Best Scheduling Software for Salons in 2026

Salon booking software is cheap to start and easy to overpay for. The subscription is often the smallest part of the bill. Per-staff fees, card processing, text message charges and marketplace commissions on new clients add up faster, and they grow with every chair you fill.

This guide compares seven tools that hair salons, barbershops, nail and lash studios, spas, solo stylists and booth renters use for online booking and checkout: Vagaro, Fresha, Booksy, GlossGenius, Square Appointments, Boulevard and Mindbody (including Booker, Mindbody's salon and spa product). We checked each vendor's US pricing page and help pages in October 2026. All prices are in USD and exclude sales tax.

What matters most for a salon:

• Per-staff pricing. Some tools charge for every bookable calendar, some cap the charge, and some charge by plan tier.
• Card processing rates. At $10,000 a month in card sales, a 0.3% difference is $360 a year.
• Marketplace fees. Fresha and Booksy can send you new clients through their consumer apps, but they take a one-time cut of that client's first visit.
• No-show protection. Deposits, cards on file and cancellation fees, and which plan unlocks them.
• Client app and POS. Whether clients can find you in a consumer app, and whether checkout, retail and tips live in the same system.

Comparison Table

Vagaro

Vagaro is a full salon and spa platform: online booking, calendar, POS, card processing, client records, forms, memberships, packages, gift certificates, inventory, email marketing and a consumer marketplace. It also has dedicated software pages for booth renters, barbers, nail salons, spas and medspas.

What it does well for salons

The pricing model is the main reason Vagaro tops this list for teams. You pay per bookable calendar, but only up to seven. Vagaro's pricing page says each calendar license added to a location costs $10, up to seven licenses, and more employees can be added at no extra cost after that. Its own comparison page adds that admin-only users (front desk, managers who do not take bookings) are free. For a salon with 10 or 15 stylists, that cap matters.

The Vagaro Marketplace lists your business for free and Vagaro's marketplace page says there are $0 booking fees, so a new client who finds you there does not trigger a commission. That is a real difference from Fresha and Booksy.

No-show protection is built in: Vagaro's salon page lists cancellation policies with no-show fees or required deposits. Unlimited notifications and appointment reminders are included in every plan, along with 1,000 free marketing emails a month.

Key features

• Online booking through Vagaro, Instagram, Facebook and Apple Maps, plus a booking widget for your site
• Calendar and resource management, customer waitlist and memberships, packages and gift certificates
• Integrated payments with Vagaro Merchant Services, including Buy Now, Pay Later through Affirm
• Inventory tracking, invoices, SOAP notes and advanced reporting
• Multi-location tools: Flagship Syncing, access levels, payroll and rent collection, SSO and APIs

Pricing

Vagaro's US pricing page shows $30.00 per month for one calendar ("Just Me"), with an exclusive rate of $23.99 per month for the first six months. Each extra bookable calendar costs $10 per month, up to seven licenses, after which more employees are added at no extra cost. That puts a seven-calendar location at $90 per month ($30 + 6 x $10) at the standard rate. There is a 30-day free trial and no cancellation fee. Some features are paid add-ons; for example, the Check-In App is listed at $10 per month.

Card processing, as published on Vagaro's own comparison page: businesses that process under $4,000 a month pay 2.6% + $0.10 for dip and tap and 3.5% + $0.15 for keyed-in payments. Businesses over $4,000 a month pay 2.2% + $0.19 for dip and tap, 3.5% + $0.15 keyed, plus a $10 monthly fee. Tap to Pay adds $0.06 per transaction. Buy Now, Pay Later through Affirm costs 6% + $0.30 per transaction.

Pros

• Calendar fees stop at seven, so large teams pay far less than per-seat tools
• No booking fees on new clients from the Vagaro Marketplace
• Deposits, no-show fees, POS, memberships and email marketing in the base product
• 30-day free trial, the longest here

Cons

• The $23.99 rate lasts six months; plan your budget on $30
• Some features are paid add-ons, so the real price depends on what you switch on
• The lower 2.2% card rate needs over $4,000 a month in volume and carries a $10 monthly fee
• The feature list is long, and setup takes more time than GlossGenius or Booksy

Who should use it, and who should skip it

Choose Vagaro if you run a salon or barbershop with several stylists, want a marketplace without commissions, and want one system for booking, checkout and retail. Skip it if you are a solo stylist who wants the simplest possible app, or if you want every feature included in one fixed price with no add-on menu.

