Total and differential cross sections for $eta$ and $eta ^prime$ photoproduction off the proton have been determined with the CBELSA/TAPS detector for photon energies between 0.85 and 2.55 GeV. The $eta$ mesons are detected in their two neutral decay modes, $etatogammagamma$ and $etato 3pi^0to 6gamma$, and for the first time, cover the full angular range in $rm cos theta_{cm}$ of the $eta$ meson. These new $eta$ photoproduction data are consistent with the earlier CB-ELSA results. The $eta ^prime$ mesons are observed in their neutral decay to $pi^0pi^0etato 6gamma$ and also extend the coverage in angular range.