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Beauty & Salon · head to head

Insight Salon Software vs Square Appointments

Insight Salon Software logo

Insight Salon Software

Beauty & Salon

Intelligent salon management with deep analytics

From
$40/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: Insight Salon Software cloud plans are login limited even at the top tier: Enterprise Premium Cloud is $250 a month for up to 8,000 SMS messages and only 5 logins; Square Appointments the free plan is aimed at solo professionals; booking across multiple staff requires the paid Plus plan
  • They diverge on capability: Insight Salon Software covers Appointment booking, Square Appointments covers Online booking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Insight Salon Software and Square Appointments actually diverge.

Attributes where Insight Salon Software and Square Appointments differ
AttributeInsight Salon SoftwareSquare Appointments
Starting price$40/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryBeauty & SalonScheduling & Booking
Founded20122009

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), 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 Insight Salon Software

  • Appointment booking
  • Staff scheduling
  • Advanced analytics
  • Revenue tracking
  • Performance metrics
  • Marketing automation
  • Stripe
  • Square

Only in Square Appointments

  • Online booking
  • Payment processing
  • Automated reminders
  • Instagram booking
  • Google booking
  • Mobile app
  • Square POS
  • Google My Business

Both cover

  • Client management
  • Point of sale
  • Google Calendar
  • Instagram
  • SSL encryption
  • Cloud deployment

What people use each for

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

Insight Salon Software

  • Running point of sale and scheduling for a salon or spanot Square Appointments
  • Sending automated two way SMS appointment reminders to clientsnot Square Appointments

Square Appointments

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

Where each one falls short

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

Insight Salon Software

  • Cloud plans are login limited even at the top tier: Enterprise Premium Cloud is $250 a month for up to 8,000 SMS messages and only 5 logins
  • Premium Cloud's two way SMS is capped per tier, from 500 messages a month on Solo up to 8,000 on Enterprise
  • The installed one time purchase version only includes free software upgrades for 1 year, after which upgrades are not covered
  • Multi-year pre-purchase discounts of 10, 15 and 20 percent require paying 1, 2 or 3 years upfront

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

Insight Salon Software

$40/month
  • Starter$40/month
    • Appointment scheduling
    • Client management
    • Basic analytics
  • Professional$70/month
    • Everything in Starter
    • Advanced analytics
    • Staff performance tracking
  • Enterprise$120/month
    • Everything in Professional
    • Multi-location analytics
    • Custom reports

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 Insight Salon Software if

  • You need appointment booking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want staff scheduling.
Insight Salon Software review

Choose Square Appointments if

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

Questions people ask

Is Insight Salon Software or Square Appointments better?
Neither clearly leads. Insight Salon Software starts at $40/month and Square Appointments at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Insight Salon Software or Square Appointments?
Square Appointments has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $40/month for Insight Salon Software and Free for Square Appointments.
Does Insight Salon Software or Square Appointments run on more platforms?
Insight Salon Software runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Square Appointments runs on Web, Ios, Android.
Can I use Square Appointments for free?
Yes. Square Appointments has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Insight Salon Software starts at $40/month.
What is Insight Salon Software best used for?
Insight Salon Software is most often used for running point of sale and scheduling for a salon or spa, sending automated two way sms appointment reminders to clients. Of those, running point of sale and scheduling for a salon or spa and sending automated two way sms appointment reminders to clients are not what Square Appointments is typically brought in for.
What can Insight Salon Software do that Square Appointments cannot?
Insight Salon Software covers Appointment booking, Staff scheduling, Advanced analytics, Revenue tracking. Square Appointments covers Online booking, Payment processing, Automated reminders, Instagram booking. Both handle Client management, Point of sale, Google Calendar, Instagram.
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