Comparison
SalonBook vs Square Appointments (2026): Pricing, Fees & Features
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Square Appointments is the scheduling product inside Square's payments ecosystem: the Free plan costs $0 and includes online booking, reminders and unlimited staff calendars, while Plus and Premium are priced per location and add more features. SalonBook is a salon booking and business platform with flat plans: Free for 1 staff and 5 services, Pro at $39/mo for up to 3 staff, and Enterprise at $89/mo for unlimited staff, with salon-specific tools such as deposits, no-show fees, waitlist auto-book, intake forms, loyalty and memberships included in Pro.
Square's processing rates, Free-plan contents, custom-domain policy and support channels were verified on squareup.com and the Square Help Center on September 6, 2026. Square's pricing page does not render plan prices in its HTML, so the $49/mo and $149/mo per-location figures for Plus and Premium come from four 2026 third-party pricing roundups that agree with each other, and are labelled as such. SalonBook prices are our own published plans as of the same date.
The short version: Square wins on its free plan, trial length, payments and hardware ecosystem, and phone support. SalonBook wins on paid-tier price, annual billing, salon-specific features in one plan, and a custom domain included in Pro. Neither charges a marketplace commission.
Feature comparison
| Feature | SalonBook | Square Appointments |
|---|---|---|
| Free plan | Yes: $0/mo for 1 staff and 5 services, with online booking, calendar, client list, email confirmations and a public website with theme studio | Yes: $0/mo with unlimited staff calendars, online booking site, reminders, and payments at standard rates (better) |
| Solo price | $0 on Free (1 staff, 5 services); Pro $39/mo or ~$29/mo billed annually for the full feature set | $0 on Free (better) |
| Paid plan price | Pro $39/mo or $348/yr (~$29/mo); Enterprise $89/mo or $828/yr (~$69/mo) (better) | Plus $49/mo per location and Premium $149/mo per location, according to four 2026 third-party pricing roundups; Square's official page does not render prices in HTML |
| Annual billing | Yes: Pro $348/yr (~$29/mo), Enterprise $828/yr (~$69/mo) (better) | Not offered |
| Price for 3 staff | Pro $39/mo or ~$29/mo billed annually (covers up to 3 staff) | $0 on Free (unlimited staff), or Plus $49/mo per location (third-party figure) (better) |
| Price for 6+ staff | Enterprise $89/mo or $828/yr (~$69/mo), unlimited staff | $0 on Free (unlimited staff); Plus $49/mo or Premium $149/mo per location (third-party figures) (better) |
| Free trial | 14 days, no contract | 30 days for paid plans, according to third-party sources; the Free plan needs no trial (better) |
| ContractTie | None; cancel anytime, no setup fee | None; cancel anytime |
| Marketplace / new-client commissionTie | None. SalonBook has no marketplace, so there are no commission, per-booking or per-client fees | None; Square Appointments has no marketplace |
| Payment processingTie | Use Stripe, Square or PayPal at their published rates; SalonBook adds no markup, and you can keep using Square payments with SalonBook | In-person: Free 2.6% + 15 cents, Plus 2.5% + 15 cents, Premium 2.4% + 15 cents; online: Free 3.3% + 30 cents, paid plans 2.9% + 30 cents; keyed 3.5% + 15 cents; Afterpay 6% + 30 cents |
| Online bookingTie | Included on every plan, including Free | Included on Free via the Square online booking site |
| Deposits and no-show feesTie | Pro: deposits plus cancellation and no-show fees | Not verified on official pages; third-party reviewers describe deposit options as limited |
| SMS remindersTie | Pro: SMS + email reminders at 24h and 1h, plus follow-ups | Reminders included on Free; channel and timing details not verified |
| Intake and consent formsTie | Pro: intake and consent forms with e-signature | Not verified in our September 2026 review of Square Appointments |
| Loyalty, memberships and gift cardsTie | Pro: loyalty, referrals, gift certificates and memberships included | Not verified in our September 2026 review of Square Appointments |
| Branded websiteTie | Included on Free (public website + theme studio); Pro adds all 10 templates and custom CSS | Online booking site included on Free |
| Custom domain | Pro: custom domain with automatic SSL, no separate subscription (better) | Available through Square Online on paid plans only, not on Free (Square Help Center) |
| Support | In-app chat + email (support@ocmpro.com); replies within 24 hours | Phone 1-855-700-6000 (not guaranteed for all sellers); live chat Mon–Fri 6am–6pm PT; 24/7 phone for Plus (better) |
Green cells mark the stronger option for that row. Rows marked "Tie" are effectively equivalent.
