Vendors can pay for more visibility on this website, for example a higher place in a ranking or more room on a page. Commercial relationships can also affect which products we feature and how prominently. Every vendor link is marked the same, whatever the arrangement behind it. The largest vendors in salon and spa booking software
cannot hold places 1 to 3. Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands in a category,
wherever the category has them; the established names follow from place 4 in their ranked order. How it works: placement disclosure ·
editorial process.
The 12 tools, reviewed
#1 Phorest
Salon and clinic software with marketing and retention built in · Ireland · phorest.com
salon retention ireland
Phorest is written for a salon that has outgrown a diary but is not yet a chain. Its pricing page says all plans carry unlimited staff and unlimited devices, so hiring a fourth stylist does not trigger a surcharge.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote only across four plans (Starter, Grow, Ultimate, Elite); every plan includes unlimited staff and devices, and SMS is charged at a separate rate. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Growing salons with three or more staff
- Strengths: Online booking with deposits; Client cards; Automated SMS and email reminders.
Where it falls short
Pricing is quote-only, which makes comparison harder, and the page states it is meant for salons with three or more staff, so a solo practitioner is outside the target.
Wrong for
A booth renter or a one-chair studio that wants a published price and a free start.
Visit Phorest →
#2 Mangomint
Salon and spa software with transparent per-location pricing · United States · mangomint.com
spa published pricing ai receptionist
Mangomint publishes its price on the page: $120 a month per location, $10 per user, and no contracts. Free onboarding and free data transfer take away the usual dread of migrating from an old system. The calendar and the Express Booking flow are clean, and the virtual waiting room lets clients check in by text.
- Pricing: Per location + user. $120 per location plus $10 per user per month, with optional phone ($70 per line), marketing (from $30) and payroll ($50 plus $8 per worker). Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Design-led salons and spas wanting clear pricing
- Strengths: Calendar and scheduling; Express Booking; Payments and point of sale.
Where it falls short
The phone line, marketing credits and payroll are add-ons, so a fully equipped site costs more than the headline figure. Per-location pricing climbs fast across several sites, and there is no permanent free plan.
Wrong for
A multi-site group with franchise reporting needs, or a solo stylist wanting a free tier.
Visit Mangomint →
#3 Salonized
Month-to-month salon software with an optional marketplace · Netherlands · salonized.com
european month-to-month treatwell
Salonized sells the idea that a salon should not need a contract. The site says there are no setup costs, no credit card is needed for the trial, and a subscription ends at the end of the paid month.
- Pricing: Per month. Monthly plans with no contracts or setup fees, a 14-day trial of the Pro plan, optional SMS credits from €0.11 each and a payment terminal from €199 plus a 1.0% transaction fee. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Small European salons and barbers
- Strengths: Online calendar; Online scheduling; Sales and inventory.
Where it falls short
The Treatwell connection is both the draw and the cost, and the commission on new bookings is high. Hardware is not supplied, so you buy a printer or scanner elsewhere.
Wrong for
A multi-location chain, or a clinic that needs charting and prescriptions.
Visit Salonized →
#4 Fresha
Low-cost scheduling with a consumer marketplace · United Kingdom · fresha.com
marketplace low cost uk
Fresha's price list is short and readable: a one-person business pays a flat monthly amount and a team pays per bookable team member. The feature list is long for the money, covering waitlists, forms, patch tests, packages and memberships, and a business mobile app. Direct booking links and Instagram and Facebook bookings are listed as free.
- Pricing: Per team member / month. €14.95 per month for one person, €9.95 per bookable team member for teams, with a 7-day trial. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Solo professionals and small teams on a budget
- Strengths: Calendar and scheduling; Waitlists; Point of sale.
Where it falls short
Clients found through the Fresha marketplace carry a one-time fee, so the cheapest software can become the dearest source of customers. Messages and marketing emails come in small free allowances.
Wrong for
A salon that wants every booking to come from its own clients and sees a marketplace fee as a tax.
Visit Fresha →
#5 Vagaro
Booking, payments and a marketplace in one subscription · United States · vagaro.com
marketplace payments multi-location
Vagaro has been running since 2009 from Pleasanton, California, and the product shows its age as breadth. A single subscription includes online booking on Instagram, Facebook and Apple Maps, memberships, loyalty, inventory, invoices and 1,000 free emails monthly. Price is set by the count of bookable calendars.
- Pricing: Per bookable calendar. Published monthly price based on the number of bookable calendars, with a 30-day free trial and a free card reader on signing up for Vagaro Merchant Services. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Salons mixing hair, spa and class bookings
- Strengths: Online booking; Calendar and resources; Memberships and packages.
