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Hairdressers.io

Comparing pricing models

Acuity Scheduling alternative for hair salons, with a client directory included

Acuity schedules almost any appointment business well. The two questions worth asking before you renew are what happens to your bill when a third stylist joins the floor, and where the new clients are supposed to come from.

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Service list

What you charge, and how long it takes

  • Cut and finish, Nia 45m $60 to $95
  • Root touch-up, Dana 1h 30m $120 to $165
  • Full balayage, Dana 3h $220 to $360
  • Silk press, Nia 1h 15m $85 to $120
  • Beard trim, Marcus 25m $25 to $40

Availability on the booking page is generated from these durations. Sample list.

Short answer

Hairdressers.io is an Acuity Scheduling alternative built specifically for hair salons and barbershops. Acuity is a general-purpose scheduler sold in three tiers that scale on how many calendars you need, and it has no client-facing directory, so it books the clients you already have. Hairdressers.io charges one flat price per salon, $39 a month for a single chair and $89 for a salon of up to eight stylists, and every plan includes a listing on the city directory for your area with 0% commission on the bookings it sends.

The model you are comparing

A general-purpose scheduler in three tiers that scale on how many calendars you need, with no client-facing directory

Our model

One flat price per salon covering a band of stylists, with a city directory listing included in every plan

We deliberately do not publish Acuity Scheduling's prices, plan names or commission rates on this page. They change, and a stale number would be a false statement about a real company. Check their own pricing page for the current detail, then compare the two models below.

What actually changes when you switch

Calendars are the thing you pay for

Acuity steps up in tiers based on how many calendars you need, so putting a new stylist on the floor is also a pricing decision. A flat band covers a range of stylists, which means hiring inside your band leaves the invoice alone.

A scheduler only books people who already know you

There is no consumer directory behind Acuity, so every booking starts with someone who already had your link. Finding strangers stays a separate budget line, usually ads or a marketplace that charges per new client.

Built salon-shaped rather than bent into shape

Per-stylist links, per-stylist hours and a service menu with real durations and price bands, instead of a generic appointment type you have to configure into a color service.

01

Where the two bills diverge as your team grows

Both products are honest about what they charge. They just charge on different axes, and the axis is what decides which one is cheaper for you. Acuity prices on calendars. We price on salon size bands. For a solo stylist those land in similar territory. For a floor of five or six they stop being comparable, because one of them is counting people and the other is not.

What you are comparing Acuity Scheduling Hairdressers.io
What the price scales on Tiers set by how many calendars you need, from one calendar up to thirty-six Flat bands set by salon size: one chair, up to eight stylists, up to twenty-five
Adding a stylist Adds a calendar, and can move you into the next tier Costs nothing inside your band, and the band is published
New-client discovery None. There is no consumer marketplace or directory A listing on the city directory page for your area, in every plan
Commission on bookings None None, including the bookings the directory introduces
Who it is built for Any appointment business: coaches, clinics, tutors, photographers, salons Hair salons, barbershops and the specialists working inside them
Trial A seven day trial, no credit card needed No card collected at signup, you get your setup details by email
What the higher tiers add SMS, waitlists, memberships and packages, an AI booking assistant, a HIPAA business associate agreement, custom API and CSS Per-stylist links and hours, priority placement in your city, and multiple locations on the top plan

02

Acuity books the clients you have. It does not find new ones.

This is the difference that actually decides the purchase, and it is easy to miss because it is not a feature either product lists. Acuity is scheduling infrastructure. It sits behind your own website, your own Instagram bio, your own text messages, and it turns people who already decided to book you into appointments. It does that job well and it makes no claim to do any other job.

Nobody opens Acuity looking for a salon. There is no consumer app, no browse-by-city page, no marketplace. So if your Tuesday afternoons are empty, Acuity has nothing to offer you, and the usual next step is to start paying somewhere else for reach: a promoted marketplace listing, local ads, or a platform that takes a share of every new client it introduces.

Every plan here includes a listing on the city directory for your area, showing your services, your honest price band, your stylists and your real open times, with booking straight from the listing into the same calendar your regulars use. There is no commission on it, in month one or in year three.

Being straight about scale, because you would work it out in a week anyway: a directory built city by city does not have the footfall of a national consumer app with a decade of head start. What it has is a price that does not move and no percentage attached to your growth. If your book is already full, that trade is worth nothing to you. If you have gaps, it is the whole argument.

03

What a salon calendar needs that a general scheduler does not

A general scheduler assumes one provider, one appointment type, one fixed length. A salon breaks all three of those assumptions before lunch on a Tuesday.

Services that vary by stylist
Your senior colorist and your second-year stylist do not charge the same for the same service, and should not take the same amount of time. Each stylist carries her own menu, her own durations and her own price band.
Honest durations and price bands
A balayage is not sixty minutes and it is not one price. Showing a range up front means fewer clients arriving with the wrong expectation, which is most of what a consultation is for.
Per-stylist hours and per-stylist links
A chair renter who works Thursday to Sunday needs her own hours and her own link she can put in a bio, not a shared account where her days are somebody else's problem.
Requests you approve, not slots that auto-confirm
Long services are worth a look before they land. Bookings arrive as requests inside your open hours, by email, with the client as the reply-to, so a three hour install never silently books itself into a day that cannot hold it.

04

Where Acuity Scheduling is the better buy

We would rather you stayed on Acuity than moved and regretted it, so here is the honest half of the comparison. Acuity is a mature product with real strengths, several of which we do not match and are not trying to.

You are on Squarespace
Acuity is part of Squarespace and embeds into a Squarespace site more cleanly than anything else will. If your site is already there and you like it, that integration has genuine value.
You need intake forms and paperwork
Custom forms attached to appointment types are one of the things Acuity does best, and if you take consultations, patch tests or consent forms seriously, that matters.
You need HIPAA coverage
Acuity will sign a business associate agreement on its top tier. We do not offer that, and if you run anything medical-adjacent you should not be shopping here.
You want to customize deeply
Custom CSS and API access on the higher tier let a developer reshape the booking experience. Our page is our page, and that is the trade for it being set up for you.
You are not only a salon
If you run classes, coaching, a studio and a chair out of the same calendar, a general scheduler is the right shape. Everything here assumes a salon.

05

What moves across when you switch from Acuity

Migration is what stops most people from moving, and vagueness about it is why. Pull your exports while your Acuity account is still open, not after you cancel it, whatever you end up deciding.

Your client list moves
Names, phone numbers, email addresses and appointment history import from a spreadsheet during setup. Take the export before you cancel and keep the file, because it is yours either way.
Your service menu moves
Services, durations and price bands get set up with you rather than typed in one row at a time after closing. This is where per-stylist pricing gets built properly.
Bookings already on the books move
Import upcoming appointments so no client is asked to rebook something she already booked. It is the step people skip and then spend a fortnight apologizing for.
Your embedded booking widget does not move
If Acuity is embedded in a Squarespace or WordPress page, that embed dies with the account. Plan the swap for a quiet week and update the link everywhere it lives, including your Google profile and every social bio.
Card processing is its own decision
Payment rails are separate on every platform including this one. Compare software cost against software cost, or the arithmetic turns to mush.

Before you move

Five things worth checking first

This applies whichever platform you are on, including ours. Migrating a salon is disruptive, so it is worth being sure the answer is better and not just different.

  1. 01

    Can you export your client list?

    Contacts, appointment history and notes, to a file you keep. Ask before you commit, not on the way out.

  2. 02

    What happens to bookings already made?

    You want to import upcoming appointments so no client is asked to rebook something they already booked.

  3. 03

    What is the real monthly total?

    Add every module you actually use, plus any per-staff element, plus anything variable. Compare that number, not the headline.

  4. 04

    Who holds the relationship?

    Whether reminders and confirmations go out under your salon name or the platform's changes what happens if you leave.

  5. 05

    Is there a contract term?

    A month-to-month arrangement and an annual commitment are very different decisions.

Our pricing, in full

Flat per salon, published, with nothing variable underneath

Yearly works out at roughly two months less over the year.