Fresha

Fresha is a booking, POS and payments platform for salons, barbers, nail studios, spas and other beauty and wellness businesses. It also runs a large consumer marketplace; its pricing page cites 25+ million customers looking to book and says the platform is trusted by over 120,000 businesses.

What it does well for salons

Fresha has a simple per-seat price and a long list of features on both plans: calendar, waitlists, POS, consultation forms, client reviews, retail and inventory, an online product store, gift cards, packages, memberships, group bookings, processing and finishing times, resources and patch tests.

Its in-person card rate, 2.29% + $0.20, is among the lowest published here. Upfront payments, no-show fees and cancellation fees are part of Fresha payments. For salons with independent stylists, the Team plan includes a "multi merchant" option that routes payments directly from clients to independents, which suits booth-rental and chair-rental setups.

Key features

• Online booking through Fresha's client app, direct booking links, Facebook and Instagram, with no fee for these
• Fresha marketplace listing to reach new clients
• Deposits, no-show and cancellation fees through Fresha payments
• Team management on the Team plan: login permissions, commissions, wages, pay runs and timesheets
• Optional add-ons including AI Concierge, Client Loyalty and a Smart Website

Pricing

• Independent: $19.95 per month, one bookable team member (single calendar column), 100 free text or WhatsApp messages and 50 free marketing emails a month, email and chat support.
• Team: $14.95 per bookable team member per month, unlimited team members, multiple locations, 100 free messages and 50 free marketing emails per team member monthly, phone support.
• Enterprise: custom rates for businesses with over 20 team members.

Both plans show a 7-day trial and monthly billing with no minimum contract. After the free allowance, texts cost $0.02 each (WhatsApp $0.04 to $0.11), marketing emails $0.02 each and marketing texts $0.08 each.

Marketplace fee: a 20% one-time commission on brand-new clients who discover you through the Fresha marketplace, with a minimum of $6 per client. Returning clients never trigger a fee, and clients who book through your own links, Facebook or Instagram are free.

Card processing: online 2.79% + $0.20, in-person 2.29% + $0.20 (plus $0.10 per Tap to Pay authorization), manual card entry 3.30% + $0.20, Klarna 5.99% + $0.30. Terminals start at $139.

Add-ons: AI Concierge $99.95 per location monthly, Client Loyalty $59.95 per location monthly, Google Rating Boost $14.95 per location monthly, Insights $9.95 per bookable team member monthly, Smart Website $15.95 monthly, Team Connect $2.95 per team member monthly, Data Connector $295 per location monthly.

Pros

• Low per-seat price for small teams
• Low published in-person card rate
• Large consumer marketplace for new client discovery
• Payment routing to independent stylists on the Team plan

Cons

• 20% commission (minimum $6) on each new marketplace client
• Per-seat pricing has no cap, so large teams pay more than on Vagaro
• Text messages beyond the free allowance are billed per message
• Useful extras such as loyalty and Insights are paid add-ons

Who should use it, and who should skip it

Choose Fresha if you have a small team, want a low monthly price and expect the marketplace to bring you new clients you would not otherwise get. Skip it if most of your new clients already find you through Instagram or referrals and you would rather not risk paying 20% on marketplace bookings, or if you have more than about eight bookable staff, where Vagaro's cap becomes cheaper.

Booksy

Booksy is a booking app for barbers, hair salons, nail techs, brow and lash artists, braiders, massage therapists and spas, with a consumer app (Booksy for Customers) that clients use to find and book pros.

What it does well for salons

Booksy's pitch is one price with every feature. Its pricing page says there are no higher tiers and no feature add-on fees. The subscription includes unlimited bookings, appointment confirmations and reminders, email marketing, text message marketing (2,000 free SMS marketing messages a month), forms and liability waivers, Reserve with Google, reports, waitlists, no-show protection, online gift cards, and memberships and packages.

