Home / Shortlists / The best scheduling software for salons in 2026
The best scheduling software for salons in 2026
A salon sells time - every empty chair is money the day does not get back - so the first question is what the booking software costs before the first appointment is taken. The four platforms below start at $0/mo, and the real differences are whether the tool bills per seat or per location, and whether it takes payment at booking. Every number is read from the vendors' own pricing pages.
Prices last re-checked 2026-10-12. Numbers are read from each vendor's own pricing page; any exception is flagged under "What to watch".
Which one should you pick?
- Pick Acuity Scheduling if you need the best scheduling software for salons that take payment at booking. Visit Acuity Scheduling
- Pick Square Appointments if you need the best scheduling software for salons that want booking and point of sale on one bill. Visit Square Appointments
- Pick Cal.com if you need the best scheduling software for salons that want unlimited booking types free. Visit Cal.com
Some buttons are affiliate links — how this works.
The short answer
Short answer: Best scheduling software for salons that take payment at booking: Acuity Scheduling Acuity Scheduling is the per-account pick - Acuity Starter is $20/mo, or $16/mo billed annually, for the whole account: 1 calendar, unlimited appointments, 100 SMS credits a month and payment processing.
| Tool | Entry price | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $20/mo, or $16/mo billed annually | 1 calendar, unlimited appointments, 100 SMS credits/mo, payment processing |
| Standard | $34/mo, or $27/mo billed annually | 6 calendars, 500 SMS credits/mo, coupons, gift certificates, add-ons |
| Premium | $61/mo, or $49/mo billed annually | 36 calendars, 1,500 SMS credits/mo, custom packages, advanced reporting |
Prices checked 2026-10-12.
Best scheduling software for salons that take payment at booking: Acuity Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling is the per-account pick - Acuity Starter is $20/mo, or $16/mo billed annually, for the whole account: 1 calendar, unlimited appointments, 100 SMS credits a month and payment processing. Acuity Standard is $34/mo, or $27/mo billed annually, with 6 calendars, coupons, gift certificates and add-ons. The trade-off: there is no free plan - but Acuity bills per account, so a five-person salon pays the same as a solo stylist.
See Acuity Scheduling pricingBest scheduling software for salons that want booking and point of sale on one bill: Square Appointments
Square Appointments is the one-vendor pick - Square Appointments Free is $0/mo per location with no monthly subscription cost; you only pay processing fees when you take a payment. Square Plus is $49/mo per location and Square Premium is $149/mo per location, and each includes a free 30-day trial. Plus includes 500 marketing texts a month per account, then 3 cents per text; Premium includes 2,500, then 1.5 cents. The trade-off: card processing is billed on top of every plan and varies by plan - the monthly fee is not the whole cost - and Square Free includes no text-message marketing.
See Square Appointments pricingBest scheduling software for salons that want unlimited booking types free: Cal.com
Cal.com is the free-ceiling pick - Cal.com Free is $0/mo for one user with unlimited event types, unlimited bookings and calendar connections, which is more booking types than any other free plan here. The paid step is Cal.com Teams at $12 per user/month on the yearly price, with round-robin, collective events and routing forms. The trade-off: the free plan is one user, the paid plans show only the yearly rate - Cal.com does not print a month-to-month price - and native integrations are thinner than Calendly's.
See Cal.com pricingThe prices, plan by plan
Acuity Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling is $20 a month on Starter, $34 on Standard and $61 on Premium, or $16, $27 and $49 a month billed annually, per account.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Starter | $20/mo, or $16/mo billed annually | 1 calendar, unlimited appointments, 100 SMS credits/mo, payment processing |
| Standard | $34/mo, or $27/mo billed annually | 6 calendars, 500 SMS credits/mo, coupons, gift certificates, add-ons |
| Premium | $61/mo, or $49/mo billed annually | 36 calendars, 1,500 SMS credits/mo, custom packages, advanced reporting |
Prices checked 2026-10-12.
What to watch: Acuity prices per account rather than per seat, so a team of five pays the same as a team of one - the opposite of Calendly and Cal.com. That makes it cheaper for teams and more expensive for a solo operator.
Source: https://acuityscheduling.com/pricing, read 2026-10-12.
See Acuity Scheduling pricingSquare Appointments
Square Appointments is $0/mo per location on Square Free, then $49/mo per location on Square Plus and $149/mo per location on Square Premium. Card processing is billed separately on every plan, and Square Plus and Square Premium each include a free 30-day trial.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Square Free | $0/mo | $0/mo per location. No monthly subscription cost - you only pay processing fees when you take a payment. No text-message marketing. 2.5% gift card load fee. |
| Square Plus | $49/mo | $49/mo per location. Free 30-day trial. 500 marketing texts/mo per account, then 3 cents per text. 2.5% gift card load fee. |
| Square Premium | $149/mo | $149/mo per location. Free 30-day trial. Lowest processing fees. 2,500 marketing texts/mo per account, then 1.5 cents per text. 0% gift card load fee. |
Prices checked 2026-10-12.
What to watch: Square prices per location and charges card processing on top of every plan - the monthly fee is not the whole cost. The marketing-text allowances are per account, not per location, and Square Free includes no text-message marketing.
Source: https://squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing, read 2026-10-19.
