Square Appointments vs Small KDS
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.
Small KDS
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Small KDS turns your iPad into a live kitchen display system (KDS) for Square. Connect your Square account, pick a location, and orders appear as big, glanceable tickets the moment they come in, so the kitchen reads the queue at a glance instead of squinting at a receipt printer or a point-of-sale screen. Built for pizzerias, cafes, food trucks, quick-service counters, bars, and any Square seller that needs orders on a screen in the kitchen. WHAT YOU GET - Live order tickets: new Square orders show up automatically, big and readable across the room. - Aging timers: every ticket shows how long it has been waiting so nothing gets lost in a rush. - Status cycling: tap a ticket to move it through your flow and clear it when it is done. - All-day summary: one toggle totals every active item across all tickets so grill and prep cooks can batch their work. - Order history and dismiss-all: recall a cleared ticket, or wipe the board between services. - Order alerts and screen wake-lock: hear new orders land and keep the display awake through a shift. UNLIMITED SCREENS One subscription covers a whole location with as many display tablets as you want (expo, grill, prep, dessert, a second counter). No per-screen fees, ever. ACTIVATE YOUR ACCOUNT Activate at smallkds.com, simple and cheap plans options. HOW IT WORKS 1. Install and tap Connect Square (secure sign-in on Square's own page; your credentials never touch us). 2. Choose which location's orders to display. 3. Subscribe at smallkds.com to activate, and the board unlocks. 4. Open the app on every tablet you want as a screen. PRIVACY Your Square sign-in stays on the device. We read your live order data only to show it on the board; we do not keep your orders on our servers. No ads, no third-party tracking. Payments are handled entirely by Stripe. Small KDS is an independent app that works with Square. It is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by Square or Block, Inc. "Square" is a trademark of Block, Inc. Questions? hello@smallkds.com - smallkds.com
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: Square Appointments at every 6 days against Small KDS's fortnightly. Small KDS's advantage is iOS requirement (15.0 vs 17.1). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Square Appointments ships an update every 6 days, Small KDS fortnightly. The most recent releases landed on October 26, 2026 and October 7, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Square Appointments | Small KDS |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.9 (195K ratings) — better | — |
| Positive reviews | 68.8% of reviews | — |
| Number of ratings | 195K — better | — |
| Update frequency | Every 6 days — better | Fortnightly |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Freemium | — |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better |
| Requires iOS | 17.1 | 15.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 801 MB | 5 MB |
| Age rating | 12+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Block, Inc. | Acauan Matias |
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
Small KDS
Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.
In-app purchases
Square Appointments
No in-app purchases
Small KDS
No in-app purchases