No-show protection covers deposits taken at booking and cancellation fees charged to the card on file, with your own rules for which services need them, the percentage charged and how much notice is required.

Key features

• Booksy Profile and listing in the Booksy consumer app
• Deposits and cancellation fees with card on file
• 2,000 free SMS marketing messages a month; reminders are always free
• Boost, an optional pay-per-new-client marketplace promotion
• Booksy Card Reader options and Tap to Pay

Pricing

Booksy costs $29.99 per month plus tax, plus $20 per month for each additional team member. It is a monthly subscription with no commitment, and there is a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

Boost is free to turn on with no monthly fee. When a client books you for the first time while Boost is on, Booksy charges a one-time 30% fee based on the total cost of that first visit, up to a maximum of $100. Booksy does not charge commissions on new clients who find you through your own link or marketing, or on Booksy when Boost is off.

Card processing: mobile payments and keyed-in entry 2.69% + $0.30, Booksy Card Reader 2.49% + $0.10, Tap to Pay 2.49% + $0.20. Next-business-day payouts are free; 30-minute Fast Payouts cost 1.5%. Card readers: Stripe Reader S710 $299 and Stripe Reader M2 $53.10, plus shipping.

Pros

• Every feature included, so the bill is predictable
• 2,000 free SMS marketing messages a month
• Boost is optional and only charges on results
• Consumer app is free for clients, with no booking fee

Cons

• $20 per extra team member with no cap
• Boost commission is 30%, higher than Fresha's 20%, though capped at $100
• Mobile and keyed payments cost 2.69% + $0.30, among the highest rates here
• Fewer back-office tools for large salons than Vagaro or Boulevard

Who should use it, and who should skip it

Choose Booksy if you are a barber, solo stylist or small shop that wants an easy app, a consumer marketplace and a fixed monthly price. Skip it if you have a large team, since $20 per extra seat adds up quickly, or if you take most payments through the app rather than a card reader.

GlossGenius

GlossGenius is a booking, payments and business app for beauty and wellness pros. Its pricing page says more than 120,000 businesses use it. It is known for a clean client-facing booking website and quick setup.

What it does well for salons

GlossGenius uses flat plan prices rather than per-seat fees, and its in-person card rate is the lowest flat published rate in this comparison: 2.4% + $0.15 for tap, dip or swipe. Every plan includes a custom booking website, unlimited client notifications, email and text marketing, built-in deposits, cancellation and no-show policies, card-on-file policies, and free data transfer from your old system.

Key features

• Custom booking website with login-free client booking (no app download)
• Built-in deposits, no-show policies and card-on-file policies on every plan
• Email and text marketing, inventory and retail, packages and memberships
• Forms and waivers, Google Booking and Reviews, automated waitlist and time tracking from Gold
• Optional Payroll and Reception (AI phone and text answering) add-ons

Pricing

Beauty and Wellness plans (monthly price, with the annual-billing price per month in brackets):

• Standard: $28 per month ($24 billed annually). Multiple-provider booking and synced staff calendars are not included, so it is effectively a solo plan.
• Gold: $56 per month ($48 billed annually), for businesses up to 9 staff. Adds forms and waivers, Google Booking and Reviews, automated waitlist, time tracking and room and resource management.
• Platinum: $168 per month ($148 billed annually), for teams of 10+. Adds team goal setting and analytics, customizable commissions and Google marketing analytics.

There is a 14-day free trial with no credit card. Separate Medspa and Aesthetics plans start at $168 per month ($148 billed annually). Add-ons: Payroll $40 per month + $6 per seat; Reception by GlossGenius $50 per month.

Card processing: tap, dip or swipe 2.4% + $0.15; card-on-file, online or keyed 3.4% + $0.15; online invoicing 2.9% + $0.30. Same-day payouts are free Monday to Thursday, and instant payouts cost an extra 1.8%.

