Square Appointments vs. Mangomint: Which is Better for Salons and Spas in 2024?

Square Appointments vs. Mangomint – Clash of the new-school salon and spa softwares.

Which will you choose?

In this comprehensive comparison, I will provide you with all the necessary information to make an informed decision between Square Appointments and Mangomint.

Square Appointments, a subsidiary of the financial services giant Square, Inc., has changed the game for many with its user-friendly interface and seamless integration capabilities.

Square has carved a respectable niche among solopreneurs and small teams, especially with its enticing offer of a free basic plan for individuals running their businesses single-handedly.

On the opposing side stands Mangomint, the elegant and efficient newcomer that’s turning heads with its sophisticated design and laser-focused functionality.

Since its inception in 2017, Mangomint has earned the adoration of salon and spa businesses with teams, distinguishing itself through a commitment to depth, quality, and a user experience that’s as refreshing as it is intuitive.

While Square Appointments brings a breadth of utility suitable for a diverse clientele, Mangomint prioritizes perfection in every feature it offers and innovates on the core functionalities of salon and spa software to provide something entirely fresh to the industry.

At a glance, it may be hard to choose between these two platforms. Let’s dig a little deeper and take an in-depth look at each so you can get a clear idea of which is the best option for you.

Here is a breakdown of everything you will learn in this post:

• An overview of each system
• A comparison of the differences that separate them
• A feature-by-feature comparison
• Pricing differences
• Ratings & reviews from their users

Square Appointments vs Mangomint

Let's kick off with an overview of the two platforms we're diving into today.

Square Appointments

Mangomint

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.

4.0

4.9

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.

$45 per month

$245 per month

Who is it for

For solopreneurs or small teams in any type of local service business (salon, spa, fitness, repair, cleaning, and professional services) who want access to Square's broad range of products.

The highest-rated software for salons & spas. Designed for businesses with a team who want the best design experience, smart automations, and the flexibility to integrate with other systems.

Ease of use

4

5

Customer Service

3

5

Countries

U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK.

U.S. and Canada

Key features

• 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

• 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

A Double-Click on Each System

Let’s take a closer look at each platform and compare their offerings in this Square Appointments vs. Mangomint guide.

How Do They Compare? Strengths and Weaknesses

Square Appointments has a user-friendly interface and a comprehensive suite for managing bookings, inventory, reports, and client information. It’s ideal for new businesses that value functionality and have ambitions to scale, although costs may increase with growth.

Mangomint focuses on delivering a premium experience with its intuitive design and innovative features. This software platform has vastly expanded its feature set and innovated on core feature offerings while continuing to uphold its core tenets of reliability and exceptional customer support.

Mangomint serves the United States and Canada only, whereas Square Appointments is available in the U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK, Ireland, France and Spain. Businesses in other regions will want to check out other international alternatives on our list of the best salon and spa software right now.

Let’s Talk Features

Square Appointments has a robust set of features that cater to a range of salon management needs, from appointment scheduling to payment processing. However, customization options are somewhat limited. Those looking to tailor their online booking to match their brand’s unique aesthetic might find the templated designs restrictive.

Mangomint has built their brand on improving the core elements of salon and spa scheduling software. The platform offers a polished and sophisticated approach to essential tasks with features like client self-checkout, an Intelligent Waitlist that automatically helps you fill spots, and their Express Booking feature that cuts over-the-phone booking time in half.

But in the past year, Mangomint has gone into overdrive, introducing a ton of new features that bring it up into direct competition with industry juggernauts like Booker, Mindbody, and Zenoti. Mangomint now offers email marketing tools, fully integrated two way messaging, and even native payroll processing, competing directly with Square’s payroll options.

Square Appointments has a website builder and integrates with Wix as well. Mangomint does not offer a website builder. Instead, they allow you to create branded online booking tools that live right on your existing website (as well as a Shopify integration), so your clients can book and browse your offerings all in one place.

Square Appointments vs Mangomint

Mangomint offers more sophisticated features than Square Appointments. Let's go through what these features are and where they differ.

