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Hairdressers.io

Comparing pricing models

Vagaro alternative for barbershops and barber shop owners who want one flat bill for every chair

A barbershop runs on short services, regulars on a three week rhythm and a bench of walk-ins. If you are paying for a platform built around long salon appointments and add-on modules, this is what the switch looks like.

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This week

Thursday, chair 2

9:00am 10:30am 12:00pm 1:30pm 3:00pm 4:30pm 6:00pm 7:30pm

Thursday 7:30pm · Balayage · 2h 30m

Sold this week
78%
Rebooked
61%
No-shows
2

Sample data, shown to illustrate the interface.

Short answer

Hairdressers.io is a Vagaro alternative for barbershops that bills the shop instead of the chair. One flat price covers the whole floor: $49 a month for a barber working alone and $89 for a shop of up to eight barbers, with every barber's own booking link, a day calendar of all chairs, walk-ins that block online times the moment the counter types them in, email reminders, client cards and a city directory listing at 0% commission. Vagaro still wins if you need a register, payroll and retail stock in one login.

The model you are comparing

Priced by the number of bookable calendars at each location, with several features sold as add-ons and a consumer marketplace

Our model

One flat price for the shop, $89 for up to eight barbers, every feature on every plan and 0% commission

We deliberately do not publish Vagaro's prices, plan names or commission rates on this page.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

Hiring a barber stops costing software money

When the bill counts calendars, every new chair is a new line on the invoice until the cap. Here a fifth or a sixth barber inside the band of eight changes nothing.

Walk-ins and bookings on one floor

The counter types a walk-in into the day for the barber taking the client. It is confirmed at once and that time disappears from the online booking page, so nobody books a chair that is already busy.

The client list stays with the shop

Every client card, visit and note exports to a spreadsheet whenever you want, and new clients from the directory carry no commission in year one or year five.

01

Vagaro alternatives for barbershops, compared by how the bill grows

A barbershop owner comparing Vagaro alternatives is usually choosing between four shapes of bill: a seat for every barber, a fee on new clients from a consumer app, a barber suite priced per location with tiers, or one flat shop price. The table sorts the names US shops actually shortlist by those lines, because that is what decides the cost once you have four or six chairs.

We compare models and not prices. 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 on the day you sign, then hold it against this table. For the full twelve month sum, see cheapest barbershop booking software.

Option What the bill counts New clients from an app Best for a shop that
Vagaro Bookable calendars at each location, up to a cap, plus add-ons Yes, a consumer marketplace across beauty, fitness and wellness Wants a register, payroll and retail stock in one login
Booksy One subscription plus a monthly fee for each added team member, no cap Yes; Boost charges a one-time commission on new clients it sends Needs the app to bring in new heads and has few barbers
theCut A free plan and a Pro plan charged per barber Yes, a barber discovery app; a per-client fee on the free plan Takes payments in the app and wants barber-only discovery
Squire Tiers priced per location; higher tiers add commission and rent collection, loyalty and a branded app No consumer marketplace of its own Runs commission splits or booth rent through the software
Square Appointments A no-fee entry tier, paid tiers per location, processing on every card payment Listed in the Square Go app Already runs the register on Square
Hairdressers.io $49 for one barber, $89 for up to eight, $199 for up to 25 across locations A city directory listing, 0% commission Has regulars plus walk-ins and is hiring

02

What barber-focused software outperforms Vagaro for shop owners?

Barbershop counter with the day calendar open on a tablet while a walk-in client waits

For a shop owner, barber-focused software outperforms Vagaro when it fits the way a barbershop actually fills its chairs: short services back to back, regulars who rebook every few weeks and walk-ins at the door. Squire and theCut are built for barbers; a flat plan like Hairdressers.io beats Vagaro on cost once the shop has three or more barbers.

