Salon, Spa & Studio Booking

Contents

1. 01WelcomeWhat these tools do, how many we grade and what to know before choosing
2. 02Our top threeThe three we'd look at first, and who each one suits
3. 03What they costWhat paid plans start at, the best buy at each budget and the free plans
4. 04The gradesThe highest graded, and how the whole category does on each subject
5. 05Keep or make?Which are worth paying for, and which you could make yourself
6. 06Every toolAll of them, best graded first, with what each costs
7. 07Quick answersThe questions people ask when choosing, each answered in a line or two
8. 08About ToolGPAWho made this guide, what else is on the site, and how to cite it

ToolGPA put this guide together from each tool’s own pages, their app-store listings and our grades. Every fact in it is on the Salon, Spa & Studio Booking page too, where it is kept up to date. Checked Oct 24, 2026.

Online booking, reminders and payments for salons, spas, gyms and fitness studios.

Before you choose, here are 8 things to know about salon, spa and studio booking apps, worked out from every one we grade.

1. 1

   We grade 16 salon, spa and studio booking apps

   3 of them are free or have a free plan, and 9 more let you try before paying. Everything in this guide comes from their own pages and our grades.

2. 2

   Paid plans start at $49.45 a month in the middle

   From $9 (ABC Trainerize) to $159 (PushPress), going by what each one's paid plans start at.

3. 3

   Best value: Fresha and ABC Trainerize

   Nothing on our chart scores higher than these without costing more.

4. 4

   15 of 16 have iPhone and Android apps

   16 run in a web browser and 0 have a Windows app. Check the one you need before you fall for anything.

5. 5

   The middle GPA is 2.4

   2 score 3.0 or higher. The highest is Square Appointments, at 3.2.

6. 6

   Best free option: Square Appointments

   Square Appointments has the highest GPA of the free ones, 3.2. Booking, point of sale and payments for appointment businesses.

7. 7

   16 worth keeping, 0 you could make

   By our keep-or-make rules, 16 do something you couldn't reasonably build yourself, 0 are simple enough to make with an AI app builder, and 0 are a close call.

8. 8

   2 price changes in the past year

   That's how many price moves we've recorded for salon, spa and studio booking apps in twelve months. Prices change, so check the maker's page before you pay.

Part 02 · Top three

Our top three

The three we'd look at first, and who each one suits

The three salon, spa and studio booking apps we'd look at first. First place suits the most people; second and third are the best picks for the people it leaves out. Each has an Insider's Guide of its own.

1. 1st

   

   3.2GPA

   Square Appointments

   Free plan · from $49/mo

   For: Most salons, barbers and spas

   Square Appointments pairs a booking website, unlimited staff calendars, text and email reminders and deposits with Square's point of sale, so services and retail products are rung up together. Square Free has no monthly fee, and Plus is $49 a location a month after a 30-day trial. It runs on the web, iPhone and Android, and its App Store app averages 4.9 from about 195,000 ratings. Know the limits: card fees apply on every plan, 2.6% + 15¢ in person and 3.3% + 30¢ online on Free; no-show fees, the waitlist, classes and Google Calendar sync need Plus; rooms and chairs need Premium at $149; and there is no desktop app.

   The Square Appointments Insider’s Guide

2. 2nd

   

   3.0GPA

   Fresha

   Free trial · from $19.95/mo

   For: Salons that want new clients from a marketplace

   Fresha runs the calendar, client records, point of sale, memberships, retail stock and team pay runs, and lists you on its own consumer marketplace. Independent is $19.95 a month for one bookable person and Team $14.95 a member, after a 7-day trial with no card, and its App Store app averages 4.8 from about 3,900 ratings. It is second because there is no free plan, each new marketplace client costs a one-time 20% commission of at least $6, five people pay $74.75 against Square's $49 a location, and extra texts, loyalty and review prompts cost more.

   The Fresha Insider’s Guide

3. 3rd

   

   2.6GPA

   Vagaro

   Free trial · from $30/mo

   For: Studios and salons that mix classes with appointments

   Vagaro books appointments and classes, takes payments on its own readers, sells memberships and packages, keeps forms and SOAP notes, runs payroll and lists you on its consumer marketplace. One calendar is $30 a month after $23.99 for the first 6 months, and each added calendar is $10 up to seven, after a 30-day trial. It is third because no rating for its business app is on record, the pricing page gives no prices for extras such as text marketing, a branded app or a website, the free card reader needs Vagaro's own processing, and more than one location is quoted by sales.

   The Vagaro Insider’s Guide

Going by our grades, Fresha and ABC Trainerize give the most for the money among salon, spa and studio booking apps: no tool on this chart scores higher without costing more.

Paid plans start at a middle price of $49.45 a month across the 14 that charge, from $9 (ABC Trainerize) to $159 (PushPress).

2 of the 14 score above the category's average while starting at or below its middle price. 5 cost more than the middle price and score below the average.

Every tool gets five grades, A to F, each with its reason, and a GPA that averages them. Here are the 12 highest graded salon, spa and studio booking apps, then how the whole category does on each subject.

Tool	Value	Free	Features	Ease	Platforms	GPA
Square Appointments	B	B	B	A	B	3.2
Fresha	B	C	B	A	B	3.0
Booksy	B	C	B	C	B	2.6
Vagaro	B	C	B	C	B	2.6
Arketa	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
GlossGenius	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Mangomint	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
Momence	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
PushPress	C	B	C	C	B	2.4
TeamUp	C	C	B	C	B	2.4
ABC Trainerize	C	C	C	C	B	2.2
Mindbody	C	F	B	B	B	2.2

Some software does something you couldn’t reasonably build yourself. Some is simple enough that an AI app builder could make the core of it in an afternoon. Here’s where salon, spa and studio booking apps land, by the same rules for every tool.

• 16

  Keep it

  It does something you could not reasonably make for yourself, or it costs nothing.

• 0

  Your call

  You could make the core of it, and you would give something up.

• 0

  You could make this

  What it does is the kind of thing an AI app builder makes well, and it charges every month.

Every salon, spa and studio booking app we grade, with its GPA and what it costs. Each one has a page of its own on toolgpa.com, with its Insider’s Guide.

1. 1Square AppointmentsFree plan · from $49/mo3.2
2. 2FreshaFree trial · from $19.95/mo3.0
3. 3BooksyFree trial · from $29.99/mo2.6
4. 4VagaroFree trial · from $30/mo2.6
5. 5ArketaFree trial · from $49/mo2.4
6. 6GlossGeniusFree trial · from $24/mo2.4
7. 7MangomintFree trial · from $120/mo2.4
8. 8MomenceFree trial2.4
9. 9PushPressFree plan · from $159/mo2.4
10. 10TeamUpFree trial · from $119/mo2.4
11. 11ABC TrainerizeFree plan · from $9/mo2.2
12. 12MindbodyFrom $79/mo2.2
13. 13ShoreFree trial · from $49.90/mo2.2
14. 14BoulevardFrom $143/mo2.0
15. 15GlofoxPaid2.0
16. 16WellnessLivingFrom $62/mo1.8

ToolGPA grades software the way a school report grades a pupil: five subjects, a letter for each with the reason written beside it, and a GPA that averages them. Prices, plans and platforms are read from each maker’s own pages and dated, so you always know how fresh a figure is.

Every grade, review and ranking on ToolGPA is our own judgement. No company can pay for a grade or change one. Every tool on the site has a guide like this one, free to download and pass on. It all lives at toolgpa.com.

• 3,189

  tools graded

• 94

  categories

• 426

  price changes on record

• 579

  apps priced in 12 countries