Velobook vs Square Appointments
Square Appointments is a capable general scheduler. What it doesn't have is bike-shop tooling: job cards, hire and rentals, 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 a straight exchange-rate markup: a dollar a booking capped at $100 in Australia, 50p capped at £50 in the UK, 60c at €60 in the Eurozone, and the like. Switch currency below.
Square's calendar isn't the problem. The crosses below mark missing bike-shop tooling, like job cards, hire and workshops, rather than a broken scheduler. Velobook is built for exactly those jobs.
| 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. Some regions | Direct to founders | 30 days |
| Square Appointments | $49 / location | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | No, per location | 2.5–3.3% | 500–2,500/mo, then paid | Tiered, phone on top | 30 days |
Square earns its popularity, and a fair comparison says so.
Plans include 500 to 2,500 texts a month before you pay per message, the most of any tool we compare.
Square prices per location at US$49, not per staff member, so a growing team doesn't move the bill.
Its 30-day trial matches Velobook's, the longest of the tools we compare.
Square is the only rival here with any AI, though it's for auto-replies rather than setting up or scheduling your shop.
And here's where Velobook takes a different line.
Job cards, servicing and repairs, hire and rentals, guided tours, bike fittings and workshops are all native to Velobook. On Square Appointments, they're simply not there.
Square takes 2.5 to 3.3% of every payment you run through it. Velobook never takes a percentage of your sales.
Square is US$49 per location every month. Velobook has no monthly fee: a dollar a booking, capped, so quiet months cost next to nothing.
Velobook's AI helps you get set up and fill the calendar. Square's AI is limited to auto-replies.
Your bookings rise and fall with the seasons. A flat monthly plan doesn't. Tell us your busiest and quietest months, your team, and who you're weighing up, and we'll lay the year out side by side.
The things shops ask when they're weighing Velobook against Square Appointments.
The US$49 per location is only part of it: Square also takes 2.5 to 3.3% of every payment you run through it. Velobook charges a dollar a booking, capped every month, and never takes a percentage of your sales. Run your own numbers in the calculator on this page.
It can take bookings; the calendar itself works fine. What's missing is bike-shop tooling: job cards, hire and rentals, guided tours, bike fittings and workshops. Velobook covers all of those natively.
No. Velobook never charges per location or per mechanic. You pay per booking, capped every month.
Square bundles 500 to 2,500 texts a month, then charges per message. On Velobook, texting is an optional extra available in some regions, and it's the only extra we have.
Weighing up something else? Each page gives one tool the same fair, side-by-side treatment.
Hubtiger covers servicing, rentals and fittings from US$49 to US$119 a month with per-mechanic tiers; Velobook covers those plus tours, workshops and AI in one plan, at a dollar a booking capped every month.
Read the comparison →Workshop by Bike Book is a focused servicing tool at US$89.99 a month (£49.99 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 priced in euros 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 side by side on the full comparison page.
Tell us a little about your shop and we'll come back with a straight answer, no sales runaround. It goes straight to Alex, one of the founders.
A dollar a booking, capped every month. No monthly fee, no per seat charge, no cut of your sales, and every feature from day one. The first 30 days are free.
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