Vagaro is a broad platform. It serves salons, spas, gyms and yoga studios from the same product, and its depth shows in inventory, payroll integrations, class booking and multi-location roll-ups. A four chair shop doing fades and beard trims uses a small slice of that and still pays the per-calendar structure. The better question is which slice you use. If it is the calendar, the booking links, the client list and a way for new clients to find you, a shop-priced product covers it for less. If it is the register and the payroll export, stay where you are.

03

Built for twenty minute cuts and a bench of walk-ins

A four chair barbershop with barbers working on clients on a weekday afternoon

A barbershop day is a run of short appointments with very little room between them. Software that only works for a shop when everything is booked online leaves the counter guessing. These are the pieces that matter on a busy Saturday, and all of them are on every plan.

A link for every barber
Each barber has a personal booking page with their own hours, days off and the services they actually do, ready for an Instagram bio or a card on the mirror.
Real service lengths
A cut is 30 minutes, a cut and beard is 45, a lineup is 15. Each service books for its real length plus any buffer you set, so the day never overbooks.
Walk-ins that close the slot
Typed in at the counter, confirmed at once, and removed from the online times in the same moment.
One day view of every chair
All barbers side by side on a 15 minute grid. Drag a visit to move it and the client gets an email with the new time.
Price levels per barber
A senior barber and a new barber can charge different prices for the same cut without two service menus.
No-shows counted
Mark a visit as a no-show and the reports show how many there were this week and what they cost the shop.

04

What you give up when you leave Vagaro

Be clear on this before you cancel anything. Hairdressers.io is booking, a calendar, client cards, reports and a directory listing. It has no point of sale, no card processing, no payroll or commission tracking, no inventory, no gift cards, no text message reminders (reminders go by email) and no deposits taken at booking. Booth rent is not collected through it either.

Most shops that move keep a card reader they already own for payments and use the flat plan for everything that happens before the client sits down. If commission splits and rent collection are the reason you bought software in the first place, a barber suite like Squire is the closer fit, and we would rather you knew that now. The broader comparison for small shops is in best management software for small barber shops.

05

How to move a barbershop off Vagaro without losing bookings

Owner of a small barbershop at the front desk preparing the client list export

Export your client list and your upcoming appointments from Vagaro first, while the account is still active. Import both into your account on any paid plan, so the clients already booked for the next few weeks stay booked and nobody is asked to rebook a cut they already have.

Then set each barber's hours, services and price level, put the new links in every Instagram bio and on the shop's Google profile, and send your regulars the link twice over two weeks. Cancel Vagaro only after the last appointment booked there has passed. The whole setup is self-serve and a small shop can finish it in an evening.

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 Vagaro alternative for a barbershop?

For a two to eight chair barbershop with mostly regulars and walk-ins, the best Vagaro alternative is a flat shop plan that gives every barber a link and keeps walk-ins on the same calendar. Hairdressers.io does that for $89 a month. Shops that need commission splits and rent collection fit Squire better; shops that need app discovery look at Booksy or theCut.

Is Vagaro good for barbershops?

Vagaro works for barbershops that use its depth: a register, retail stock, payroll exports and several locations. Many small shops use only the calendar and booking links and still pay per bookable calendar plus add-ons. If that is your shop, a barber-focused or shop-priced product usually costs less for the same daily use.

Can I import my clients from Vagaro?

Yes. Export your client list and upcoming appointments from Vagaro and import them on any paid plan, so existing bookings stay in place. Do the export before you cancel, because access to the data can end with the subscription.

Does the price go up when I add a barber?

Not inside your band. The Salon plan at $89 a month covers up to eight barbers, so hiring a fourth or a seventh barber changes nothing on the bill. Bigger shops or several locations move to the Studio plan, $199 for up to 25. Every price is on the pricing page.

Can walk-ins and online bookings share the same chairs?

Yes. The counter adds a walk-in to the barber taking the client, the visit is confirmed at once, and that time disappears from the online booking page. Online clients only ever see times that are actually free.

Do clients need to download an app to book?

No. Clients book from each barber's link in a browser, with no app and no account. The shop also gets a listing on the city directory for its area, and clients who find you there carry no commission.

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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