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HR & Recruiting · head to head

Breathe HR vs Square Appointments

Breathe HR logo

Breathe HR

HR & Recruiting

Simple HR software for SMEs

From
£13/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Square Appointments logo

Square Appointments

Scheduling & Booking

Free scheduling for beauty businesses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Square Appointments has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Breathe HR pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50; Square Appointments the free plan is aimed at solo professionals; booking across multiple staff requires the paid Plus plan
  • They diverge on capability: Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Square Appointments covers Online booking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Breathe HR and Square Appointments actually diverge.

Attributes where Breathe HR and Square Appointments differ
AttributeBreathe HRSquare Appointments
Starting price£13/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
CategoryHR & RecruitingScheduling & Booking
Founded20122009

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), platforms (Web, Ios, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in Breathe HR

  • Employee Database
  • Absence Management
  • Document Storage
  • HR Reporting
  • Performance Management
  • Training
  • Slack
  • Google Workspace

Only in Square Appointments

  • Online booking
  • Client management
  • Point of sale
  • Payment processing
  • Automated reminders
  • Instagram booking
  • Google booking
  • Mobile app

Both cover

  • QuickBooks
  • Web support

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

Breathe HR

  • Holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a UK small businessnot Square Appointments
  • Storing HR documents, contracts and e-signaturesnot Square Appointments
  • Performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teamsnot Square Appointments

Square Appointments

  • Online appointment booking for salons, barbers and personal servicesnot Breathe HR
  • Taking card payments and deposits at the time of bookingnot Breathe HR
  • Managing staff calendars, waitlists and no-show policiesnot Breathe HR

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

Breathe HR

  • Pricing is banded by headcount, starting at £24 per month for 1 to 10 people, £44 per month for 11 to 20 and £99 per month for 21 to 50
  • Plans are capped by band up to 151 to 200 people, so it is not sold to organisations above that range on the published ladder
  • The free trial is 14 days
  • Health and safety, e-learning and other modules are sold as add-ons on top of the core HR plan
  • Pricing is quoted in pounds and the product is marketed to UK SMEs

Square Appointments

  • The free plan is aimed at solo professionals; booking across multiple staff requires the paid Plus plan
  • Cancellation policies, no-show fees and waitlists require the Plus plan
  • Resource management, service cost tracking and the future bookings report require the Premium plan
  • Custom processing rates are reserved for Square Pro, which is aimed at businesses processing over $250,000 a year
  • Card processing fees are charged on top of the plan fee on every tier including the free one

Pricing, plan by plan

Breathe HR

£13/month
  • Core$13/month
    • Employee Database
    • Absence Management
    • Documents
  • People Management$18/month
    • All Core features
    • Performance
    • Goals

Square Appointments

Free
  • FreeFree
    • Unlimited appointments
    • Online booking
    • Client management
  • Plus$29/month
    • Everything in Free
    • Multiple staff calendars
    • No-show protection
  • Premium$69/month
    • Everything in Plus
    • Multi-location
    • Staff management

Which should you pick?

Choose Breathe HR if

  • You need employee database.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want absence management.
Breathe HR review

Choose Square Appointments if

  • You need online booking.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want client management.
Square Appointments review

Questions people ask

Is Breathe HR or Square Appointments better?
Neither clearly leads. Breathe HR starts at £13/month and Square Appointments at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Breathe HR or Square Appointments?
Square Appointments has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at £13/month for Breathe HR and Free for Square Appointments.
Does Breathe HR or Square Appointments run on more platforms?
Both run on Web, Ios, Android, so platform support will not decide this one for you.
Can I use Square Appointments for free?
Yes. Square Appointments has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Breathe HR starts at £13/month.
What is Breathe HR best used for?
Breathe HR is most often used for holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a uk small business, storing hr documents, contracts and e-signatures, performance reviews and onboarding workflows for small teams. Of those, holiday, absence and sickness tracking for a uk small business and storing hr documents, contracts and e-signatures are not what Square Appointments is typically brought in for.
What can Breathe HR do that Square Appointments cannot?
Breathe HR covers Employee Database, Absence Management, Document Storage, HR Reporting. Square Appointments covers Online booking, Client management, Point of sale, Payment processing. Both handle QuickBooks, Web support.
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