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Lilo vs. Square Appointments: Which Is Better for a Beauty Business?
Square Appointments wins on a genuine $0 starter tier, brand trust, and proven in-person hardware. Lilo wins on features: marketing, loyalty, memberships, intake forms, and a built-in AI assistant are all included on the $20 Booth plan, where Square charges extra for most. For a beauty business weighing features against price, Lilo is the stronger pound-for-pound pick.
Key takeaways
- 01Square has a real $0/month tier and well-known card readers; that's its honest edge for a brand-new solo operator.
- 02Lilo Booth is $20/month flat with marketing, loyalty, memberships, intake forms, and AI all included.
- 03Square charges extra for those: Email Marketing from ~$15/mo, SMS from $10/mo, Loyalty from ~$45/mo, and a free booking site only on a square.site subdomain.
- 04Square's lower in-person processing rate (2.5%) requires the $49 Plus plan; the free tier runs ~2.6% + 15¢ in person and 3.3% + 30¢ online.
- 05Lilo runs on Stripe (a very well-established network) with Stripe Terminal smart readers and Apple/Android Tap to Pay, so it is not behind on payment hardware.
Lilo vs. Square Appointments: which fits a beauty business?
Square Appointments is the better way to start at zero cost; Lilo is the better way to actually run and grow a beauty business. Square's honest strengths are a genuine $0 tier, brand trust, and proven in-person hardware. Lilo's strength is the full feature set with almost nothing gated, built specifically for beauty.
Both are real products with real merits, so the deciding question is what you weigh more: a free starting price, or a suite that includes the tools you'll reach for in month two. A booth renter or salon owner usually cares most about features and price, and that is where these two part ways.
The short version: Square meters the growth tools as add-ons, and Lilo bundles them in. If you want the broader field, see the best software for booth renters. The rest of this guide weighs both fairly so you can decide on your own numbers.
What does Square Appointments do well?
Even though you'll pay extra for premium tools like marketing and loyalty (more on that next), there are real areas where Square shines. The biggest is the free tier: $0/month for one location with a working calendar, a hosted booking page, automated reminders, and card acceptance out of the box. A real no-monthly-fee plan is rare in this category, and a fair place for a one-chair business to start.
The second advantage is payments and hardware. Square runs a deep, mature ecosystem (in-person POS, online store, invoices) and a broad first-party hardware lineup. The standard reader is free, a contactless Square Reader runs about $59, and a Square Terminal is near $299, with financing on the larger devices. If you already swipe cards at your chair on a Square reader, staying in one ecosystem is a legitimate reason to choose it.
The third is familiarity. Square is widely recognized and easy for clients to tap through, so there's little to explain at checkout. That recognition is real, though it says more about Square's size as a payments company than about which tool fits a salon best.
Where does Square charge extra for what Lilo includes?
This is the heart of the comparison. Square's free and entry tiers leave out most of the tools that grow a beauty business, and you add them back one paid product at a time.
- Marketing. Appointment reminders are free, but promotional campaigns are not. Square Email Marketing starts around $15/month (up to ~500 contacts), and Square Text Marketing starts at $10/month plus per-text fees. On Lilo Booth, email marketing with automation workflows is included; SMS marketing is unlocked by a $10/month dedicated number.
- Loyalty. Square Loyalty is a standalone add-on at roughly $45/month for up to 500 loyalty visits, rising with volume. Lilo includes a configurable points-and-rewards program on the base plan.
- Memberships and recurring billing. On Square these are tied into paid plans and the broader subscription product rather than offered up front. Lilo includes memberships with recurring Stripe billing and failed-payment recovery on Booth.
- The booking site itself. Square's free booking page lives on a square.site subdomain with a Powered by Square footer; a custom domain and ad removal require paid add-ons. Lilo Booth gives you a full branded website (Lilo Sites), booking page plus gallery and testimonials, with Lilo branding removable, hosted on a heylilo.me subdomain.
None of these are things Square cannot do. The point is that you assemble and pay for them separately. Lilo's pitch is the opposite: one flat fee, no add-on tax.
How do the prices and fees compare?
On the sticker, Square's free tier is cheaper; on the full bill, it depends on your add-ons and processing. Lilo Booth is $20/month flat with the suite included. Square Appointments is $0 on Free, $49/month on Plus, and $149/month on Premium, charged per location.
