BookWild vs Square Appointments
Square Appointments is appointment booking built into Square's tills and card readers, made for salons, barbers, fitness and wellness businesses. It's cheap, and the hardware is excellent. BookWild is built for group sessions outdoors: a waiver for every participant, guides and their qualifications, safety reporting and experience vouchers.
Pricing side by side
Taken from each company's own website in September 2026.
- Platform fee
-
BookWild: £1 per participant.
Square Appointments: None per booking.
- Who pays it
-
BookWild: You. It's never added to your customer's bill.
Square Appointments: You, through your plan.
- Monthly fee
-
BookWild: None.
Square Appointments: Free for one location. Plus is £29 and Premium £69 a month per location; group classes need one of them.
- Card processing
-
BookWild: Stripe's standard rates, through a Stripe account in your business's name: 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards, 2.8% + 20p for premium UK cards.
Square Appointments: Through Square: 1.4% + 25p online for UK cards; 1.75% in person on Free, 1.6% on paid plans.
- Contract
-
BookWild: None. Cancel any time.
Square Appointments: No long-term contracts.
| Pricing | BookWild | Square Appointments |
|---|---|---|
| Platform fee | £1 per participant. | None per booking. |
| Who pays it | You. It's never added to your customer's bill. | You, through your plan. |
| Monthly fee | None. | Free for one location. Plus is £29 and Premium £69 a month per location; group classes need one of them. |
| Card processing | Stripe's standard rates, through a Stripe account in your business's name: 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards, 2.8% + 20p for premium UK cards. | Through Square: 1.4% + 25p online for UK cards; 1.75% in person on Free, 1.6% on paid plans. |
| Contract | None. Cancel any time. | No long-term contracts. |
Platform fees for a month
| Participants a month | 50 | 100 | 200 |
|---|---|---|---|
| BookWild | £50 | £100 | £200 |
| Square Plus | £29 | £29 | £29 |
Square Appointments needs its Plus plan (£29 a month per location) or Premium (£69) for group classes. There's no per-booking fee, so above 29 participants a month it costs less than BookWild on platform fees alone.
Platform fees at face value; card processing is listed separately above. Prices correct as of September 2026. Spotted something out of date? Tell us and we'll fix it.
Feature by feature
"Not listed" means we couldn't find it on the Square Appointments website or help pages in September 2026. It may still exist, so tell us if we've missed it.
Bookings and payments
- Online bookings
-
BookWild:
Yes
Scheduled sessions, private bookings and equipment hire
Square Appointments:
Yes
Group classes on Plus and Premium
- Digital waivers
-
BookWild:
Yes
Versioned, with guardian signing for under-18s
Square Appointments:
Partly
Forms sent after booking; not for classes
- Gift cards and discount codes
-
BookWild:
Yes
Square Appointments:
Yes
Coupon codes need Square Marketing
- Buy a Gift and Red Letter Days vouchers
-
BookWild:
Yes
Checked automatically
Square Appointments:
Not listed
- Equipment hire
-
BookWild:
Yes
Stock per base, with card-hold deposits
Square Appointments:
Partly
Rooms and resources on Premium
- Card readers for walk-ins
-
BookWild:
Yes
Stripe Terminal
Square Appointments:
Yes
Readers from £19 + VAT, and Tap to Pay on iPhone
Team and safety
- Staff scheduling
-
BookWild:
Yes
Guides accept or decline
Square Appointments:
Yes
Staff calendars; shift scheduling on Premium
- Qualification tracking
-
BookWild:
Yes
Expiry reminders; expired guides can't be assigned
Square Appointments:
Not listed
- One login for guides who work for several operators
-
BookWild:
Yes
Square Appointments:
Not listed
- Incident and near-miss reports
-
BookWild:
Yes
With a RIDDOR flag
Square Appointments:
Not listed
Reach and admin
- OTA listings
-
BookWild:
No
Not yet
Square Appointments:
Partly
Reserve with Google, but not for classes
- Accounting sync
-
BookWild:
No
Square Appointments:
Yes
Xero, through the Square App Marketplace
- Text messages
-
BookWild:
No
Square Appointments:
Yes
Text reminders
- Native mobile app
-
BookWild:
No
Square Appointments:
Yes
Square Point of Sale app
| Feature | BookWild | Square Appointments |
|---|---|---|
| Bookings and payments | ||
| Online bookings | Yes Scheduled sessions, private bookings and equipment hire |
Yes Group classes on Plus and Premium |
| Digital waivers | Yes Versioned, with guardian signing for under-18s |
Partly Forms sent after booking; not for classes |
| Gift cards and discount codes | Yes |
Yes Coupon codes need Square Marketing |
| Buy a Gift and Red Letter Days vouchers | Yes Checked automatically |
Not listed |
| Equipment hire | Yes Stock per base, with card-hold deposits |
Partly Rooms and resources on Premium |
| Card readers for walk-ins | Yes Stripe Terminal |
Yes Readers from £19 + VAT, and Tap to Pay on iPhone |
| Team and safety | ||
| Staff scheduling | Yes Guides accept or decline |
Yes Staff calendars; shift scheduling on Premium |
| Qualification tracking | Yes Expiry reminders; expired guides can't be assigned |
Not listed |
| One login for guides who work for several operators | Yes |
Not listed |
| Incident and near-miss reports | Yes With a RIDDOR flag |
Not listed |
| Reach and admin | ||
| OTA listings | No Not yet |
Partly Reserve with Google, but not for classes |
| Accounting sync | No |
Yes Xero, through the Square App Marketplace |
| Text messages | No |
Yes Text reminders |
| Native mobile app | No |
Yes Square Point of Sale app |
Where Square Appointments is the better choice
If most of what you sell is one-to-one appointments, or you sell kit over a counter as well, Square handles both at one till. Its hardware is hard to beat: card readers from £19 + VAT, Tap to Pay on iPhone, and payments that carry on when the internet drops.
On platform fees alone it’s cheaper than BookWild once you have more than 29 participants a month.
Switching from Square Appointments
- Payments. Square Appointments takes payments through Square, and we couldn’t find a way to use another processor. With BookWild, customers pay into a Stripe account in your business’s name.
- Keep Square at the counter. You can carry on using Square for retail and use BookWild for activity bookings.
- Bookings you’ve already taken. Paid bookings stay in Square. Keep it running until they’ve happened, or add them to BookWild by hand.
- Timing. Square has no long-term contracts, so you can move when it suits your season.
Get in touch and we’ll help you set up your activities.
Sources
Checked in September 2026. Each company can change its pricing and features at any time.
Ready to see it for yourself?
£1 per participant. No monthly fees. Every feature included.
Sign-ups open soon. Tell us what you run and we'll get you in first.