	Square Appointments	Mangomint
Online Booking	Square Appointments	Mangomint
Website booking widget Note Can you integrate the entire online booking experience directly into your website?
Branding control Note Can you customize the look and feel of the booking experience to fit your brand?
No-show protection Note Can you store credit card details and charge deposits to reinforce your cancellation policy?
Service customization Note Can clients adapt their service when they book, and can this change the price and duration of the booked appointment?
Free from account creation Note Can clients book without having first to create an account with the software?
Integrated gift cards Note Can you sell digital gift cards as part of the booking process?
Calendar and Appointment Management
Customize notification messages Note Can you change the text sent to your clients as part of appointment reminders and other messages?
Customize notification timings Note Can you change when reminders and other messages go out to your clients?
Client waitlist management
Rooms and resource scheduling Note Can you manage equipment, rooms, and other resources required to complete a service?
Repeat appointments Note Can you schedule clients for recurring appointments?
Time block Note Can you block out time on your calendar?
Processing time Note Can you allow for double booking of service providers by accepting appointments during service processing time?
Duration and price by staff Note Can you adapt the price and time needed for a service based on who is performing the service?
Automated check-in Note Can clients check in to their appointments themselves?
Point of Sale/ Check out
Tablet compatible Note Can you run the POS on any tablet or do you need special hardware?
Dedicated POS hardware Note Does the system provider offer hardware to improve the check out expereince?
Self check out Note Can clients check out from their appointment themselves?
Route payments to renters Note If you have booth renters in your business, can you route payments directly to them?
Cards on file Note Can you store credit card details and charge the customer later?
Integrated payments Note Does the software offer a first-party payment processing solution?
Client Data & Communication
SMS Notification
Email Notificition
Dedicated business SMS number Note Do you get a business phone number that your messages and notifications are send from?
Two way SMS communication	Note Clients can confirm appointments by replying to SMS
Forms Note Can you create intake forms, store SOAP notes, and have clients sign your forms?
Client notes Note Can you store notes about clients on their profile?
Client files and images Note Can you store files and image on in the client’s profile?
Inventory and Product Types
Inventory tracking Note Will the system keep track of stock levels, notify you when it’s time to re-order?
Purchase orders Note Can the system create automatic purchase orders for you?
Retail
Memberships
Packages
Gift cards
Team Support & Payroll
Fully integrated payroll Note Can you run payroll and cut paychecks directly through the software?
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)?
Payroll reports
Commission support Note Can you track and report on commission for service, retail, and other product types?
Multi-location support Note Does the system have specific support for businesses with multiple locations
Booth renter support Note Can the system help with rent collection, payments, and other booth renter management tasks.
Marketing Support
Email marketing
SMS marketing		Note Supports integration with SMS marketing platforms
Website builder
Client marketplace Note Does it offer a platform where potential clients can browse businesses using the software?
Add-on offers Note Can you promote service add-ons/upsells as part of the online booking flow?
Cloud & Mobile App Access
Full-featured mobile app Note Can you access all software features in the mobile app?
Web browser
iPad
iPhone
Android

Integrating with Other Platforms for Additional Features

As your business grows, you may need to connect additional software tools for more capabilities.

While Square Appointments does have integrations with other Square products and third-party apps, custom options are more limited.

Mangomint stands out here with the option of building custom integrations with any platform you require.

Square Appointments vs Mangomint

These platforms both offer third-party integrations.

	Square Appointments	Mangomint
Custom integrations Note Does the platform allow you to create new integrations to support your business-specific needs?
Native integrations Note Built-in integrations that you can activate as needed	The Square App Marketplace offer a lot of integrations. Some popular examples are: Quickbooks Jotform Wix WooCommerce	Shopify Mailchimp WaiverForever GiftUp Custom integrations: Offers the ability to build custom integrations to fit your business

Pricing

In terms of base pricing, Square Appointments caters to solo entrepreneurs with its free plan.

Comparatively, Mangomint doesn’t offer a single-user option. Their most affordable paid tier supports larger teams, making their entry price point higher than Square’s free baseline but a great value for salons and spas with multiple service providers.

While Square Appointments has a free offering, they charge a la carte for add-on features that are included with a lot of other software options. These can add up, and while solopreneurs with basic needs may be best served with Square, small and large teams may find Mangomint’s bundle of features a better value, especially as they scale.

