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Beauty & Salon · head to head

Phorest vs Square Appointments

Phorest logo

Phorest

Beauty & Salon

Salon software that grows your business

From
$99/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: Phorest no price is published for any of the seven plans, and every route ends at a quote request; Square Appointments the free plan is aimed at solo professionals; booking across multiple staff requires the paid Plus plan
  • They diverge on capability: Phorest covers Appointment booking, Square Appointments covers Online booking.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Phorest and Square Appointments actually diverge.

Attributes where Phorest and Square Appointments differ
AttributePhorestSquare Appointments
Starting price$99/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryBeauty & SalonScheduling & Booking
Founded20032009

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 Phorest

  • Appointment booking
  • Marketing automation
  • Reputation management
  • Staff management
  • Inventory tracking
  • Business reports
  • Mailchimp
  • Facebook

Only in Square Appointments

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

Both cover

  • Client management
  • Point of sale
  • Instagram
  • Google My Business
  • PCI DSS
  • SSL encryption
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

Phorest

  • Salon and spa appointment booking with client recordsnot Square Appointments
  • Marketing, memberships and staff management for beauty businessesnot Square Appointments

Square Appointments

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

Where each one falls short

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

Phorest

  • No price is published for any of the seven plans, and every route ends at a quote request
  • There is no free trial at all, which the company states plainly
  • The product is described as suited to 3 or more staff, so a solo operator is outside the intended range
  • The branded booking app requires the Ultimate plan, and two way SMS, memberships, lead management and the ads manager are all Elite only

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

Phorest

$99/month
  • Grow$99/month
    • Appointment booking
    • Client management
    • POS
  • Elevate$179/month
    • Everything in Grow
    • Advanced marketing
    • Online booking
  • Innovate$299/month
    • Everything in Elevate
    • Multi-location
    • Advanced analytics

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 Phorest if

  • You need appointment booking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want marketing automation.
Phorest 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 Phorest or Square Appointments better?
Neither clearly leads. Phorest starts at $99/month and Square Appointments at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Phorest or Square Appointments?
Square Appointments has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $99/month for Phorest and Free for Square Appointments.
Does Phorest or Square Appointments run on more platforms?
Phorest 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. Phorest starts at $99/month.
What is Phorest best used for?
Phorest is most often used for salon and spa appointment booking with client records, marketing, memberships and staff management for beauty businesses. Of those, salon and spa appointment booking with client records and marketing, memberships and staff management for beauty businesses are not what Square Appointments is typically brought in for.
What can Phorest do that Square Appointments cannot?
Phorest covers Appointment booking, Marketing automation, Reputation management, Staff management. Square Appointments covers Online booking, Payment processing, Automated reminders, Instagram booking. Both handle Client management, Point of sale, Instagram, Google My Business.
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Related pages

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