Pros

• Lowest flat in-person rate here at 2.4% + $0.15
• Flat plan pricing: Gold covers up to 9 staff for one price
• Polished booking site and simple setup
• Free data transfer from your current software

Cons

• No consumer marketplace like Fresha, Booksy or Vagaro
• Card-on-file and keyed payments cost 3.4% + $0.15, which matters if you charge no-show fees often
• Standard is effectively single-provider; teams need Gold
• The jump from Gold to Platinum at 10 staff is large

Who should use it, and who should skip it

Choose GlossGenius if you are a solo stylist, lash artist, nail tech or small studio that books mostly returning clients and wants a polished brand and low in-person card rates. Skip it if you rely on a marketplace for new clients or run a large multi-location salon.

Square Appointments

Square Appointments is Square's booking product, built on the same POS, payments and customer directory as the rest of Square. It is the only tool here with a genuinely free plan for teams.

What it does well for salons

The free plan includes unlimited staff calendars (Square says there is no employee limit), an online booking site, Instagram, Facebook and Google booking buttons, appointment reminders by text and email, prepayments and appointment deposits. For a new salon on a tight budget, that is enough to start.

Plus adds what most established salons want: cancellation policies and no-show fees charged to a card on file, processing time for color services, multi-staff appointments, waitlists, daily booking limits, multi-location management, Google Calendar sync, the Bookings API, text message marketing and staff tools like timecards and shift scheduling. Premium adds a future bookings report, service cost tracking for back bar expenses, team performance reports and resource management for rooms, chairs and stations.

Key features

• Unlimited staff calendars on every plan, including Free
• Deposits and prepayments on Free; no-show fees and cancellation policies on Plus
• Processing time and multi-staff booking on Plus
• Resource management and service cost tracking on Premium
• Full Square POS, gift cards, loyalty and marketing in one account

Pricing

• Free: $0 per location. In-person 2.6% + 15¢, online 3.3% + 30¢.
• Plus: $49 per month per location. In-person 2.5% + 15¢, online 2.9% + 30¢. 500 marketing texts included, then 3¢ each.
• Premium: $149 per month per location. In-person 2.4% + 15¢, online 2.9% + 30¢. 2,500 marketing texts included, then 1.5¢ each. 24/7 priority support.
• Square Pro: custom pricing for businesses that process over $250,000 a year.

Manual entry and card on file cost 3.5% + 15¢ on all plans. Plus and Premium each have a free 30-day trial and can be cancelled anytime.

Pros

• Free plan with unlimited staff calendars and deposits
• Same system for retail sales, gift cards and loyalty
• No per-staff fees on any plan
• Familiar, widely supported hardware

Cons

• No-show fees and cancellation policies need Plus at $49 per location
• Card-on-file charges cost 3.5% + 15¢, so no-show fees cost more to collect
• Processing time for color services is not on the free plan
• Fewer salon-specific tools than Vagaro or Boulevard

Who should use it, and who should skip it

Choose Square Appointments if you are just starting, already use Square for retail, or want a free plan that still handles a team. Skip it if you need commission tracking and deep salon reporting, or want a consumer marketplace to bring in new clients.

Boulevard

Boulevard is salon and spa software aimed at premium and growing businesses, with versions for salons, spas, medspas, barbers, massage and nail salons. Its focus is precise scheduling for complex services, a high-end client booking experience and strong reporting.

What it does well for salons

Boulevard is built for salons where a single visit may involve several services, staff members and resources. Every plan includes online booking, precision scheduling, email and text reminders, a dedicated booking line, waitlist, processing and finishing times, multi-staff appointments and walk-in check-in. Higher plans add unlimited professionals, more included texts and email blasts, and bundled forms.

Key features

• Precision scheduling with processing and finishing times and multi-staff appointments
• Self-booking, client profiles, loyalty and memberships
• Messages and text marketing, email blasts and automated campaigns
• Boulevard Duo POS for iPad
• APIs and enterprise integrations on the Enterprise plan

Pricing

Prices shown with annual billing (10% saving), monthly billing in brackets:

• Essentials: $143 per month ($159 monthly) for one location, up to 5 providers (bookable calendars), 250 free texts, 1,000 free email blasts.
• Premier: $234 per month per location ($260 monthly), unlimited professionals. These are limited-time fall prices for new customers; Boulevard lists the normal price as $293 ($325 monthly).
• Prestige: $328 per month per location ($364 monthly), normally $410 ($455 monthly). Adds the Forms add-on, 2,500 free texts and 10,000 free email blasts.
• Enterprise: custom plan.

