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Hairdressers.io

Comparing pricing models

Square Appointments alternative for hair salons and stylists who want one flat bill and new clients

Square Appointments is a register with a calendar attached. If the calendar is what you use all day and the paid tiers keep getting closer, this is what a booking tool built for stylists looks like.

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This week

Thursday, chair 2

9:00am 10:30am 12:00pm 1:30pm 3:00pm 4:30pm 6:00pm 7:30pm

Thursday 7:30pm · Balayage · 2h 30m

Sold this week
78%
Rebooked
61%
No-shows
2

Sample data, shown to illustrate the interface.

Short answer

Hairdressers.io is a Square Appointments alternative for hair salons and stylists who want booking built around the chair rather than the register. One flat price covers the team, $49 a month for one chair and $89 for up to eight stylists, with every feature on every plan, 0% commission and a city directory listing so new clients can find you. You keep your Square reader for payments if you like it, and move only the calendar.

The model you are comparing

A no-fee entry tier, then paid tiers priced per location, with card processing fees on every payment and cancellation and no-show fees only on higher tiers

Our model

One flat price for the team, $89 for up to eight stylists, every feature on every plan and 0% commission

We deliberately do not publish Square Appointments's prices, plan names or commission rates on this page. They change, and a stale number would be a false statement about a real company. Check their own pricing page for the current detail, then compare the two models below.

What actually changes when you switch

A calendar built for services, not sales

Cut, color and highlights each book for their real length, color processing time included, and every online request reaches you for approval before it takes a chair.

A way for new clients to find you

Your salon gets a page on the city directory. Square gives you a booking site, and clients who already know you can use it. Strangers searching for a stylist in your city need a listing.

The bill does not follow your hiring

Inside a band the price stays put. A fourth or seventh stylist changes nothing, and nothing is taken from a first visit.

01

Square Appointments alternatives for hair salons, compared by how the bill grows

Owners leave Square Appointments for one of four reasons. The features they need sit on a paid tier, they want to be found by new clients, they want to approve bookings, or the software feels built for a shop counter and not a styling chair. The right replacement depends on which of those is yours.

We compare models, not prices. Every company changes its numbers, so read each pricing page on the day you decide and ask for anything about new client fees in writing.

Option What the bill counts New clients from an app Best for a salon that
Square Appointments Entry tier with online booking, reminders and unlimited staff calendars, then paid tiers per location, plus processing on every card payment Listed in the Square Go app Already runs its register on Square and wants one account
Booksy One subscription plus a monthly fee for each added team member, no cap Yes; Boost charges a one-time commission on new clients it sends Needs a consumer app to bring in new clients and has a small team
Vagaro Bookable calendars, with marketing and branded app as add-ons Yes, a marketplace with a one-time fee on a first appointment Wants payroll, retail stock and a register in one login
GlossGenius Tiers by team size with flat card processing No marketplace Has a full book of regulars and wants a polished checkout
Acuity Scheduling Three tiers by number of calendars, no free plan No marketplace Needs a flexible scheduler for packages and intake forms
Hairdressers.io $49 for one chair, $89 for up to eight stylists, $199 for up to 25 A city directory listing, 0% commission Has regulars, wants approval on bookings and to be found

02

What is the best alternative to Square Appointments for a hair salon?

For a hair salon, the best alternative to Square Appointments is the one that matches how your bill and your book work. A salon of regulars that wants one flat price, approval on every booking and a listing that brings in strangers fits a flat plan with a directory. A salon that needs a register, retail and payroll in the same login should compare Vagaro or Boulevard instead.

Square is hard to beat if you already sell through its reader and mostly want a calendar tied to the till. The trouble starts when cancellation fees, a waitlist and multi-stylist booking sit on a higher tier, and you pay for the whole register to get them. If the till is not the reason you chose Square, a booking tool that includes those features on every plan costs less and is simpler to run.

03

Built for chairs that book by the hour

Owner of a small hair salon checking the day calendar at the front desk while stylists work

A hair salon day is a set of long, uneven appointments across several chairs. Software that treats each one as a quick sale leaves gaps nobody planned. These are the pieces that matter by Thursday afternoon.

Real service lengths
A cut is 45 minutes, a root touch-up 2 hours, a full color 3 hours. Each service books for its real length plus any buffer you set.
Approval on every request
Online bookings arrive as requests you accept or move. Nobody books your last Saturday color slot before you have seen their history.
One day view of every chair
All stylists side by side on a grid. Drag a visit to move it and the client gets an email with the new time.
A link for every stylist
Each stylist has a personal booking page with their own hours, services and price level, ready for an Instagram bio.
Client cards with formulas
Visits, notes and color formulas stay on the client card, ready the next time she sits down.
Reports on the week
See bookings, no-shows and busy hours without exporting anything.

