GlossGenius vs Shore (2026): which should you pick?
As of Oct 24, 2026, GlossGenius grades higher than Shore: 2.4 against 2.2 out of 4.0.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 by ToolGPA
GlossGenius grades higher on features. They get the same grade on value for money, 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.
GlossGenius
Booking, payments and marketing for salons, spas and medspas
Shore
German-made booking and marketing software for salons and studios
Which one is for you
Pick GlossGenius if
- Fits if you're a solo stylist or small salon that wants booking, deposits and card payments in one app
- Works for medspas that want charting and client photos kept beside the booking calendar
Look elsewhere if
- Tight if you want to stay free: there's no free plan, only a 14-day trial, and every card payment carries a fee of 2.4% + $0.15 in person or 3.4% + $0.15 online
- Pricey if you need forms and waivers, the automated waitlist or included text credits, which start on Gold at $48 a month billed yearly ($56 monthly)
- Pricey if you want payroll or the AI phone receptionist: payroll is $40 a month plus $6 a seat and Reception is $50 a month, on top of the plan
- Not for you if you run a medspa on a small budget, as charting starts on Practice Essentials at $148 a month billed yearly ($168 monthly)
- Watch out: teams of 10 or more need Platinum at $148 a month billed yearly, and each extra location pays its own plan price, less 15%
Pick Shore if
- Fits if you run a small salon and want a booking page without building a website
- Works for owners who want reminders sent for them, and Google review requests too on Booking + Marketing
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if your staff or clients use Android, as Shore lists only the browser and iOS
- Watch out: yearly billing starts a 12-month term, and monthly plans need 14 days' notice to cancel
- Tight if you need campaigns or staff management, which start on Booking + Marketing at $69.90 a month
- Pricey if you want a managed website ($100 a month) or a branded app ($80 a month) on top of the package
- Watch out: the pricing page doesn't say whether a package covers one location or several, and over 10 locations get a quote
How we grade them
| 2.4GPAGlossGeniusFair | 2.2GPAShoreFair | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | CStandard is $24 a month billed yearly ($28 monthly), and Gold covers up to 9 staff for $48, so a team of five pays about $9.60 a head. GlossGenius is the only booking tool on our site so far, so this category is too thin to compare yet, and it sits at the ordinary grade until there's something to set it against. | CBooking is $49.90 a month billed yearly ($59.90 monthly), right at this category's middle of $49.90, and Booking + Marketing is $69.90. A managed website ($100) and a branded app ($80) are monthly extras. |
| Free plan and trial | CNo free plan, but a 14-day trial of any plan with no credit card. After that it's $24 a month at least, and card payments carry fees on top: 2.4% + $0.15 in person and 3.4% + $0.15 online. | CNo free plan, but a 14-day free trial. The listing doesn't say whether it needs a card. |
| Features | BA booking site, a staff calendar with deposits, payments and point of sale, email and text marketing, forms, SOAP notes, commissions and reports, with charting on the medspa plans. Nothing in the booking job is missing, but forms, the automated waitlist and text credits need Gold, and payroll costs extra. | CThe basics: booking from your site, Google, Instagram and Facebook, deposits, a card reader, reminders and customer records. The listing shows gaps: no memberships, packages or gift cards, and staff management needs Booking + Marketing. |
| Ease of use | CNo app store rating on record. Before clients can book and pay, you set up a booking site from templates, your services, staff and deposit and cancellation rules, and card readers or Tap to Pay. | CNo app store rating on record. Shore makes a mini-website for bookings automatically, but you still set up services, staff, deposit rules and payments. |
| Platforms and integrations | BWeb, iPhone and Android, with Tap to Pay on both phones, plus Reserve with Google, Google Reviews and two-way calendar sync. No desktop app and no API on record, which keeps it from an A. | BWeb and iPhone, with Google Calendar, Reserve with Google, Instagram, Facebook, PayPal, Stripe and WhatsApp. No Android app is named, there's no desktop app, and no API is on record. |
| Best for | booking and payments for salons and spas | online booking for small salons and 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: GlossGenius and Shore. How we grade
Price against what you get
GlossGenius starts at $24 a month and scores 2.7 out of 4 on features, ease of use and platforms. Shore starts at $49.90 a month and scores 2.3.
GlossGenius scores higher and starts $25.90 a month lower. Of the other salon, spa and studio booking apps on the chart, 1 scores higher than GlossGenius for less, and 6 score higher than Shore 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
- GlossGenius also covers forms, payroll, clinical notes and sMS marketing.
- Shore also covers marketing automation and whatsApp messaging.
At a glance
| GlossGenius | Shore | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | $24 per month, billed annually ($28 billed monthly) | $49.90 per month, billed annually ($59.90 billed monthly) |
| Free plan | None | None |
| Free trial | 14-day free trial of any plan, no credit card required | 14-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | GlossGenius, Inc. | Shore GmbH |
| Price read from | glossgenius.com | shore.com |
| Checked | Oct 24, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
GlossGenius
- There is no free plan. In-person card payments cost 2.4% + $0.15 and online payments 3.4% + $0.15, with invoices at 2.9% + $0.30.
