Boulevard vs Phorest (2026): which should you pick?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Boulevard grades higher than Phorest: 2.0 against 1.8 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 12, 2026 by ToolGPA
Boulevard grades higher on features and ease of use. Phorest grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on the free plan and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Boulevard
Booking, checkout and marketing for salons, spas and medspas
Which one is for you
Pick Boulevard if
- Fits if you run a salon or spa with up to 5 providers and want booking, checkout and marketing in one system
- Works for medspas that need charting, photo markup and e-prescriptions beside the booking calendar
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want to try it first: there's no free plan or trial, and every plan is sold after a sales demo
- Tight if you have more than 5 providers or a second location, as that means Premier at $234 a location, normally $293
- Pricey if you need forms below Prestige ($65 a location a month) or QuickBooks sync ($45 a location a month)
- Not for you if you run a medspa on a small budget, as Aesthetics Essentials is $199 a month billed monthly
- Watch out: the card rate isn't on its pages, texts past the plan's allowance are metered, and the AI receptionist is $125 a location a month
Pick Phorest if
- Fits if you run a salon or medspa with three or more staff and want booking and client texts in one place
- Works for a salon that wants a desktop app at the front desk and a phone app for staff
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a posted price, as all four tiers are quote only
- Pricey if you send many texts, because Starter charges 5 cents each and the higher tiers cap free texts at 1,000, 5,000 and 27,000
- Watch out: two-way SMS, memberships and the branded app are included only at Elite
- Not for you if you work alone, as the pricing page says Starter is for 3 or more staff
How we grade them
| 2.0GPABoulevardFair | 1.8GPAPhorestWeak | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | DEssentials is $143 a month billed yearly ($159 monthly) for one location and up to 5 providers, and that's where this category's dearest tenth starts. More providers or a second location means Premier at $234 a location on a fall offer, normally $293. | CNo price is published. All four tiers are quote only, so cost cannot be compared with the $49.90 middle of the category. |
| Free plan and trial | FNothing free: no free plan and no trial. Every plan is bought after a sales demo, so you pay from the first month. | FNo free plan and no trial on record, so you pay before you use it. |
| Features | BBooking from your site, Google and Instagram, a staff calendar for services and rooms, checkout, memberships, loyalty, texts and email campaigns, plus charting and ePrescribe for medspas. That's the whole booking job, though forms are a $65 add-on below Prestige. | CCalendar, point of sale, payments, automated SMS and email and a desktop app. Two-way SMS, memberships and the branded app are paid add-ons below Elite, which is a gap in the lower tiers. |
| Ease of use | BBoulevard rates 4.6 on the US App Store from 601 ratings, which puts it at B on our ease ladder. | CNo store rating on record. A salon has to set up its calendar, services and card reader first. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Google and Apple Calendar, Reserve with Google, QuickBooks Online, Shopify and Zapier. API access is on the quoted Enterprise plan, and there's no desktop app. | BWeb, Windows, Mac, iPhone and Android apps, with four integrations listed. No open API is named. |
| Best for | booking and checkout for salons, spas and medspas | salon software with built-in texting |
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: Boulevard and Phorest. How we grade
Where they differ
- Boulevard also covers marketing automation, forms, email campaigns and business texting.
- Phorest also covers reports, sMS marketing and review collection.
At a glance
| Boulevard | Phorest | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Paid | Paid |
| Starts at | $143 per month for 1 location, billed annually ($159 billed monthly) | Not published |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | None listed | None listed |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| Windows | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Boulevard Labs, Inc. | Phorest |
| Price read from | joinblvd.com | Not confirmed |
| Checked | Oct 24, 2026 | Nov 12, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Boulevard
- No free plan or trial: every plan is bought through a sales demo, and Essentials is limited to one location and 5 providers.
- Medspa plans cost more. Billed monthly, Aesthetics Essentials is $199, and Aesthetics Premier and Prestige are $364 and $416 on the fall offer ($455 and $520 normally).
