Best Booking Sites For Hairstylists

Being a hairstylist is already a dozen jobs combined into one — you’re an artist, a therapist, a chemist, and honestly, this list goes on and on. This can be emotionally taxing, not to mention time-consuming, and all of that before you even consider being a salon and business owner too — that’s a whole other beast entirely. So how can you manage it all? Luckily, if you pick the right Booking platform, you can save yourself a lot of time and headache.

Booking Sites are essential for running the day-to-day of a successful salon. Not only do they allow you to keep your appointments together in one place, but they can send automated reminders to clients, store notes and important reminders, and take payments. Some of them can even help you with marketing. 

With so many options, it can be hard to know which one is a good fit, which is why I have made a list of some of my favorite platforms, highlighting my top pros and cons of each so you can decide what will fit most seamlessly into your salon. 

GlossGenius

GlossGenius started as a booking site geared toward solo artists, but has expanded into a platform that works well for big businesses as well. They have 3 tiered subscription options (standard, gold, platinum) starting as low as $24 a month, which makes it a great option for beginner stylists or stylists who work from home. 

Pros:

Design: In the hair world, aesthetics matter. GlossGenius’ booking site is very sleek and polished, and is easy to navigate.  

Pricing: The tiered options make this site great for a variety of stylists, anywhere from someone who works from their home, to a salon owner with 8+ chairs or multiple locations. 

Features: A semi-customizable booking site, automated reminders, and integrated payment processing.

Cons:

Limitations: They don’t have as many advanced tools to support multi-location businesses as some other booking sites do.

No Built-In Marketing: Unlike most other booking sites, they do not have their own consumer website or app where you can market yourself.

Things to Consider: 

GlossGenius does a lot of things right, but I wouldn’t recommend them to everyone. If you’re a large business owner or an owner of multiple salons, I would say that there are options better suited to your needs.

Vagaro 

Vagaro has long been considered the value brand of booking sites, and its affordability is why it is so popular. I love this option because, similar to GlossGenius, it helps cater to stylists with a lower budget. For a solo stylist, it starts at $23.99 a month and increases depending on the number of stylists or locations you have.

Pros:

Value pricing: Their pricing is lower than most any salon booking sites while still maintaining the necessary functionality you are looking for running a small business.

Features: Amazing online booking, Client Management (software for creating client profiles), and built-in POS.

Marketing: No matter the plan you sign up for through Vagaro, you will have access to market yourself through their consumer webpage or app by listing you or your salon to be found when searched, and they charge no commission off of bookings.

Cons:

Demo: While they do have a demo option, you actually have to input client information and appointments yourself to get a feel for it, whereas platforms such as Boulevard have that input already, so you can get a feel for what the site looks like right away.

Hidden Fees: The base price can feel misleading once you add additional services on. 

Performance: Vargo tends to have the occasional glitch, and I think this might be due to how widespread their system is, covering multiple business types and consumers. 

Things to Consider:

Vagaro is a great base model booking site, but while the entry price is a lot lower than most of its competitors, there are a lot of backend fees for added features, which can be frustrating. I would mainly recommend this to small businesses or solo stylists. 

Square Appointments

Square became a very popular payment method in small businesses. Because of that success, they created Square Appointments to help these businesses manage payments and appointments all in one place. When it was originally created, it wasn’t very functional for salons, but as it has grown, they have worked to improve its function for hairstylists. 

Pros:

Seamless integration: If you are already using Square to accept payments, it can feel like a seamless transition into this appointment software, and it is free to solo stylists. It originally started out as a payment method, so when it comes to payment options, they have all bases covered for both in-person and online. 

Cons: 

Fees: Square tends to have higher processing fees than many of competing booking sites, and their platform is less customizable as well. 

Basic: They cover a lot of the essential basics of a booking site, but lack some of the more advanced tools a large business would need, such as advanced reports to help monitor and improve success rates.  

Things to Consider:

For a hairstylist, Square is really the bare bones of what a booking site can do, and it doesn’t aid in the deeper flow of a salon business. If you are looking for a platform to assist running a salon, there are better options at a similar price point that cater better to a salon owner’s needs. I would recommend this to anyone fresh out of hair school as a way to keep appointments organized and to take payment, but I would look for something different as you expand and grow. 

