Comparison

Square Appointments vs Session

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

Square Appointments

Manage your business with an all-in-one solution for booking, scheduling, and payments. Offer 24/7 online booking, send automated reminders, and process payments securely. Track client details and manage your team's calendars and reports.

Highlights
  • 24/7 online booking
  • Automated appointment reminders
  • Secure payment processing
  • Client management
  • Team calendar management
  • Point of sale system
Features
Read full description

Square Appointments is an all-in-one solution for booking and scheduling appointments, sending reminders, and accepting payments. ► THE ALL-IN ONE POINT OF SALE FOR BOOKING, PAYMENTS, AND MORE It has everything you need to run your business from anywhere: online booking that’s easy for you and your customers, a point of sale that tracks customer details, and a secure, fast payment system. There are three monthly plans: Free, Plus, and Premium, and each is on a per-location basis. Custom pricing is available for businesses that process over $250K in annual revenue. ► NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED, NO LONG-TERM COMMITMENTS Get 24/7 online booking, automatic appointment reminders, seamless payment processing, and no-show protection with Square Appointments for iPhone, iPad, and desktop. This is especially beneficial for barbershops and nail salons that need to manage appointments efficiently. ► PRICING PLANS TO FIT YOUR BUSINESS Pricing for Square Appointments is based on the features that fit your business best. There are three monthly plans: Free, Plus, and Premium, and each is on a per-location basis. Custom pricing is available for businesses that process over $250K in annual revenue. ► LET CLIENTS BOOK 24/7 No website? No problem—Square Appointments includes a pre-built booking site, so your customers can book anytime, from anywhere. Easily manage and accept bookings from your iPhone or iPad. With our Square Online integration, you can customize layouts, colors, and fonts that reflect your brand and even add pages for products, testimonials, and more. This feature is perfect for nail salons and barbershops looking to enhance their online presence. ► CHECK OUT CLIENTS SEAMLESSLY Accept payments, sell products, or send invoices easily, all from one app. Let customers have Square save their card on file for even faster checkout. ► REDUCE NO-SHOWS Set up automated appointment reminders, request prepayment or charge a cancellation fee for online booking. ► MANAGE AN ENTIRE TEAM EASILY Manage your whole team’s calendars, set their access and permissions, and see individual sales and appointment reports all from one place. ► GET TO KNOW YOUR CLIENTS Keep notes on all your clients so you can keep track of their preferences, appointment and sales history. This is valuable for barbershops, nail salons, and health & beauty businesses aiming to provide personalized services. This is more than just a calendar. Square Appointments is powerful appointment scheduling, a point of sale, and payment processing—all in one place.

About

Session

Manage your photography sessions, bookings, and schedule directly from your mobile device. This app requires an existing Session account to access your information.

Highlights
  • View session details
  • Manage bookings
  • Access calendar on the go
  • Requires Session account
Features
Read full description

View your session details, bookings and calendar on the go. A Session account is required to use the Mobile App.

Screenshots

Square Appointments4 screens
Session3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: Square Appointments at 4.9 against Session's 4.4. Square Appointments also leads on update cadence (every 6 days vs every 3 months) and ratings volume (195K vs 28). Session's advantage is monetization model (free vs freemium) and review sentiment (79% vs 69%). On price, ads, in-app purchases and device support there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

Square Appointments holds the better App Store score, 4.9 against 4.4. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Square Appointments has 195K ratings behind it against 28, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 69% of Square Appointments's written reviews are positive against 79% of Session's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Square Appointments ships an update every 6 days, Session every 3 months. The most recent releases landed on October 25, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard5 real differences · 5 level
Square Appointments versus Session: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSquare AppointmentsSession
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.9 (195K ratings) — better4.4 (28 ratings)
Positive reviews68.8% of reviews78.6% of reviews — better
Number of ratings195K — better28
Update frequencyEvery 6 days — betterEvery 3 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreemiumFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad — betteriPhone
Requires iOS17.116.4 — better
Further details — not scored
Size801 MB88 MB
Age rating12+4+
DeveloperBlock, Inc.Session Technologies, LLC

Customer experience

Square Appointments

All ratings195,312 ratings
Positive97.2%
Neutral1.5%
Negative1.3%
Written reviews725 reviews
Positive68.8%
Neutral8.4%
Negative22.8%

Session

All ratings28 ratings
Positive85.7%
Neutral3.6%
Negative10.7%
Written reviews14 reviews
Positive78.6%
Neutral7.1%
Negative14.3%

Bugs and requests

Square Appointments

Reported bugs

5 issues
  • Appointments disappearing or not syncing
  • Issues with changing or rescheduling appointments
  • Unreliable notification system
  • Incorrect time/date display
  • Trouble connecting with Square payment system

Requested features

6 requests
  • Ability to customize text/email reminders
  • Option to block time slots for personal use
  • Integration with more calendar apps
  • Easier way to manage multiple locations
  • Feature to collect deposits or prepayments
Show 1 more
  • Improved reporting and analytics

Session

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

None

Square Appointments

No in-app purchases

None

Session

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Square Appointments free?
Square Appointments is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Session free?
Session is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Square Appointments or Session?
Square Appointments is rated higher. Square Appointments averages 4.9 out of 5 from 195K ratings, while Session averages 4.4 from 28 ratings.
Do Square Appointments or Session have ads?
Neither Square Appointments nor Session shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Square Appointments or Session?
Square Appointments ships an update every 6 days, and Session every 3 months. Most recently, Square Appointments was updated on October 25, 2026 and Session on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons