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Hairdressers.io

Comparing pricing models

Vagaro alternative and Vagaro competitors for hair salons with flat per-salon pricing

If you are comparing options because the bill grows every time you add a stylist or a module, the difference worth understanding is structural, not cosmetic.

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Last 30 days

Revenue by service

Color and balayage 62%
Cutting 24%
Blowouts 9%
Treatments 5%
Rebooking rate
61%
Week sold
78%
Locations
3

Sample data, shown to illustrate the interface.

Short answer

Hairdressers.io is a Vagaro alternative that charges one flat price per salon instead of a fee per bookable calendar plus paid add-ons. The booking page, automatic reminders, deposits, client records and a listing on the city directory are in every plan, from $49 a month for a single chair and $89 for a salon of up to eight stylists. Adding a stylist inside your plan band does not change the invoice, and no booking carries a commission.

The model you are comparing

Priced per bookable calendar up to a cap, with additional features sold as add-ons

Our model

One flat price per salon covering a band of stylists, everything included

We deliberately do not publish Vagaro's prices, plan names or commission rates on this page.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

The bill moves when your team does

Per-calendar pricing means hiring has a software cost attached to it, at least until you reach the cap. Flat per-salon pricing means adding a stylist inside your band changes nothing on the invoice.

Add-ons versus included

When a booking page, a website, forms or messaging are separate purchases, the headline price is a starting point rather than a price. Here the booking page, the reminders and the directory listing are in every plan.

A directory that does not charge per client

Our city directory listing is included and carries 0% commission, so a client it introduces costs the same in year two as on day one.

01

Vagaro competitors for hair salons, compared by how the bill is built

Most lists of Vagaro competitors mix gyms, med spas and salons, so half the names do not fit a hair salon at all. These are the six a US salon owner actually weighs against Vagaro, sorted by the two lines that decide the bill: what the subscription counts, and what a brand new client costs you.

We compare models, not prices, because every one of these companies changes its numbers and a stale figure would be a false statement about a real business. Read each pricing page before you sign, then hold it against this table.

Vagaro competitor What the subscription counts Brings new clients? Fits a salon that
Booksy One subscription plus a monthly fee per extra team member, no cap Yes, a consumer app; Boost charges once on new clients it sends Needs strangers to find it and has few stylists
Fresha A flat plan for one person or a fee per bookable team member Yes, a marketplace; current plans list new marketplace clients as free Wants a marketplace and accepts a per-member bill
GlossGenius Tiers by team size, flat card processing No marketplace Has a full book of regulars and wants clean software
Square Appointments A no-fee entry tier, then paid tiers priced per location Listed in the Square Go consumer app Already takes payments on Square
Acuity Scheduling Tiers by number of calendars No marketplace at all Is one chair with unusual booking rules
StyleSeat A monthly subscription Yes; a capped one-time share of each brand new client's first appointment Is a solo stylist building a book from zero
Hairdressers.io One flat price per salon for a band of stylists: $49, $89 or $199 Yes, a city directory listing at 0% commission Has regulars, wants new faces too, and wants the bill to stay still

02

Which Vagaro competitor is best for a hair salon?

Owner of a small four chair hair salon checking the day's booking requests on a phone at the front desk

For a hair salon with two to eight stylists and a book that is mostly regulars, a flat per-salon plan with a directory listing is usually the best Vagaro competitor, because hiring changes nothing on the bill and new clients carry no fee. A salon building its book from zero is better served by a marketplace like Booksy or Fresha, accepting a bill that grows with each team member or new client.

Vagaro still wins where a salon runs a retail floor: point of sale hardware, shelf stock and payroll live inside it, and none of that is part of this product. If those three matter, stay. If what you use is the calendar, the client list and the marketplace listing, you are paying for a platform to get a booking page. The shape of each rival on its own is on the Booksy alternative, Fresha alternative and GlossGenius alternative pages, and two of them go head to head in GlossGenius vs Vagaro.

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

Save 50% yearly

Yearly saves 50%, half the monthly price.

Chair

Start here

Solo stylist or booth renter

$24 /mo

$288 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
  • Import your existing bookings
  • Pay by card, cancel any time
List your salon

Card payment, live right after

Salon

Independent salon, up to 8 stylists

$44 /mo

$528 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
Choose Salon

Card payment, live right after

Studio

Multi-location, up to 25 stylists

$99 /mo

$1,188 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

$199 /mo

$2,388 billed once a year

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

Card payment, live right after

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. Every plan, Group included, is paid by card and your page goes live right after payment. There is no free tier because the live demo is the free taste.

Questions

Switching from Vagaro

The rest are on the salon booking system FAQ.

What is the best alternative to Vagaro for premium salons?

For a premium salon the best Vagaro alternative keeps you out of a discount marketplace, lets the front desk approve each new client and keeps color formulas on the client card. Boulevard and Phorest are the usual full-suite picks; for booking and client records on a flat bill, see salon software for luxury and upscale salons.

Is there a cheaper alternative to Vagaro?

Cheaper depends on your team size, because the two products are priced on different axes. Per-user pricing is competitive for a solo stylist and gets more expensive with every chair, while a flat per-salon fee costs the same at two stylists or at eight. Add up every module you actually use today, then compare that total against $49, $89 or $199 rather than against a headline figure.

Can I import my Vagaro clients and appointments?

Yes. Export your client list and your upcoming appointments from your current system, and we import contacts, appointment history and services during setup, so nobody is asked to rebook something they already booked. Ask for the export before you cancel anything, not after.

Does the price go up when I hire another stylist?

Not inside your band. Each plan covers a range of stylists at one price, so hiring a fourth stylist on the Salon plan changes nothing on the bill. You only move up when you outgrow the band, and the next price is published rather than quoted.

What is not included here that Vagaro has?

Point of sale hardware, retail stock control and payroll are not part of this product, and there is no fitness or wellness class booking. If you run a shop floor with inventory, that gap is real and worth weighing before you move.

Who are Vagaro's main competitors for hair salons?

Booksy, Fresha and StyleSeat, which also run consumer marketplaces, and GlossGenius, Square Appointments, Acuity Scheduling and Setmore, which do not. Each bills differently as you hire. We sorted them by how the bill grows in Vagaro competitors for hair salons.

Is Vagaro or Acuity better for a hair salon?

Vagaro for a floor of stylists, Acuity for a single chair with unusual booking rules. Both price on calendars, so both bills climb as you hire, and only Vagaro has a marketplace. We put the two side by side in Acuity vs Vagaro for salons, and the Acuity model on its own is on the Acuity Scheduling alternative page.

More salon software pages

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

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