Add-ons: Forms from $65 per month per location, QuickBooks sync $45 per month per location, email blasts beyond the allowance $0.01 each, and automated campaigns $2 per completed appointment. Boulevard does not publish its card processing rate on the pricing page; it says it offers volume discounts and an Offset program in which clients pay a 3% card fee and the business pays 1%.

Pros

• Strong scheduling for complex, multi-service appointments
• Unlimited professionals from Premier
• Premium client booking experience suited to high-ticket salons and spas
• Volume-based processing discounts

Cons

• Highest starting price here at $143 per month billed annually
• Essentials caps you at 5 providers and one location
• Card rates are not published; you get them from sales
• Current Premier and Prestige prices are a limited-time offer

Who should use it, and who should skip it

Choose Boulevard if you run a high-end salon, spa or medspa with a large team and services that need precise timing. Skip it if you are a solo stylist, a booth renter or a small barbershop; the starting price is several times what Vagaro, Fresha or GlossGenius charge.

Mindbody (and Booker)

Mindbody sells two products to beauty and spa businesses. The core Mindbody platform, best known for fitness, also has pages for hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, lash salons and day spas. Booker, also from Mindbody, Inc., is sold separately on booker.com as "spa and salon management software" for day spas, hotel spas, salons, barbershops, beauty bars and massage studios. Both products list your business on the Mindbody consumer app, which Mindbody says has 3M+ monthly shoppers.

What it does well for salons and spas

Mindbody and Booker suit larger and multi-location businesses that want sales-led onboarding, data migration and account management. Booker's pricing page lists 1-on-1 setup and training, data migration support, optional Technical Account Management and 24/7 assistance. Both have Enterprise options for franchises and multi-location brands.

Key features

• Listing on the Mindbody app on every plan
• Point of sale and online payments through Mindbody's integrated processing
• Customized business website on every plan
• Room and resource management from Mindbody's Accelerate plan
• Marketing automation, reviews and referrals, and two-way texting on the Ultimate plans

Pricing

Both products are priced by quote through sales ("Let's talk" on every plan).

• Mindbody: "Starting at $79 USD/month per location" (North America and Asia), with no fees for additional users. Plans are Starter, Accelerate and Ultimate. Email and SMS marketing and the lead management dashboard are on Ultimate; AI Concierge is an add-on on Accelerate and included on Ultimate.
• Booker: "Starting at $139." Plans are Starter (up to 3,000 text notifications and reminders, a limited number of staff profiles, basic reporting), Accelerate (unlimited active staff profiles, smart contact lists, email templates, loyalty) and Ultimate (automated email and text marketing, unlimited 2-way texting, reviews and referrals, automatic fill of last-minute openings).

Neither pricing page publishes card processing rates.

Pros

• Exposure on the Mindbody consumer app
• Hands-on onboarding, migration and account management
• Unlimited users on Mindbody plans
• Enterprise options for franchises and multi-location brands

Cons

• Pricing by quote, so comparing costs takes sales calls
• Two overlapping products (Mindbody and Booker) make the choice less clear
• Processing rates are not published
• Booker Starter limits staff profiles and texts

Who should use it, and who should skip it

Consider Mindbody or Booker if you run a day spa, hotel spa or multi-location beauty brand and want a vendor that handles setup and training. Skip them if you are a solo stylist or small salon that wants to sign up online, see the full price upfront and start the same day.

What a Salon Actually Pays: Cost Examples

Subscription prices below are taken from each vendor's pricing page in October 2026, for one location, excluding tax, add-ons and card processing. Mindbody and Booker are priced by quote, so they are left out of the math.

Solo stylist or booth renter (1 bookable calendar)

If you want automatic no-show fees on Square, budget Plus: $49 x 12 = $588.

