Square's free plan works for basic solo scheduling, but no-show fees, multi-staff booking, and marketing tools push most growing pros to Plus at $49/month or Premium at $149/month per location. Glamease is $9.99/month with beauty-specific discovery built in.
| Feature | Glamease | Square Appointments |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly software (solo, full features) | $9.99/month flat after free trial | Free tier is limited; Plus $49/mo, Premium $149/mo per location for team & advanced tools |
| Beauty client marketplace | ✓ Category discovery for hair, nails, barbing, makeup, skincare | No built-in beauty marketplace; clients book via your link or Square ecosystem |
| Booking commission | ✓ None | No booking commission; Square card processing rates apply |
| Deposits & no-shows | ✓ Pro-set deposits at booking | No-show/cancellation policies on paid tiers |
| Portfolio-first profiles | ✓ Clients compare work before booking | General appointment booking, not beauty-portfolio led |
| Typical growing pro bill | $9.99/month | $49-$149/month for features most active pros need |
$9.99 vs $49+. Square Plus is $49/month per location for cancellation policies, no-show protection, and multi-staff scheduling. Glamease delivers deposits, scheduling, messaging, and payouts for $9.99/month.
Beauty-first, not POS-first. Square is built around retail and payments hardware. Glamease is built so clients browse portfolios, compare stylists by category, and book beauty services in one app.
Discovery included. You should not need a separate marketing stack just so new clients can find your chair. Glamease lists you across beauty and grooming categories from day one.
Stop paying retail prices for a beauty business. If you are not running a product-heavy shop, you should not need Square Premium at $149/month to protect your calendar.
Mobile-native for clients and pros. Your clients already live on their phones. Glamease matches that with booking, deposits, and chat in one polished app experience.
Independent pros feel software costs differently than big salons. When you are paying suite rent, buying products, and building a brand from scratch, a $20-$50/month platform is not a small line item. It is real money that could go toward your next client acquisition or your next bill.
| Platform | Typical solo monthly | Annual software cost |
|---|---|---|
| Glamease | $9.99 (after free first month) | $119.88/year |
| Square Appointments | $49+/month | $588+/year |
| Switching to Glamease can save roughly $468+ per year on software alone, before marketplace commissions or paid add-ons. | ||
Glamease was built for the reality of independent beauty work: you are the stylist, the receptionist, the marketer, and the accountant. You need tools that respect tight budgets and still make you look established.
Booking your first clients between classes or during cosmetology school? List real services, take deposits, and share a professional booking link without a $30-$50/month software bill eating your early income.
You already pay chair or suite rent. Glamease gives you scheduling, deposits, messaging, payouts, and client discovery for $9.99/month flat, no front desk and no franchise fee.
Growing a full book? Keep more of what you earn with flat pricing that does not punish busy months. Analytics, reviews, rebooking, and repeat-client history scale with you.
Clients judge your brand before they sit in your chair. Glamease gives you a polished mobile experience on both sides: clients browse portfolios and book from their phone; you run your day from a clean pro dashboard.
No tiers to decode. No surprise upgrade when you need deposits or messaging. One flat plan after your free first month.
Headline pricing rarely tells the full story. Between staff seats, paid add-ons, marketplace cuts, and upgrade tiers, many pros on Square Appointments pay far more than the number on the homepage. Glamease keeps the math simple so you can focus on clients, not invoices.
Square Appointments pricing and features change frequently. Figures reflect publicly listed US pricing at the time of writing. Verify current plans on their official website before you decide.
Join free for 30 days. Then $9.99/month flat. No booking commission, ever.