---
title: "Calamari vs Square Payroll - 2026 Comparison - Software Advice"
description: "Calamari vs Square Payroll - See how these products stack up against each other with real user reviews, product feature comparisons and screenshots. Find out which one is best for your organization."
source_url: "https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/calamari-profile/vs/square-payroll/"
page_type: "comparison"
language: "en"
publication_date: "2026-10-19"
---
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Calamari vs Square Payroll
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Updated October 19, 2026
# Calamari vs. Square Payroll: 2026 Comparison
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Updated October 19, 2026
# Calamari vs. Square Payroll: 2026 Comparison
Skip hours of research. Get your top 5 matches from an expert in 15 minutes, 100% free.
Free Expert Guidance
Real Human Advice
1M + Businesses Helped
Product comparison
Compare up to 3 products side-by-side
+
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[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/calamari-profile/)
[Calamari](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/calamari-profile/)
4.7
[(610)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/calamari-profile/reviews/)
Starting Price
$2.00per month
Free trial: Available
Free version: Not available
Pros:
Not enough reviews
Cons:
Not enough reviews
Who uses Calamari
Based on 610 reviews
- Popular among: Small businesses
- Most common industries: IT & Software Development (27%), Professional Services (14%) and Retail, Consumer Goods & Services (6%)
- Top use cases: Leave Management System (21%), Absence Management (15%) and Employee Vacation & PTO Tracking (14%)
88% of users recommend this product
[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/square-payroll-profile/)
[Square Payroll](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/square-payroll-profile/)
4.7
[(622)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/square-payroll-profile/reviews/)
Starting Price
$6.00per month
Free trial: Available
Free version: Not available
Pros:
- Ease of Use
- Pricing
Cons:
- Customer Support
Who uses Square Payroll
Based on 622 reviews
- Popular among: Small businesses
- Most common industries: Retail, Consumer Goods & Services (23%), Health & Medicine (9%) and Hospitality, Dining, Event & Travel (7%)
- Top use cases: Payroll (7%), Small Business Payroll (6%) and Online Payroll (3%)
88% of users recommend this product
[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/calamari-profile/)
Calamari
4.7
[(610)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/calamari-profile/reviews/)
[](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/square-payroll-profile/)
Square Payroll
4.7
[(622)](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/square-payroll-profile/reviews/)
+
Add product
Add product
## Calamari vs Square Payroll: At a glance
* * *
Product ratings at a glance
| | Calamari | Square Payroll |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Overall rating | 4.7
610 reviews | 4.7
622 reviews |
| Ease of use | 4.6 | 4.6 |
| Value for money | 4.7 | 4.6 |
| Functionality | 4.5 | 4.5 |
| Customer support | 4.9 | 4.4 |
| Ease of deployment | 4.7 | 4.7 |
Best in comparison
## User interface
* * *
## Key features
Features selected based on 1,232 reviews from Online HR
* * *
401(k) Tracking
N/A
Approval Process Control
4.6
Benefits Management
N/A
Compliance Management
N/A
Direct Deposit
N/A
Employee Database
N/A
- Clock In/Out: 4.9
- Time & Attendance: 4.8
- Time Off Requests: 4.8
- Employee Time Tracking: 4.8
- Vacation/Leave Tracking: 4.8
- Sick Leave Tracking: 4.8
- Time Off Management: 4.8
- Attendance Tracking: 4.8
- Leave Tracking: 4.8
- Employee Scheduling: 4.8
- Access Controls/Permissions: 4.7
- Role-Based Permissions: 4.7
- Attendance Management: 4.7
- Automatic Time Capture: 4.7
- Employee Database: 4.7
- Online Time Tracking: 4.7
- Reminders: 4.7
- Mobile Access: 4.7
- Approval Process Control: 4.6
- Online Time Clock: 4.6
- Timesheet Management: 4.6
- Real-Time Data: 4.6
- Compensation Management: 4.6
- Alerts/Notifications: 4.6
- Leave Policy Management: 4.5
- Self Service Portal: 4.5
- Time Tracking: 4.5
- Employee Management: 4.5
- Reporting/Analytics: 4.4
- HR Management: 4.4
- Calendar Management: 4.3
- Payroll Reporting: 4.3
- Overtime Calculation: 4.3
- Project Time Tracking: 4.3
- Benefits Management: 4.1
- Data Import/Export: 3.6
401(k) Tracking
4.0
Approval Process Control
N/A
Benefits Management
4.7
Compliance Management
4.8
Direct Deposit
4.8
Employee Database
4.5
- Employee Portal: 4.9
- Direct Deposit: 4.8
- Compliance Management: 4.8
- Payroll Management: 4.7
- Time Tracking: 4.7
- W-2 Preparation: 4.7
- Benefits Management: 4.7
- Payroll Reporting: 4.7
- API: 4.7
- Tax Compliance: 4.6
- Self Service Portal: 4.6
- Employee Database: 4.5
- Data Import/Export: 4.4
- Employee Profiles: 4.2
- Employee Management: 4.1
- Vacation/Leave Tracking: 3.8
### Wondering if these products fit your needs?
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### Wondering if these products fit your needs?