Small salon (5 bookable staff)

Larger salon (10 bookable staff)

Card processing on a $100 in-person service

Using each vendor's published card-present rate:

• Fresha: 2.29% + $0.20 = $2.49 (plus $0.10 with Tap to Pay)
• GlossGenius: 2.4% + $0.15 = $2.55
• Square Premium: 2.4% + 15¢ = $2.55; Plus $2.65; Free $2.75
• Booksy Card Reader: 2.49% + $0.10 = $2.59
• Vagaro: 2.6% + $0.10 = $2.70 under $4,000 a month; 2.2% + $0.19 = $2.39 over $4,000 a month, plus $10 a month

At $10,000 a month in card sales, the gap between 2.29% and 2.6% is about $31 a month, or roughly $370 a year, before per-transaction fees. For a busy salon, processing can matter more than the subscription.

Marketplace fee on a new client's first $100 visit

• Fresha marketplace: 20% = $20 (minimum $6)
• Booksy with Boost on: 30% = $30 (maximum $100)
• Vagaro Marketplace: $0 booking fees

Those fees only apply to new clients who come through the marketplace. Returning clients and clients who use your own booking link are free on both Fresha and Booksy.

How to Choose

Count your bookable staff first

Per-seat pricing decides most of the bill. With one or two stylists, Fresha, GlossGenius and Square are cheapest. From about five staff, Vagaro and GlossGenius Gold pull ahead. Past seven, Vagaro's cap makes it the cheapest paid option, and Square Plus stays flat at $49 per location.

Decide whether you want a marketplace

If you need new clients and do not have a strong Instagram or referral pipeline, a marketplace can pay for itself. Fresha, Booksy, Vagaro and Mindbody all list you in a consumer app. Fresha and Booksy charge per new client; Vagaro says it charges no booking fees. If most of your book is returning clients, GlossGenius or Square may cost less overall.

Check how no-show fees are collected

Deposits and no-show fees are charged as card-not-present payments, which carry higher rates: 3.4% + $0.15 on GlossGenius, 3.5% + 15¢ on Square, 3.5% + $0.15 keyed on Vagaro, 2.69% + $0.30 on Booksy and 3.30% + $0.20 manual entry on Fresha. On Square, automatic no-show fees need Plus.

Booth renters and suites

Independent stylists renting a chair usually want their own account and their own payouts. Fresha's Team plan can route payments directly to independents, and Vagaro has dedicated booth-renter software plus rent collection for the salon owner. Solo-friendly plans on GlossGenius, Booksy and Square also work well for a single renter.

Multi-location and premium salons

For several locations, look at Vagaro (multi-location tools, Flagship Syncing, SSO and APIs), Boulevard (per-location pricing, Enterprise plan) and Mindbody or Booker (sales-led onboarding and Enterprise options). Get processing quotes in writing, since Boulevard and Mindbody do not publish rates.

Try before you move your data

Every vendor here either has a free trial or a demo: Vagaro 30 days, Square 30 days on Plus and Premium, Booksy and GlossGenius 14 days, Fresha 7 days. GlossGenius and Vagaro offer free data transfer. Book a few real appointments, take a deposit, and run a no-show fee before you switch.

Final Recommendations

• Best overall for salons: Vagaro. The per-calendar price stops at seven, there are no marketplace booking fees, and deposits, no-show fees, POS and memberships are built in. Budget for $30 a month after the first six months and check which add-ons you need.
• Best for small teams on a budget: Fresha. $14.95 per team member and a 2.29% + $0.20 in-person rate are hard to beat for two to six stylists, as long as you accept the 20% fee on new marketplace clients.
• Best for barbers and solo pros who want a client app: Booksy. Everything is included for $29.99 a month, with 2,000 free marketing texts. Keep an eye on the $20 per extra seat.
• Best for solo stylists and boutique studios: GlossGenius. A polished booking site, flat plan pricing and a 2.4% + $0.15 in-person rate.
• Best free option: Square Appointments. Unlimited staff calendars and deposits for $0; move to Plus for automatic no-show fees.
• Best for high-end salons and spas: Boulevard. Precise scheduling for complex services and unlimited professionals from Premier, at a premium price.
• Best for multi-location spa brands that want hands-on onboarding: Mindbody or Booker. Expect a sales process and quote-based pricing.