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Vagaro or Square Appointments: configuration against a free till

Vagaro is the most configurable platform in this category and charges 20% for the marketplace that comes with it. Square has no marketplace commission and a genuinely free plan for one location. They are not really solving the same problem.

4 min readUpdated 23 August 2026

Written by Youzse, so read it as one contender's view rather than a neutral one. Every figure below is read from Vagaro's and Square's own UK pricing and support pages on the dates shown in the footnote, and where either does not publish a number we say so rather than estimating.

Vagaro vs Square Appointments vs Youzse, on published UK pricing

VagaroSquare AppointmentsYouzse
SubscriptionFrom £20 a month for one bookable calendar, rising with calendar count. £30 a month for multiple locationsFree for one location. £29 a month per location on Plus, £69 a month per location on PremiumFrom £19 a month, flat per business
New client commission20% one time0%, there is no marketplace0%
Card in person1.15% plus 20p for tap, dip and swipe1.75% on Free, 1.6% on Plus and Premium2.5% plus 35p, platform fee included
Card online or keyed1.40% plus 25p keyed in1.4% plus 25p on UK cards2.5% plus 35p, platform fee included
Scope beyond hair and beautyFitness, classes, retail and memberships nativelyGeneral retail and services, thinner on salon specific workflowSalon, barber and 60 plus trades, including quotes and invoicing

Vagaro figures read from its own UK pricing and support pages. Square figures read from squareup.com/gb on 7 August 2026, VAT treatment not stated on either provider's page. Youzse figures from youzse.app/pricing.

A configuration platform against a payments platform

Vagaro's case is depth: classes, memberships, retail and fitness sit natively alongside appointments, and almost everything about it can be configured to a specific business. That depth is what the 20% marketplace commission and the per-calendar pricing are paying for.

Square's case is that the till and the booking calendar are one product from a company that primarily sells payments. The free plan is real, but processing is Square's own with no option to bring another provider, so the software and the card rate arrive as a single decision.

A business choosing between these two is rarely choosing on price alone. It is choosing whether it needs Vagaro's configuration depth badly enough to pay per calendar and 20% on new clients, or whether Square's free till and simpler feature set genuinely cover what the business does.

Where Youzse fits

Youzse matches Square on 0% commission and matches neither on configuration depth. What it adds over Square is quotes, invoicing, memberships, gift cards and marketing in the same subscription rather than mostly absent, and what it lacks against Vagaro is the fitness and class-scheduling depth that is Vagaro's actual strength.

How we worked this out

Every figure quoted for another platform was taken from that company's own UK pricing page on the date shown at the bottom of this page. Where a platform does not publish a number, we have left it out rather than estimating it.

Watch the VAT treatment when you compare. Booksy publishes its subscription and card fees plus VAT. Fresha and Vagaro publish theirs without that note. Check what each provider will actually invoice you before you decide.

These platforms change their plans. If you spot something out of date here, tell us and we will correct it.

Third-party pricing and features on this page were last checked on 7 August 2026. Rival platforms change their plans, so check their own site before you decide.

Clear answers before you switch

The details that usually slow down a move: setup, pricing, bookings, records and how Youzse fits into your day.

Square is cheaper for a single location on card rates and has no marketplace fee at all. Vagaro starts at £20 a month for one calendar but adds 20% commission on marketplace new clients, so the total cost depends heavily on how many new clients you win through it.

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