Square Appointments Alternative: Six Options Compared

The right Square Appointments alternative depends on what you are really leaving. Square is a payments company, so its booking tool comes attached to a card reader. If you need a marketplace, look at Fresha or Booksy. For low-cost booking, try Setmore, SimplyBook.me or Acuity. And if you take card payments in person every day, staying on Square may be the honest answer.

That split matters, because many owners only need to change half of the setup. So this guide compares six options on published price, card fees and reminders. It also shows who should not switch at all.

Why owners look for a Square Appointments alternative

Most people start searching for a Square Appointments alternative because Square grew in a direction they did not need. Square built its business on card payments, and the diary came later. You can see that on its UK pricing page, which lists Appointments beside Retail and Restaurants. That is a strength for a shop. However, a service business runs on clients and their next visit, so the fit can feel loose.

In practice, four complaints push owners towards a Square Appointments alternative.

• Features sit behind upgrades. No-show fees, waitlists and Google Calendar sync all need the Plus plan.
• Marketing costs extra. Square lists email marketing from £9 a month, and loyalty from £25.
• The diary is one product among many. Square prices booking, payments, marketing and loyalty separately.
• Everything assumes a Square payment. Square's customer directory creates a profile "each time you make a sale".

Our longer piece on why service businesses outgrow retail software covers that last point in depth. So this post stays practical instead. It covers what Square costs, who should stay, and which Square Appointments alternative fits each kind of business.

What Square Appointments costs in 2026

Square's own Square Appointments pricing page lists three plans. Each one charges per location, rather than per member of staff.

Plan	Monthly fee	In-person card rate	Online rate (UK cards)	Keyed or card on file
Free	£0, single location	1.75%	1.4% + 25p	2.5%
Plus	£29 per location	1.6%	1.4% + 25p	2.5%
Premium	£69 per location	1.6%	1.4% + 25p	2.5%

The Free plan is genuinely generous. It includes unlimited staff calendars, because Square says "there is no employee limit". It also includes text and email reminders. Plus then adds a cancellation policy with fees, a waitlist and Google Calendar sync.

Payments land in your bank as soon as the next day. Instant transfers cost a 1.5% fee instead. Square's contactless and chip reader starts from £19 plus VAT. Alternatively, Tap to Pay on iPhone takes cards with no extra hardware.

Square Plus rarely pays for itself on the card rate

Before you pay for Plus or for any Square Appointments alternative, check one number. We have not seen it published elsewhere. Plus costs £29 a month and cuts the in-person rate by 0.15 percentage points. So the rate cut alone covers the fee only above about £19,333 of in-person card takings a month.

Most independents take far less than that in person. For example, a therapist taking £5,000 a month pays £21.50 more on Plus. Therefore upgrade for the features, and only if you will use them. In fact, the no-show fee is the usual reason, and it is a good one.

If you charge a cancellation fee, keep it proportionate. The Competition and Markets Authority's guidance on unfair terms explains why a fee should reflect your real loss. Our guide to writing a no-show policy turns that into wording you can use.

Who should stay on Square Appointments

Sometimes the best Square Appointments alternative is no alternative at all. Staying is the right call for plenty of businesses. Card payments made up 64% of all UK payments in 2025, according to UK Finance. Cash fell to 8%. So a card reader is not optional for most face-to-face work.

So stay on Square if most of these are true:

• Clients pay at the end of each visit, by card, in person.
• You sell products as well, such as retail aftercare, and need stock counts.
• You need no-show fees taken automatically today. Square Plus holds a card on file and charges the fee.
• You run one location and like the free plan's text reminders.

In that case, no Square Appointments alternative will save you much. You would still need a card reader, and you would lose the joined-up till. That said, the next section covers everyone else.

The best Square Appointments alternative for each kind of business

Six options follow. For each Square Appointments alternative, we say who it suits and where it falls short. Also, prices exclude VAT unless the vendor says otherwise.

Fresha: a marketplace that brings new clients

Fresha runs a large consumer marketplace, so it can fill a quiet diary. Its pricing page describes a "one-time fee applied to brand new clients who discover your business via the Fresha marketplace". It also says "no fee ever applies to your returning clients".

However, that page changes by country. The version we could load was for another country, so we cannot confirm a price in pounds. So ask Fresha for it in writing. As a Square Appointments alternative, Fresha suits salons with gaps to fill. Our Fresha alternative page covers the trade-offs.

Booksy: flat monthly price, with commission you can switch on

Booksy's UK pricing page lists £40 a month, plus £5 for each extra team member, with VAT on top. Meanwhile, card payments through the app cost 1.29% plus 20p, plus VAT. Tap to Pay costs 0.99% plus 20p, plus VAT.

The marketplace commission is optional, which is fair design. Turn on Boost, and Booksy takes a one-time 30% of a new client's first visit, minimum £5. Plans also include 500 SMS marketing messages a month. So Booksy is a solid Square Appointments alternative for barbers who want payments and discovery together. Read our Booksy versus Fresha comparison before choosing between them.

Setmore: free booking for small teams

Setmore's pricing page lists a free plan for up to four users. Pro then costs $5 per user a month on annual billing. After that, Pro adds 500 SMS credits a month and two-way calendar sync.

Setmore connects to Stripe, PayPal and Square for payments. That means you can keep Square for cards and move only the booking. For a mobile beautician, Setmore is among the cheapest options here, since the free plan covers four users. However, it prices in US dollars, so your sterling bill moves with the exchange rate.

SimplyBook.me: priced by bookings, with add-ons

SimplyBook.me is free for 50 bookings a month and one provider. Basic costs €13.90 a month on monthly billing, for 100 bookings and five providers. Basic also unlocks payments, deposits and a simple POS.

