For: Fitness studios · Barbershops · Tanning salons · Spas · Massage
Square Appointments review 2026: when the free plan is enough
Disclosure: Our #1 pick is MeetScarlet, and we are affiliated with them. We also cover competing tools and where they shine. We may earn commissions from links on this page. Details
The short answer: Square Appointments is the easiest way to start taking bookings for free: its $0 plan includes an online booking site, reminders and unlimited staff calendars, with no per-staff fee. It suits solo barbers and stylists who mostly need a booking page. Most growing businesses will want Plus at $49 per location a month for no-show fees, waitlists and classes, and anyone booking rooms or equipment needs Premium at $149 per location a month. Skip it if you run a padel club. Based on Square’s public pages, checked November 3, 2026. Our #1 pick, MeetScarlet, says it’s live; its help says “no live card payment has been run yet” (November 5, 2026).
Key takeaways
- Square Appointments has a $0 plan, plus Plus at $49 and Premium at $149 per location a month, with no per-staff fee on any plan (checked November 3, 2026).
- The free plan has no cancellation or no-show fees, no waitlist and no classes; those start on Plus.
- Booking rooms, stations, chairs or equipment as resources needs Premium at $149 per location a month.
- In-person card rates fall as you go up a plan: 2.6% + 15¢ on Free, 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus and 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium.
- Square's terms say subscription fees already paid aren't refunded.
What Square Appointments is (and isn’t)
Square Appointments is Square’s booking calendar, online booking site and reminders, tied to Square’s card payments and point of sale. Square also offers “Square Go”, which its Appointments page calls “our free marketplace app”, where clients can discover and book you.
It’s built for appointment businesses, and its paid plans add classes and rooms, so it can work for our barbershops, massage, spas, tanning salons and fitness studios readers, depending on the plan. We found nothing for booking padel or other courts.
How we reviewed Square Appointments
- We read Square’s US Appointments pricing page on November 3, 2026, including the feature-by-plan table and card fees by plan.
- We read Square’s help articles on resource management, class booking and subscriptions, and its resource-booking feature page.
- We read Square’s General Terms of Service (last updated October 27, 2026) for cancellation and refunds.
- We looked up third-party ratings on the App Store and Trustpilot, and we label them as other people’s opinions.
- We haven’t used Square Appointments hands-on, so we couldn’t count booking steps or time a setup.
Our method explains how we put pages together.
Square Appointments pricing (checked November 3, 2026)
| Plan | Price | Who Square says it’s for |
|---|---|---|
| Square Free | $0 / month per location | “Solo professionals taking payments and managing schedules” |
| Square Plus | $49 / month per location | “Growing teams needing more advanced tools and features” |
| Square Premium | $149 / month per location | “Large salons with complex staff management and booking needs” |
| Square Pro | Custom pricing | Businesses processing over $250,000 a year |
| For comparison: MeetScarlet (our #1 pick) | $349 / month plus $999 one-time setup, or $3,490 / year with setup free; Scarlet Pro $499 / month plus $999 setup | Its pricing page says “For one location”, with 5 staff logins; Scarlet Pro is “For bigger teams”, with 20, and “includes up to 3 locations” |
Source: Square’s US Appointments pricing page, checked November 3, 2026. Prices are per location, with no per-staff fee and unlimited staff calendars. Plus and Premium have a 30-day free trial. For comparison, see what other booking apps cost.
Card fees by plan:
| Payment type | Free | Plus | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| In person (tap, dip or swipe) | 2.6% + 15¢ | 2.5% + 15¢ | 2.4% + 15¢ |
| Online or invoice | 3.3% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ | 2.9% + 30¢ |
| Manual entry or card on file | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ | 3.5% + 15¢ |
Source: Square’s pricing page, checked November 3, 2026. For comparison, card payments in our #1 pick, MeetScarlet, are Stripe’s fees plus 1%, and we found no card reader. Its payments help says card payments go through your own Stripe account and turn on once Stripe has checked it, but its appointments help still says “no live card payment has been run yet”, so check with MeetScarlet before counting on card deposits or no-show fees (checked November 5, 2026).
What you get on each plan
Square Free includes an online booking site and integrations, appointment reminders, unlimited staff calendars, prepayments and deposits, and Square Assistant (clients reply to a text reminder to confirm, cancel or change). It doesn’t include cancellation-policy or no-show fees, a waitlist, classes or packages, multi-staff appointments, or text marketing. Phone support is available only for your first 90 days.
Square Plus adds most of those missing features, including no-show fees, waitlists, classes and multi-staff appointments, plus 500 marketing texts a month (then 3¢ per text).
