# Salonist review (2026): is the free plan enough?

> Salon and spa management with unlimited staff on every plan

Checked Nov 13, 2026 · graded Nov 13, 2026 by ToolGPA.

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.

- **Category:** Salon, Spa & Studio Booking
- **Made by:** Salonist
- **Website:** https://salonist.io
- **Runs on:** Web, iOS, Android
- **Who should skip it:** Tight if you stay free, as the listing caps at 50 appointments a month and has no point of sale or reminders.
- **Facts last checked:** Nov 13, 2026

## Pricing

As of Nov 13, 2026, Salonist has a free plan, and paid plans start at $59 per month, billed monthly (Essential).

- **Pricing model:** Free plan
- **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 | $59 per month, billed monthly, with unlimited staff | Adds point of sale, memberships and e-wallet, commissions, tips, retail products, service reminders and phone support. |
| Advance | $109 per month, billed monthly, with unlimited staff | Adds loyalty points, gift cards, SMS, email and WhatsApp campaigns, inventory, timesheets and one-on-one onboarding. |
| Expert | $179 per month, billed monthly, with unlimited staff | Adds QuickBooks, multi-branch reporting, a dedicated account manager, forms, waitlists and AI marketing automation. |

Read from https://salonist.io/pricing on Nov 13, 2026. Prices change, so confirm with Salonist before buying.

## Ways to pay less

- **Pay yearly: $590, $1,090 or $1,790** (Annual discount): 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. Source: https://salonist.io/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.

## Good for

- Salons and spas with many staff that want one price regardless of headcount
- Businesses outside the US that use WhatsApp for client messages
- Beauty businesses wanting a free listing before paying

## 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.

## ToolGPA grades

**GPA: 2.4 out of 4**, graded Nov 13, 2026. 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.

- **Value for money: C.** Essential 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.
- **Free plan and trial: C.** A 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.
- **Features: B.** Booking, 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.
- **Ease of use: C.** No store rating on record, and a salon system with point of sale and inventory means setup.
- **Platforms and integrations: B.** Web plus iPhone and Android, with QuickBooks, Stripe, Mailchimp, WhatsApp and Shopify links. No computer app.

These are ToolGPA's own grades. 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.

## Where it 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.

The category's chart of price against score: https://toolgpa.com/charts/service-booking

## Keep it, 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.

- You could make: Appointment booking and inventory: an app builder makes these well.
- You could not: Texts to thousands of numbers, registered with the carriers.
- You could not: Newsletters sent to thousands of people that still reach the inbox.
- You could not: The WhatsApp Business API, which Meta opens only through approved partners.
- You could not: A rota the whole staff sees on their phones, with swaps and alerts.
- You could not: Clocking in from a phone, checked against where and when.
- You could not: A real app for iOS and Android. Something home-made would be a web page.
- You could not: It plugs into other products, QuickBooks, Stripe and PayPal among them.
- You could not: Hooks into the device itself: widgets.
- You could not: What a company asks for before it lets staff use something: roles and permissions.
- You could not: The depth: we grade its features B, which means it covers the whole job.

A judgement by ToolGPA from this listing, by rules that are the same for every tool. Nothing was built to test it.

## Works with

QuickBooks, Stripe, PayPal, Mailchimp, Twilio, WhatsApp, Google Calendar, Shopify

**Tags:** Appointment booking, SMS marketing, Email campaigns, WhatsApp messaging, Inventory, Shift scheduling, Time clock

## Alternatives

- [Fresha](https://toolgpa.com/tools/fresha): Salon and spa booking with a consumer marketplace for new clients. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/fresha-vs-salonist)
- [Vagaro](https://toolgpa.com/tools/vagaro): Booking, payments and marketing for salons, spas and studios. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/salonist-vs-vagaro)
- [Zenoti](https://toolgpa.com/tools/zenoti): Booking, POS and operations software for salons, spas and gyms. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/salonist-vs-zenoti)
- [Phorest](https://toolgpa.com/tools/phorest): Salon and medspa software for booking, POS and marketing. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/phorest-vs-salonist)
- [Booksy](https://toolgpa.com/tools/booksy): Booking app and marketplace for barbers, salons and beauty pros. [Compare](https://toolgpa.com/compare/booksy-vs-salonist)

## Sources

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

- https://salonist.io/
- https://salonist.io/pricing

Page: https://toolgpa.com/tools/salonist
Listed by ToolGPA (toolgpa.com).