October 2025: Free-plan online payments went to 3.3% + 30¢, and charging no-show fees moved behind the $49/mo Plus plan. Here's what that actually costs an independent artist — including where Square is still cheaper.
Square prices checked October 2026 against squareup.com/appointments/pricing (change history: POSUSA). Spot an update? hello@takingclients.com.
| Square Appointments | TakingClients | |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | Free / $49 Plus / $149 Premium, per location | $0 — Pro is $12/mo (free for your first year if you sign up by Dec 31, 2026) |
| Charging no-show / cancellation fees | Requires the $49 Plus plan — and it charges the saved card after the fact; sellers report charges that silently fail (seller community) | Deposit paid up front on the $0 plan, before the slot confirms. Nothing to chase, nothing to silently fail |
| Online card processing | 3.3% + 30¢ on the Free plan since Oct 2025 (still lower than ours — see the calculator) | ~2.9% + 30¢ + our 1% platform fee |
| In-person processing | 2.6% + 15¢ — genuinely good in the chair | We don't touch in-person money. Keep Square's reader if you like it |
| If a client disputes the charge | You assemble your own case | One-tap evidence packet: the policy they agreed to, timestamp, booking IP |
| Built for | Every business on earth — salons share a grid with dog walkers | Ink and hair only: ten looks made for the craft, deposits as the default, a page clients actually want in a bio |
| Your client list | Exports fine — credit where due | One-click CSV both directions, any tier |
In the chair. Square's hardware and in-person rate are excellent, and nothing here replaces them — TakingClients only runs the booking page, the up-front deposit, reminders, and the dispute paper trail. The common setup is both: Square for walk-up money, TakingClients in the bio. What you're deciding about is the online booking layer — whether no-show protection should cost $49/mo and still depend on a card-on-file charge going through.
Assumptions, in the open: Square online at the published Free-plan rate of 3.3% + 30¢ (Oct 2025 pricing); the no-show toggle adds the $49 Plus subscription it requires. Paid-plan online rates aren't broken out on Square's pricing page — if yours is lower, subtract accordingly. TakingClients at ~2.9% + 30¢ card processing + 1% platform fee; subscription $0 (the free year covers Pro through Dec 31, 2026 signups; $12/mo after if you keep it). In-person money never counts for either side.
Imported contacts are never texted automatically — SMS consent belongs to the client and the exact number they opted in with, and starts fresh when they book. Your sender reputation (and the law) stay clean.
Square restructured Appointments into Free / $49 Plus / $149 Premium per location, moved in-person to 2.6% + 15¢, raised Free-plan online processing to 3.3% + 30¢ — and no-show/cancellation fee charging now needs Plus. Sellers also report formerly-free features moving up-tier.
Yes — and probably should if you like the hardware. TakingClients never touches chair money. It replaces the booking layer: the page, the up-front deposit, the reminders, the dispute packet.
Yes — CSV export from Square, import here (we read their column names), or we'll do it for you. Texting consent starts fresh, on purpose.
Square bills the saved card after the no-show — on the $49 plan, and only if the card on file is still good. Here the deposit is paid before the slot confirms, on the $0 plan. A no-show forfeits money you already hold, and a dispute meets a one-tap evidence packet.
Free to start, live in ten minutes — and Pro is free for your first year through Dec 31, 2026.
Claim your link free