Running a successful small business in 2025 requires more than skills and creativity. It demands a strategic plan and a cutting-edge tool to help you take full advantage of your time.

In this blog post, we'll take a close look at Goldie and Square, two of the most powerful scheduling software out there. We’ll compare their features, ease of use, and overall value. The goal is to help you find the best booking system for your needs.

Whether you run a salon or offer beauty services on the go, this article will help you choose the right tool to effortlessly grow and manage your business. Let's dive in and find out which one is the best fit for you!

Summary

When searching for the perfect business management tool, it’s essential to consider how various options stack up against popular solutions. Square has been a go-to for a long time thanks to its reliable payment processing and complex functionalities. However, alternatives like Goldie are emerging, bringing more customized features to the beauty industry professionals.

Overview of Square 

Square is a business software known for its point-of-sale (POS) systems tailored for various industries, including retail, restaurants, and beauty. It offers secure payment processing options, versatile inventory management, and complex customer engagement tools.

Designed to help businesses with complex functionalities, Square looks like a great solution for medium to large businesses. However, that doesn’t mean it could fit everybody well. For example, for independent professionals or small teams who need an easy-to-use tool to manage and grow their business, Square might be too complex. In such cases, a more customizable and practical solution like Goldie could be a better Square alternative, offering key features without the complexity of a large system.

Square’s core features

• Hardware options (card readers, terminals, and stands)
• Square Online: Tools to set up and manage an online store integrated with POS systems.
• Inventory Management: Advanced tracking and reporting capabilities to manage stock and sales.
• Customer Engagement (loyalty programs, marketing tools, and customer relationship management).
• Team Management: Scheduling, payroll, and performance tracking.
• Financial Services: Access to Square Checking, loans, and financial insights to manage cash flow.

Square's pricing structure

In the free plan, Square Appointments offers the possibility to process payments (processing fees may apply), manage unlimited calendars, and send text and email reminders. It also includes schedule customization and online booking. 

For $29/month, the Plus plan adds options like class bookings, waitlists, processing time management, Google Calendar sync, text confirmations, custom text notifications, detailed reports and forecasts, multi-location management, and a cancellation policy. 

For $69/month, the Premium plan includes all these features, plus staff and resource management and the ability to track service costs. 

Read more on Square’s pricing structure here.

Advantages of using Square

• Multi-location management
• Mobile, tablet, and desktop availability
• Transparent pricing
• Personalized pricing options
• Complex functionalities
• Multilanguage app ( English, Catalan, French, Japanese, Spanish)

Potential drawbacks

• Higher than average processing fees and extra costs for add-on modules
• Higher subscription price compared to other scheduling software
• Might be too complex for beauty and wellness professionals who need an easy-to-use tool
• Limited availability in certain countries (Payments are supported by Square in the US, Canada, Japan, Australia, the UK, Ireland, France and Spain.)

Introduction to Goldie scheduling software

Goldie provides all the tools required to launch, run, and grow a business, everything in a friendly and easy-to-use interface. 

Recognized as one of the top booking apps for salons, Goldie caters specifically to the needs of beauty and wellness professionals. Whether you’re a hairstylist, nail technician, spa owner, or any other small business owner, Goldie helps you stay organized, efficient, and competitive. 

Goldie’s customizable options are created with busy professionals in mind who need industry-specific features like the possibility for clients to upload a photo and a description of the service they want, photo galleries to access client’s past looks, variable pricing options for services, multiple payment methods, marketing messages, and many more. 

Goldie’s core features

• Automated messaging system (Goldie allows you to send automated marketing messages, appointment confirmations and reminders, follow-ups and rebooking reminders)
• Personalized online booking website (add your business logo, colors, policy and other essential information, service photos and descriptions)
• Custom options ( let clients upload a photo or a description of the service they want, client location, variable service price, etc.)
• Client management ( detailed client profiles, which store essential information like notes and address, appointment history, photo gallery, individual reports, block clients, etc.)
• Payment processing options (Goldie’s integration with Stripe provides a smooth and reliable checkout experience, leveraging Stripe's advanced security features)
• Advanced reports: you can check your appointments, clients and payments reports, including forecasts

Goldie’s pricing structure

Goldie offers a flexible pricing structure to cater to different business needs. The Starter plan is free and includes essential features like appointment scheduling, online booking, reminders, and basic client management. 

