Fresha vs. Square Appointments – Two very evenly matched salon and spa software options that trade blows in 2024.
And you’re certainly not the only business owner considering these two alternatives…
Although different in many ways, these two online booking and business management platforms share similarities that can make the decision between them difficult.
They’re the two leading platforms with a subscription-free plan.
Yes, you can use their basic features without a monthly subscription payment. This is undoubtedly why they have become two of the most popular alternatives for solopreneurs and small businesses on a budget.
However, these solutions offer more than free tools for independent stylists and therapists.
In this review and comparison, I’ll break down each system and make sure you leave today with a clear understanding of which one best fits your needs.
Here’s what you’ll find in this Fresha vs. Square comparison:
Fresha vs Square Appointments
Let's kick off with an overview of the two platforms we're diving into today.
Fresha
Square Appointments
Overall score
Note
The overall score considers ease of use, customer service, features, user ratings, and cost. Scores are determined solely by our editorial team.
Average price
Note
Assumes you run a business with a mid-size team and have activated the more common add-ons. What you will pay will be lower or higher than this. See the separate section about pricing for full details.
Who is it for
Ease of use
Customer Service
Countries
Available in 22 languages in over 120 countries worldwide
U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK.
Key features
- FREE subscription with unlimited staff
- Fresha marketplace where clients can discover your salon
- Easy to use with a modern minimalistic design interface
- Available in over 120 countries!
- Large amount of native integrations with other apps
- Comprehensive, easy-to-use, marketing tools
- Best looking POS hardware on the market
- Free, sophisticated, website builder and online store
A Double-Click on Each System
Let’s quickly review each system before we compare these two platforms head-on.
Fresha At a Glance
Overall score
Fresha (formerly known as Shedul) is the only subscription-free software for salons and spas with no trial period and no limits on usage. Fresha is headquartered in London, UK, but is available in 120 countries.
The strengths of Fresha lie in the ease of use, the subscription-free plan, and the continuous development of the platform.
It’s important to note that subscription-free is not the same as free. You’re paying for each transaction, and when new clients find you on the Fresha marketplace.
Pros and Cons
- Free subscription for unlimited staff. Only usage-based pricing.
- User-friendly and easy to learn
- Available in many countries and languages
- Limited options to customize the appearance (default designs look good, though)
- Clients are required to create a Fresha account to book
- Online booking cannot be integrated with your website (need to link out to your Fresha page)
- Limited support for integration with other platforms. You’re locked into using the Fresha tools.
Square Appointments At a Glance
Overall score
Square Appointments is a cloud-based appointment scheduling software for salons, spas and really any other local service businesses.
It integrates with the full suite of local business solutions from Square which makes it one of the most complete business management solutions on the market.
At the same time, it is free for individuals and has therefore quickly become one of the most popular platforms for one-person businesses like beauty booth renters and individual professionals.
Pros and Cons
- Free for individuals
- Well-designed, easy to use, interface
- Integration with the full suite of Square applications for endless possibilities
- Robust core business management (inventory, reports, and client data)
- Limited flexibility when designing online booking page, booking widget, e-mails and other aspects that you may want to adapt
- It gets a bit expensive for the growing team that expands with more locations
How Do They Compare? Strengths and Weaknesses
Both these platforms were designed with the non-technical business owner in mind. You can tell they’ve put some work into understanding how they need to design their interface to make it usable for everyone.
Fresha is dedicated to salon and spa businesses, while a broader range of customers uses Square. With Square, you can, therefore, activate different apps, Square Appointments being one, but there are other solutions available to you with Square.
All these solutions combined make the feature offered by Square richer than Fresha’s. But it also means a bigger learning curve to get the system to the place you want it. Fresha just works out of the box.
Another key difference between these two platforms is geography. Fresha is available worldwide, while Square is much more limited in availability. Making the decision easy for many business owners.
But let’s double-click on this and review how they compare the different aspects of the software.
Fresha vs Square Appointments
Let's kick off with an overview of the two platforms we're diving into today.
Ease of use
Design
Customer service
Pricing
Calendar and appointment management
Online booking
Point of sale and check out
Client data
Client communication
Inventory management
Team Management
Payroll
Marketing support
3rd party integrations
Mobile and tablet apps
Let’s Talk Features: Fresha vs. Square
These two platforms are, given their price level, surprisingly rich in features. However, you’ll find a lot of out-of-the-box designs that you cannot adapt. For example, if you want to make your online booking experience look like your brand and not Square or Fresha, you’ll be disappointed.
Fresha is the more “locked down” software out of the two. It offers very little customization or integration capability. You can customize and integrate more with Square, even if it’s limited. But it is also for this exact reason that these two systems are so easy to use and just look good out of the gate.
Another significant feature difference is, of course, Fresha’s marketplace. This is an online destination where clients can browse businesses using Fresha. If using software that lists you (and your competitors) on the same marketplace is a good thing or not, I leave it up to you to decide.
