Article
How to choose a salon booking system: Vagaro vs Booksy vs Fresha vs GlossGenius
Every guide about booking systems comes from a software brand itself. This is the version from a studio that connects websites to them daily and sells none of them: what to compare on, and where the four best-known systems differ.
Compare on these four points
One: the cost model, a fixed monthly fee or a share per booking, and what that means at your number of appointments. Two: whether the system has a marketplace where new clients can find you. Three: the daily work: reminders, deposits, checkout. Four: how it fits your own website, through a booking link or widget.
Where the four differ
Vagaro and Booksy are broad salon platforms with a marketplace and a subscription. Fresha charges no fixed subscription for the basics; you create a free account and pay for certain features as you use them. GlossGenius is a subscription that includes its own builder for a one-page site. All four give you a booking page or widget that fits an own website. Prices and terms change; check the vendor's site before you decide.
Which fits which salon?
Just starting and avoiding fixed costs? Fresha is the logical first step. Counting on marketplace traffic? Look at Booksy or Vagaro in your region: their value depends on how many clients search there in your town. Want software and site in one subscription? GlossGenius is the candidate, with the note that your site then lives inside your software.
How we handle it
We build your own website and connect the system you choose; your diary and your subscription stay yours. If you have nothing yet, we set up Fresha for you. That way you pick your software for what it does for your diary, not for the website that happens to come with it.