For more advanced features, the Pro plan is available at $19.99 per month. It provides unlimited appointments, automated reminders, confirmations, and follow-ups, marketing messages, advanced reports, payment processing, and many more custom options for beauty professionals.

The Pro Plus plan, priced at $39.99 per month, includes additional benefits such as unlimited users per calendar, team management options, team logins and permissions, staff-level reports, and online forms.

These plans are designed to support businesses at various stages of growth, ensuring efficient operations and client satisfaction.

For more details, visit Goldie's pricing page.

Advantages of using Goldie

• Available worldwide
• Mobile, tablet and desktop availability
• Syncs in real-time across multiple devices
• More accessible pricing
• Friendly interface
• Easier to use than other similar booking apps
• Safe and accessible payment processing via Stripe’s system (available in multiple countries)
• Multilanguage app (English, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian, Romanian)

Potential drawbacks

• Does not offer customizable email reminders and email marketing
• Less integrations that medium to big businesses might need
• Does not offer unlimited appointments in the free option
• Does not support multi-location management

Why Choose Goldie Over Square Appointments

Even though both Goldie app and Square Appointments offer similar features, the interface, functionality, and customization options are different. Below is a clear overview of how Goldie and Square differ and why we consider Goldie the best Square alternative.

User interface and ease of use

Goldie's interface is more user-friendly and intuitive, designed with independent professionals in mind. Square's complexity might be overwhelming for small business owners or solo practitioners.

Features

While both platforms offer robust features, Goldie’s tools are specifically tailored for the beauty and wellness industry, providing a more customized experience.

Payment Processing

Goldie partners with Stripe for secure and efficient payment processing. Square offers its own payment processing but comes with higher transaction fees.

Integrations

Square Integrations: 

Square Appointments integrates with various tools, divided into free and paid options. For free, you can use Wix for online store management, QuickBooks for automatic sales transaction import, Mailchimp for direct customer sales, or JotForm for custom online forms.

If you're looking for more advanced features, paid integrations are available. WordPress allows you to showcase and sell products online, CommerceSync improves your bookkeeping by automating transfers, and ActiveCampaign helps you improve customer experience by bringing together email marketing, marketing automation, and CRM tools.

Goldie Integrations:

Goldie integrates with Stripe for payment processing and with Facebook, Instagram, and Google Reserve to improve operations and help you attract more clients. Although it has fewer integrations than Square, Goldie focuses on delivering essential tools that directly benefit beauty and wellness professionals.

Pricing

Square:

• Free Plan
• Plus Plan: $29/month
• Premium Plan: $69/month
• Custom pricing option available

Goldie:

• Starter Plan: Free
• Pro Plan: $19.99/month
• Pro Plus Plan: $39.99/month

Transaction Fees

Square:

• Standard processing fee: 2.6% + 10¢ for most transactions.
• Higher fees for manual and invoice payments.
• Various fees for other services.

Here’s a fee calculator to make an idea on how much you would have to pay monthly with transaction fees included. 

Goldie:

• U.S. and Canada: 2.6% + $0.30 per card transaction via Stripe.
• U.K.: 1.6% + £0.20 per card transaction.

Read here what Goldie’s transaction fees are in your country.

Goldie client testimonial

How to get started with Goldie

Getting started with Goldie is a free and straightforward process. Here’s a simple guide on how to set up your Goldie account.

Conclusion

The Goldie app is a standout choice as the best Square alternative in 2025. Its user-friendly interface, customizable options, and powerful features make it perfect for independent beauty and wellness professionals or small business owners.

While Square has many complex functions and integrations, Goldie stands out by being more intuitive and easy to use.

Do you know a small business owner who’s looking for a booking app? Feel free to share this post and help them choose the right tool for their needs.

We’d love to hear what you consider to be the must-have features for salon professionals in the comments section below.