Square Appointments vs SAMS Student
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
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.
- 24/7 online booking
- Automated appointment reminders
- Secure payment processing
- Client management
- Team calendar management
- Point of sale system
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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.
SAMS Student
This app helps cosmetology schools track student clock hours with customizable features. It is designed to meet the specific needs of public and private beauty schools.
- Student time clock tracking
- Flexible customization
- Public and private school requirements
- Beauty school specific features
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Cosmetology school time clock tracking with flexible customization and features to meet public and private beauty school's requirements.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is monetization model: SAMS Student at free against Square Appointments's freemium. SAMS Student also leads on iOS requirement (15.6 vs 17.1). Square Appointments's advantage is ratings volume (195K vs 1). On price, rating, update cadence and ads 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
On the App Store both sit at effectively the same score — 4.9 for Square Appointments against 5.0 for SAMS Student. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Square Appointments has 195K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.
Square Appointments ships an update every 6 days, SAMS Student every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 29, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Square Appointments | SAMS Student |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (195K ratings) | 5.0 (1 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 68.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 195K — better | 1 |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Every 8 days |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Freemium | Free — better |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 17.1 | 15.6 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 802 MB | 31 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Block, Inc. | Reckon System, Inc |
Customer experience
Square Appointments
SAMS Student
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
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- Improved reporting and analytics
SAMS Student
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Square Appointments
No in-app purchases
SAMS Student
No in-app purchases
Questions
Is Square Appointments free?
Is SAMS Student free?
Which has better reviews, Square Appointments or SAMS Student?
Do Square Appointments or SAMS Student have ads?
Which is updated more often, Square Appointments or SAMS Student?
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