- Forms is an add-on from $65 per location a month below Prestige, and QuickBooks Online sync costs $45 per location a month.
- Card payments run through Boulevard's own processing and Duo reader; its pages do not list a processing rate.
Phorest
- No prices are published: all four tiers are quote only, so cost cannot be compared up front.
- SMS allowances differ by tier: 1,000, 5,000 and 27,000 free a month on Grow, Complete Advantage and Elite, and 5 cents each on Starter.
- Two-way SMS, memberships and the branded app are included only at Elite; elsewhere they are paid add-ons.
- The pricing page says Starter is for salons and medspas with 3 or more staff.
Key features
Boulevard
- Self-booking and scheduling
- Clients book from an overlay on your website or from Google, Facebook and Instagram, and the staff calendar handles complex service and resource bookings.
- Point of sale and payments
- Checkout runs on Boulevard's Duo card reader and iPad app. An optional Offset program passes a 3% card fee to clients and leaves the business paying 1%.
- Texts and email marketing
- Two-way texting, text reminders, email blasts and automated return campaigns. Each plan includes some free texts and emails; beyond that texts are metered and emails cost $0.01 each.
- Memberships and loyalty
- Sell memberships and packages and run loyalty programs and offers from the same client profiles used for booking and checkout.
- Forms, charts and ePrescribe
- Intake forms and charting with photo storage, plus ePrescribe for clinical customers at $45 per prescriber. Medspa plans add photo markup and supervisor sign-off.
- Beau AI receptionist
- An AI receptionist that answers calls, books clients and captures leads, sold for $125 a month per location for 200 minutes, then $0.60 a minute.
Phorest
- Calendar and online booking
- An appointment calendar with a waiting list, 24/7 online booking, booking deposits, no-show charges and rooms or equipment linked to services.
- Point of sale and payments
- Appointment and retail checkout, stock management, cardless checkout and PhorestPay card payments with cashless tipping.
- Automated SMS and email
- Reminders, review requests and marketing messages. Higher tiers include a monthly SMS allowance; Starter pays 5 cents per SMS.
- Desktop and PhorestGo apps
- A Windows and macOS desktop app plus the PhorestGo mobile app for staff, with a manager view on the Grow tier and above.
- Branded client app
- An optional salon-branded iOS and Android app for booking and rebooking, included in the Elite tier and optional on lower tiers.
- AI tools
- An AI client cheat sheet that summarizes client history before a visit, and a Front Desk AI add-on for everyday client conversations.
Plans
Boulevard
Essentials$143
per month for 1 location, billed annually ($159 billed monthly)
One location and up to 5 bookable providers, with 250 free texts, 1,000 free email blasts and 50 GB of storage.
Premier$234
per location / month, billed annually ($260 billed monthly)
Unlimited providers and more than one location. A fall price for new customers; normally $293 a month billed annually ($325 monthly).
Prestige$328
per location / month, billed annually ($364 billed monthly)
Adds the Forms add-on, 2,500 free texts, 10,000 free email blasts and 100 GB. A fall price for new customers; normally $410 billed annually ($455 monthly).
EnterpriseCustom
A quoted plan for large, multi-location operations, with API access and enterprise integrations.
Phorest
Pricing could not be confirmed. See phorest.com.
Ways to pay less
Boulevard
- Annual discount
Save 10% with annual billing
Boulevard's pricing page takes 10% off every plan's monthly price when billed annually, for example Essentials at $143 instead of $159.
Phorest
No public discounts listed.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, Boulevard or Phorest?
As of Nov 12, 2026, Boulevard starts at $143 per month for 1 location, billed annually ($159 billed monthly), and Phorest has no price we could confirm.
Which has a free plan, Boulevard or Phorest?
As of Nov 12, 2026, neither Boulevard nor Phorest has a free plan.
Which platforms do Boulevard and Phorest run on?
As of Nov 12, 2026, only Phorest 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.