# Alternatives to Square Appointments

Square Appointments is an appointment-booking tool integrated with Square's POS and payments, offering an online booking site, calendar sync, deposits, reminders, and staff scheduling.

Square Appointments ranks #6 of 9 in Appointment scheduling, with an Alt Score of 85. It is proprietary, freemium from $49/month and available on Web, iOS and Android. 12 of 12 checklist rows are verified against a public source.

Source: https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/square-appointments/
Category: Appointment scheduling

## Overview

- **Who it's for**: Square Appointments is built for service and beauty businesses such as salons, barbershops, spas, and other appointment-based service providers that need scheduling, payments, and point-of-sale in one system.
- **What you get**: It provides a free online booking website with 24/7 client self-scheduling, unlimited staff calendars, automatic text and email reminders, appointment deposits, and (on paid Plus/Premium tiers) class bookings, Google Calendar sync, cancellation/no-show fees, waitlists, and a Bookings API.
- **How it works**: Clients view staff availability and book online in seconds; appointments are confirmed instantly and added to the business's calendar, with automated reminders, confirmations, and rescheduling handled through customizable email and text messages.

## Profile

- **License**: Proprietary (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Pricing model**: Freemium (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Starts at**: $49/month (verified 2026-07-13)
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android

## Ranked alternatives

| # | App | Alt Score | Licence | Platforms |
|---|-----|-----------|---------|-----------|
| 1 | [Trafft](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/trafft.md) | 96 | ? | Web, iOS, Android |
| 2 | [Bookeo](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/bookeo.md) | 93 | Proprietary | Web |
| 3 | [Acuity Scheduling](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/acuity-scheduling.md) | 89 | ? | iOS, Android, Web |
| 4 | [SimplyBook.me](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/simplybook-me.md) | 89 | ? | Web, iOS, Android |
| 5 | [Appointlet](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/appointlet.md) | 85 | ? | Web, iOS |
| 6 | [Setmore](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/setmore.md) | 85 | ? | Windows, macOS, iOS, Android |
| 7 | [Picktime](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/picktime.md) | 81 | ? | Windows, iOS, Android, Web |
| 8 | [vcita](https://altcatalog.com/alternatives/vcita.md) | 78 | Proprietary | Web, iOS, Android |

Alt Score = Verified coverage (90%) + Visibility (10%). See https://altcatalog.com/how-alt-score-works/

## Feature comparison

Legend: Yes / No / Partial / ? (not verified).

| Appointment scheduling checklist | Square Appointments | Trafft | Bookeo | Acuity Scheduling | SimplyBook.me | Appointlet |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Freemium | Freemium | Subscription | Subscription | Freemium | Freemium |
| Starts at | $49/month | $28.40/month (USD, Starter plan) | €10.95/month (Solo plan, 1 consultant) | $16/month (USD) | €13.90/month (€11.90/month billed annually) | $12/member/month |
| License | Proprietary | ? | Proprietary | ? | ? | ? |
| Platforms | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS, Android | Web | iOS, Android, Web | Web, iOS, Android | Web, iOS |
| Online booking page | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Calendar sync (Google / Outlook) | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Payments / deposits | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Group / class bookings | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Automated reminders | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Round-robin / team | Yes | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Intake forms | Partial | Yes | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes |
| Recurring appointments | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | No |
| Time-zone handling | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Embeddable widget | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| API access | Partial | Yes | Yes | Partial | Yes | ? |
| Free tier | Yes | Yes | No | No | Yes | Yes |

## Sources

Sources for Square Appointments. Each alternative is sourced on its own page.

- **License**: Proprietary — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “© 2026 Block, Inc.”
- **Pricing model**: Freemium — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “With Square Free, there are no monthly subscription costs — you only pay processing fees when you take a payment.”
- **Starts at**: $49/month — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Cheapest paid tier is Square Plus at $49/mo per location; a $0/mo Square Free plan also exists (see Free tier cell). Card payment-processing fees are charged separately on all tiers.
  - Quote: “$49/mo. per location”
- **Platforms**: Web, iOS, Android — <https://apps.apple.com/us/app/square-appointments-scheduler/id1023050786> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Square Appointments for iPhone, iPad, and desktop”
- **Online booking page**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Create and customize a booking website so clients can book 24/7.”
- **Calendar sync (Google / Outlook)**: Partial — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Only Google Calendar sync is documented (no Outlook sync found); gated to Square Plus/Premium tiers, not included on Square Free.
  - Quote: “Sync your Square calendar with your Google Calendar to track bookings.”
- **Payments / deposits**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Collect a partial deposit when appointments are scheduled to protect your calendar and reduce no-shows.”
- **Group / class bookings**: Partial — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Class booking and packages is gated to Square Plus/Premium tiers; not included on Square Free.
  - Quote: “Offer a prepaid series of services or classes, automatically applying the booking's value at checkout when customers redeem them. Create and schedule one-time or recurring group classes.”
- **Automated reminders**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Set up automatic text and email reminder notifications to help clients manage their appointments.”
- **Round-robin / team**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Let clients book services with any team member at any location from your booking site.”
- **Intake forms**: Partial — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Custom questions/fields are attached via the contracts feature (not a dedicated intake-form tool), and are gated to Square Plus/Premium tiers.
  - Quote: “Add custom fields like checkboxes, text fields, or questions to your contracts.”
- **Recurring appointments**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5349-schedule-and-accept-appointments> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “schedule appointments for a specific time, all day, or recurring.”
- **Time-zone handling**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/features> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “Sync your schedules across multiple business locations, even if your customers are in different time zones.”
- **Embeddable widget**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “create a QR code for a contactless booking option, or embed a booking widget into an existing website.”
- **API access**: Partial — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Note: Bookings API is gated to Square Plus/Premium tiers; not included on Square Free.
  - Quote: “Use the Booking API to allow an external application to create, update, and cancel every booking from your calendar.”
- **Free tier**: Yes — <https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing> (verified 2026-07-13)
  - Quote: “With Square Free, there are no monthly subscription costs — you only pay processing fees when you take a payment.”

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Ranked by verified data, never by who paid. https://altcatalog.com/trust/