Competitor Comparison
Best Alternative to Square Appointments for Tattoo Shops
Compare Square Appointments with Tattoo Studio Pro for tattoo shops: prices, deposits, contracts, and the plan limits on Square's US page.
Best Alternative to Square Appointments for Tattoo Shops
Square Appointments is a general scheduling tool on top of Square payments. The free plan is $0 per location. If you already take cards with Square, the booking product sits in the same account.
Tattoo studios also need consent records, a way to find a signed form later, and a record of who did the work. This page compares those needs with what Square’s US pricing page actually lists, checked November 8, 2026, and with what Tattoo Studio Pro’s help documents. It does not treat a missing line on that page as proof the feature cannot exist somewhere else in Square.
Quick comparison
| Feature | Tattoo Studio Pro | Square Appointments (US page, Nov 8, 2026) |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $29/month, Solo, 1 team member | $0 per location on Free |
| Free trial | 30 days. A payment method is required. You are not charged until it ends. | Free plan stays free. Plus and Premium each offer a 30-day trial. |
| Forms | Digital consent forms on every plan, saved to the client and the Forms Archive | Contracts, templates, and e-signature on every plan, including Free. Custom contract fields start on Plus. |
| Online booking | Included | Online booking website on every plan |
| Deposits | One flat amount on new appointments, through Stripe. Auto-confirm only if “Require deposit to confirm” is on. | Appointment deposits and prepayments on every plan |
| Portfolio or website | Portfolio and the subscription website are included. Current prices are on the pricing page. | Website builder with SEO tools, and an online booking website, on every plan including Free. The page does not describe a tattoo portfolio. |
| Staff calendars | Priced by active team members. Managers and health officials do not count. | ”Unlimited calendars” on every plan, including Free. The tooltip says there is no employee limit. |
| Built for tattoo studios | Yes | The page is a general appointments product |
What Square’s pricing page lists, and what it does not
Contracts are on every plan. The row is “Contracts, contract templates, and e-signature,” and it is on Free, Plus, and Premium. “Prepayments and automatic contracts” is also on every plan. Custom contract fields, and requiring a signature before an invoice can be paid, start on Plus. The page does not describe tattoo health-history questions, a parent or guardian block, or a health-official login. Those are the gaps to check if you are replacing paper consent. They are not the same claim as “Square has no contracts.”
Deposits are on every plan. “Appointment deposits” and “Prepayments and automatic contracts” are both flagged on Free. An older version of this article treated deposits as a paid-plan feature. That is out of date.
Reminders and confirmations are different rows. Appointment reminders (text and email) are on every plan. Appointment confirmations (text and email) are not on Free. They start on Plus.
A website is on Free. “Website builder with SEO tools” and “Online booking website and booking integrations” are on Free. This page does not say Square has no website. It does say the pricing page does not describe a tattoo portfolio of artist work.
Calendars are not capped on Free. The “Unlimited calendars” row is on Free, Plus, and Premium. The tooltip says you can add as many staff calendars as the business needs, with no employee limit. Multi-staff booking (one appointment, several services, different staff) is not on Free. It starts on Plus. Multi-location management is not on Free. Plus and Premium charge the monthly fee per location.
Some shop tools start on Plus. Waitlist, commission tracking (the row is “Tip pooling and commissions tracking”), and appointment confirmations are not on Free. Text message marketing is marked “Not available in Square Free.” Plus includes 500 marketing texts a month per account, then 3¢. Premium includes 2,500, then 1.5¢.
Card-present rates on that page. Tap, dip, or swipe (in person, card present): 2.6% + 15¢ on Free, 2.5% + 15¢ on Plus, 2.4% + 15¢ on Premium. Online or invoice card payments: 3.3% + 30¢ on Free, 2.9% + 30¢ on Plus and Premium.
What Tattoo Studio Pro’s help documents
Consent forms. Pre-built tattoo and piercing templates, a digital signature, and a PDF on the client profile and in the Forms Archive. You can search the archive by client name or file name and filter by date and artist. If the client is under 18, parent or guardian fields appear on the in-studio form. The public online check-in link cannot capture parent or guardian consent, so minors still check in at the studio. Your state or county still decides what the form must say. The state compliance guide is the place to check. Minor consent is a separate page.
Health Official role. Help describes it as Forms Archive only: view and download. It does not count toward the team limit. Help does not say the role hides information that is already on the form. It does not describe a wider studio login.
Deposits. One flat dollar amount applies to every new appointment. The link can go out in the booking confirmation text when the template includes it. If “Require deposit to confirm” is on, the appointment stays in Awaiting Deposit until the payment clears, then it auto-confirms. If that toggle is off, the appointment confirms when you create it and the deposit is optional. The deposit comes off the total at checkout.
Appointment texts. A confirmation text when the appointment is booked, and up to 5 reminder texts. Help does not state a per-text price, and it does not call the texts unlimited.
