Ovatu 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 they share a 2.6 GPA.
Checked Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 · graded Oct 24, 2026 and Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA
Ovatu grades higher on platforms. Vagaro grades higher on value for money. They get the same grade on 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.
Vagaro
Booking, payments and marketing for salons, spas and studios
Which one is for you
Pick Ovatu if
- Fits if you are a salon with one or a few bookable staff
- Works for businesses that take cards through Stripe or Square
Look elsewhere if
- Skip it if you want a free plan, as only a 30-day trial exists
- Pricey if you send many texts, at US$0.04 a message on top
- Tight if you want gift cards, campaigns or forms, which need Loaded at $38
- Watch out: the price grows with every bookable employee
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
| 2.6GPAOvatuGood | 2.6GPAVagaroGood | |
|---|---|---|
| Value for money | C$25 a month for one employee, $7 for each extra, so five people pay $53, a little above the $49 middle 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 free trial. The page does not say whether a card is needed. No free plan. | CNo free plan, but a 30-day free trial. The listing doesn't say whether it needs a card. |
| Features | BOnline booking, reminders, waitlist, point of sale, marketing, rosters and forms. The gaps named are plan gates and SMS 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, staff and rosters 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 and Mac, with Stripe, Square, SumUp, PayPal, Zoom and Mailchimp 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 | a salon booking system priced per employee | 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: Ovatu and Vagaro. How we grade
Price against what you get
Ovatu starts at $25 a month for each person 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.
Ovatu 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 Ovatu 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
- Ovatu also covers sMS marketing.
- Vagaro also covers email campaigns and payroll.
At a glance
| Ovatu | Vagaro | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing | Free trial | Free trial |
| Starts at | US$25 per month for the first employee, plus US$7 per additional employee | $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 | 30-day free trial |
| Web | ||
| macOS | ||
| iOS | ||
| Android | ||
| Made by | Ovatu Pty Ltd | Vagaro, Inc. |
| Price read from | ovatu.com | vagaro.com |
| Checked | Nov 13, 2026 | Oct 24, 2026 |
Worth knowing
Ovatu
- SMS reminders cost extra: the pricing page shows US$0.04 per message on top of the monthly plan.
- Campaigns, gift cards, passes, promo codes, forms, resources and inventory stocktakes need the Loaded plan.
- The price grows with each bookable employee; non-bookable users such as admins are free.
- The pricing page was read from a country selector set to Global; the figures are in US dollars.
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
Ovatu
- Online booking
- Clients book one-to-one appointments and classes through a personal mini website, a booking button for Facebook and Instagram, and website widgets.
- Reminders and waitlist
- Email and SMS appointment reminders, rebooking and review reminders. The automated waitlist is on the Loaded plan; Neat has a simple waitlist.
- Point of sale
- Invoicing, tips, deposits and online payments, with cash drawer and payment terminal integrations on both plans.
- Marketing and loyalty
- Mass email and SMS campaigns, loyalty programs, promo codes, gift cards and passes (service bundles) are limited to the Loaded plan.
- Rosters and resources
- Weekly, fortnightly or four-weekly staff rosters on both plans. Resource booking for rooms and equipment is on Loaded.
- Consultation forms
- A form builder with scheduling, online completion, annotation fields and form locking, included on the Loaded plan.
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
Ovatu
Neat$25
per month for the first employee, plus $7 per additional employee
Appointments, online booking, point of sale, reminders, waitlist and reviews. Unlimited non-bookable users.
Loaded$38
per month for the first employee, plus $10 per additional employee
Everything in Neat, plus campaigns, passes, gift cards, promo codes, loyalty, forms and inventory control.
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
Ovatu
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, Ovatu or Vagaro?
As of Nov 13, 2026, Ovatu starts at US$25 per month for the first employee, plus US$7 per additional employee, and Vagaro starts at $30 per month for 1 calendar, after $23.99 a month for the first 6 months. One is priced for each person and the other is not, so which costs less depends on how many of you use it.
Which has a free plan, Ovatu or Vagaro?
As of Nov 13, 2026, neither Ovatu nor Vagaro has a free plan. Both have a free trial.
Which platforms do Ovatu and Vagaro run on?
As of Nov 13, 2026, only Ovatu lists a macOS app. 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.