Timely 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, and it grades higher too, 2.6 against 2.2.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Vagaro grades higher on value for money and features. They get the same grade on the free plan, ease of use and platforms.
Price, platforms and features side by side. The table says where each price was read and when.
Timely
Salon booking software priced per bookable staff member
Vagaro
Booking, payments and marketing for salons, spas and studios
Which one is for you
Pick Timely if
- Fits if you run a small salon and want booking and client notes
- Works for businesses that take bookings from Instagram
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you are in a country outside its payments list
- Pricey if you have a big team, as the price is per staff member
- Tight if you text a lot, as texts are included up to 100, 200 or 350
- Watch out: the pricing page shows monthly billing only
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
| 2.2GPATimelyFair | 2.6GPAVagaroGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$26 a staff member a month on monthly billing, just above the $25 mark, so ten staff pay $260. | 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 14-day trial with 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 | COnline booking, consultation forms, client profiles, reminders and staff management. Payments work only in Australia, New Zealand, the US, UK and most of the EU. | 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. Staff, services and forms 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 | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Instagram, Facebook and Messenger links. | 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 | salon booking priced per staff member | 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: Timely and Vagaro. How we grade
Price against what you get
Timely starts at $26 a month and scores 2.3 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Vagaro starts at $23.99 a month and scores 2.7.
Vagaro scores higher and starts $2.01 a month lower. Of the other salon, spa and studio booking apps on the chart, 9 score higher than Timely 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
- Timely also covers sMS marketing and review collection.
- Vagaro also covers email campaigns, payroll and class booking.
At a glance
| Timely | Vagaro | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $26 per staff / month, billed monthly | $30 per month for 1 calendar, after $23.99 a month for the first 6 months |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial, no credit card required | 30-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Timely | Vagaro, Inc. |
| Price read from | gettimely.com | vagaro.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Timely
- Price scales with bookable staff, so a ten-person salon pays ten times the per-staff rate.
- SMS is included up to 100, 200 or 350 messages a month depending on the plan; the page footnotes SMS terms.
- Payments are only available in Australia, New Zealand, the USA, UK and most of the EU.
- The pricing page lists monthly billing only; no annual price is shown.
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
Timely
- Online booking
- Clients book 24/7 online, and booking buttons can be added to Instagram, Facebook and Messenger. Gaps between appointments can be minimized.
- Consultation forms
- Forms can be built in the Consult app for iOS and sent before appointments from Elevate; Innovate can send them automatically.
- Client profiles
- Profiles with appointment history and notes; Elevate and Innovate add before-and-after photos, uploaded documents and loyalty rewards.
- Reminders and messages
- Email and SMS confirmations and reminders. Rebooking reminders, thank-you messages and review requests depend on the plan.
- Staff management
- Rosters, timesheets, staff logins and performance dashboards on every plan; weekly and monthly staff targets are on Innovate.
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
Timely
Build$26
per staff / month, billed monthly
Online booking, social media booking buttons, reminders and stock levels. 100 SMS a month included.
Elevate$39
per staff / month, billed monthly
Everything in Build, plus digital consultation forms, client photos, add-on services and a waitlist. 200 SMS a month.
Innovate$47
per staff / month, billed monthly
Everything in Elevate, plus automatic forms, rebooking reminders and staff targets. 350 SMS a month.
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
Timely
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, Timely or Vagaro?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Vagaro is cheaper to start with: $23.99 a month, against $26 a month for Timely. Timely starts at $26 per staff / month, billed monthly, 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, Timely or Vagaro?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Timely nor Vagaro has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
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.