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Scheduling · head to head

Square Appointments vs Timely

Square Appointments logo

Square Appointments

Scheduling

Free scheduling for beauty businesses

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Timely logo

Timely

Scheduling

Smart scheduling software with AI-powered features

From
$11/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: Square Appointments the free plan is aimed at solo professionals; booking across multiple staff requires the paid Plus plan; Timely starter is capped at 20 projects and a maximum of 5 users, at $11 per user per month billed monthly or $9 billed yearly
  • They diverge on capability: Square Appointments covers Point of sale, Timely covers AI-powered scheduling.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 30 August 2026.

Where they differ

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

Attributes where Square Appointments and Timely differ
AttributeSquare AppointmentsTimely
Starting priceOn request$11/month
Pricing modelusage-basedsubscription
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb, Ios, Android, Api
Founded20092015

Identical on both: free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Scheduling).

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

  • Point of sale
  • Payment processing
  • Instagram booking
  • Google booking
  • Square POS
  • Google My Business
  • QuickBooks
  • Wix

Only in Timely

  • AI-powered scheduling
  • Staff management
  • Resource allocation
  • Analytics and reporting
  • Stripe
  • PayPal
  • Zapier
  • Slack

Both cover

  • Online booking
  • Client management
  • Automated reminders
  • Mobile app
  • Google Calendar
  • Instagram
  • SSL encryption
  • Cloud deployment

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 Timely
  • Taking card payments and deposits at the time of bookingnot Timely
  • Managing staff calendars, waitlists and no-show policiesnot Timely

Timely

  • Team time tracking for professional servicesnot Square Appointments
  • Project billing and utilization reportingnot Square Appointments
  • Workforce capacity planningnot Square Appointments
  • Multi-team time management across currenciesnot 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

Timely

  • Starter is capped at 20 projects and a maximum of 5 users, at $11 per user per month billed monthly or $9 billed yearly
  • Premium is capped at a maximum of 50 users, at $20 per user per month billed monthly or $16 billed yearly
  • Unlimited users requires the Unlimited plan at $28 per user per month billed monthly or $22 billed yearly
  • Capacity management and reporting, overtime and undertime tracking, Azure user management and 50+ currencies are all on the Unlimited plan only
  • Team management, budgets and costs, and accounting and project management integrations are excluded from Starter
  • The Enterprise plan is contact sales only with no published price
  • Tasks is sold as a paid add-on rather than being included

Pricing, plan by plan

Square Appointments

On request
  • Solo Professional Plan$null/transaction
    • Processing fees apply
    • For solo professionals taking payments and managing schedules
    • Top appointments features
  • Plus Plan$null/transaction
    • Processing fees apply
    • Free trial available
    • For growing teams needing more advanced tools
  • Premium Plan$null/transaction
    • Processing fees apply
    • Free trial available
    • For large salons with complex staff management
  • Square Pro$null/month
    • Custom pricing for businesses processing over $250,000 annually
    • Hardware discounts
    • Onboarding support

Timely

$11/month
  • Starter$11/month
    • Up to 5 users
    • Up to 20 projects
    • Basic time tracking
  • Premium$20/month
    • Up to 50 users
    • Unlimited projects
    • All Starter features
  • Unlimited$28/month
    • Unlimited users
    • Unlimited projects
    • All Premium features
  • Enterprise$null/month
    • Custom pricing
    • All features

Which should you pick?

Choose Square Appointments if

  • You need point of sale.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want payment processing.
Square Appointments review

Choose Timely if

  • You need ai-powered scheduling.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want staff management.
Timely review

Questions people ask

Is Square Appointments or Timely better?
Neither clearly leads. Square Appointments starts at On request and Timely at $11/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Square Appointments or Timely?
Square Appointments starts at On request and Timely at $11/month.
Does Square Appointments or Timely run on more platforms?
Square Appointments runs on Web, Ios, Android. Timely runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
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 Timely is typically brought in for.
What can Square Appointments do that Timely cannot?
Square Appointments covers Point of sale, Payment processing, Instagram booking, Google booking. Timely covers AI-powered scheduling, Staff management, Resource allocation, Analytics and reporting. Both handle Online booking, Client management, Automated reminders, Mobile app.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

Square Appointments: How much do Square Appointments plans cost?

Square Appointments pricing is based on processing fees rather than monthly subscription fees. Specific percentages are not listed online. The Solo Professional, Plus, and Premium plans all charge processing fees on transactions. For businesses processing over $250,000 annually, Square Pro offers custom pricing including hardware discounts, onboarding support, and account management.

Source
Timely: Does Timely offer a free trial?

Yes, Timely provides 14 days of full feature access without requiring a credit card.

Source
Square Appointments: Is there a free trial for Square Appointments?

Yes, the Plus and Premium plans offer free trials for an unspecified number of days. The Solo Professional plan does not appear to offer a trial period.

Source
Timely: What annual discounts does Timely offer?

Annual billing discounts range from 20% to 22% off monthly prices. Starter saves 20%, Premium saves 21%, and Unlimited saves 22% when billed yearly.

Source
Square Appointments: What features does the Premium plan add compared to Plus?

The Premium plan includes all Plus features plus Future Bookings Report for tracking upcoming appointments, Service Cost Tracking to monitor service profitability, and Resource Management for scheduling equipment and facilities across multiple staff members.

Source
Timely: Can I add team members to the Starter plan?

Starter plan supports a maximum of 5 users. For larger teams, Premium supports up to 50 users and Unlimited supports unlimited users.

Source
Timely: What is the cost of Timely's Tasks feature add-on?

The Tasks feature starts at $5 per person per month and is available across all Timely plans.

Source
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