Velobook vs Square Appointments
Square Appointments is a capable general scheduler. It doesn't publish bike-shop tooling: job cards, hire, tours, fittings, workshops. Velobook has all of it, at a dollar a booking capped every month, with no cut of your takings.
Priced locally, not an exchange-rate markup: a dollar capped at $100 in Australia, 50p capped at £50 in the UK, 60c capped at €60 in the Eurozone. Switch currency below.
Square's calendar works. The crosses below mark missing bike-shop tooling (job cards, hire, workshops), not a broken scheduler.
| What you pay | Service & repairs | Hire & rentals | Guided tours | Bike fittings | Workshops | AI setup & scheduling | Everything in one plan | Charges per mechanic | Takes a % of sales | Text messaging | Support | Free trial | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| velobook | $0.70 / booking, $70 cap | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | Never | Never | Optional, our only extra. AU, UK, US, CA | Direct to founders | 30 days |
| Square Appointments | $49 / location | Bookings, no job cards | – | – | – | – | – | – | No, per location | From 2.5% + 15c | Reminders included | Tiered, phone on top | 30 days |
Square earns its popularity:
Text and email appointment reminders are part of the product, marketed as free rather than a credit pack.
The Plus plan is US$49 per location, not per staff member. There's a free tier too, at higher card rates.
30 days, matching Velobook's.
Square Assistant replies to customers to confirm, cancel or reschedule. Auto-replies, not setup or scheduling.
What a bike shop notices first: the tooling, and the cut from card payments.
Job cards, servicing, hire, guided tours, fittings and workshops are native to Velobook. Square Appointments books services and classes on a general calendar.
Square takes a slice of every card payment: on the US$49 plan, 2.5% + 15c in person and 2.9% + 30c online. Velobook never takes a percentage of your sales.
Square's Plus plan is US$49 per location every month. Velobook is a dollar a booking, capped, no monthly fee.
Velobook's AI helps you set up the catalogue and fill the calendar. Square's is auto-replies.
Bookings rise and fall with the seasons. A flat monthly plan doesn't. Set your busiest and quietest months, your team and who you're weighing up.
What shops ask when weighing Velobook against Square Appointments.
US$49 per location on the Plus plan is only part of it: Square also takes 2.5% + 15c in person and 2.9% + 30c online on every card payment. Velobook is a dollar a booking, capped every month, and never takes a percentage of sales. Run your own numbers in the calculator on this page.
It can take bookings, and handles services, classes and resources. It doesn't publish bike-shop tooling: job cards, hire, guided tours, fittings and workshops. Velobook covers all of those.
No. Never per location or per mechanic. Per booking, capped every month.
Square includes text and email reminders in its plans. On Velobook, texting is an optional extra in Australia, the UK, the US and Canada, and it's the only extra. Email confirmations and reminders are included everywhere.
Weighing up something else? Each page gives one tool the same side-by-side treatment.
Hubtiger covers servicing and fittings at US$52 to US$125 a month in technician tiers, with rentals a separate subscription. Velobook covers those plus tours, workshops and AI setup in one plan, at a dollar a booking capped every month.
Read the comparison →Workshop by Bike Book is a servicing tool at US$89.99 a month (£49.99 ex VAT in the UK). Velobook covers servicing plus rentals, tours, fittings, workshops and AI, at a dollar a booking capped every month.
Read the comparison →BikeDesk is a servicing tool at €99 to €149 a month in capped tiers. Velobook covers servicing plus rentals, tours, fittings, workshops and AI, at a dollar a booking capped every month.
Read the comparison →Or see every tool on the full comparison page.
Tell us about your shop and you get a straight answer from Alex, one of the founders.
A dollar a booking, capped every month. No monthly fee, no per-seat charge, no cut of your sales. Every feature from day one. The first 30 days are free.
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