Softwr

Beauty & Salon · head to head

SalonBiz vs Square Appointments

SalonBiz logo

SalonBiz

Beauty & Salon

Complete salon and spa management suite

From
$89/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: SalonBiz pricing is per location: $160 per month for Basic, $265 for Essential and $370 for Premium; Square Appointments the free plan is aimed at solo professionals; booking across multiple staff requires the paid Plus plan
  • They diverge on capability: SalonBiz covers Appointment scheduling, Square Appointments covers Online booking.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where SalonBiz and Square Appointments differ
AttributeSalonBizSquare Appointments
Starting price$89/monthFree
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, WindowsWeb, Ios, Android
CategoryBeauty & SalonScheduling & Booking
Founded20052009

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 SalonBiz

  • Appointment scheduling
  • Inventory management
  • Client database
  • Staff management
  • Marketing automation
  • Business reporting
  • Stripe
  • Facebook

Only in Square Appointments

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

Both cover

  • Point of sale
  • QuickBooks
  • SSL encryption
  • Cloud deployment
  • Web support

What people use each for

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

SalonBiz

  • Salon appointment booking and point of sale priced per locationnot Square Appointments
  • Integrated card payments through SalonBiz Paymentsnot Square Appointments
  • Beauty school and institute management with student recordsnot Square Appointments

Square Appointments

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

Where each one falls short

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

SalonBiz

  • Pricing is per location: $160 per month for Basic, $265 for Essential and $370 for Premium
  • Each tier caps service professionals at 5, 12 and 20 respectively, with extra staff sold in blocks of 10 at $55 per month
  • Not using SalonBiz Payments raises the monthly fee by $25 to $45 depending on tier
  • School and institute plans are capped at 100 students on Essential and 200 on Premium, with extra students at $15 per month per 25
  • Enterprise and multi location pricing is quote only with no published rate

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

SalonBiz

$89/month
  • Standard$89/month
    • Scheduling
    • POS
    • Client database
  • Premium$179/month
    • Everything in Standard
    • Inventory
    • Staff management

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 SalonBiz if

  • You need appointment scheduling.
  • You work on Web, Windows.
  • You also want inventory management.
SalonBiz 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 SalonBiz or Square Appointments better?
Neither clearly leads. SalonBiz starts at $89/month and Square Appointments at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, SalonBiz or Square Appointments?
Square Appointments has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $89/month for SalonBiz and Free for Square Appointments.
Does SalonBiz or Square Appointments run on more platforms?
SalonBiz runs on Web, Windows. 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. SalonBiz starts at $89/month.
What is SalonBiz best used for?
SalonBiz is most often used for salon appointment booking and point of sale priced per location, integrated card payments through salonbiz payments, beauty school and institute management with student records. Of those, salon appointment booking and point of sale priced per location and integrated card payments through salonbiz payments are not what Square Appointments is typically brought in for.
What can SalonBiz do that Square Appointments cannot?
SalonBiz covers Appointment scheduling, Inventory management, Client database, Staff management. Square Appointments covers Online booking, Client management, Payment processing, Automated reminders. Both handle Point of sale, QuickBooks, SSL encryption, Cloud deployment.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on SalonBiz

More on Square Appointments

Keep looking

Other head to heads