Square Premium adds booking rooms, stations, chairs and equipment as resources (Square’s help article says this needs “advanced bookings capabilities added”; we found no separate fee for them), plus extra reports and 2,500 marketing texts a month (then 1.5¢ per text). It also has the lowest in-person card rate.
Classes and memberships
Square’s help centre describes classes on Plus and Premium, one-time or recurring, with a set number of spots and an instructor. One catch: editing a class’s date, time, location or duration “automatically” cancels and refunds existing bookings.
Memberships are built from Square’s subscription plans. Square’s help article says these can’t set a minimum commitment period or change a plan’s price after it’s created, and can’t be managed on Square’s Android devices.
What Square Appointments does well
- A real free plan. An online booking site, reminders and unlimited staff calendars for $0.
- No per-staff fee. Every plan is priced per location, so adding staff doesn’t raise the monthly price.
- Clear public pricing. Plans, a feature-by-plan table and card fees by plan are all on one page.
- Lower card rates as you grow. In-person fees drop from 2.6% to 2.4% (plus 15¢) on Premium.
- Classes on paid plans. Plus and Premium support recurring classes with spots and an instructor.
Where Square Appointments falls short
- The free plan can’t charge no-shows. Cancellation and no-show fees, the waitlist, classes and packages start on Plus (pricing page).
- Rooms and equipment cost $149 per location a month. Resource booking is Premium-only, so a shared-room spa or massage business pays the top plan. Square’s resource pages don’t mention tanning beds (resource management).
- Square processing only. Online payments on Free cost 3.3% + 30¢, and card-on-file payments cost 3.5% + 15¢ on every plan.
- Limited membership tools. No minimum commitment periods, and no price changes after a plan is created (help article).
- Editing a class cancels its bookings (class booking).
- No refunds. Square’s terms say you won’t get a refund or credit for subscription fees already due or paid (terms).
- No court booking. We found nothing for padel or other courts.
If one of these rules Square out, see our Square Appointments alternatives, or compare it in Fresha vs Square Appointments.
What other people say (third-party opinion, not our own research): on November 3, 2026, the Square Appointments business app averaged 4.9 out of 5 from 195,331 ratings on the US App Store. Square’s US Trustpilot profile averaged 3.6 out of 5 from 7,523 reviews, but that profile covers all of Square, not just Appointments. For comparison, we found no third-party ratings for our #1 pick, MeetScarlet (checked November 4, 2026).
Square Appointments or our pick, MeetScarlet?
| Square Appointments | MeetScarlet | |
|---|---|---|
| Price for one location | $0, $49 or $149 per location a month | $349/month plus $999 setup, or $3,490/year with setup free, “For one location” (“Each Scarlet studio has one schedule”). Founding studios pay $299 a month instead of $349 for the first 24 months, on monthly billing, with the $999 setup included at no charge; MeetScarlet plans 10 places (checked November 5, 2026) |
| Staff | Unlimited staff calendars on every plan | 5 staff logins; 20 on Scarlet Pro ($499/month plus $999 setup, or $4,990/year with setup free) |
| Text reminders to clients | Included on every plan, even Free | Scarlet Pro only ($499/month), coming soon; its Jane comparison page says email reminders are “built but not sending yet” |
| App under your own business name | None found; clients book through Square’s booking site and Square Go | Included: iPhone, Android and web, published under your own Apple ($99 a year) and Google Play ($25 once) developer accounts |
| Marketplace | Square Go, which Square calls “our free marketplace app” | No marketplace. Its site says it isn’t the right fit for “Businesses that want new clients mainly from a marketplace app” |
| Classes | Plus and Premium; editing a class cancels its bookings | Weekly classes with an optional pick-your-spot map and an automatic waitlist, on every plan, per its class-booking page |
| Card payments | Live now: 2.4%–2.6% + 15¢ in person | Stripe’s fees plus 1% to MeetScarlet, through your own Stripe account; on once Stripe has checked that account, but its appointments help still says “no live card payment has been run yet”, so check with MeetScarlet before counting on card deposits or no-show fees |
| Availability | Now; Plus and Premium have a 30-day free trial | Its terms page says “Scarlet is live, and founding studios can join now” and “There is no free trial.” After you sign up, its FAQ says store apps take “about 4 to 6 weeks”, mostly for Apple’s enrollment, and the web app is live sooner |
| Written contract terms | Square’s General Terms of Service | Published terms: plans “renew automatically until you cancel”, and cancelling takes effect at the end of the paid period. Part-used months or years aren’t refunded, except under its founding-plan rules. You can export the member list as a CSV file at any time |
| Third-party reviews | App Store and Trustpilot ratings, above | No third-party ratings found (checked November 4, 2026) |
MeetScarlet’s own pages also say “Scarlet imports clients, not booking or payment history”, with “no direct importer” for other apps. For support, its terms say to message @meetscarletapp on Instagram, and “We aim to reply within one business day”; its help site also offers email (“A person reads every message”). We found no status page or uptime commitment (checked November 5, 2026).