However, SMS works on credits, at $8 per 100 messages. Because the plans cap bookings, a busy diary climbs tiers quickly. So SimplyBook.me suits quieter practices that want deposits cheaply. It also prices in euros, so your bill drifts with the exchange rate.

Acuity Scheduling: for consultations and online sessions

Acuity's pricing page lists Starter at $20 a month for one calendar, or $16 billed annually. Standard costs $34 a month for up to six calendars, and adds text reminders. Every plan takes payments through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo.

As a Square Appointments alternative, Acuity is strongest for coaches, tutors and therapists who book by consultation, often over video. Consequently it makes most sense when appointments happen online. Stripe charges 1.5% plus 20p for standard UK cards if you use it. Our Acuity alternative page compares it with Aasure directly.

Aasure: booking, clients and a website, without the till

Aasure costs a flat £29, £59 or £89 a month, including VAT, for Solo, Growth or Scale. Every plan includes every feature, and the plans differ only in staff seats. Every plan starts with a 30-day free trial, and you need no card to begin. Also, there is no commission on any booking.

First, the plain facts about what Aasure does not do. It does not take card payments, deposits or cards on file yet, though they are on the way. You can record a cash payment by hand, though. Similarly, there is no POS and no SMS.

Instead, Aasure covers the rest of the business. You get an online booking page with a shareable link and QR code. You also get a free five-page website, a client list with visit history, and email campaigns. So Aasure is a Square Appointments alternative for owners who can keep a separate card reader. But for anyone who needs payments built in today, Square, Fresha or Booksy fit better.

Square Appointments alternatives side by side

Tool	Card payments	SMS reminders	New-client fee	Entry price
Square Appointments	Built in	Free plan	None	£0, one location
Fresha	Built in	Metered	One-time, marketplace clients	Pound price not confirmed
Booksy	Built in	500 a month	30% if Boost is on	£40 + £5 per extra staff
Setmore	Stripe, PayPal or Square	Pro plan	None	Free up to 4 users
SimplyBook.me	Basic plan and up	Paid credits	None	Free up to 50 bookings
Acuity Scheduling	Stripe, Square, PayPal	Standard plan	None	$20 a month
Aasure	Not yet	Email only	None	£29

Before you pick a Square Appointments alternative from this table, note two things it hides. First, every tool that takes cards charges a processing fee. Second, SMS costs extra almost everywhere, so check the allowance against your diary. Our real bill calculator adds both back in.

Keep the Square reader and move the booking

You do not have to leave Square to leave Square Appointments. In fact, the Square Point of Sale app is free, and the reader works on its own. So the cheapest Square Appointments alternative often means a split. Square takes the card payment, while a different tool runs the diary. That second tool is your Square Appointments alternative.

However, any reader charges a fee, so compare them honestly. Zettle charges 1.75% per card transaction. SumUp charges 1.69% on pay as you go. Its Payments Plus plan costs £19 a month and drops domestic debit and credit cards to 0.99%.

On £3,000 a month, the gap between readers is a few pounds. Meanwhile, the gap between booking tools can be much wider. So pick the reader for convenience, and pick the diary for the work. Besides, some clients will pay by bank transfer instead. Faster Payments reached 6.2 billion payments in 2025, second only to debit cards.

How to move off Square Appointments without losing clients

Moving to a Square Appointments alternative is mostly about your client list and future bookings. So plan it for a quiet week.

1. Export your client list from the Square Dashboard as a spreadsheet. Then keep a copy somewhere safe.
2. Check card-on-file rules. Square will transfer stored cards only to a PCI DSS Level 1 processor. The owner must call support, and it can take up to two weeks.
3. Run both diaries for a fortnight. Meanwhile, honour every booking clients already made on Square.
4. Share the new booking link everywhere clients find you, from Instagram to your Google profile.
5. Keep the reader if you still take cards in person, then test your Square Appointments alternative on its free trial.

Finally, moving your clients to Aasure is quick. You can import them from a spreadsheet, or add customers by hand. Also, the list grows itself as clients book online. Our full guide to switching booking software covers the rest. And if you are still comparing, our best salon software round-up covers more platforms.

Common questions

What is the best Square Appointments alternative?

It depends on what you are leaving. For a marketplace that finds new clients, look at Fresha or Booksy. For cheap flat-fee booking, look at Setmore, SimplyBook.me or Acuity. Aasure suits businesses that want booking, a website and email in one place, and can keep a separate card reader.

Is Square Appointments free?

Yes, for a single location. Square's UK pricing page lists the Free plan at £0, with no employee limit. However, Square charges 1.75% on in-person card payments on that plan. Plus costs £29 a month per location, and Premium costs £69.

Can I keep my Square card reader and use different booking software?

Yes. The Square Point of Sale app is free, and Square's reader starts from £19 plus VAT. So you can take card payments on Square while your diary lives elsewhere. Setmore and Acuity can also connect to Square for online payments.

Does Aasure take card payments?

Not yet. Aasure handles online booking, clients, a free website and email campaigns on a flat monthly fee. It does not take card payments, deposits or cards on file today. You can record a cash payment by hand, though. So if you need those built in, Square, Fresha or Booksy fit better for now.

Is Square Appointments Plus worth £29 a month?

Only for its features, rarely for its card rate. Plus cuts the in-person rate from 1.75% to 1.6%. On card rates alone, that pays back only above about £19,333 of in-person takings a month. Most owners upgrade for no-show fees, waitlists or Google Calendar sync instead.