Comparison

Acuity vs SAMS Student

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

Head to head
About

Acuity

Manage your calendar and clients with this app. It offers seamless client scheduling, appointment notifications, secure mobile payments, and automated receipts. Run your business on the go with tools for calendar and client management, plus payment processing.

Highlights
  • Real-time calendar management
  • Client scheduling links
  • Appointment notifications
  • Secure mobile payments
  • Automated receipts
  • Client list management
Features
Read full description

Looking for an appointment scheduling app that helps you book clients, accept payments, collect intake forms, and reduce no-shows? Acuity Scheduling by Squarespace is the all-in-one scheduling software for service-based businesses. It’s built for professionals who need more than a basic meeting scheduler—so clients can self-book online, pay at booking, fill out forms before appointments, and get automatic reminders in one smooth booking flow. If you want to save time, avoid missed appointments, and run your business with less admin, Acuity helps you do it all in one place. • REDUCE NO-SHOWS AND MISSED APPOINTMENTS Need a tool that helps you avoid empty time slots? Acuity helps you reduce no-shows with automated email and SMS reminders, confirmation messages, easy rescheduling, cancellation links, and booking policies that set expectations clearly. • ACCEPT PAYMENTS AT THE TIME OF BOOKING Looking for appointment scheduling with payments? Acuity lets clients pay when they book with Stripe, Square, or PayPal. Collect deposits, send invoices and receipts, sell gift certificates, offer packages, support recurring memberships, and enable tipping—all built in. No extra tools required. • COLLECT CLIENT INTAKE FORMS BEFORE APPOINTMENTS Need a booking system with intake forms? Acuity lets you attach customizable intake forms to every booking so clients can complete questionnaires, consent forms, waivers, and health history forms before they arrive. This helps therapists, wellness practitioners, coaches, and consultants stay prepared and organized. • MANAGE COMPLEX SERVICES AND AVAILABILITY If your business has multiple services, different durations, or changing availability, Acuity makes it easy to manage. Offer different appointment types, control your calendar, manage multiple staff calendars and locations, and let clients book only what’s available. • SCHEDULE VIRTUAL APPOINTMENTS AND TELEHEALTH SESSIONS Need online scheduling software for virtual consultations? Acuity can automatically generate Zoom, Google Meet, and GoToMeeting links for appointments, making it easy to run remote sessions, online coaching, and telehealth bookings. • RUN GROUP CLASSES, WORKSHOPS, AND RECURRING SESSIONS Acuity also supports group scheduling with capacity limits, class packages, and session bundles. Ideal for fitness studios, yoga instructors, tutors, workshops, and group coaching businesses. • BUILT FOR SERVICE BUSINESSES, NOT JUST MEETINGS Acuity is designed for businesses that need scheduling + client management + payments + automation in one tool. • INTEGRATIONS ADAPTED TO YOUR WORKFLOW Embed your booking page on Squarespace, WordPress, Wix, or other websites, customize it to match your brand, and let clients book online 24/7. Perfect for: - Hairdressers, salons, estheticians, tattoo artists, and beauty pros who want clients to self-book, prepay, and receive reminders automatically - Therapists, psychologists, and healthcare professionals who need intake forms, secure workflows, and scheduling tools designed to support HIPAA compliance, with features like encrypted data handling and a signed Business Associate Agreement (BAA) on eligible plans - Coaches and consultants who want to reduce admin, send booking links, and get client details before sessions - Personal trainers, yoga teachers, and fitness studios who sell packages, memberships, and group classes - Small service-based businesses and teams that want an online booking system without per-user pricing on select plans - Photographers who want to deliver a better booking experience. • MORE THAN A BASIC CALENDAR BOOKING APP Unlike simple meeting schedulers, Acuity is built for real service workflows. It helps you schedule appointments, get paid, collect client information, and automate communication. Try Acuity free for 7 days — no credit card required. _____________ Privacy Policy: https://squarespace.com/privacy Terms of Service: https://squarespace.com/terms-of-service

About

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.

Highlights
  • Student time clock tracking
  • Flexible customization
  • Public and private school requirements
  • Beauty school specific features
Read full description

Cosmetology school time clock tracking with flexible customization and features to meet public and private beauty school's requirements.

Screenshots

Acuity4 screens
SAMS Student3 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is in-app purchases: SAMS Student at none against Acuity's 6. Acuity's advantage is ratings volume (30K 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

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Acuity sells 6 in-app purchases, starting at $29.00 per month. SAMS Student asks for nothing beyond the download.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

SAMS Student holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.8. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Acuity has 30K ratings behind it against 1, so its average is the more settled of the two.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Acuity ships an update weekly, SAMS Student every 8 days. The most recent releases landed on October 31, 2026 and October 18, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
Acuity versus SAMS Student: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterAcuitySAMS Student
PriceFreeFree
Rating4.8 (30K ratings)5.0 (1 ratings) — better
Positive reviews44.5% of reviews—
Number of ratings30K — better1
Update frequencyWeekly — betterEvery 8 days
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesYesNo — better
MonetizationFree with in-app purchasesFree — better
DevicesiPhone, iPad, Apple Watch — betteriPhone, iPod
Requires iOS16.015.6 — better
Further details — not scored
Size199 MB31 MB
Age rating17+4+
DeveloperSquarespace, Inc.Reckon System, Inc

Customer experience

Acuity

All ratings30,252 ratings
Positive96.0%
Neutral1.7%
Negative2.3%
Written reviews530 reviews
Positive44.5%
Neutral15.3%
Negative40.2%

SAMS Student

All ratings1 ratings
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

Bugs and requests

Acuity

Reported bugs

4 issues
  • Appointment information disappearing from calendar
  • Inability to see client payment status
  • Timezone errors and incorrect scheduling
  • Unresponsive app and slow performance

Requested features

6 requests
  • Waitlist functionality
  • Automated client reminders and confirmations
  • Ability to book multiple appointments at once
  • Improved calendar view and navigation
  • More robust reporting and analytics
Show 1 more
  • Integrated payment processing and point-of-sale

SAMS Student

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

In-app purchases

6 purchases

Acuity

Subscriptions6
  • iOS Starter Monthly$29.001 Month
  • iOS Standard Monthly$50.001 Month
  • iOS Premium Monthly$89.001 Month
Show 3 more
  • iOS Starter Annual$289.001 Year
  • iOS Standard Annual$489.001 Year
  • iOS Premium Annual$869.001 Year
None

SAMS Student

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Acuity free?
Acuity is free to download, with in-app purchases available.
Is SAMS Student free?
SAMS Student is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Acuity or SAMS Student?
SAMS Student is rated higher. Acuity averages 4.8 out of 5 from 30K ratings, while SAMS Student averages 5.0 from 1 ratings.
Do Acuity or SAMS Student have ads?
Neither Acuity nor SAMS Student shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Acuity or SAMS Student?
Acuity ships an update weekly, and SAMS Student every 8 days. Most recently, Acuity was updated on October 31, 2026 and SAMS Student on October 18, 2026.

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