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LexiAdvisor for 8 years
## Integrations
* * *
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[
Square Point of SaleNot enough reviews
](https://www.softwareadvice.com/retail/square-point-of-sale-profile/)[
DeputyNot enough reviews
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QuickBooks TimeNot enough reviews
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## Reviews
* * *
Positive review:
AM
Ananya M.
HR Administrator
Human Resources, 5001-10000 employees
"My experience with Calamari has been very positive, cause it successfully transformed our messy, spreadsheet-based PTO and attendance tracking into a automated process."
Jun 18, 2026
Negative review:
AM
Ananya M.
HR Administrator
Human Resources, 5001-10000 employees
"The initial setup can be pretty tedious and took me a solid four days of tweaking and changing before it was ready to roll out to the team."
Jun 18, 2026
Positive review:
OD
Oleg D.
Sales
Marketing and Advertising, 11-50 employees
"The interface is clean, employees can quickly request time off, and managers can approve or reject requests without needing long email chains or spreadsheets."
May 5, 2026
Negative review:
PS
Piotr S.
COO
Architecture & Planning, 2-10 employees
"In my opinion, this area is not very intuitive and quite complicated, especially with more complex rules (e.g. different types of contracts, proportional calculation, transfer of unused days)."
Oct 20, 2025
Positive review:
PB
Paweł B.
CEO
Industrial Automation, 2-10 employees
"Calamari.io is a solid solution for companies focused on leave and attendance management. While it’s not a full HR platform, it also delivers strong value for businesses that prioritize time-off tracking and team coordination."
Nov 25, 2025
Negative review:
SR
Sahattaya R.
Human Resources Business Partner
Biotechnology, 11-50 employees
"The application does not support report customization, making it challenging to gain a clear overview when managing multiple team members."
Jun 4, 2025
[Read all reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/calamari-profile/reviews/)
Positive review:
MD
Maggie d.
Owner
Health, Wellness and Fitness, 2-10 employees
"Square is great because it's easily integrated with other systems. Because of this it is easy to use them for other things like timecards, tips, commissions, and more."
Oct 24, 2025
Negative review:
AW
Amanda W.
Staff Accountant
Accounting, 501-1000 employees
"Navigating between functions was tedious, and we wanted more thorough reporting."
Nov 30, 2023
Positive review:
ES
Emily S.
Owner
Retail, 11-50 employees
"Staff can also adjust their time cards and send it in as a request if they forget to clock in/out which makes it super simple for me! Plus, they handle my new hire paperwork, quarterly payroll filings and TAXES."
Jul 7, 2025
Negative review:
CM
Charity M.
Owner
Consumer Services, 2-10 employees
"Customer service is virtually impossible to reason with, non responsive at times and in the long run, using this service has caused chaos for my company and distress for my employees."
Aug 10, 2023
Positive review:
VR
Verified Reviewer
Admin
Retail, Self-Employed
"Additionally, the ability to handle both employee and contractor payments through the same platform was a game-changer, simplifying year-end tax form distribution."
Mar 28, 2024
Negative review:
JT
Jared T.
Supervisor
Construction, 501-1000 employees
"Payroll can be difficult to set up/activate for a non tech savvy user."
Nov 6, 2022
[Read all reviews](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/square-payroll-profile/reviews/)
## Customer support
* * *
Calamari
Email/Help Desk: Available
FAQs/Forum: Available
Knowledge Base: Available
Phone Support: Not available
24/7: Not available
Chat: Available
Square Payroll
Email/Help Desk: Available
FAQs/Forum: Available
Knowledge Base: Available
Phone Support: Available
24/7: Not available
Chat: Available
## Training options
* * *
Calamari
In Person: Not available
Live Online: Available
Webinars: Available
Documentation: Available
Videos: Available
Square Payroll
In Person: Not available
Live Online: Not available
Webinars: Not available
Documentation: Not available
Videos: Not available
## Send this comparison chart to my inbox
## Popular Comparisons
* * *
[Leave Dates vs Calamari](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/calamari-profile/vs/leavedates/)[Deel vs Square Payroll](https://www.softwareadvice.com/hr/deel-profile/vs/square-payroll/)