Pricing
Pricing side by side
| Scenario | Square Appointments | SalonBook |
|---|---|---|
| Solo (1 staff) | $0/mo on Free | $0/mo on Free (1 staff, 5 services), or Pro $39/mo / ~$29/mo billed annually |
| 3 staff | $0/mo on Free (unlimited staff), or Plus $49/mo per location according to third-party roundups | Pro $39/mo, or $348/yr (~$29/mo) |
| 6 staff | $0/mo on Free (unlimited staff), Plus $49/mo per location, or Premium $149/mo per location according to third-party roundups | Enterprise $89/mo, or $828/yr (~$69/mo), unlimited staff |
| Plus 10 new marketplace clients at $80 avg ticket | $0; Square Appointments has no marketplace | $0 commission; SalonBook has no marketplace |
On software price alone, Square Appointments Free is hard to beat: $0/mo with unlimited staff calendars, compared with SalonBook Free at $0/mo for 1 staff and 5 services. The comparison changes when you want a paid tier. SalonBook Pro is $39/mo, or ~$29/mo billed annually, against Square Plus at $49/mo per location, and SalonBook Enterprise is $89/mo for unlimited staff against Square Premium at $149/mo per location, based on the third-party figures above. Square has no annual discount.
Payment processing is separate for both. Square publishes 2.6% + 15 cents in person and 3.3% + 30 cents online on Free, dropping to 2.5% + 15 cents and 2.9% + 30 cents on paid plans. SalonBook connects to Stripe, Square or PayPal and you pay their published rates directly; SalonBook adds no processing markup, so a salon can run SalonBook for booking and keep Square as its processor at Square's rates.
Verdict
Choose SalonBook if…
- You want the cheaper paid tier: SalonBook Pro is $39/mo, or ~$29/mo billed annually, against Square Plus at $49/mo per location, and Enterprise is $89/mo against Square Premium at $149/mo per location (third-party figures).
- You want an annual discount: Square bills monthly only; SalonBook Pro is $348/yr (~$29/mo) and Enterprise $828/yr (~$69/mo).
- You want salon-specific tools in one plan: SalonBook Pro includes deposits and no-show fees, waitlist with auto-book, intake and consent forms with e-signature, loyalty, referrals, memberships, gift certificates and 10 website templates.
- You want your booking site on your own domain without a separate website subscription: SalonBook Pro includes a custom domain with automatic SSL, while Square offers custom domains through Square Online on paid plans only.
- You want to keep Square as your payment processor: SalonBook connects to Square, Stripe or PayPal at their published rates and adds no markup.
Choose Square Appointments if…
- You want the most generous free plan: Square Free is $0/mo with unlimited staff calendars, online booking and reminders. SalonBook Free is limited to 1 staff and 5 services.
- You want a longer evaluation of a paid plan: Square offers a 30-day trial according to third-party sources, against 14 days on SalonBook.
- You already run your business on Square's payments, point-of-sale and hardware and want scheduling inside the same account. SalonBook is booking software that connects to a processor; it is not a payments company.
- You want phone support: Square publishes a phone line (not guaranteed for all sellers), live chat Mon–Fri 6am–6pm PT, and 24/7 phone on Plus. SalonBook offers in-app chat and email with replies within 24 hours.
Bottom line: Square Appointments is the better free option for any team size and the natural choice if you are already committed to Square payments and hardware. SalonBook is the lower-priced paid option, offers annual billing, and bundles salon-specific features and a custom domain into one plan while still letting you process payments through Square.
Try SalonBook free for 14 days, no card and no contract.
Start free with SalonBookFrequently asked questions
Is Square Appointments free?
Yes. Square Appointments has a Free plan at $0/mo that includes an online booking site, reminders, unlimited staff calendars and payments at standard rates. Paid Plus and Premium plans are priced per location at $49/mo and $149/mo according to 2026 third-party pricing roundups. SalonBook Free is $0/mo for 1 staff and 5 services.
Does Square Appointments charge commission?
No. Square Appointments has no marketplace and charges no commission on bookings; you pay the plan price plus Square processing, published at 2.6% + 15 cents in person and 3.3% + 30 cents online on the Free plan. SalonBook likewise has no marketplace or commission.
Can I use my own domain with Square Appointments?
Only on paid plans. According to the Square Help Center, a custom domain is available through Square Online on paid plans and not on the Free plan. SalonBook Pro ($39/mo) includes a custom domain with automatic SSL without a separate website subscription.
How much does Square Appointments cost for 3 staff?
$0/mo on the Free plan, which allows unlimited staff calendars. If you want Plus features, third-party 2026 pricing roundups list Plus at $49/mo per location. SalonBook Pro covers up to 3 staff for $39/mo or $348/yr (~$29/mo).
Can I switch from Square Appointments to SalonBook?
Yes. Export your client list and services from Square as CSV, import or recreate them in SalonBook, and run both systems during a 2-week overlap so existing appointments finish cleanly. You can keep Square as your payment processor inside SalonBook, then update your booking links on Google Business Profile and Instagram.
Which is better for a solo stylist, Square Appointments or SalonBook?
For a solo who wants $0 software, Square Free is the stronger free plan because it has no staff or service limits, while SalonBook Free allows 1 staff and 5 services. A solo who wants deposits, no-show fees, a waitlist, intake forms and a custom domain in one plan pays $39/mo (or ~$29/mo annually) on SalonBook Pro against Square Plus at $49/mo per location.
Square Appointments is a trademark of its respective owner. SalonBook is not affiliated with or endorsed by Square Appointments. Information about Square Appointments comes from its public website as of September 6, 2026; please verify current details with the vendor.