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5 Square Appointments Alternatives for Massage Practices

Square offers a range of solutions for businesses of all types and sizes, from retail stores to restaurants to beauty salons. Many massage therapy practices use Square Appointments, which integrates with the rest of Square’s offerings and enables easy appointment scheduling for massage therapists. However, many massage practitioners find themselves wanting more features for other aspects of their business.

If you’re looking for a software solution that will address more of your massage business’s needs, this list of Square Appointments alternatives is for you. Here are the top options for massage practices, starting with MassageBook.

Screenshot of the Square Appointments page

The top Square Appointments alternative: MassageBook

A mockup of MassageBook’s SOAP notes feature on a laptop and smartphone

Overview

As the only software solution on the market designed by massage therapists for massage therapists, MassageBook is tailor-made for massage practices. It’s the top alternative to Square Appointments because of its expanded appointment scheduling features, which complement its other essential massage business features.

Features


  • Streamlined scheduling that makes it easy to accept online bookings and manage your availability.
  • Customizable intake forms that clients can complete before their appointments to help you start sessions faster.
  • Digital SOAP notes (including annotable anatomical drawings) for accurate, easily organized client records.
  • Marketing tools that help you attract new clients, increase repeat visits, and boost gift certificate sales.
  • Secure payment options that accept all types of credit cards, Health Savings Account (HSA) cards, and Flexible Savings Account (FSA) cards.
  • A website builder that enables you to create a professional massage business website that’s easy to update and manage.
  • Custom memberships that boost client retention by encouraging them to book massage appointments regularly.
  • A client database for a centralized location that stores all your client information, including appointment history, SOAP notes, intake forms, and more.
  • Outcall booking features that create realistic outcall schedules based on location, driving distance, downtime between appointments, and more.
  • A mobile app that gives you the freedom to manage your practice while on the go.

Pricing

MassageBook starts at $20/month and goes up to $50/month. We also offer discounts for members of the AMTA and ABMP. Plus, you can register for a free 30-day trial of Amplify, our premium package, to determine if our tools meet your needs.

Most multi‑staff clinics choose Amplify for full marketing + operations. Start free, switch any time. 

Amplify

$50.00 / month

Elevate your business with our complete toolkit for successful marketing and client engagement.

Other Square Appointments alternatives

Acuity Scheduling
Vagaro
ClinicSense
GlossGenius

Acuity Scheduling

Acuity Scheduling is a simple yet powerful all-in-one appointment management and scheduling solution that adapts to any type of business. It integrates with various third-party apps, including Zapier, Google Analytics, Square, Stripe, and PayPal, for a streamlined user experience.

Key features:

  • Branded online booking pages
  • Automated email and SMS messages
  • Calendar management with two-way calendar sync

Limitations: Similar to Square Appointments, Acuity was built for various types of businesses. This means that it lacks customization options and capabilities that massage therapists may need. For example, it does not offer a dedicated SOAP notes feature.

Pricing: Starts at $20/month, with plans as high as $61/month.

Screenshot of Acuity Scheduling’s homepage

Vagaro

Vagaro is a software platform for beauty, wellness, and fitness businesses. It includes various capabilities that help massage therapists run and grow their practices, build their brands, simplify payments, and elevate the client experience.

Key features:

  • Business marketplace that helps practices get discovered
  • Integrated point-of-sale (POS) and inventory management
  • Customizable memberships to create recurring income

Limitations: Although the base subscription for Vagaro is affordable, its price can quickly go up if you need add-on capabilities. It is also a complex solution with a steep learning curve and long implementation times, resulting in a less satisfying user experience.

Pricing: Starts at $23.99/month for a solo practitioner and increases based on the number of additional providers and paid add-on features.

Screenshot of Vagaro’s homepage

ClinicSense

ClinicSense is a solution built for health and wellness businesses, including massage practices. It comes with features for charting, scheduling, finances, and communications, focusing on clinical efficiency to reduce busywork.

Key features:

  • A No-Show Guard™ that charges fees for no-shows and late cancellations
  • Kodee, an automated personal marketing assistant
  • Automated requests for feedback and Google Reviews

Limitations: ClinicSense’s lowest plan has limited customization, which can be challenging for practitioners with unique business needs, including part-timers. Additionally, its platform is not mobile-friendly, limiting practitioners’ ability to manage their practice while on the go.

Pricing: Starts at $39/month and goes up to $99/month.

Screenshot of ClinicSense’s homepage

GlossGenius

GlossGenius provides aesthetically pleasing yet powerful mobile-first software for salons, spas, and medspas. Its sleek, modern software is designed to simplify payments, appointment scheduling, and client care for both providers and clients.

Key features:

  • Custom website builder for beautiful online booking sites
  • Integrations with Buy Now, Pay Later providers
  • Personalized goal setting with real-time progress tracking

Limitations: Users complain that the GlossGenius desktop version is less intuitive and limited compared to its mobile interface, making it frustrating for providers who prefer to use computers. Other users find that customer support is lacking, as GlossGenius operates a text and email-based support model and doesn’t have a direct phone line for urgent issues.

Pricing: Starts at $28/month and goes up to $168/month.

Screenshot of GlossGenius homepage

Square Appointments alternatives FAQ

Why should I look for a Square Appointments alternative?

There are several reasons why you might be looking for a Square Appointments alternative, including:

  • Wanting robust capabilities beyond scheduling
  • Missing clinical features, like SOAP notes
  • Avoiding higher pricing for teams with more than one provider or teams that want to scale up
  • Lacking marketing tools
  • Experiencing difficulty customizing booking pages

How does pricing for Square Appointments compare with its competitors?

Square Appointments is free to use for solo practitioners, but charges a processing fee of 2.6% + $0.15 for tap, dip, or swipe payments, and 3.3% + $0.30 for online payments. It also offers two additional paid plans for additional practitioners and features, and lower processing fees:

  • Square Plus: $49/month, 2.5% + $0.15 for tap/dip/swipe payments, 2.9% + $0.30 for online payments
  • Square Premium: $149/month, 2.4% + $0.15 for tap/dip/swipe payments, 2.9% + $0.30 for online payments

How do I decide which Square Appointments alternative to choose?

Every massage practice has different needs, which means there’s no single tool that works best for everyone. However, there are a few questions you can ask to help narrow down which option is right for you:

  • Does the cost of the new solution fit your budget?
  • Is the solution customizable or designed for the massage therapist workflow?
  • Does it provide the features and capabilities your massage practice needs?
  • Will the software enhance your massage practice or improve the client experience?
  • How user-friendly is the solution?
  • Does the platform rely too heavily on add-ons?
  • Does the new solution integrate or work with your existing tools?
  • Will the solution scale alongside your massage business?
  • Does the vendor offer support, training, and onboarding services?

Will it cost me more to move to a Square Appointments alternative?

Remember, Square Appointments is free for solo massage therapists and only charges a processing fee. You'll need to do a little math to determine how much the processing fee is costing you each month. From there, you can decide whether it's more cost-effective to migrate solutions. However, keep in mind that it may be worth investing in a solution that costs more if it offers more features that will help your massage business increase efficiency and boost client satisfaction.

Can I use a different booking app but keep using Square for payments?

Yes, because certain massage therapy solutions integrate with Square for easy payment processing. For example, MassageBook offers a secure integration with Square. Just connect your existing Square account to your MassageBook account, and you’ll be able to continue accepting payments through Square in-person and online.

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