Square Appointments vs Mangomint Pricing

Square pricing starts lower than Mangomint, but prices get competitive as you compare feature for feature.

	Square Appointments	Mangomint
Average Price	$45 per month	$245 per month
Trial Options	Free base tier plan	30 day free trial
Minimum contract length	Cancel any time	Cancel any time
Plans Free: $0/month (only very essential features) Plus: $29 per location (includes core features like client notifications and cancellation policy) Premium: $69 per location (includes more sophisticated features like resource management). Unlimited calendars on all plans Essentials: $165 /mo (10 service providers) Standard: $245 /mo (20 service providers and advanced features) Unlimited: $375/ mo (unlimited service providers)
Plans	Free: $0/month (only very essential features) Plus: $29 per location (includes core features like client notifications and cancellation policy) Premium: $69 per location (includes more sophisticated features like resource management). Unlimited calendars on all plans	Essentials: $165 /mo (10 service providers) Standard: $245 /mo (20 service providers and advanced features) Unlimited: $375/ mo (unlimited service providers)
Add-ons Email marketing: $15/month SMS marketing: $10/month Square loyalty: $45/month Square Payroll: $35 + $6 per user/month Integrated Forms: $50/ mo Two-Way Texting: $75/ mo Payroll Processing: $50/ mo + $8/ mo per worker Marketing: Pay as you go, 1¢ per marketing credit
Add-ons	Email marketing: $15/month SMS marketing: $10/month Square loyalty: $45/month Square Payroll: $35 + $6 per user/month	Integrated Forms: $50/ mo Two-Way Texting: $75/ mo Payroll Processing: $50/ mo + $8/ mo per worker Marketing: Pay as you go, 1¢ per marketing credit
Credit card fees In-person: 2.6% + 10 cents (2.5% + 10 cents on paid plans) Online (card): 2.9% + 30 cents Manually Keyed-In: 3.5% + 15 cents In-person: 2.45% + $0.15 Virtual: 2.90% + $0.20 Custom rates: Over $50k/mo in volume may qualify for custom rates
Credit card fees	In-person: 2.6% + 10 cents (2.5% + 10 cents on paid plans) Online (card): 2.9% + 30 cents Manually Keyed-In: 3.5% + 15 cents	In-person: 2.45% + $0.15 Virtual: 2.90% + $0.20 Custom rates: Over $50k/mo in volume may qualify for custom rates

What Do Users Think of These Platforms?

To read more about our experience testing these software suites, check out our comprehensive reviews of Mangomint and Square Appointments.

However, if you’re interested in hearing firsthand accounts from everyday business customers, take a look at the user review scores below.

Square Appointments vs Mangomint

Let's compare scores for these systems on the major user review sites.

	Square Appointments	Mangomint
	4.4	5.0
	4.3	4.8
	4.8	4.9
	4.6	4.6

What Alternatives Should You Consider?

Square Appointments and Mangomint are both great choices for entirely different types of businesses.

If you’re still not sure if either is the right choice for you, take a look at these alternatives and see if they’re a better fit for you:

Booker also offers a massive client marketplace and supports small and large teams with its simplistic approach to booking software.

GlossGenius is a great option and my recommended alternative for independent professionals.

Booker vs GlossGenius

A quick comparison of the two alternatives.

Booker

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.

3.4

4.4

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.

$450 per month

$48 per month

Who is it for

For the new and growing business with funds to spare that needs integrated marketing tools and must have a first-party online marketplace to drive new client acquisition.

For independent professionals who want to start accepting payments and get appointment scheduling, a website and marketing up fast without compromising on the experience of their brand

Ease of use

4

5

Customer Service

3.5

3

Countries

Available almost worldwide

U.S.

Key features

• Two-way messaging available (only on Ultimate and Ultimate Plus)
• AI chatbot feature to help with scheduling (only on Ultimate Plus)
• Integrated payments through MindBody Payments (US & Canada only)
• Mindbody Explore Marketplace listing included with all subscriptions

• 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 was helpful in your search for the right salon and spa software for your business!

For more great software alternatives, see my list of the best salon and spa software of 2024.

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