Where it falls short
The feature list is long, so setup takes more decisions than a lighter tool. Daily Deals and marketplace listings encourage discounting. Merchant services are provided through its own program, so processing choice is narrow for most accounts.
Wrong for
A designer-led studio that wants a quiet, minimal interface, or a business that must use its own processor.
Visit Vagaro →
#6 Square Appointments
Free appointment booking tied to Square payments · United States · squareup.com
free plan payments pos
Square Appointments grows out of the payments business. The first plan is for solo professionals, with online booking site, reminders and unlimited staff calendars. The paid tiers add multi-staff booking, a waitlist, no-show fees, service cost tracking and resource management, and there is a custom-priced Square Pro tier for owners above $250,000 in yearly volume.
- Pricing: Free + paid tiers. A free plan for solo professionals, paid tiers for growing teams and large salons with free trials, and custom pricing above $250,000 a year in processing. Free plan: free plan.
- Best for: Solo professionals wanting a free start
- Strengths: Unlimited staff calendars; Online booking site; Appointment reminders.
Where it falls short
Beauty-specific work such as colour formulas, processing gaps and consultation forms is thinner than in the specialists. The free plan is funded by processing, and cheaper rates need volume. Marketplace discovery is limited compared with Fresha or Booksy.
Wrong for
A salon built on colour services, retail and memberships that needs deep client cards.
Visit Square Appointments →
#7 Boulevard
Premium salon, spa and medspa software with AI reception · United States · joinblvd.com
premium medspa multi-location
Boulevard targets owners who care how a booking looks to a client. The pricing page lists four tiers: Essentials for up to five providers at a single location, then Premier and Prestige for any number of professionals and more than one site, then Enterprise with APIs. A medspa edition adds forms, charts and ePrescribe.
- Pricing: Per location / month. Plans from $143 a month for one location (Essentials), $234 per location (Premier) and $328 (Prestige) on a fall offer, plus an Enterprise tier on request. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Upscale salons and medspas with several locations
- Strengths: Scheduling; Self-booking; Client profiles.
Where it falls short
Price is several times that of Fresha, Booksy or Vagaro, and the cheapest tier caps providers at five. Promotional pricing is for new customers only, and the Forms add-on is bundled only in Prestige.
Wrong for
A solo stylist or a small barbershop on a tight budget.
Visit Boulevard →
#8 GlossGenius
Branded booking site and payments for independents · United States · glossgenius.com
independents branded website payments
GlossGenius builds a booking website for each business, which makes it feel like a brand tool as much as a calendar. Standard covers custom booking, notifications, marketing and inventory. Gold adds forms, Google booking and reviews, an automated waitlist and time tracking, and is described as suited to businesses with up to nine staff. Platinum adds team goal setting and customizable commissions.
- Pricing: Tiered per month. Three tiers, Standard at $28 a month ($24 billed annually), Gold at $56 ($48) and Platinum at $168 ($148). Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Independent stylists and small studios
- Strengths: Custom booking website; Unlimited client notifications; Email and text marketing.
Where it falls short
Price jumps from $56 to $168 between Gold and Platinum, which is the tier needed for team analytics. Add-ons stack up, and card rates matter because low rates depend on its own processing.
Wrong for
A twenty-chair salon needing franchise-level reporting across several sites.
Visit GlossGenius →
#9 Booksy
Flat subscription with a consumer marketplace · Poland · booksy.com
barber marketplace poland
Booksy's selling point is that nothing is gated. The pricing page lists one subscription with unlimited bookings, reminders, email and text marketing, waitlists, forms, gift cards, memberships and packages, and says there is no commitment. Extra users cost $20 a month each.
- Pricing: Flat + per extra user. $29.99 per month with all features included, plus $20 per month per extra user. Free plan: free trial.
- Best for: Barbers and independent stylists seeking walk-in clients
- Strengths: 24/7 online booking; Calendar and client management; Marketing tools.
Where it falls short
A team of eight pays well over $150 before processing, since users are billed one by one. Boost fees reduce margin on first visits. Depth for spas and medical aesthetics is limited and payment rates vary by method.
Wrong for
A larger salon with many chairs and a growing payroll, or a clinic needing charting.
Visit Booksy →
#10 Pabau
Practice management for aesthetic and wellness clinics · United Kingdom · pabau.com
clinic records uk
Pabau comes from the clinic side of the market. Plans are sorted by user count, from a single practitioner up to sixteen or more, and the vendor states that every plan carries the full platform. That means online booking, patient portal, forms, photos, payments and memberships come together, with Care Plus add-ons for cases, labs, letters and prescriptions.
- Pricing: Per user band. Priced by team size from Solo (1 user) to Enterprise (16 or more) with full access on every plan. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Aesthetic clinics and medspas needing clinical records
- Strengths: Scheduling and online booking; Client portal; Rooms and equipment.