- Payroll is an add-on at $40 a month plus $6 per seat, and Reception, the AI phone and text answering service, is $50 a month.
- Forms and waivers, the automated waitlist, chargeback protection and included text credits start on the Gold plan.
- Each additional location is charged its own plan price, at a 15% discount.
Shore
- Shore lists use in a browser and on iOS; its pricing page names no Android app.
- Yearly billing commits you to a 12-month initial term; monthly contracts can be cancelled with 14 days' notice.
- A managed website costs $100 a month and a branded customer app $80 a month on top of either package.
- The pricing page does not say whether a package covers one location or several; businesses with more than 10 locations get a quote.
Key features
GlossGenius
- Booking website and calendar
- A booking site with templates and team profiles, 24/7 online booking without a client login, gap and processing times, and two-way calendar sync.
- No-show protection and waitlist
- Deposits, card-on-file and cancellation policies on every plan; the automated waitlist and room and resource booking start on Gold.
- Payments and point of sale
- Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android, card readers, split payments, tips, invoices, gift cards, memberships, packages and Buy Now, Pay Later.
- Email and text marketing
- Unlimited marketing emails on every plan, with text credits included on Gold (500) and Platinum (2,500) and an AI marketing assistant.
- Forms, notes and EMR
- Intake forms and waivers the vendor describes as HIPAA-compliant, SOAP notes, and charting with photo markup on the medspa plans.
- Staff, payroll and reports
- Roles and permissions, commissions, time tracking, sales and staff reports, and add-on payroll that files payroll taxes in all 50 states.
Shore
- Online booking everywhere
- Clients book from an automatic mini-website, an embedded widget, Google, Instagram or Facebook, and get confirmations and reminders by WhatsApp, email or text.
- Calendar and staff planning
- See which staff member has which appointments, plan shifts, vacations and absences, and limit what each person sees with user roles.
- Deposits and payments
- Ask for a deposit or full payment at booking by card, Google Pay, Apple Pay or PayPal, refund it in a few clicks, and take in-person payments with Shore's card reader.
- Customer records
- Each booking builds a customer history with notes, preferences, custom fields such as allergies, and uploaded files and images.
- Campaigns and review requests
- Send email or WhatsApp campaigns to customer segments and automatic birthday messages; feedback requests pass good reviews on to Google and keep bad ones internal.
Plans
GlossGenius
Standard$24
per month, billed annually ($28 billed monthly)
Booking website, unlimited client notifications, email and text marketing, inventory and retail, packages and memberships.
Gold$48
per month, billed annually ($56 billed monthly)
For teams of up to 9 staff: adds forms and waivers, Google booking and reviews, automated waitlist, time tracking and 500 text credits.
Platinum$148
per month, billed annually ($168 billed monthly)
For teams of 10 or more: unlimited team members, goal setting, custom commissions, Google marketing analytics and 2,500 text credits.
Practice Essentials$148
per month, billed annually ($168 billed monthly)
Medspa and aesthetics plan with EMR charting, photo markup, medical director sign-off and 50 GB of client photos.
Practice Advanced$248
per month, billed annually ($298 billed monthly)
Medspa plan for unlimited providers with the full AI clinical suite, 100 GB of client photos and premium support.
Shore
Booking$49.90
per month, billed annually ($59.90 billed monthly)
Online calendar and booking from your website, Google and Instagram, card prepayment, reminders, customer records and statistics.
Booking + Marketing$69.90
per month, billed annually ($79.90 billed monthly)
Adds email marketing, Google review requests, employee management, birthday reminders, PayPal and bookable add-ons.
Ways to pay less
GlossGenius
- Annual discount
Save up to 14% with annual billing
The pricing page lists a 14% saving on Standard, Gold and Practice Essentials and 12% on Platinum and Practice Advanced when billed annually.
- Other savings
15% off each additional location
GlossGenius charges each additional location the plan price at a 15% discount.
Shore
- Annual discount
Save $120 a year with yearly billing
Shore's US pricing page says yearly billing saves $120: $49.90 instead of $59.90 a month for Booking, and $69.90 instead of $79.90 for Booking + Marketing.
Common questions
Which is cheaper, GlossGenius or Shore?
As of Oct 24, 2026, GlossGenius is cheaper to start with: $24 a month, against $49.90 a month for Shore. GlossGenius starts at $24 per month, billed annually ($28 billed monthly), and Shore starts at $49.90 per month, billed annually ($59.90 billed monthly).
Which has a free plan, GlossGenius or Shore?
As of Oct 24, 2026, neither GlossGenius nor Shore has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do GlossGenius and Shore run on?
As of Oct 24, 2026, only GlossGenius lists an Android app. Both list a web app and an iOS app. 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.