Commission. A flat percentage, a cash rate and a card rate, or a sliding scale. My earnings shows a person their own commission. Other people’s earnings stay with owners and managers, and a shared PIN limits that. This is reporting. It does not pay people.
Portfolio and website. The subscription includes the website. Portfolios live in the same product as booking. See artist portfolios.
Plans. Solo is $29/month or $239/year for 1 team member, and every feature is on every plan. Yearly billing costs less than paying monthly. Other team sizes are on the pricing page. Managers and health officials do not count toward the staff limit. The trial is 30 days, asks for a payment method, and you are not charged until it ends.
Queue. Help documents a queue that can hold walk-ins and appointments. Square’s pricing page does not describe a walk-in queue. This page does not turn that into “Square cannot do walk-ins.”
Side by side
Price. Square Free is $0 per location. Plus is $49 per location per month. Premium is $149 per location per month. Plus and Premium include a 30-day trial. Tattoo Studio Pro Solo is $29/month with every feature. Larger Tattoo Studio Pro prices are on the pricing page.
Forms. Square lists generic contracts and e-signature on every plan. Tattoo Studio Pro’s forms are the tattoo and piercing templates in help, with the archive and the under-18 parent or guardian fields described above.
Payments. Square’s in-person rates are the tap, dip, or swipe line above. Tattoo Studio Pro charges the card through the studio’s own Stripe account. Stripe’s US pricing page, checked the same day, lists 2.7% + 5¢ for in-person card-present payments. If you keep a Square terminal, help says to record that sale as Other Processor. You can rename that method to “Square” under Settings, Payments. The sale is recorded, it counts toward commission, and the card is still processed by Square.
Calendars. Square’s pricing data says unlimited staff calendars on Free. Tattoo Studio Pro prices active team members and does not count managers or health officials.
What switching looks like
Square is the payment account and the booking tool. Moving scheduling does not close the Square account. Receipts and the Square profile stay there. This page does not claim anything about how Square scores reviews.
If you keep the Square terminal, record those sales in Tattoo Studio Pro as Other Processor and rename the method if you want the reports to say Square. If you want the card charged inside Tattoo Studio Pro checkout, connect Stripe. Help lists Stripe Reader S710, S700, and BBPOS WisePOS E on the web app, and the Bluetooth M2 on the mobile app.
Client import can bring the client list and appointment history when the old system exports them. Forms already stored in Square stay in Square. New forms start in Tattoo Studio Pro. Stored PDFs of old signed forms are not part of that import.
The switch page has a Square section. A longer Square comparison is Tattoo Studio Pro vs Square Appointments. Booking workflow is on the tattoo booking software page. Checkout is on the tattoo shop POS page.
FAQ
Is Square Appointments free, and what is not on that plan?
Free is $0 per location. The US page, checked November 8, 2026, includes appointment deposits, prepayments, automatic contracts, e-signature, reminders by text and email, an online booking website, a website builder, and unlimited staff calendars. It does not include appointment confirmations, a waitlist, multi-staff booking, multi-location management, or commission tracking. Those start on Plus at $49 per location per month. Premium is $149 per location per month. Plus and Premium each include a 30-day trial.
Do I have to replace Square hardware?
No. Help documents Other Processor for a card run on your own terminal, including Square. Rename it under Settings, Payments, if you want checkout and reports to say Square. The sale still counts toward commission. To charge the card inside Tattoo Studio Pro, connect Stripe and use a reader help lists: S710, S700, or WisePOS E on the web, or the M2 on the mobile app.
How do deposits work on each side?
Square lists appointment deposits and prepayments on every plan, including Free. Tattoo Studio Pro uses one flat deposit amount on new appointments. The link can go in the booking confirmation text. The appointment auto-confirms after payment only when “Require deposit to confirm” is on. With that toggle off, the appointment confirms when you create it.
What can a Health Official see?
On Tattoo Studio Pro, the Health Official role is Forms Archive only: view and download. It does not count toward the team limit. Help does not describe it as a full studio login. Square’s pricing page does not describe a health-official role.
Are appointment texts included on Square Free?
Reminders by text and email are on Free. Confirmations by text and email are not. Text message marketing is marked unavailable on Free. Plus includes 500 marketing texts a month per account, then 3¢ per text. Premium includes 2,500, then 1.5¢.
What does Tattoo Studio Pro charge?
Solo is $29/month or $239/year for 1 team member, with every feature. Yearly billing costs less than paying monthly. Other team sizes are on the pricing page. The trial is 30 days. It asks for a payment method, and you are not charged until it ends.
What happens to my Square account if I move scheduling?
The Square account stays a Square account. This product does not move Square receipts or the Square profile. Some studios keep taking cards on Square and record those sales as Other Processor while booking and forms run in Tattoo Studio Pro.