Barberly vs Vagaro (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 13, 2026, we pick Vagaro: it is third in our ranking of salon, spa and studio booking apps, though Barberly grades higher (2.8 against 2.6) on platforms.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
They get the same grade on value for money, the free plan, features and ease of use.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Barberly
Barbershop booking software with a branded mobile app
Vagaro
Booking, payments and marketing for salons, spas and studios
Which one is for you
Pick Barberly if
- Fits if you run a barbershop and want a walk-in queue
- Works for shops that want their own branded app
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as only a 30-day trial exists
- Pricey if you text a lot, at $0.03 a message past 500
- Tight if you run marketing campaigns, billed at $0.03 per message
- Watch out: billing is in arrears and the price shown is for the United States
Pick Vagaro if
- Fits if you run a salon, spa or barbershop on one to seven bookable calendars
- Works for studios that run classes alongside appointments in one calendar
Look elsewhere if
- Watch out: $23.99 a month lasts 6 months, then one calendar is $30 and each added calendar $10, up to seven
- Pricey if you want text marketing, a branded app or a MySite website, as the page sells them à la carte with no price
- Watch out: the free card reader needs Vagaro Merchant Services, whose rates are advertised from 2.2%
- Skip it if you have several locations and want a price up front, as multi-location plans are quoted by sales
How we grade them
| 2.8GPABarberlyGood | 2.6GPAVagaroGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | B$25 a month for 1 team member and a $45 flat fee for 2 to 5, so five barbers pay $9 each. Inside the cheapest quarter for booking tools. | BOne calendar is $30 a month after an introductory $23.99 for 6 months, level with this category's cheaper quarter ($29.99). Each added calendar is $10 up to seven, so five people pay $70, but extras like text marketing have no published price. |
| Free plan and trial | CA 30-day trial with every feature and no card. No free plan. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day free trial. The listing doesn't say whether it needs a card. |
| Features | BBranded mobile app, self check-in and queue, booking, payments, loyalty, memberships and a booking API. The gaps named are message costs. | BBooking from its marketplace, Google, Apple Maps and Instagram, classes and resources, checkout with Affirm, memberships, forms and SOAP notes, payroll and multi-location tools. That's the whole booking job, for salons and studios alike. |
| Ease of use | CNo store rating on record. Services, barbers and payments have to be set up. | CNo rating for the business app is on record, since the App Store listing found is the client-facing app. You set up services, staff and payments before taking bookings. |
| Platforms and integrations | AWeb, iPhone, Android, Mac and Windows, with Square, Stripe, SumUp, WhatsApp and a booking API. | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks, Xero, Affirm, Google, Apple Maps, Instagram, Facebook and Salesforce, and APIs and webhooks for multi-location accounts. No desktop app. |
| Best for | a barbershop booking app with self check-in | booking for salons, spas and fitness studios |
The GPA is the average of the five grades: an A is 4 points, an F is none. The full reasons are on each tool's page: Barberly and Vagaro. How we grade
Price against what you get
Barberly starts at $25 a month and scores 3.0 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vagaro starts at $23.99 a month and scores 2.7.
Barberly scores higher, and starts $1.01 a month higher: the question is whether the extra is worth that to you. Of the other salon, spa and studio booking apps on the chart, 1 scores higher than Barberly for less, and 1 scores higher than Vagaro for less.
Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged
What paid plans start at, a month (each step along is roughly double) →
- The best score at each price
- Has a free plan
- No free plan
Where they differ
- Barberly also covers reports, sMS marketing and whatsApp messaging.
- Vagaro also covers forms, email campaigns, payroll, inventory and class booking.
At a glance
| Barberly | Vagaro | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $25 per month for 1 team member | $30 per month for 1 calendar, after $23.99 a month for the first 6 months |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 30-day free trial, no credit card required | 30-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Barberly | Vagaro, Inc. |
| Price read from | barberly.com | vagaro.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Barberly
- SMS beyond 500 messages a month costs $0.03 each; WhatsApp notifications are $0.01 a message.
- SMS and WhatsApp marketing campaigns are billed at $0.03 per message.
- Billing is in arrears: the invoice arrives on the first of the next month.