Chair

Start here

Solo stylist or booth renter

$32.50 /mo

$390 billed once a year

  • 1 stylist
  • Salon page on your own link: services, prices, open hours
  • Directory listing in 1 city
  • Booking requests inside your hours, by email
  • Private panel to edit your page and see requests
  • Pay by card, cancel any time
List your salon

Card payment, live right after

Salon

Independent salon, up to 8 stylists

$74.17 /mo

$890 billed once a year

  • Up to 8 stylists
  • Everything in Chair
  • Priority placement in your city listing
  • Per-stylist links and hours
  • Revenue and rebooking reporting
  • Import your existing bookings
Choose Salon

Card payment, live right after

Studio

Multi-location, up to 25 stylists

$165.83 /mo

$1,990 billed once a year

  • Up to 25 stylists
  • Everything in Salon
  • Listings for every location
  • Consolidated multi-location reporting
  • Roles and permissions per location
  • One invoice for all sites
Choose Studio

Card payment, live right after

Group

Chains and franchise groups

Talk to sales

Custom terms

  • Unlimited stylists and locations
  • Everything in Studio
  • SSO with SAML
  • Invoicing and PO billing
  • A named onboarding contact
  • Uptime SLA and a DPA

0% commission on bookings, on every plan

Including the clients your city directory listing sends you. There is no per-booking fee anywhere in this product.

0%

These are our plans. Pricing is flat per salon, so it does not change when you get busier. Chair, Salon and Studio are paid by card and your page goes live right after payment. Group starts with a conversation, because chains price on locations and terms. There is no free tier because the live demo is the free taste.

Questions

Switching from Acuity Scheduling

The rest are on the salon booking system FAQ.

What is better than Acuity Scheduling?

It depends on what Acuity is failing to do for you. If the problem is the tier stepping up as you add calendars, a flat per-salon plan is better arithmetic. If the problem is that your chairs have gaps, what you need is discovery, and Acuity has no directory at all. Hairdressers.io includes a city directory listing in every plan at 0% commission.

Does Acuity Scheduling take a percentage?

No. Acuity charges a subscription and does not take a commission on your bookings, which is one of its genuine strengths against marketplace platforms. Card processing is separate and priced by whichever processor you connect. We do not take a percentage either, including on bookings that come through the city directory.

Does Acuity Scheduling have a free plan?

No. Acuity runs three paid tiers with a seven day trial and no credit card required to start it. Check their own pricing page for the current tiers, because rates change and a stale figure quoted here would be a false statement about a real company. Our own numbers are published in full on the pricing page.

Is Acuity Scheduling good for salons?

It is good scheduling, used by plenty of salons, but it is general-purpose. It books appointments reliably and integrates with Squarespace well. What it does not do is bring you clients or model a salon floor natively, so a multi-stylist salon usually ends up configuring around it and buying reach somewhere else.

Which is better, Acuity or GlossGenius?

GlossGenius is beauty-native with flat team pricing and marketing tools inside the plan, so for a salon it is usually the better fit than a general scheduler. Acuity wins on forms, integrations and deep customization. Neither has a consumer marketplace, so net-new client acquisition stays your job with both. We compare the GlossGenius model on the GlossGenius alternative page.

Does Acuity Scheduling come with Squarespace?

Acuity is owned by Squarespace and some Squarespace plans bundle a level of it, which is exactly why so many salons end up on it by accident rather than by choice. That is worth noticing before you renew: a tool you were handed is not the same as a tool you picked. If you want to see how the salon-native options stack up, start with Acuity vs Vagaro for hair salons.

Can I use my own booking link instead of an embed?

Yes. Your salon gets a hosted page on its own link, and each stylist gets her own link with her own hours and her own menu. Put them in a bio, a text message or a business card. The same page is what a client reaches from your directory listing, so there is one calendar and one thing to keep current. More detail on hair salon appointment software.

More salon software pages

Acuity Scheduling is a trademark of its owner. Hairdressers.io is not affiliated with, endorsed by or partnered with Acuity Scheduling. This page compares pricing models only.

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One flat monthly price. No commission on any booking, ever. It takes an email address to start.

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