04

What you give up when you leave Square Appointments

Be clear before you cancel anything. Hairdressers.io is booking, a calendar, client cards, reports and a directory listing. It has no point of sale, no card processing, no retail inventory and no payroll. Deposits and card-held no-show fees are not part of it either, because every booking is a request you approve.

Most salons that move keep the Square reader for payments and use the flat plan for everything before the client sits down. If you sell retail and want it tied to the calendar in one login, stay on Square or look at a full suite.

05

How to move a salon off Square Appointments without losing bookings

Export your customer directory and your upcoming appointments from Square first, while the account is active. Import the client list into your Hairdressers.io account on any paid plan, then re-enter the next few weeks of bookings or leave them on Square until they pass, so nobody is double booked.

Then set each stylist's hours, services and price level, put the new links in your bios and on your Google profile, and send regulars the link twice over two weeks. Keep the Square reader running for payments, and cancel the booking side of Square only after the last appointment booked there has passed.

Before you move

Five things worth checking first

This applies whichever platform you are on, including ours. Migrating a salon is disruptive, so it is worth being sure the answer is better and not just different.

  1. 01

    Can you export your client list?

    Contacts, appointment history and notes, to a file you keep. Ask before you commit, not on the way out.

  2. 02

    What happens to bookings already made?

    You want to import upcoming appointments so no client is asked to rebook something they already booked.

  3. 03

    What is the real monthly total?

    Add every module you actually use, plus any per-staff element, plus anything variable. Compare that number, not the headline.

  4. 04

    Who holds the relationship?

    Whether reminders and confirmations go out under your salon name or the platform's changes what happens if you leave.

  5. 05

    Is there a contract term?

    A month-to-month arrangement and an annual commitment are very different decisions.

Our pricing, in full

Flat per salon, published, with nothing variable underneath

Save 50% yearly

Yearly saves 50%, half the monthly price.

Chair

Start here

Solo stylist or booth renter

$24 /mo

$288 billed once a year

  • 1 stylist
  • Salon page on your own link: services, prices, open hours
  • Directory listing in 1 city
  • Booking requests inside your hours, by email
  • Private panel to edit your page and see requests
  • Import your existing bookings
  • Pay by card, cancel any time
List your salon

Card payment, live right after

Salon

Independent salon, up to 8 stylists

$44 /mo

$528 billed once a year

  • Up to 8 stylists
  • Everything in Chair
  • Priority placement in your city listing
  • Per-stylist links and hours
  • Revenue and rebooking reporting
Choose Salon

Card payment, live right after

Studio

Multi-location, up to 25 stylists

$99 /mo

$1,188 billed once a year

  • Up to 25 stylists
  • Everything in Salon
  • Listings for every location
  • Consolidated multi-location reporting
  • Roles and permissions per location
  • One invoice for all sites
Choose Studio

Card payment, live right after

Group

Chains and franchise groups

$199 /mo

$2,388 billed once a year

  • Unlimited stylists and locations
  • Everything in Studio
  • SSO with SAML
  • Invoicing and PO billing
  • A named onboarding contact
  • Uptime SLA and a DPA
Choose Group

Card payment, live right after

0% commission on bookings, on every plan

Including the clients your city directory listing sends you. There is no per-booking fee anywhere in this product.

0%

These are our plans. Pricing is flat per salon, so it does not change when you get busier. Every plan, Group included, is paid by card and your page goes live right after payment. There is no free tier because the live demo is the free taste.

Questions

Switching from Square Appointments

The rest are on the salon booking system FAQ.

What is the best Square Appointments alternative for a hair salon?

For a salon of regulars that wants one flat bill, approval on bookings and a way to be found, the best Square Appointments alternative is a flat plan with a city directory. Salons that need a register, retail and payroll together are better off with a full suite such as Vagaro or Boulevard.

Is Square Appointments good for hair salons?

Square Appointments works well for salons that already run their register on Square and mainly need a calendar tied to it. Salons often outgrow the entry tier when they want cancellation fees, a waitlist or two stylists on one booking, which sit on paid tiers.

Can I keep my Square reader and still switch my booking?

Yes. Hairdressers.io does not take payments, so many salons keep the Square reader for card payments and move only the calendar and client list. Your clients book from a link, and you take payment at the chair the way you do now.

Does the price go up when I add a stylist?

Not inside your band. The Salon plan at $89 a month covers up to eight stylists, so hiring a fourth or a seventh changes nothing on the bill. Larger teams or several locations move to the Studio plan at $199.

Do clients need to download an app to book?

No. Clients book from a stylist's link in a browser, with no app and no account. The salon also gets a listing on the city directory, which is how strangers searching for a stylist in your city find you.

Can I import my clients from Square?

Yes. Export your customer directory from Square and import it on any paid plan. Do the export before you cancel anything, because access to the data can end with the account.

More salon software pages

Square Appointments is a trademark of its owner. Hairdressers.io is not affiliated with, endorsed by or partnered with Square Appointments. This page compares pricing models only.

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