The table lays out where the two diverge, not just on price but on what each one includes versus charges extra for.
| Feature | Square Appointments | Lilo Booth |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price | $0 Free / $49 Plus / $149 Premium per location | $20/mo flat, full suite included |
| Square's free tier is real, but the tools that grow a beauty business sit on paid plans and add-ons. Lilo bundles them at one flat price. | ||
| Payments & hardware | 2.6% + 15¢ in person (free tier); free card reader, contactless Reader ~$59, Terminal ~$299 | 2.50% + $0.30 in person; Stripe Terminal smart readers + Apple/Android Tap to Pay |
| Booking page & website | Free on a square.site subdomain (ad footer); custom domain needs a paid plan | Booth: branded Lilo Site on a heylilo.me subdomain; booking page + embed widget on both |
| Marketing tools | Add-on: Email from ~$15/mo, SMS from ~$10/mo | Email marketing included; SMS via a $10/mo dedicated number |
| Square Marketing is a paid add-on; Lilo includes email marketing on every plan, with SMS unlocked by a $10/mo dedicated number. | ||
| Loyalty & memberships | Add-on: Loyalty from ~$45/mo; memberships via paid plans | Included (loyalty, memberships, packages) |
| Beauty / industry tools | Generic appointment tooling; no beauty-specific features marketed | Color formulas, intake/consent forms, backbar inventory |
| Mobile app | Day-to-day ops on the app; advanced reporting, marketing, and most settings live on the web Dashboard | Full parity, run the entire business from the iOS/Android app |
| Built-in AI | No built-in assistant marketed for Appointments | Natural-language Lilo AI, included |
| HIPAA | Not stated in our sources | Available via signed BAA |
Processing is usually where the money actually goes for a solo pro. Square's free tier runs about 2.6% + 15¢ in person and 3.3% + 30¢ online; its lower 2.5% in-person rate requires the $49 Plus plan, and 2.4% the $149 Premium plan. Lilo runs on Stripe at a flat 2.50% + $0.30 in person and 2.90% + $0.30 online on every plan, with manual keyed entry at 3.30% + $0.30. Neither charges a per-booking commission. Square also repackaged its plans recently, so confirm current figures at squareup.com before you quote yourself a number.
Is Lilo behind Square on payment hardware?
No. Both run on serious payments infrastructure. Lilo processes through Stripe, one of the most established payment networks there is, and supports Stripe Terminal smart readers (the same hardware many large retailers use) alongside Apple and Android Tap to Pay. Square runs its own well-known first-party readers and terminals. Neither is "behind" on the fundamentals.
Where they differ is the shape of the lineup. Square sells a broad range of first-party devices (a free magstripe reader, a contactless Reader around $59, a Terminal near $299) with financing, which suits a staffed front desk that wants a dedicated register. Lilo pairs Stripe Terminal readers with phone-based Tap to Pay, which covers the common beauty case (tap a client's card or phone, send a branded receipt) without a counter setup. Choose on the form factor you want, not on which network is more proven.
Which has the beauty-specific tools and AI?
Lilo, on both counts, and this is where a generic scheduler and a beauty platform separate. A beauty pro keeps records most generic tools were never built to hold: the exact color formula, the developer volume, the patch-test date, the allergy flag, the signed consent form, the backbar product used per service.
Lilo Booth includes color and service-note tracking, allergy and medical flags, digital intake and consent forms, before-and-after photo galleries, and backbar inventory tracked per service, all on the $20 plan. Square Appointments handles the universal parts of an appointment business well, but its salon and beauty pages market generic capabilities rather than these tools.
Then there is the assistant. Lilo AI is built into every page: ask in plain English which regulars are due to rebook, where revenue is trending, or to draft a birthday text in your tone, and it returns the list, chart, or message instantly. It also suggests clients to fill empty chairs. Square Appointments does not market a built-in assistant of this kind. One smaller point for the narrower medspa or injectables case: Lilo supports HIPAA through a signed Business Associate Agreement (arranged by going through Lilo, not a self-serve toggle), and offers HIPAA-compliant storage for medical records; our sources do not state Square Appointments' HIPAA posture, so confirm it with Square if that matters to you. This is general guidance, not legal advice.
So which should you choose?
