Salon Software: What Booking and POS Systems Really Cost a Salon

Salon software runs the whole day: the appointment book, the online booking page, reminders that cut no-shows, the client card with color formulas, and the checkout. Most of it is priced the same way, by the number of people who take appointments, but the bill is shaped by two other numbers: the card processing rate and, at Fresha and Booksy, a fee on new clients found through their marketplace. Here is what each system charges, taken from its own pricing page, and what that adds up to for a one-chair and a five-chair salon.

Salon software at a glance

Meevo and Zenoti don't publish prices: every plan on their pricing pages is "Request a Quote" or "Get a Quote".

The chart holds the main lesson of salon software pricing: once you take cards, processing is most of the bill. At $30,000 a month in card sales, the five systems with low-cost plans land within $66 of each other, and the cheapest subscription doesn't win. A difference of 0.1 percentage points in the card rate is $30 a month at that volume, more than some of the subscriptions.

Square Appointments: best for a solo stylist who wants to start free

Square Appointments has a free plan with an online booking site, appointment reminders and unlimited staff calendars. You pay only card fees: 2.6% + 15¢ per tap, dip or swipe, 3.3% + 30¢ online and 3.5% + 15¢ for a manually entered card or a card on file.

The paid plans are priced per location, not per stylist:

What to watch:

• No-show fees need Plus. Cancellation policies and no-show fees, multi-staff appointment booking and the waitlist are listed as Plus features, not Free ones.
• Charging a no-show costs more. A card on file is charged at 3.5% + 15¢, the highest rate in Square's table.
• Big salons can negotiate. Square says businesses processing over $250,000 a year can ask about custom pricing and processing fees.

Choose it if you work alone, want to start at $0 and already use Square for payments. Move to Plus when you want to enforce a cancellation policy or hire. Square's point of sale for shops and cafés is compared with Clover, Shopify POS and SumUp in our POS systems guide.

Fresha: best for the lowest subscription for one stylist

Fresha's Independent plan is $19.95 a month for a one-person business with a single calendar column. The Team plan is $14.95 per bookable team member a month, with unlimited team members; Fresha quotes custom rates above 20 team members. Card payments are 2.29% + 20¢ in person, plus 10¢ per Tap to Pay authorization, 2.79% + 20¢ online and 3.30% + 20¢ for a manually entered card. Terminals start at $139.

What to watch:

• The marketplace fee. A brand-new client who finds you on the Fresha marketplace costs a one-time 20% commission, with a $6 minimum, calculated on the value of their first completed appointment. Returning clients are free, and so are new clients who find you through your own website, Facebook or Instagram. A client who viewed your marketplace profile first and then booked through another online channel, your website included, can still trigger the fee.
• Messages are metered. You get 100 free texts or WhatsApp messages a month (per team member on Team), then 2¢ per text. Marketing texts are 8¢ each.
• Add-ons are per location. Client Loyalty is $59.95 a month, Google Rating Boost $14.95 and the AI Concierge from $29.95.

Choose it if you want the lowest fixed monthly cost and you'll either welcome marketplace clients at 20% or send clients your own booking link.

GlossGenius: best for a flat price for a team of up to 9

GlossGenius charges by plan, not by stylist. Standard is $28 a month ($24 billed annually) and Gold is $56 ($48 billed annually) for businesses with up to 9 staff. Platinum, at $168 ($148 annually), adds unlimited team members, custom commissions and team goals. The in-person card rate is 2.4% + 15¢ on every plan, card-on-file, online and keyed payments are 3.4% + 15¢, and online invoices are 2.9% + 30¢.

What to watch:

• Gold is the team plan. The pricing page names the 9-staff limit for Gold, and waitlists, Google booking and reviews, and forms start at Gold. A salon with staff should budget for Gold.
• Instant payouts cost 1.8%. Same-day payouts Monday to Thursday are free.
• Extras: payroll is $40 a month + $6 per seat (compare payroll services for small businesses), and the Reception phone add-on is $50 a month. Each extra location is the plan price less 15%.

Choose it if you have a small team and want one price that doesn't grow with every new hire until you pass 9 staff.

Booksy: best if barbers and stylists book from the Booksy app

Booksy is $29.99 a month plus tax with all features included, and $20 a month for each additional user. It has no commitment and includes 2,000 marketing texts a month. Payments are 2.49% + 10¢ on the Booksy card reader, 2.49% + 20¢ with Tap to Pay and 2.69% + 30¢ for mobile and keyed payments. The Stripe Reader M2 is $53.10 and the S710 is $299, plus shipping.

What to watch:

• Boost is the marketplace fee. Boost is free to switch on, and then each client who books you for the first time while it's on costs a one-time 30% of their first visit, up to $100. With Boost off, clients who find you on Booksy or through your own marketing cost nothing.
• Per-user pricing adds up. At five stylists Booksy is $109.99 a month, the highest of the low-cost plans.
• Fast payouts cost 1.5%. Next-business-day payouts are free.

Choose it if your clients already book on Booksy and you want everything included for one price per user.

