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Scheduling & Booking · head to head

Square Appointments vs Things 3

Square Appointments logo

Square Appointments

Scheduling & Booking

Free scheduling for beauty businesses

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Things 3 logo

Things 3

Productivity

The award-winning personal task manager

From
$9.99/one-time
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: Square Appointments the free plan is aimed at solo professionals; booking across multiple staff requires the paid Plus plan; Things 3 no team collaboration, task sharing, or task assignment features
  • They diverge on capability: Square Appointments covers Online booking, Things 3 covers Today view.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Square Appointments and Things 3 actually diverge.

Attributes where Square Appointments and Things 3 differ
AttributeSquare AppointmentsThings 3
Starting priceFree$9.99/one-time
Pricing modelsubscriptionUnknown
Free tierYesNo
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidmacOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS
CategoryScheduling & BookingProductivity
Founded20092004

Identical on both: 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 Square Appointments

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

Only in Things 3

  • Today view
  • Projects and areas
  • Quick entry
  • Tags
  • Calendar integration
  • Apple Calendar
  • Siri
  • Shortcuts

What people use each for

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

Square Appointments

  • Online appointment booking for salons, barbers and personal servicesnot Things 3
  • Taking card payments and deposits at the time of bookingnot Things 3
  • Managing staff calendars, waitlists and no-show policiesnot Things 3

Things 3

  • Schedulingnot Square Appointments
  • Appointment bookingnot Square Appointments
  • Time trackingnot Square Appointments
  • Resource managementnot Square Appointments
  • Team coordinationnot Square Appointments

Where each one falls short

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

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

Things 3

  • No team collaboration, task sharing, or task assignment features
  • Apple ecosystem only, with no Windows, Android, or web version
  • No third-party app integrations beyond Apple's ecosystem
  • Cannot attach files or images to tasks, only text notes
  • No time blocking or calendar integration for scheduling tasks into specific time slots

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Things 3

$9.99/one-time
  • iPhone/Watch$9.99/one-time
  • iPad$19.99/one-time
  • Mac$49.99/one-time

Which should you pick?

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

Choose Things 3 if

  • You need today view.
  • You work on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS.
  • You also want projects and areas.
Things 3 review

Questions people ask

Is Square Appointments or Things 3 better?
Neither clearly leads. Square Appointments starts at Free and Things 3 at $9.99/one-time, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Square Appointments or Things 3?
Square Appointments has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Square Appointments and $9.99/one-time for Things 3.
Does Square Appointments or Things 3 run on more platforms?
Square Appointments runs on Web, Ios, Android. Things 3 runs on macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, visionOS.
Can I use Square Appointments for free?
Yes. Square Appointments has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Things 3 starts at $9.99/one-time.
What is Square Appointments best used for?
Square Appointments is most often used for online appointment booking for salons, barbers and personal services, taking card payments and deposits at the time of booking, managing staff calendars, waitlists and no-show policies. Of those, online appointment booking for salons, barbers and personal services and taking card payments and deposits at the time of booking are not what Things 3 is typically brought in for.
What can Square Appointments do that Things 3 cannot?
Square Appointments covers Online booking, Client management, Point of sale, Payment processing. Things 3 covers Today view, Projects and areas, Quick entry, Tags.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Things 3: Does Things 3 support team collaboration?

No. Things 3 is designed for individual use only with no task sharing, team workspaces, task assignment, or commenting features.

Source
Things 3: What platforms does Things 3 run on?

Things 3 is exclusive to Apple devices: macOS, iOS, iPadOS, watchOS, and visionOS. There is no Windows, Android, or web version.

Source
Things 3: How much does Things 3 cost?

Things 3 uses a one-time purchase model: $9.99 for iPhone/Watch, $19.99 for iPad, and $49.99 for Mac. Total cost for all platforms is approximately $80 with no subscription required.

Source
Things 3: Does Things 3 sync across devices?

Yes. Things Cloud keeps your to-dos in sync across all your Apple devices automatically. There is no extra cost for cloud synchronization.

Source
Things 3: Can you attach files or images to tasks in Things 3?

No. Things 3 does not support attachments. You can only add notes (text) to tasks.

Source
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Related pages

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