Sources: MeetScarlet pricing and FAQ, white-label page, class booking page, switching page, support help, checked November 4, 2026; terms, payments help and appointments help, checked November 5, 2026.
Choose MeetScarlet, our pick, if you want an app under your own brand and can wait about 4 to 6 weeks for its store apps, and can manage without email reminders, which are “built but not sending yet”. Choose Square Appointments if you want to start free today, or need booking and payments working now at a lower monthly price.
Who should pick Square Appointments, and who shouldn’t
| If you are… | Square Appointments? | Why |
|---|---|---|
| A solo barber or stylist who mainly needs a booking page | Good fit | The free plan covers online booking, reminders and deposits |
| Losing money to no-shows | Plus at $49 per location a month | No-show and cancellation fees aren’t on Free |
| A spa or massage business with shared rooms | Premium at $149 per location a month | Resource booking is Premium-only |
| A tanning salon | Check in the trial | Square’s resource pages mention rooms, stations, chairs and equipment, not tanning beds |
| A small class-based studio | Worth a look on Plus | Recurring classes with spots and instructors; editing a class cancels its bookings |
| A growing team | Good fit | No per-staff fee on any plan |
| A padel or court-booking club | Look elsewhere | No court-booking features found |
| Wanting clients to book in an app under your own business name | None found; see our pick, MeetScarlet | Clients book through Square’s booking site and Square Go; MeetScarlet includes a branded app from $349 a month plus $999 setup, but its store apps take “about 4 to 6 weeks” (the web app is live sooner), and its card payments turn on once your Stripe account is approved, though its help says “no live card payment has been run yet” |
The verdict
Square Appointments is hard to beat if you want to start free, and its no-per-staff pricing suits growing teams. The catches are what the free plan leaves out (no-show fees, waitlists and classes), the $149-per-location Premium plan for rooms and equipment, and no refunds. If that fits, try Square Appointments. Plus and Premium offered a 30-day free trial when we checked on November 3, 2026. Comparing options? See our Vagaro review and Fresha review.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Square Appointments really free?
- Yes. Square Free costs $0 a month per location and includes an online booking site, reminders and unlimited staff calendars. You pay card fees, starting at 2.6% + 15¢ in person, and some features need a paid plan.
- What does Square Appointments Plus add?
- Plus ($49 per location a month) adds features missing from Free, such as cancellation and no-show fees, waitlists, classes and multi-staff appointments, plus 500 marketing texts a month. Room and equipment booking still needs Premium.
- How much does Square Appointments charge per transaction?
- In person: 2.6% + 15¢ on Free, 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus, 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium. Online: 3.3% + 30¢ on Free and 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium. Manually entered or card-on-file payments are 3.5% + 15¢ on every plan.
- Can Square Appointments book rooms or equipment?
- Yes, as resources such as rooms, stations, chairs and equipment, but only on Square Premium at $149 per location a month, with advanced bookings capabilities added. Square's resource pages don't mention tanning beds, so a tanning salon should check in the trial.
- Can you cancel Square Appointments anytime?
- Square's pricing FAQ says you can cancel or switch plans anytime. Its terms add that you won't get a refund or credit for subscription fees already due or paid.
- Does Square Appointments do classes?
- Yes, on Plus and Premium. Square's help centre describes one-time or recurring classes with a set number of spots and an instructor, but editing a class's date, time, location or duration cancels and refunds existing bookings.
Sources
- Square Appointments overview (US), checked November 3, 2026
- Square Appointments pricing (US), checked November 3, 2026
- Square Appointments resource booking, checked November 3, 2026
- Square resource management (help article), checked November 3, 2026
- Square class booking (help article), checked November 3, 2026
- Square subscriptions in Dashboard (help article), checked November 3, 2026
- Square General Terms of Service (last updated October 27, 2026), checked November 3, 2026
- Square Appointments business app on the US App Store (third-party ratings), checked November 3, 2026
- Square US on Trustpilot (third-party reviews, all of Square), checked November 3, 2026
- MeetScarlet pricing and FAQ, checked November 4, 2026
- MeetScarlet terms of service (updated November 5, 2026), checked November 5, 2026
- MeetScarlet payments help (updated November 5, 2026), checked November 5, 2026
- MeetScarlet help: appointments, deposits and no-show fees (updated November 5, 2026), checked November 5, 2026
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