Mindbody

Mindbody is a booking platform designed to support business in the beauty, fitness, and wellness industry and also has 3 pricing tiers: Starter, Accelerate, and Ultimate. Their lowest tier starts at $99 a month, but to get a more accurate estimate, you actually have to sign up for their demo. 

Pros:

Marketing: The biggest thing you’re paying for when you sign up for Mindbody is the access it gives you to market yourself. Not only do they have a booking app that supports the back end of running a business, but they also have a prominent consumer base that uses their app to search for salons near them, which helps direct business to your door. 

Support:  If you need education on how to run the booking site or have any technical issues, their support staff is available 24/7.

Consumer Friendly: If you have taken classes on business and marketing, one thing you learn is that in a world of fast-paced media, people tend to have a short attention span. Your booking options have to be simple and user-friendly, or the consumer will quickly lose interest and may not end up getting on your books. Mindbody makes discovering your business and booking an appointment so seamless. 

Cons:

Hidden Fees: Their monthly payment can come across as misleading once you actually add on certain tools you need.

Discovery Fee: Although they are marketing built into their platform, they do charge what they call a “discovery fee” if a new client books you through their website or app.

Support: Although their support is 24/7, they aren’t always the most responsive. 

Things to Consider:

Mindbody does a lot of great things, but they really thrive in the wellness and fitness industry, and are still trying to grow in the beauty world. If you are a multi-practice business, meaning you have stylists, estheticians, nail techs, etc., all under one roof, you want to not only keep them busy, but keep them renting from you. Using Mindbody is a great way to encourage employees to stay because of the marketing they can get through you. 

However, due to the steep initial pricing and additional fees for add-ons,  if you are a small business owner or a solo stylist, I wouldn’t recommend this until you have reached the stage where you have extra funds to invest into a platform that will market your space. 

Boulevard 

Boulevard is built specifically for salons, medspas, and similar services that are already very established and need a system to support running the day-to-day of their business(s) while helping them to continue to grow. They also have 3 pricing tiers; essentials, premier, and prestige. The lowest starts at $158 a month, and increases based on the number of locations you have and the add-ons you want for your business. 

Pros:

Calendar: I love the calendar — it’s easy to use and super customizable, which, as a stylist, I really appreciate. We all have a different workflow, and when you are busy enough that you are doubling up on client bookings, you really want to make sure it’s done correctly.

Staff Support: If you are managing a large staff and multiple locations, you really want Boulevard. They have tools for scheduling, tracking commission from product sales, a time clock if you have hourly employees, and a way to keep track of staff information. 

Aesthetic: It’s not only highly functional, but it has a very modern and high-end look that makes it appealing to clients. 

Growth Support: If you’re an already successful business, but you’re wanting to keep that momentum rolling, they have so many tools to support that. They have reports that will track performance and help identify areas that need improvement, profit and loss estimators, automated marketing options, and so much more. 

Cons: 

Not Built For Everyone: Boulevard is really not created to support beginning stylists or small businesses. 

Cost: Higher than most other booking sites. 

Things to Consider: 

There are so many great things to say about Boulevard, and it really is the best of the best when it comes to booking apps. That being said, the price is higher than most, which can be a deterrent. My recommendation is if you’re a thriving and established business or a business ready to invest in a tool to help achieve growth, fill out a request to have a staff member from Boulevard walk through the platform with you. They are incredibly knowledgeable and honest —  if they don’t feel Boulevard will be a good fit for you, they will tell you.

In Conclusion

Most of us didn’t enter cosmetology school because we love business or marketing, but it is a necessity to have a successful career. Thankfully, there are tools that can save you time on the business side, so you have more time doing what you love.

No matter where you are on your career path, I truly believe a booking site can be a great tool. If you’re a beginner stylist, I would recommend Square Appointment because it’s free and you can keep track of appointments. If you are more established — a stylist with a solid clientele or a small business owner, I would recommend Vagaro. If you have a large salon or multiple locations to manage, my hands-down favorite is Boulevard since they’re so feature-rich and will help you continue to grow your already budding business.