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Ovatu review (2026): is it worth $25 a month?

Booking software for salons, spas and clinics

Free trial · from $25/moSalon & StudioChecked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA

Black Friday: is there a Ovatu sale?

Ovatu, as pictured on ovatu.com
How Ovatu presents itself. Image from ovatu.com.

Ovatu report card

2.6GPA

Good · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026

Best for a salon booking system priced per employee

Ovatu handles online booking, reminders, point of sale and marketing, from $25 a month for the first employee. SMS costs US$0.04 a message extra, and campaigns, gift cards and forms need the Loaded plan.

Who Ovatu is for

  • Fits if you are a salon with one or a few bookable staff
  • Works for businesses that take cards through Stripe or Square

Who Ovatu is not for

  • 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
See the alternatives

Why Ovatu gets a 2.6

Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.

  • CValue for money$25 a month for one employee, $7 for each extra, so five people pay $53, a little above the $49 middle for booking tools.
  • CFree plan and trialA 30-day free trial. The page does not say whether a card is needed. No free plan.
  • BFeaturesOnline booking, reminders, waitlist, point of sale, marketing, rosters and forms. The gaps named are plan gates and SMS costs.
  • CEase of useNo store rating on record. Services, staff and rosters have to be set up.
  • APlatforms and integrationsWeb, iPhone, Android and Mac, with Stripe, Square, SumUp, PayPal, Zoom and Mailchimp links.

What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Ovatu's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.

Make Ovatu? Put this grade on your site
Ovatu: 2.6 GPA on ToolGPA

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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/ovatu#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/ovatu.svg" alt="Ovatu: 2.6 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>

Where Ovatu stands among salon, spa and studio booking apps

Ovatu's GPA of 2.6 is higher than 75 of the 85 other salon, spa and studio booking apps we grade, and level with 6.

It stands best on platforms and integrations (A, above 84 of 85) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).

Its paid plans start at $25 a month for each person, against a middle price of $49 for the category: 12 of the 57 others that charge start lower.

On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 3.0 out of 4. 1 tool scores higher and costs less.

Each grade against the category

Every bar is all 86 salon, spa and studio booking apps we grade, cut by the letter each got. Ovatu’s own letter is outlined.

  • CValue for moneyAbove 12 of 85, level with 56
  • CFree plan and trialAbove 47 of 85, level with 35
  • BFeaturesAbove 42 of 85, level with 43
  • CEase of useAbove 0 of 85, level with 80
  • APlatforms and integrationsAbove 84 of 85, level with 1

Price against what you get

Each dot is one of 58 salon, spa and studio booking apps. Further left costs less, and higher up scores better on features, ease of use and platforms. Point at a dot to see which tool it is.

Features, ease of use and platforms, averaged

C2.0B3.0A4.0$5$10$20$50$100$200More for lessCosts more, scores moreCosts less, scores lessCosts more, scores lessOvatu

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
The full chart, and the best salon, spa and studio booking apps at every price

Keep Ovatu, or make your own?

Keep it

To replace Ovatu you would be making texts to thousands of numbers, registered with the carriers. That is not a weekend's work, with an AI app builder or without one.

It is one of the better ones too: its GPA of 2.6 is higher than 75 of the 85 other salon, spa and studio booking apps we grade. It costs $300 a year.

What you could make

  • Appointment booking, class booking, inventory and forms: an app builder makes these well.

What you could not

  • Texts to thousands of numbers, registered with the carriers.
  • Apps for macOS, iOS and Android that stay in step with each other.
  • It is priced for each person, which means accounts and billing for a team.
  • It plugs into other products, Stripe, Square and SumUp among them.
  • Hooks into the device itself: widgets.
  • The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

What this rests on. Ovatu’s listing: what it does, where it runs, what it plugs into and what it costs. It is a judgement about the kind of software this is. We have not built a replacement for it, and making your own means looking after it too. How we decide, and every tool’s verdict.

What is Ovatu?

Ovatu is booking software for salons, spas and clinics. It covers online booking, a calendar, reminders, point of sale, gift cards and staff rosters. Pricing is a monthly fee for the first employee plus a smaller fee for each additional one, in two plans, Neat and Loaded.

Worth knowing

  • 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.

Key features

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.

Ovatu pricing

As of Nov 13, 2026, Ovatu is a paid product with a free trial, starting at US$25 per month for the first employee, plus US$7 per additional employee.

Starts at
US$25 per month for the first employee, plus US$7 per additional employee
Free plan
None
Free trial
30-day free trial
Neat$25per month for the first employee, plus $7 per additional employeeAppointments, online booking, point of sale, reminders, waitlist and reviews. Unlimited non-bookable users.
Loaded$38per month for the first employee, plus $10 per additional employeeEverything in Neat, plus campaigns, passes, gift cards, promo codes, loyalty, forms and inventory control.

Read from ovatu.com on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Ovatu before you buy.

Pricing in detail

Works with

Ovatu alternatives

Common questions

Does Ovatu have a Windows app?

No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Ovatu is listed for Web, iOS, Android and macOS.

Does Ovatu have a Linux app?

No Linux app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Ovatu is listed for Web, iOS, Android and macOS.

Is Ovatu open source?

Ovatu is not described as open source on its own site, as read on Nov 13, 2026.

Sources for this page

The prices, plans, platforms and features above were read from these pages on Nov 13, 2026.