Choose Square Appointments if you want a true $0/month start, you already run Square hardware, and you are comfortable adding marketing, loyalty, and a custom domain later as separate paid products. For a renter testing the waters, free and familiar is hard to beat.
Choose Lilo Booth if you would rather pay one flat $20/month and have the growth tools, beauty-specific records, and AI assistant already in the box. If you are switching, plan the move so you keep your history intact; here is how to switch without losing data, and you can see the full feature set on the Lilo Booth page. Both are fair tools. The line between them is whether you want the cheapest way to begin, or the most complete way to run a beauty business.
Lilo publishes this guide and ranks its own product, so treat us as an interested party. Square Appointments pricing and rates are as of June 2026, vary by region and plan, and should be confirmed at squareup.com before you buy.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, Square Appointments has a genuine $0/month tier for one location and a single staff calendar, and that's a real edge for a brand-new solo operator. The catch is twofold. First, the free booking site lives on a square.site subdomain with a Powered by Square footer, and the free tier carries Square's highest processing rates (about 2.6% + 15¢ in person, 3.3% + 30¢ online). Second, the things that grow a beauty business are extra: Email Marketing starts around $15/month, SMS marketing at $10/month, and Loyalty around $45/month, while no-show fee capture, waitlists, and multi-staff booking need the $49 Plus plan. Total those add-ons before calling free the cheapest path. Re-confirm every figure at squareup.com, since Square repackaged its plans recently.
Most of the suite. On Lilo's $20 Booth plan, email marketing with automations, a loyalty points program, memberships with recurring billing, referrals, digital intake and consent forms, backbar inventory, business and client analytics, and a built-in AI assistant are all included; SMS marketing is unlocked by a $10/month dedicated number. On Square, several of those are separate paid products: Email Marketing starts around $15/month, SMS marketing at $10/month plus per-text fees, and Loyalty at roughly $45/month for up to 500 visits. The honest framing is bundled-in versus priced-separately: both platforms can do these jobs, but Lilo folds them into one flat fee while Square meters them as add-ons. Confirm current Square add-on pricing at squareup.com.
They're close, and it depends on your plan and channel. Square's free tier runs about 2.6% + 15¢ in person and 3.3% + 30¢ online; its lower 2.5% in-person rate requires the $49 Plus plan. Lilo runs on Stripe at a flat 2.50% + $0.30 in person and 2.90% + $0.30 online on every plan, with no per-booking commission. On hardware, both run on serious infrastructure: Lilo processes through Stripe and supports Stripe Terminal smart readers plus Apple and Android Tap to Pay, while Square offers its own first-party lineup (a free magstripe reader, a contactless Reader around $59, a Terminal near $299). The difference is the breadth of Square's first-party devices, not which network is more proven. Verify Square's current rates and hardware prices at squareup.com before you decide.
Lilo does, and it's the clearest separation. A beauty pro keeps records most generic schedulers were never built to hold: the exact color formula, the patch-test date, the allergy flag, the signed consent form, and backbar product used per service. Lilo Booth includes color and service-note tracking, allergy and medical flags, drag-and-drop digital intake and consent forms, before-and-after photo galleries, and backbar inventory tracked per service, all on the $20 plan. Square Appointments handles the universal parts of running an appointment business well, but its salon and beauty pages market generic capabilities (take payments, schedule a team) rather than these beauty-specific tools. If your work is color correction, lashes, or anything touching skin and health, that gap is your daily work, not a nice-to-have.
Lilo does; Square does not market one for Appointments. Lilo AI is an assistant you query in plain English: ask which regulars haven't rebooked in 60 days, what last month's revenue was, or to draft a client text in your tone, and it returns the list, the chart, or the message instantly, with no report-building. It also suggests slots to fill empty chairs and flags clients at risk of churning. Your data stays siloed and is never used to train the AI. Square Appointments, by contrast, leads with payments, hardware, and its broader business ecosystem rather than a built-in assistant tuned to a beauty book. If an always-on assistant that knows your clients and revenue saves you time, that's a real point for Lilo.
Sources
- Square Appointments Pricing & Plans — Square (squareup.com)
- Pricing - Email & Text Marketing | Square — Square (squareup.com)
- Customer Loyalty Program Software | Square Loyalty — Square (squareup.com)
- Online Booking Website & Integrations | Square Appointments — Square (squareup.com)
- View your team's appointment performance report (web Dashboard) — Square Support
