SimplyBook.me vs Square Appointments: cost by team size
Square Appointments is $0, $49 or $149 a month per location plus card fees from 2.4% + 15 cents. SimplyBook.me is $0 to $59.90 a month by bookings and staff, with no fee on payments. Year-one cost for a solo, a 4-person and a 20-person business, read October 22, 2026.
The short answer
Square Appointments and SimplyBook.me charge in different ways. Square Appointments charges a monthly fee per location, $0 on Square Free, $49 on Square Plus and $149 on Square Premium, and it takes a processing fee on every card payment: 2.6% + 15 cents in person and 3.3% + 30 cents online on the free plan. Its calendars are unlimited on every plan.
SimplyBook.me charges by monthly bookings and staff providers: Free is $0 for 50 bookings and 1 provider, and the paid plans run from $13.90 to $59.90 a month, or $11.90 to $49.90 a month billed annually. SimplyBook.me takes no fee on payments; the payment processor you connect charges its own.
For a team that only needs online booking and reminders, Square Free costs $0 in subscription at any size. For a team that needs features Square keeps on Plus, such as no-show fees and a waitlist, SimplyBook.me Standard is $298.80 a year billed annually against $588 a year for Square Plus, before card fees.
Prices were read on squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing and simplybook.me/en/pricing on October 22, 2026, in US dollars. StackOnSale earns a commission if you buy SimplyBook.me through our link. We have no partnership with Square and have not tested either product.
Price per plan, side by side
Square Appointments lists four plans: Square Free at $0 a month per location, Square Plus at $49 a month per location, Square Premium at $149 a month per location, and Square Pro with custom pricing for businesses that process over $250,000 a year. The pricing page shows one monthly price per location and no annual billing option. Square Plus and Square Premium each have a 30-day free trial.
SimplyBook.me lists five plans. Free: $0, 50 bookings a month, 1 provider, 1 premium custom feature. Basic: $13.90 a month, or $11.90 a month billed annually, 100 bookings, 5 providers, 3 premium custom features. Standard: $29.90, or $24.90 billed annually, 500 bookings, 15 providers, 8 premium custom features. Premium: $59.90, or $49.90 billed annually, 2,000 bookings, 30 providers, unlimited premium custom features. Enterprise is priced on request. Every new account starts with a 14-day free trial without a credit card. SimplyBook.me says annual billing saves up to 17%; by our arithmetic it is 14.4% on Basic and 16.7% on Standard and Premium.
SimplyBook.me and Square Appointments, published prices and limits| Plan level | SimplyBook.me | Square Appointments |
|---|
| Free | $0: 50 bookings a month, 1 provider, 1 premium custom feature | Square Free, $0 per location: unlimited staff calendars, card fees 2.6% + 15 cents in person, 3.3% + 30 cents online |
|---|
| Entry paid plan | Basic: $13.90 a month, or $11.90 a month billed annually. 100 bookings, 5 providers | Square Plus: $49 a month per location. Card fees 2.5% + 15 cents in person, 2.9% + 30 cents online |
|---|
| Second paid plan | Standard: $29.90 a month, or $24.90 a month billed annually. 500 bookings, 15 providers | Square Premium: $149 a month per location. Card fees 2.4% + 15 cents in person, 2.9% + 30 cents online |
|---|
| Third paid plan | Premium: $59.90 a month, or $49.90 a month billed annually. 2,000 bookings, 30 providers | Square Pro: custom pricing above $250,000 a year in card payments |
|---|
| Large accounts | Enterprise: price on request | Square Pro: price on request |
|---|
| Fee on your payments | None from SimplyBook.me; your processor charges its own | Set by the Square plan, as above |
|---|
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card | 30 days on Square Plus and Square Premium |
|---|
Read on squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing (plan cards and FAQ) and simplybook.me/en/pricing (monthly and annual billing, plan cards and FAQ), October 22, 2026. US dollars.
Card fees and who takes them
On Square, the plan sets the processing fee. In person (tap, dip or swipe): 2.6% + 15 cents on Free, 2.5% + 15 cents on Plus, 2.4% + 15 cents on Premium. Online: 3.3% + 30 cents on Free and 2.9% + 30 cents on Plus and Premium.
The lower rate pays for Square Plus only at high card volume. The 15-cent part is the same on every plan, so the difference comes from the percentage alone. In person, Plus saves 0.1 point: on $10,000 of card sales a month that is $10 a month, against $49 for the plan. By our arithmetic, Plus pays for itself on fees alone at $49,000 a month in person, or at $12,250 a month online, where it saves 0.4 point. Premium saves another 0.1 point in person for $100 more a month, which takes $100,000 a month in person to recover, and it has the same online rate as Plus.
