# Rezzy vs Square Appointments: Free Isn't the Whole Price

Source: https://letsrezzy.com/blog/rezzy-vs-square-appointments
Description: Rezzy vs Square Appointments for boutique studios: per-location plan costs, processing lock-in, where your money lands, and which fits a small team.
Updated: 2026-09-22

**TL;DR:** Square Appointments has the best free plan in the industry for a solo just starting out. The catch is everything after. Paid plans run $49 to $149 per location, and payments are locked to Square's processing. Rezzy costs a flat $19 to $79 with every front-desk feature on every plan, and works with the Stripe or Square account you already own.

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Plenty of studios start on Square Appointments because free is free, and that is a fair reason. The comparison gets interesting the moment your studio grows into needing more: a team, no-show protection, marketing. That is when Square's pricing ladder and its processing lock-in start shaping your costs, and when the two products stop looking similar.

## Rezzy vs Square Appointments at a glance

| | Square Appointments | Rezzy |
|---|---|---|
| Free option | Yes, a real free plan for solos | None. A 30-day money-back guarantee instead |
| Paid plans | Plus $49/mo and Premium $149/mo, per location ([pricing](https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing)) | Solo $19, Studio $39, Unlimited $79, flat ([pricing](/#pricing)) |
| Commission | None; Square Go discovery is free ([Square Go](https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/square-go)) | None, ever |
| Payment processing | Square only, from 2.6% + 15c in person on Free ([fees](https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5068-what-are-square-s-fees)) | Your choice: your own Stripe or your own Square account |
| Your money arrives | Square balance, next-business-day transfer; instant costs 1.95% ([transfers](https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/3807-deposit-options-with-square)) | Straight to your own processor account, on its normal schedule |
| Client list export | Self-serve CSV ([their guide](https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5498-manage-your-customer-directory-online)) | One-click CSV export on any plan |
| Built for | Any appointment business inside the Square ecosystem | Boutique studios: salons, barbers, nails, spas, massage |

*Competitor prices and policies checked September 2026 against the linked official pages. Prices change; the links are the source of truth.*

## What does Square Appointments really cost?

The free plan is genuinely free software: booking page, calendar, and payments at 2.6% + 15 cents in person, 3.3% + 30 cents online ([Square's fee schedule](https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/5068-what-are-square-s-fees)). For a solo taking simple bookings, it is hard to argue with, and we will not try.

The paid steps are where the math changes. Square consolidated its plans in late 2025, and appointment businesses that want cancellation policies, no-show fees, multi-staff booking or a waitlist now look at Plus at $49 a month per location, with Premium at $149 per location ([current plans](https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing)). Processing does improve as you climb: 2.5% + 15 cents in person on Plus, 2.4% + 15 cents on Premium.

Two structural things ride along at every tier. **Payments are Square's or nothing.** There is no connecting an outside processor. And your revenue lands in your Square balance, moving to your bank next business day for free, or instantly for a 1.95% fee ([how Square transfers work](https://squareup.com/help/us/en/article/3807-deposit-options-with-square)).

## What does Rezzy cost, and where does the money go?

Flat plans by team size: Solo $19, Studio $39 with five seats included, Unlimited $79 with unlimited seats and the [email marketing suite](/guides/put-your-emails-on-autopilot). Every plan carries every front-desk feature: deposits, review requests, the self-building client book, reports, standing appointments. No per-location multiplier, and no feature ladder standing between you and a no-show fee. Annual billing runs cheaper still, currently $9, $15 and $19 a month billed once a year while founding spots last.

There is no free tier and no trial. You pick a plan on day one, and a 30-day money-back guarantee stands behind it, so a real month of clients makes the decision rather than a fortnight spent poking at an empty calendar.

The money path is the philosophical difference. Rezzy connects to a payment account you own, and here is the part Square users tend to appreciate: **that account can be your existing Square account.** Keep the processor, keep the hardware on the counter, and let Rezzy run [deposits and prepayments](/guides/take-deposits-or-full-payment) through it. Prefer Stripe? Same one-time connection. Either way, the platform between you and your money is one you chose and can leave.

## What a year costs, honestly

| Scenario | Square Appointments | Rezzy |
|---|---|---|
| Solo, basic booking | $0. Square wins, full stop. | $228 (Solo, $19 x 12) |
| Solo needing no-show fees and policies | $588 (Plus, $49 x 12) | $228 (deposits are on every plan) |
| Five-person studio, one location | $588 (Plus) to $1,788 (Premium) | $468 (Studio, $39 x 12) |
| Two locations on a paid plan | Doubles: plans are per location | Flat: plans are per team, not per location |

The free row deserves its honesty. For a solo who needs simple booking and nothing else, $0 beats every competitor in this market, Rezzy included. The comparison only becomes interesting one rung up, where Square's ladder charges $49 per location for the no-show protections Rezzy includes at $19.

On online payments, the spread favours owning your rate. Square's Free plan charges 3.3% + 30 cents online, while a studio running its own Stripe pays Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30 cents ([Stripe pricing](https://stripe.com/pricing)), or its own negotiated Square rate through Rezzy just the same.

> **Like Square's processing but outgrowing the software?** Rezzy runs your booking, reminders, deposits and client book on top of the Square or Stripe account you already have, at one flat price. [Start today](/signup).

## What Square does better

- **The free plan.** Nothing else in the industry gives a solo this much for $0. If you are pre-revenue, start there. That is the honest advice.
- **Hardware and ecosystem.** Registers, terminals, banking, payroll, invoices, an ecosystem that runs whole retail businesses. Rezzy has no hardware and does not want to be your bank.
- **Square Go.** A free consumer discovery app for beauty and personal-care businesses, with no commission and no new-client fees ([Square Go](https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/square-go)). It is iOS-only for now, but free discovery is free discovery.
- **Brand trust.** Clients recognise the checkout. That is worth something real at the front desk.

## What Rezzy does better

- **Flat, single-ladder pricing.** No-show protection, waitlist-level tools and marketing do not sit behind a $49-per-location step. Everything ships on every plan.
- **Processor choice.** Your own Stripe or your own Square. A studio that outgrows either can change processors without changing front desks.
- **A studio-shaped client book.** Square's customer directory is a directory. Rezzy builds a [client timeline from every booking](/#clients): visits, notes, emails and follow-up tasks, plus a [needs-rebooking list](/guides/rebook-lapsed-clients) that flags lapsed regulars, and automatic [Google review requests](/guides/ask-for-google-reviews-automatically) after each visit.
- **Focus.** Rezzy does one job, the front desk of a boutique studio. There is no ecosystem to be upsold into.

![A client's timeline in Rezzy, showing upcoming and past visits built automatically from bookings](/blog_images/screenshots/client-timeline.png)

*Every booking writes itself into the client's history. Nobody types this in.*

## Which one should you pick?

**Start on Square's free plan if you are solo, new and watching every dollar.** It is the best $0 in the category, and you can run it until no-shows or a growing team force the question.

**Move to Rezzy when the front desk becomes the job.** That is when you need deposits, review requests and rebooking nudges without climbing to $49 per location, and when you want your client book to be a working asset rather than a directory.

Switching is deliberately easy in both directions. Export your Square customer CSV, [import it into Rezzy](/guides/import-your-client-list) with column mapping and a seven-day undo, connect your Square or Stripe account, and repoint your booking links. Studios like [nail studios](/solutions/nail-studios) and [barbershops](/solutions/barbershops) usually do it in an afternoon, keeping the processor relationship they already trust.