By DK, Riverd Founder. Last updated: 2026-10-20.
Is there massage software that is actually free, not a trial?
Yes. Massage software that is free with no end date exists in two of the six tools solo LMTs compare most: Riverd's Brook plan and Square Appointments Free. Brook covers online booking, a calendar, client records, intake forms, SOAP notes drafted by Reed · AI, Google Calendar sync, and payment tracking for up to 20 appointments a month, with no card to start; the first paid step is River at $39 a month billed annually for 50 appointments. Square Appointments Free has no monthly fee and charges per card transaction. MassageBook, Noterro, ClinicSense, and Acuity Scheduling open with a free trial and then move you to a paid plan, from $16 a month at Acuity's entry tier and $29 at MassageBook's. The best massage software for a solo practice is the one whose free plan covers your monthly volume, and the table below shows what each free plan leaves out. Riverd's plan details are on the free massage therapy software page.
Riverd makes one of the six, so every price below links to the vendor's own pricing page. Below is one table with all six, followed by the questions that come up most when a solo LMT picks a free tool: what "free" means on a pricing page, what a free plan leaves out, whether your client list comes with you from MassageBook, and which free option includes intake forms. Prices are as of October 2026 and were checked on 2026-10-20.
What does "free" mean on a massage software pricing page?
The word "free" covers three different offers, and it helps to know which one you are reading. A free plan stays free indefinitely, with a cap on volume or a few features held back for paid plans. A free trial gives you everything for 7 to 30 days and then asks for a card. The third is free software with a fee per card charge, which is how both free plans above make money. Square Free charges 2.6% + 15¢ for an in-person card payment and 3.3% + 30¢ online. On Riverd, card payments run through your own Square account, so Square's processing fee applies, and Riverd's own fee of $1 per card charge on Brook ($0.50 on River, $0.25 on Fjord) comes out of that payment, so your client pays only your price.
If you require a card to book, a client saves a card when they book, and you charge it for the session later from your session screen. Nothing is charged at booking and nothing is charged automatically. If you only take cash or Venmo, Riverd's payment tracking records what you collected, and none of these fees apply.
The four trial tools are honest about it: each pricing page says "no credit card required" for the trial, and each lists the paid plans next to it. The thing to check before you start a trial is the cheapest plan you would land on when it ends, which is the last column of the table.
How do the six massage software options compare?
The table sorts the six by how long the free part lasts for a solo LMT, then by what the free part includes. All figures are as of October 2026, in US dollars. For the full monthly math at 5, 15 and 30 sessions a week, see what massage software actually costs in 2026.
| Tool | Free plan or trial | What you get for $0 | Intake forms | First paid step |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Riverd (Brook) | Free plan, no end date | Booking page, client records, calendar with Google Calendar sync, email reminders, CSV client import, payment tracking, up to 20 appointments a month | Included: 3 form types, unlimited sends (US practices) | River, $39/mo billed annually or $59 month to month: 50 appointments a month, text reminders to US and Canadian mobile numbers, more AI credits |
| Square Appointments (Free) | Free plan, no end date | Booking website, calendar, text and email reminders, appointment deposits; 2.6% + 15¢ per in-person card payment | Not listed on the Free plan (contracts with e-signature are) | Plus, $49/mo per location: cancellation policy and no-show fees, waitlist |
| MassageBook | 30-day trial, no card | Full features during the trial | From Practice | Launch, $29/mo ($21.75 for AMTA members, $26.10 for ABMP members): online booking, directory listing, basic SOAP notes. Intake forms, text reminders and premium SOAP notes on Practice at $59/mo ($44.25 AMTA) |
| ClinicSense | 14-day trial, no card | Full features during the trial | On every paid plan, including Lite | Lite, $39/mo ($35.75 billed annually): up to 20 appointments a month, online booking, email reminders, SOAP notes, intake forms. Text reminders on Standard at $69/mo |
| Noterro | 14-day trial, no card | Full features during the trial | On every paid plan, including Core | Core, $33/mo billed annually: one practitioner, charting, intake forms, email reminders. Text reminders on Plus at $55/mo billed annually |
| Acuity Scheduling | 7-day trial, no card | Full features during the trial | On every paid plan (custom client forms) | Starter, $16/mo billed annually or $20 monthly: one calendar, email reminders. Text reminders on Standard at $27/mo billed annually or $34 monthly |
Read the table by your own week. If you see fewer than 20 clients a month and want intake forms and client records in one place, the two free plans are where to start, and Riverd's covers more of the paperwork. If you take most payments by card and want text reminders for $0, Square Free is strong. ClinicSense Lite has the same 20-appointment cap as Brook and costs $39 a month; what you are paying for is its treatment-note templates and financial reports. If clinical documentation matters most and you are ready to pay, ClinicSense and Noterro are built around it. For booking alone, the best scheduling tools for solo LMTs goes deeper.
What do you lose on a free massage software plan?
A free massage software plan usually holds back three things: text reminders, clinical note tools, and volume. On Riverd's Brook plan, text reminders are on River ($39/mo billed annually, US and Canadian mobile numbers only), Brook stops at 20 appointments a month, and you can save up to 3 Patient Books. SOAP notes drafted by Reed, Riverd's AI assistant, are on Brook too, using the plan's 500 monthly AI credits. Email reminders stay free. On Square Free, the cancellation policy and no-show fee tools start on Plus at $49/mo.