Feature Comparison
Square offers a rich universe of features while Fresha makes it easier to access and use it's features
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Fresha
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Square Appointments
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| Online Booking | Fresha | Square Appointments |
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Website booking widget Note Can you integrate the entire online booking experience directly into your website? |
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Branding control Note Can you customize the look and feel of the booking experience to fit your brand? |
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No-show protection Note Can you store credit card details and charge deposits to reinforce your cancellation policy? |
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Service customization Note Can clients adapt their service when they book, and can this change the price and duration of the booked appointment? |
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Free from account creation Note Can clients book without having first to create an account with the software? |
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Integrated gift cards Note Can you sell digital gift cards as part of the booking process? |
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| Calendar and Appointment Management | ||
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Customize notification messages Note Can you change the text sent to your clients as part of appointment reminders and other messages? |
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Customize notification timings Note Can you change when reminders and other messages go out to your clients? |
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| Client waitlist management | ||
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Rooms and resource scheduling Note Can you manage equipment, rooms, and other resources required to complete a service? |
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Repeat appointments Note Can you schedule clients for recurring appointments? |
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Time block Note Can you block out time on your calendar? |
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Processing time Note Can you allow for double booking of service providers by accepting appointments during service processing time? |
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Duration and price by staff Note Can you adapt the price and time needed for a service based on who is performing the service? |
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Automated check-in Note Can clients check in to their appointments themselves? |
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| Point of Sale/ Check out | ||
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Tablet compatible Note Can you run the POS on any tablet or do you need special hardware? |
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Dedicated POS hardware Note Does the system provider offer hardware to improve the check out expereince? |
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Self check out Note Can clients check out from their appointment themselves? |
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Route payments to renters Note If you have booth renters in your business, can you route payments directly to them? |
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Cards on file Note Can you store credit card details and charge the customer later? |
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Integrated payments Note Does the software offer a first-party payment processing solution? |
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| Client Data & Communication | ||
| SMS Notification | ||
| Email Notificition | ||
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Dedicated business SMS number Note Do you get a business phone number that your messages and notifications are send from? |
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| Two way SMS communication |
Note Clients can confirm appointments by replying to SMS |
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Forms Note Can you create intake forms, store SOAP notes, and have clients sign your forms? |
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Client notes Note Can you store notes about clients on their profile? |
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Client files and images Note Can you store files and image on in the client’s profile? |
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| Inventory and Product Types | ||
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Inventory tracking Note Will the system keep track of stock levels, notify you when it’s time to re-order? |
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Purchase orders Note Can the system create automatic purchase orders for you? |
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| Retail | ||
| Memberships | ||
| Packages | ||
| Gift cards | ||
| Team Support & Payroll | ||
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Fully integrated payroll Note Can you run payroll and cut paychecks directly through the software? |
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3rd party payroll integration Note Does the software allow you integrate and share data with a 3rd party payroll solution (e.g. Gusto, ADP, Paychex, etc)? |
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| Payroll reports |
Note Fresha offer reports on staff commission, working hours, tips, and service and product sales by staff |
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Commission support Note Can you track and report on commission for service, retail, and other product types? |
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Multi-location support Note Does the system have specific support for businesses with multiple locations |
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Booth renter support Note Can the system help with rent collection, payments, and other booth renter management tasks. |
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| Marketing Support | ||
| Email marketing | ||
| SMS marketing | ||
| Website builder | ||
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Client marketplace Note Does it offer a platform where potential clients can browse businesses using the software? |
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Add-on offers Note Can you promote service add-ons/upsells as part of the online booking flow? |
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| Cloud & Mobile App Access | ||
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Full-featured mobile app Note Can you access all software features in the mobile app? |
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| Web browser | ||
| iPad | ||
| iPhone | ||
| Android | ||
Integrating with Other Platforms for Additional Features
One of the limits of Fresha is that it does not offer integration with other platforms. If integration is important to you, you’ll be better off with Square Appointments or an alternative platform.
Integrations
Fresha does not offer integration support but Square Appointments does.
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Fresha
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Square Appointments
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Custom integrations Note Does the platform allow you to create new integrations to support your business-specific needs? |
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Native integrations Note Built-in integrations that you can activate as needed |
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The Square App Marketplace offer a lot of integrations. Some popular examples are:
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Pricing: Fresha vs. Square Appointments
When comparing Fresha vs. Square Appointments, both offer affordable pricing and a subscription-free plan.
Square Appointments offers a free monthly subscription for very basic features. You’ll need to upgrade to Plus or Premium if you need more.
Fresha’s model is instead based on usage, where you pay if a new client books you via their marketplace or based on how much you use some of its features.
Fresha vs Square Appointments Pricing
Fresha and Square Appointments both offer free basic subscriptions.
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Fresha
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Square Appointments
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| Average Price | ||
| Trial Options | ||
| Minimum contract length | ||
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Plans
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| Plans | ||
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Add-ons
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| Add-ons | ||
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Credit card fees
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| Credit card fees | ||
What Do Users Think of These Platforms?
Now you’ve heard my assessment of these two platforms. But what do other users think?
User Reviews Compared
Let's compare scores for these systems on the major user review sites.
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Fresha
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Square Appointments
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What Fresha & Square Alternatives Should You Consider?
Fresha and Square Appointments are two great options for many businesses. If you’re still unsure, consider the platforms below.
Mangomint is the highest-rated software for salons and spas. If you have a team and you want the best customer service in the industry, this is the alternative you should try.
GlossGenius is my recommended alternative for independent professionals.
Mangomint vs GlossGenius
A quick comparison of the two Fresha and Square alternatives.
Mangomint
GlossGenius
Overall score
Note
The overall score considers ease of use, customer service, features, user ratings, and cost. Scores are determined solely by our editorial team.
Average price
Note
Assumes you run a business with a mid-size team and have activated the more common add-ons. What you will pay will be lower or higher than this. See the separate section about pricing for full details.
Who is it for
Ease of use
Customer Service
Countries
U.S. and Canada
U.S.
Key features
- Modern, intuitive, and easy to use
- Smart automations that help cut down on time spent managing business operations
- Open data ownership and no contracts (you’re not locked into anything)
- Can integrate with any other platform who allows for integrations
- Highest-rated customer service on the market
- Premium beauty-inspired interface design
- Professional-looking website in just a few clicks
- Integrated payment and card reader with customizable design
- Affordable, transparent, flat fee pricing
Conclusion
I hope this comparison of Fresha vs. Square has helped you decide which system is right for you.
Want to explore more alternatives? We’ve got you covered.
Check out our list of the best salon and spa software for 2024.