Vagaro: best for a growing salon, because calendars stop costing at 7

Vagaro is $30 a month for one bookable calendar, and each extra calendar license is $10, up to seven licenses. After seven, more employees cost nothing, so a 10-chair salon pays $90 a month. New accounts get $23.99 a month for the first 6 months, a promotional rate. Vagaro takes no commission on online bookings or clients from the Vagaro marketplace.

Card processing depends on your volume:

Tap to Pay on a phone adds 6¢ a transaction.

What to watch:

• Features are add-ons. Text marketing starts at $20 a month, forms are $10, the MySite website builder $20, the check-in app $10, and payroll $34 a month + $5 per employee. A separate email marketing tool can cost less if you send newsletters only.
• The free card reader has strings. It requires 12 months of processing with Vagaro, and stopping earlier costs a $150 early cancellation fee.

Choose it if you plan to grow past five or six chairs and want calendar costs to stop rising, and you'll pick the add-ons you need.

Mangomint: best for a salon with a front desk

Mangomint has one plan: $120 a month per location plus $10 per user, and anyone with a profile counts as a user, front desk staff included. In-person payments are 2.45% + 15¢ and virtual payments 2.90% + 30¢. There are no contracts, onboarding and data transfer are free, and large businesses may qualify for custom rates.

What to watch:

• Add-ons for phone and marketing. The phone line is $70 a month (a virtual phone system is the alternative if you only need calls and texts), marketing credits start at $30 a month for 3,500 credits, and payroll is $50 a month + $8 per worker.
• Its base price is the highest for one stylist. A solo stylist pays $130 a month before card fees, which is why Mangomint is the most expensive one-chair salon in the chart.

Choose it if you run a busy salon with a front desk and will use its phone line and marketing flows; at one chair, the cheaper systems do the job.

Boulevard: best for an upscale salon with one or more locations

Boulevard publishes its plans but not its card rates. Essentials is $159 a month billed monthly, or $143 a month billed annually, for one location with up to 5 providers (bookable calendars), 250 free texts and 1,000 email blasts. Premier, for unlimited professionals, is normally $325 a month ($293 billed annually); a fall promotion for new customers lists it at $260 ($234 annually). Prestige is normally $455 ($410 annually), shown at $364 ($328 annually) under the same offer.

What to watch:

• Card rates aren't published. Boulevard mentions volume discounts and an Offset program in which clients pay a 3% card fee and the business pays 1%, but no base rate. Ask for it in writing before comparing.
• Forms are an add-on below Prestige, starting at $65 a month per location; QuickBooks sync is $45 a month.

Choose it if your team of up to five fits Essentials and the price buys features you would use, and get the card rate in writing first.

SalonBiz, Meevo and Zenoti: built for bigger salons

These three are aimed at commission-based teams and multi-location groups.

• SalonBiz prices by team size, with every feature in every plan: Basic (2 to 5 service providers) is $160 a month with SalonBiz Payments or $185 without, Essential (6 to 12) is $265 or $300, and Premium (13+) is $370 or $415. It doesn't publish its card rates.
• Meevo lists Lite, Essentials and Premier plans with unlimited users, but every price is "Request A Quote".
• Zenoti shows no prices at all; plans are quoted after a demo.

Get a written quote that includes the card processing rate and the contract length before you compare them with the systems above.

Choose them if you run commission-based teams of six or more or several locations and will negotiate the card rate and contract as part of the deal.

Marketplace fees: what a new client costs

Fresha and Booksy can bring you new clients through their consumer apps, and they charge for each one:

Five such clients a month would cost $120 at Fresha or $180 at Booksy. That can be cheap advertising for a new salon, but it's a fee you don't control, so share your own booking link with existing clients. Both vendors say returning clients are never charged.

The card fees for no-shows and deposits

Deposits, online prepayments and no-show charges are not tap-and-go payments, and every system charges more for them:

How the monthly cost is worked out

The chart assumes card sales of $6,000 a month for one chair and $30,000 for five chairs, all paid in person on the vendor's reader, at a $100 average ticket (60 and 300 payments). It uses list prices billed monthly, no marketplace fees, no add-ons and no promotional rates.

Boulevard and SalonBiz are left out because they don't publish card rates; Meevo and Zenoti because they don't publish prices.

How to choose

1. Solo, just starting? Square Appointments Free, or Fresha at $19.95 if you want its marketplace.
2. Two to nine stylists on one budget? GlossGenius Gold, at $56 a month for up to 9 staff.
3. Planning to grow past six chairs? Vagaro, where the seventh calendar is the last one you pay for.
4. Clients already find you on Booksy? Booksy, with Boost on only while you want new clients.
5. An upscale salon or several locations? Boulevard or Mangomint, and ask Boulevard for its card rates; for commission-based teams of 6 or more, get quotes from SalonBiz, Meevo and Zenoti.

Whichever you pick, compare the processing rate first: on a busy salon's sales it moves the monthly bill more than the subscription does. If you rent a booth and bill on your own, bookkeeping software for freelancers covers the books, and invoicing software the bills that don't go through the salon's checkout. For another service business priced by the person, see legal billing software.