'Clock?** Yes. Bring a spreadsheet of your customers and members, and Golf O'Clock imports your customers, tags, notes, marketing consent and active memberships with their renewal dates, so nobody signs up twice. Saved cards don't transfer, so customers add a card on their next booking. More in [switching booking systems](/help/switching-booking-systems). ## Ready to see Golf O'Clock in action? Book a demo and we'll walk you through the platform with your venue setup in mind. [Book a demo](/demo)