The pattern holds across the market. Vendors give away the parts that get you booked (a booking page, a calendar, a client list) and charge for the parts that save time at volume or protect revenue. That is also why "free" and "enough" are different questions. A therapist booking 15 to 18 sessions a month sits inside Brook's cap. A 25-session month is past Brook's cap, and that is the point to move to River, whose cap of 50 covers about 11 sessions a week.
Which massage therapy platforms make advanced features available without upgrading?
On the two free plans, Riverd's Brook includes intake forms, two-way Google Calendar sync, Patient Books with drawable body-map pages (3 saved), SOAP notes drafted by Reed from a summary you type, and card payments through your own Square. Square Free includes text reminders and appointment deposits. The four paid-only tools put intake forms and notes on their cheapest plan, from $16 to $39 a month, and text reminders usually sit one tier higher.
The free plans also differ from each other. Square Free includes text reminders and appointment deposits at $0, which Riverd's Brook plan does not have. Riverd's Brook plan includes intake forms, client records and a Patient Book with drawable body-map pages, which Square's pricing page does not list. Riverd lets you charge an agreed no-show fee to a client's saved card on Brook, while Square puts no-show fees on Plus. Pick the free plan whose gaps you can live with for the next six months.
Do you need a website, or is a free booking page enough?
For most solo therapists starting out, a free booking page does the job a website would. On Riverd, the Brook plan includes a practice page at an address like riverd.app/pro/your-name, with your services, durations and prices, and clients book only inside the hours you set. Square Free includes a booking website you can link, embed or share as a QR code. MassageBook includes online booking and a listing in its directory from Launch at $29/mo.
A booking page answers the questions a new client has before they book: what you offer, how long it takes, what it costs, and when you are free. That covers most of what a first-time visitor looks for on a practitioner's website. You can put the link in your Instagram bio, your Google Business Profile and your email signature.
On Riverd, a client confirms the booking with a sign-in link sent to their email, or with Google, and if you require a card to book, they save one at the same step. You pick the address before you publish, and it stays fixed afterwards so links you have shared keep working. Custom domains are not available yet. If you already appear in Riverd's massage therapist directory, you can find your listing there and claim it.
Can I move my clients from MassageBook to a free tool?
Yes, your client list can move, and your notes need a separate plan. MassageBook's help center describes a client export to a CSV spreadsheet (Clients, then Import / Export, then Export client file), available to the business owner. The file holds names, email, phone, address, birthday and source. Riverd's free Brook plan imports that kind of CSV: it needs a name plus an email or phone number for each client. The export does not include appointments or SOAP notes.
Future appointments can come across too. Riverd's import accepts an optional column for the next appointment's date, time and service, so you can add upcoming visits to the spreadsheet before you upload it. The review screen shows every row before anything is saved, and it matches clients who are already in your Riverd list instead of creating duplicates. Nobody is emailed on the day you import. Riverd reminds you before each imported appointment, and a client gets reminders once they connect a Riverd account to your practice.
SOAP notes are the part to plan for. MassageBook's client export does not carry them, and Riverd's import brings in clients and upcoming appointments only, and skips past ones. Before you close an old account, check what your state board expects you to keep and for how long, and keep a way to reach those records. This is general information, not legal advice.
Which free massage software includes intake forms?
Riverd's free Brook plan includes client intake forms: three form types and unlimited sends, available to US practices. Clients fill them in from an emailed link and sign with a typed name. MassageBook puts intake forms on Practice at $59/mo ($44.25 for AMTA members), so Launch does not include them. Square's Free plan lists contracts with e-signature but no intake form feature by that name. ClinicSense (Lite, $39/mo), Noterro (Core, $33/mo billed annually) and Acuity (Starter, $16/mo billed annually) include forms on their paid plans only.
An intake form earns its place before the first session, when you need the client's history, current medications, areas to avoid and consent in writing. If you are building yours from scratch, what to include on a massage intake form walks through each section. The client intake forms page shows how the forms look on a client's phone and how auto-send works on a first booking.
Intake forms are one row of the table above, so weigh them against the rest of what each free plan covers. For the full feature list on each Riverd plan, see pricing. More on running the business side is in the practice growth hub.
Key Takeaways
- Two of the six tools have a free plan with no end date: Riverd Brook (up to 20 appointments a month, no card) and Square Appointments Free. MassageBook (30 days), ClinicSense (14), Noterro (14) and Acuity (7) are trials.
- Free plans hold back text reminders, clinical note tools and volume. Riverd's River plan at $39/mo billed annually adds text reminders to US and Canadian mobile numbers, more AI credits and a 50-appointment cap; Square's Plus at $49/mo adds no-show fees.
- The cheapest paid step after a trial is Acuity Starter at $16/mo billed annually for booking only, then MassageBook Launch at $29/mo, Noterro Core at $33/mo billed annually, and ClinicSense Lite at $39/mo, which keeps the same 20-appointment cap Brook has for free.
- Riverd's Brook plan includes intake forms (three form types, unlimited sends, US practices). MassageBook starts them on Practice at $59/mo, and Square Free does not list them.
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