See Square Appointments pricingCalendly
Calendly Standard is $10/seat yearly ($12 monthly) and Teams is $16 ($20); Notetaker and Callie make those $18 and $24 yearly ($24 and $32). Enterprise starts at $15,000 a year, from 50 seats. The Teams card's Popular plan badge is Calendly's, not a customer count.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo (no annual discount published) | 1 user, 1 event type, 1 calendar connection, unlimited bookings |
| Standard | $12/mo, or $10/mo billed annually | Per seat. Unlimited event types and multiple calendars. The yearly card says save 17%. |
| Standard Plus | $24/mo, or $18/mo billed annually | Per seat. The Add Notetaker and Callie price. The base Standard card says Notetaker is not included. The yearly price says save 25%. |
| Teams | $20/mo, or $16/mo billed annually | Per seat. Round-robin, routing, and Salesforce. The card carries Calendly's own Popular plan badge. This page does not treat that badge as a count of customers. The yearly card says save 20%. |
| Teams Plus | $32/mo, or $24/mo billed annually | Per seat. The Add Notetaker and Callie price on Teams. The page says Teams Plus adds Notetaker. The yearly price says save 25%. |
| Enterprise | custom quote | Starts at $15,000 a year and starts at 50 seats. SSO, SCIM, audit logs, and dedicated support. Not a per-seat rate. |
Prices checked 2026-10-12.
What to watch: Calendly prints the yearly per-seat rate by default. The month-to-month rates and the Notetaker prices are in the same page's plan data, which is what the billing toggle and the Add Notetaker and Callie control use. The free plan is one event type and one calendar connection. The Teams card carries Calendly's own Popular plan badge. This page does not treat that badge as a count of customers.
Source: https://calendly.com/pricing, read 2026-10-12.
See Calendly pricingCal.com
Cal.com is free for one user. Teams is $12 per user/month and Organizations is $28 per user/month, both labeled YEARLY with a Save 25% badge. The page does not print a month-to-month price. Both paid plans say 14-day free trial. Enterprise is custom and the page says annual pricing.
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Free | $0/mo (no annual discount published) | 1 user, unlimited event types, unlimited bookings, calendar connections |
| Teams | $12/mo billed annually | Per user. Labeled YEARLY at $12 per user/month with a Save 25% badge. The month-to-month price is not printed. Round-robin, collective events, routing forms, and a 14-day free trial. |
| Organizations | $28/mo billed annually | Per user. Labeled YEARLY at $28 per user/month with a Save 25% badge. The month-to-month price is not printed. Sub-teams, SAML SSO, managed event types, and a 14-day free trial. |
What to watch: Cal.com's free tier is one user but unlimited event types, which is more generous than Calendly's free tier. On 2026-10-11 the paid cards were labeled YEARLY and carried a Save 25% badge, and the page did not print a month-to-month price, so that column says not printed. Self-hosting has no licence fee, but the server bill is yours and is not in the table.
Source: https://cal.com/pricing, read 2026-10-19.
See Cal.com pricingQuestions people ask
What is the cheapest option here?
Square Appointments Free is $0/mo per location - one of three free starts here. Calendly Free is $0/mo for one user and one event type, and Cal.com Free is $0/mo for one user with unlimited event types. The cheapest first paid month is Calendly Standard at $12/mo per seat; Acuity Starter is $20/mo per account and Square Plus is $49/mo per location.
Do any of these have a free plan?
Three do - Square Appointments Free at $0/mo per location with no monthly subscription cost, Calendly Free at $0/mo for one user and one event type, and Cal.com Free at $0/mo for one user with unlimited event types. Acuity Scheduling is paid only: Acuity Starter is $20/mo, or $16/mo billed annually.
What will the first paid month cost?
Calendly Standard is $12/mo per seat, or $10/mo billed annually - the cheapest first paid step here. Acuity Starter is $20/mo per account, or $16/mo billed annually. Square Plus is $49/mo per location, and Cal.com Teams is $12 per user/month on the yearly price - Cal.com does not print a month-to-month rate.
Which one bills by the seat?
Calendly and Cal.com bill per seat - Calendly Standard is $12/mo per seat, or $10/mo billed annually, and Cal.com Teams is $12 per user/month billed yearly. Acuity Scheduling is flatter pricing: Acuity Starter is $20/mo for the whole account, so a five-person salon pays the same as one person. Square Appointments is priced per location at $0/mo, $49/mo and $149/mo.
Which one takes payment at booking?
Square Appointments and Acuity Scheduling both take payment at booking - Square Appointments Free is $0/mo per location and only charges processing fees when you take a payment, and Acuity Starter is $20/mo with payment processing included. Calendly Free is $0/mo too, but Calendly is meeting scheduling first and takes payments only on paid plans.
When does a salon outgrow the free plan?
When the salon needs more than one user or one booking type - Square Appointments Free is $0/mo per location and the paid step is Square Plus at $49/mo per location, Calendly Free is $0/mo and Calendly Standard is $12/mo per seat, and Cal.com Free is $0/mo with Cal.com Teams at $12 per user/month billed yearly. Acuity Starter is $20/mo if you want per-account pricing instead of per-seat.
Some links on this page are affiliate links. If you buy through one we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. We do not accept payment for placement, and the price tables are generated from the same dataset we re-check weekly. Full disclosure. How we check prices.