Booking
Updated Oct 2026
Booksy vs Fresha vs Square Appointments
Three tools that look identical in a demo and behave very differently once real clients, real no-shows and a second staff member show up.
The short version
- Fresha — best if you want zero monthly cost and you are fine with their payment processing. Marketplace traffic is a real bonus for new shops.
- Booksy — best marketplace discovery in many cities, strongest client app. You pay for it, and the marketplace takes a cut on new clients.
- Square Appointments — best if you already take card payments with Square. Free plan is limited to one calendar; the paid tier is the cheapest all-in-one.
What actually matters at 1-5 staff
1. No-show protection
All three can take a deposit or store a card. The difference is friction: Fresha and Booksy push clients to save a card at booking, Square asks at checkout unless you enable prepayment. If your reminders.html">no-show rate is above 10%, test deposits before you test anything else.
2. The second calendar
This is where free plans break. Square's free tier is effectively one calendar; the moment you hire, you are on a paid plan. Fresha stays free per-staff but monetises payments and add-ons. Booksy's per-staff pricing is transparent but adds up quickly.
3. Reminders that people actually read
All three send SMS and email reminders. Open and confirmation rates depend far more on timing and wording than on the tool: 48 hours plus 3 hours before the appointment, with a one-tap confirm, beats a single reminder 24 hours out.
4. Getting found
Booksy and Fresha run consumer marketplaces. For a new shop with no client base this can be worth more than any feature. Square does not have that discovery layer — it is a tool, not a channel.
Comparison
| Fresha | Booksy | Square Appointments | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost | Free core | Paid per staff | Free tier, then paid |
| Marketplace | Yes | Yes, strongest | No |
| Deposits | Yes | Yes | Yes (prepay) |
| Payments | Their processor | Their processor | Square ecosystem |
| Best for | New solo shops | Growth + discovery | Existing Square users |
What I would do
If you are opening in the next 30 days with no client list: start on Fresha, keep costs at zero, and let the marketplace do some of the work. Move to Booksy when the marketplace in your city is clearly busier and you can afford the per-staff fee.
If you already have a card reader and a client base: Square Appointments, paid tier, and spend the saved money on reminders and a deposit policy.
Whatever you pick, do these two things in week one: turn on deposits for new clients, and set a 48-hour reminder. That combination fixes most of the revenue leak that made you look for booking software in the first place.