Where it falls short
Price is hidden behind a demo and varies by region. It is heavier than a simple appointment book, and chair-based hair processing is not its focus.
Wrong for
A barbershop or hair salon wanting quick online booking without clinical records.
Visit Pabau →
#11 Zenoti
Enterprise salon, spa and medspa operations platform · United States · zenoti.com
enterprise franchise ai workforce
Zenoti covers more of the back office than any other product here: payroll and commissions, inventory, room and resource management, kiosks, franchise controls and business intelligence sit beside the booking engine. Dynamic and premium provider pricing, abandoned cart recovery and automated upsells point to a business that treats the schedule as a revenue-management problem.
- Pricing: Quote only. Quote only through a sales team, with editions for salon and spa, medspa, fitness and barbershop; no published prices. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Chains, franchises and large spas
- Strengths: Appointment book; Payroll and commissions; Inventory management.
Where it falls short
No price is published, and a rollout needs a project plan and training time. Interface complexity slows a small team down. Contract and processing terms are negotiated, so independence from the vendor is low once live.
Wrong for
A single salon or a team of three.
Visit Zenoti →
#12 Mindbody
Booking and marketing for fitness, wellness and beauty · United States · mindbodyonline.com
wellness classes marketplace
Mindbody's pricing page splits the product into Starter, Accelerate and Ultimate. Starter has integrated payments, branded booking widgets, a business website and a listing on the Mindbody app. Accelerate adds analytics, room and resource scheduling and a Client Pick-a-Spot feature for classes, and Ultimate adds automated campaigns and a sales pipeline. Every tier allows unlimited users, which helps a growing team.
- Pricing: Quote only. Three tiers (Starter, Accelerate, Ultimate) with prices given only on request; unlimited users in every tier. Free plan: none.
- Best for: Studios mixing classes, spa and salon services
- Strengths: Business management tools; Integrated payments; Branded booking widgets.
Where it falls short
Prices are only given by a sales team and the platform is built for classes and memberships, so beauty-specific features trail Phorest and Boulevard. The mobile marketplace helps discovery but pushes discounts. Contracts and add-ons need close reading.
Wrong for
An independent hair salon or barber wanting a visible price and no class features.
Visit Mindbody →
Questions and answers
What is the best salon and spa booking software in 2026?
Phorest ranks first of 12, best for growing salons with three or more staff. Mangomint is second (design-led salons and spas wanting clear pricing) and Salonized third (small European salons and barbers). Places 1 to 3 go to challengers, vendors outside the best-known brands, wherever the category has them.
How much does salon booking software cost?
It depends on which meter you look at. Fresha lists €14.95 a month for a one-person business and €9.95 per bookable team member for teams. Booksy charges $29.99 a month plus $20 for each extra user.
Is there a free salon booking system?
Square Appointments has a free plan for solo professionals, funded by card processing. Fresha, GlossGenius, Salonized and Mangomint offer trials rather than a permanent free plan, and Vagaro runs a 30-day free trial.
Do I have to use the vendor's payment processor?
In practice, yes for most of them. Square, Booksy, Mangomint, GlossGenius, Phorest (PhorestPay) and Salonized (Salonized Pay) all want card volume through their own system, and some features such as deposits, tap to pay and instant payouts depend on it.
What is the difference between a booking marketplace and booking software?
Software runs your calendar and clients. A marketplace is a consumer app that sends you new clients.
Can I switch from Fresha or Vagaro without losing my clients?
Client lists move with a CSV export, and most competitors will import it, often for free.
Which software is best for a medspa or aesthetic clinic?
Look at products with charting, consent forms and medical record features. Pabau is built for clinics and prices by user count.
How do AI receptionists work in salon software?
They answer calls or texts, check the real calendar, then book, move or cancel appointments. Mangomint's Mira, Boulevard's Beau, GlossGenius Reception and Zenoti's AI Receptionist all do this.
Is the software suitable for a salon with several locations?
Yes, but check what multi-site means. Boulevard, Zenoti, Mindbody, Phorest and Vagaro all describe multi-location features such as shared client lists, central reporting and access levels per site. Mangomint charges per location, so costs scale with sites.
Do clients need to download an app to book?
Mostly no. GlossGenius, Mangomint and Fresha offer booking links that work from a browser or from Instagram and Facebook. Phorest and Booksy also provide a branded or marketplace app for repeat clients.
What should I check before signing a contract?
Check the length of the term, the notice period, the processing agreement and any early termination fee. Month-to-month plans are common: Salonized and Mangomint say no contracts, Vagaro and Booksy say cancel anytime.