- The pricing page has a country selector; the prices above are the one shown for the United States.
Vagaro
- The $23.99 price lasts 6 months; after that one calendar costs $30 a month and each added calendar $10, up to seven.
- The pricing page calls its model à la carte but gives no prices for extras such as text marketing, a branded app or a MySite website.
- The free card reader requires signing up for Vagaro Merchant Services, which advertises processing rates from 2.2%.
- Multi-location pricing is quoted by sales, with each location priced by the features chosen for it.
Key features
Barberly
- Branded mobile app
- A custom-branded app for clients, published to the App Store and Google Play at no extra fee, plus an app for team members.
- Self check-in and queue
- A self check-in kiosk, walk-in queue and an appointment board for a TV, with an app for Apple TV and Google TV.
- Booking and payments
- Online booking, deposits, a waitlist and scan-to-book QR codes. Payments run through Square, Stripe or SumUp.
- Loyalty and memberships
- A loyalty program and barbershop memberships are included in the subscription.
- Booking API
- A booking API is available so shops can connect their own tools to the booking system.
Vagaro
- Online booking and calendar
- Clients book through Vagaro's marketplace, a website widget, Google, Apple Maps, Instagram, Facebook or Alexa, with waitlists, classes and resource scheduling.
- Checkout and card readers
- Take Apple Pay, Google Pay and cards on Vagaro's own readers and terminals, offer Affirm pay-later plans, and sell memberships, packages and gift certificates.
- Forms and SOAP notes
- Intake forms and SOAP notes sit on each client profile, which also tracks history, retention and loyalty points.
- Vera AI assistant
- Vera helps write marketing and service descriptions, answers client messages, and its Fill My Books feature promotes open slots to Vagaro's customer network.
- Payroll and team access
- Vagaro Payroll pays staff and booth renters, tracks hours and time off, and access levels set what each employee can see at each location.
- Multi-location tools
- Sync services, clients, classes, products and pricing across locations, with SSO and SCIM, APIs and webhooks, and exports to Power BI, Salesforce and other tools.
Plans
Barberly
1 team member$25
per month, flat fee
Every feature included. 500 SMS messages a month included.
2 to 5 team members$45
per month, flat fee
Every feature included, for shops of two to five barbers.
5+ team members$9
per barber / month
Every feature included. Enterprise pricing is offered above 20 team members.
Vagaro
One location$30
per month for 1 calendar, plus $10 per added calendar
Advertised at $23.99 a month for the first 6 months. Calendars beyond seven cost nothing extra; 1,000 emails a month and a marketplace listing are included.
Multiple locationsCustom
Features chosen per location, with SSO, data lake exports, a dedicated success manager and data migration, through sales.
Ways to pay less
Barberly
No public discounts listed.
Vagaro
- Other savings
$23.99 a month for the first 6 months
Vagaro's pricing page shows a one-calendar account at $23.99 a month for the first 6 months, against the regular $30.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Barberly or Vagaro?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Vagaro is cheaper to start with: $23.99 a month, against $25 a month for Barberly. Barberly starts at $25 per month for 1 team member, and Vagaro starts at $30 per month for 1 calendar, after $23.99 a month for the first 6 months.
Which has a free plan, Barberly or Vagaro?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Barberly nor Vagaro has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Barberly and Vagaro run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Barberly lists macOS and Windows apps. Both list a web app and iOS and Android apps. A platform missing from a listing is one its maker's pages did not mention.
More comparisons
How this page was made
- The verdict at the top follows a fixed rule. When both tools are in the same category and either is in our top three for it, the verdict follows that ranking: the higher-placed tool is our pick. The top three weigh who each tool suits as well as its grades, so a pick can go against the GPA. Otherwise the page does not pick one and says which grades higher: the higher GPA first; on a tie, the one with a free plan, then the one that starts cheaper in dollars a month, counted the same way for both; if they are still level, what the choice depends on.
- The grades are our own, from each tool’s review or report card. The GPA is their average.
- Prices, plans and platforms come from each tool’s listing. The table above says where each price was read and when.
- The differences and the answers to the questions are worked out from those listings.