SimplyBook.me states that it charges no transaction fee on bookings or customer payments. It connects to more than a dozen payment gateways, Stripe, PayPal and Square among them, and each charges its own processing fee. Taking payments, deposits and tips starts on the Basic plan.
Year-one cost for three businesses
The yearly figures below are 12 times the monthly price shown on each pricing page, before card processing fees, add-ons and tax. Each row uses the cheapest plan whose limits cover the business, and the Square Plus line is for a business that needs no-show fees, multi-staff booking or a waitlist.
Year one for three businesses, before card fees| Business | SimplyBook.me | Square Appointments |
|---|
| Solo, 40 bookings a month, no online payments | Free: $0 | Square Free: $0 |
|---|
| 4 staff, 300 bookings a month, 1 location | Standard: $358.80 billed monthly (12 x $29.90), or $298.80 billed annually (12 x $24.90) | Square Free: $0, or Square Plus: $588 (12 x $49) |
|---|
| 20 staff, 1,500 bookings a month, 1 location | Premium: $718.80 billed monthly (12 x $59.90), or $598.80 billed annually (12 x $49.90) | Square Free: $0, Square Plus: $588, or Square Premium: $1,788 (12 x $149) |
|---|
StackOnSale arithmetic on the prices above. Card processing fees, add-ons and tax are extra on both.
What each plan includes
Square Appointments, from its plan cards: Square Free has an online booking site and integrations, appointment reminders and unlimited staff calendars, and Square states there is no employee limit. Square Plus adds a cancellation policy with no-show fees, multi-staff appointment booking and a waitlist. Square Premium adds a future bookings report, service cost tracking and resource management, such as rooms and chairs. Square lists text and email reminders and Google Calendar sync among its features.
SimplyBook.me, from its plan cards and FAQ: Free has the booking website, the booking widget, the admin app and a WordPress widget, with basic email reminders. Basic adds the client app, payments, deposits and tips, and point of sale. Standard adds a branded client app, HIPAA features and SAML SSO. Premium adds Payments PRO (refunds, payment links and stored cards), QuickBooks, FreshBooks and Xero integrations and a white-label page footer. Add-ons are sold separately: 100 extra bookings for $4, 100 SMS credits for $8 and 100 WhatsApp credits for $8. If you reach your booking limit, SimplyBook.me says the booking page stays online and offers an upgrade or extra bookings.
Which one fits
If you already take card payments with Square at the counter, Square Appointments keeps booking and payments in one account, and Square Free costs $0 a month whatever the number of staff or bookings. You pay only the processing fees.
If you need no-show fees or a waitlist, compare Square Plus at $49 a month per location with SimplyBook.me. For a 4-person team with 300 bookings a month, SimplyBook.me Standard is $24.90 a month billed annually. Check the SimplyBook.me plan that has the feature you need before you compare.
If you need HIPAA features, intake forms or a processor other than Square, SimplyBook.me lists HIPAA from Standard and connects to several gateways. If you run 20 staff and 1,500 bookings a month, SimplyBook.me Premium is $598.80 a year billed annually, against $0 on Square Free, $588 on Square Plus and $1,788 on Square Premium.
You can also use both: SimplyBook.me lists Square as one of its payment gateways. We did not verify which Square processing rate applies to payments taken through SimplyBook.me.
What we could not verify
Square's comparison table marks plan features with icons that we could not read from our checker, so the feature lists above come from the plan cards. We did not verify whether Square charges for text reminders, which Square rate applies outside its own plans, whether SimplyBook.me booking packs renew each month, or how prices differ outside the United States. SimplyBook.me shows Canadian dollar prices to visitors in Canada.
Questions
Is Square Appointments free?
Square Free is $0 a month per location, with unlimited staff calendars. Square takes a processing fee on each card payment: 2.6% + 15 cents in person and 3.3% + 30 cents online on that plan. Read October 22, 2026.
Is SimplyBook.me cheaper than Square Appointments?
In subscription, Square Free is $0 at any size, while SimplyBook.me Free is $0 only up to 50 bookings and 1 provider. If you need no-show fees or a waitlist, Square Plus is $588 a year per location, and SimplyBook.me Standard is $298.80 a year billed annually for 500 bookings and 15 providers.
Does SimplyBook.me take a fee on payments?
No. SimplyBook.me states that it charges no transaction fee on bookings or customer payments. The processor you connect, such as Stripe, PayPal or Square, charges its own fee. Payments start on the Basic plan.
Can I use SimplyBook.me with Square payments?
Yes. SimplyBook.me lists Square among its payment gateways. We did not verify which Square processing rate applies to those payments.
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