Salonist review (2026): is the free plan enough?
Salon and spa management with unlimited staff on every plan
Black Friday: is there a Salonist sale?
Salonist report card
Fair · out of 4.0 · graded Nov 13, 2026
Best for salons that want unlimited staff on every plan
Salonist lets you add as many staff as you like on every plan, with a free listing and paid plans from $59 a month. The catch is the money: the free listing stops at 50 appointments and leaves out point of sale, and new clients who arrive through its marketplace cost 15% of the first visit.
Who Salonist is for
- Fits if you have a big or changing team and don't want to pay per stylist
- Works for salons that want to test the marketplace listing before paying
Who Salonist is not for
- Tight if you stay free, as the listing caps at 50 appointments a month and has no point of sale or reminders
- Watch out: a new client from the marketplace costs 15% of that first visit
- Pricey if you need loyalty, SMS or inventory, which start on Advance at $109 a month
- Watch out: Digital Wallet Cards from $39 a month and the AI Receptionist are separate add-ons
- Skip it if you run several branches, as multi-branch reporting is on Expert at $179 a month
Why Salonist gets a 2.4
Five grades, each with its reason. The GPA is their average: an A is 4 points, an F is none.
- CValue for moneyEssential is $59 a month and unlimited staff, so the price doesn't climb with headcount. That sits between the category's middle of $49 and its dearer quarter at $99.
- CFree plan and trialA free listing with online booking and a calendar, capped at 50 appointments a month, plus a 7-day trial with no card. You'll hit the cap fast.
- BFeaturesBooking, point of sale, memberships, commissions, gift cards, campaigns and inventory all appear across the tiers. Some pieces sit on dearer plans, but the core salon job is covered.
- CEase of useNo store rating on record, and a salon system with point of sale and inventory means setup.
- BPlatforms and integrationsWeb plus iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks, Stripe, Mailchimp, WhatsApp and Shopify links. No computer app.
What these grades rest on. Graded from this listing, whose facts were read from Salonist's own pages on 13 November 2026. Not based on using the product, and shorter than our full reviews. How we review and grade.
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<a href="https://toolgpa.com/tools/salonist#review"><img src="https://toolgpa.com/badge/salonist.svg" alt="Salonist: 2.4 GPA on ToolGPA" width="196" height="56"></a>Where Salonist stands among salon, spa and studio booking apps
Salonist's GPA of 2.4 is higher than 58 of the 85 other salon, spa and studio booking apps we grade, and level with 16.
It stands best on features (B, above 42 of 85) and worst on ease of use (C, above 0).
Its paid plans start at $59 a month, against a middle price of $49 for the category: 35 of the 57 others that charge start lower.
On features, ease of use and platforms it scores 2.7 out of 4. 4 tools score higher and cost 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. Salonist’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
- BPlatforms and integrationsAbove 22 of 85, level with 61
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
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
Keep Salonist, or make your own?
Keep it
To replace Salonist 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 2.4 is higher than 58 of the 85 other salon, spa and studio booking apps we grade. It costs $708 a year.
What you could make
- Appointment booking and inventory: an app builder makes these well.
What you could not
- Texts to thousands of numbers, registered with the carriers.
- Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.
- The WhatsApp Business API, which Meta opens only through approved partners.
- A rota the whole staff sees on their phones, with swaps and alerts.
- Clocking in from a phone, checked against where and when.
- A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- It plugs into other products, QuickBooks, Stripe and PayPal among them.
- Hooks into the device itself: widgets.
- What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: roles and permissions.
- The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.
What this rests on. Salonist’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 Salonist?
Salonist is salon, spa and barbershop software covering the calendar, online booking, point of sale, memberships, inventory, staff commissions and campaigns. Plans are priced by feature tier rather than headcount, so every plan includes unlimited staff. It also runs a marketplace listing and a client booking app.
Worth knowing
- A brand-new client who finds you through the Salonist marketplace costs 15% of that first visit, once; card fees are separate.
- The free listing stops at 50 appointments a month and omits point of sale and reminders.
- Optional add-ons cost extra: Digital Wallet Cards from $39 a month, and the AI Receptionist is quoted by conversation volume.
- Annual billing is shown as 10 times the monthly price ($590, $1,090, $1,790); groups of several locations get custom pricing.
Key features
- Calendar and online booking
- Drag-and-drop calendar and room calendars, with booking from the salon's own link, website widget, Instagram and Google.
- Point of sale
- Desk and mobile checkout with tips and split payments, plus SalonistPay for card processing.
- Memberships, packages and gift cards
- Subscriptions, e-wallet balances, packages and gift cards; gift cards and membership subscriptions start at Advance.
- Campaigns and reminders
- WhatsApp, SMS and email reminders and campaigns; the pricing page lists unlimited notifications from the Advance plan.
- Retail, inventory and staff data
- Stock, purchase orders and service-usage tracking, with commissions, timesheets and login permissions.
- Client booking app
- A client-facing booking app for iOS and Android, and a marketplace where new clients can find the salon.
Salonist pricing
As of Nov 13, 2026, Salonist has a free plan, and paid plans start at $59 per month, billed monthly (Essential).
- Starts at
- $59 per month, billed monthly (Essential)
- Free plan
- Marketplace Listing: online booking, calendar, shift management and staff reports for up to 50 appointments a month.
- Free trial
- 7-day free trial, no credit card required
| Plan | Price | What you get |
|---|---|---|
| Marketplace Listing | $0 | Up to 50 appointments a month, online booking, calendar, staff shifts and a free listing on the Salonist marketplace. |
| Essential | $59per month, billed monthly, with unlimited staff | Adds point of sale, memberships and e-wallet, commissions, tips, retail products, service reminders and phone support. |
| Advance | $109per month, billed monthly, with unlimited staff | Adds loyalty points, gift cards, SMS, email and WhatsApp campaigns, inventory, timesheets and one-on-one onboarding. |
| Expert | $179per month, billed monthly, with unlimited staff | Adds QuickBooks, multi-branch reporting, a dedicated account manager, forms, waitlists and AI marketing automation. |
Read from salonist.io on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Salonist before you buy.
Ways to pay less
- Annual discountPay yearly: $590, $1,090 or $1,790
The pricing page's Annual toggle lists Essential at $590, Advance at $1,090 and Expert at $1,790 a year, against $59, $109 and $179 monthly.
Stated on salonist.io
Works with
Salonist alternatives
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Free trial · from $19.95/mo
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Free trial · from $30/mo
- Salonist vs Booksy
Free trial · from $29.99/mo
Common questions
Does Salonist have a Windows app?
No Windows app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Salonist is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Does Salonist have a macOS app?
No macOS app was listed when its pages were read on Nov 13, 2026. Salonist is listed for Web, iOS and Android.
Is Salonist open source?
Salonist 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.