Salon and spa software runs the appointment book, but the money sits in commission pay for stylists, deposits that survive a no-show, and retail stock beside the treatment list.
The commercial question in this category is whether you pay a subscription or a commission on new clients. This guide ranks on both.
Vendors can pay for visibility on this page. It never changes what an entry
says about a product, including the criticism, and we earn nothing when you click through to a
vendor. How that works.
In short
What salon and spa software does
Salon and spa software books treatments, holds client and treatment history, pays staff on commission, takes deposits against no-shows and tracks the retail products sold alongside services.
Five things, in this order. Feature counts are not among them: they are the least useful
comparison in software, because every vendor ticks every box.
01
Setup effort in salon and spa software
What the first ninety days of a salon and spa software rollout cost in hours, not in licence fees. A product that needs a partner engagement before it does anything is a different purchase from one a team configures in an afternoon.
02
What salon and spa software really costs
What the bill becomes once the modules a normal buyer of salon and spa software needs are added, and whether you can read that number without a sales conversation.
03
Getting your data out of salon and spa software
How your own data comes back out, in what format, and whether that export is included in the salon and spa software contract or billed as a project.
04
Independence from the vendor
Whether you can buy salon and spa software, run it and leave it on your own terms. This test decides most of the order on this page, and it is why the largest vendors in salon and spa software often sit below the smaller ones.
05
Who the product is built for
The size and shape of company each salon and spa software product was actually built for. Most regret in software comes from buying for a company you are not yet.
The fourth test decides most of the order on this page, and it is the reason the largest
salon and spa software vendors sit below the smaller ones. A product with a published price, an export
that works and no mandatory implementation partner is a product you can leave.
A platform suite that arrives with a quote, a partner and a two-year commitment may well be
the better software and is still the harder decision to reverse. We rank salon and spa software for the
buyer who has to live with that decision without a procurement department, which is a stated
bias rather than a hidden one.
We do not publish a score out of ten. A number like 8.4 is a judgement dressed as a
measurement, and nobody can check it.
What you can check is on this page: what each salon and spa tool costs, where the vendor is
established, whether the price is published, and what we think it is bad at. Our full method
is on the how we work page.
Quoted per site, licence plus annual support contract
—
Hotel spas and day spas scheduling rooms, therapists and packages
Hair salons that want a quick, modern diary
Country is where the vendor is headquartered or contracts from, which is a
different question from where your data is hosted. Where the two tell different stories, the
entry says so.
Salon software built around rebooking and client retention
Ranked #1 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Phorest is built around the measurements that predict a salon's next quarter: client retention, rebooking at the till, average spend per visit, and how each stylist performs on those. Staff see their own numbers, which changes behaviour more than any manager dashboard.
Stock, commission and multi-site reporting are all genuine. The price is quoted by staff band and rises with the team, and the marketing tools that make the case in the demo are usually an extra line on the contract.
What stands out
Retention reporting
Client app
Multi-site
Where it costs you
Quoted price climbs with staff bands faster than expected
Marketing features are sold as paid add-ons
Right for
Salons of five or more staff focused on rebooking and retention
Wrong for
A single chair wanting the cheapest working diary
IrelandPer location per month by staff band, quoted
Dutch salon booking with clear plans and no commission
Ranked #2 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
Salonized publishes its plans, takes nothing from your bookings, and does the daily work of a salon without training days. Client records, stock, till and online booking are all where you expect them.
It is deliberately narrow: the product, the support and the integrations assume a Dutch or Belgian salon, group-level reporting is thin, and a spa that needs to schedule rooms, equipment and therapist qualifications together will hit the ceiling in the first month.
What stands out
Published price
No commission
Benelux
Where it costs you
Reporting runs out beyond one or two locations
Spa room and resource scheduling is minimal
Right for
Benelux salons that want published pricing and no booking commission
Wrong for
Chains or spas with rooms and equipment to schedule
NetherlandsPer location per month, published, staff add-ons extra
Fast modern diary with card-on-file deposits and automations
Ranked #3 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Mangomint is the fastest software here to use, and its no-show handling is the reason to pay for it: cards held on file, deposits taken at booking, and automations that chase confirmations without a person. Prices are published by staff count.
The caveat is geography. Payment processing, tax handling and integrations assume the United States, so a European buyer should confirm how card mandates, VAT rates and their own terminal fit before signing anything.
What stands out
Published price
Card on file
Automations
Where it costs you
Built for American payment and tax conventions
Priced by staff count, so a large team gets expensive
Right for
Salons losing money to no-shows and a slow front desk
Wrong for
European salons needing local payment and VAT handling
German booking, reminders and card payments for local salons
Ranked #4 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Published pricingEurope
Shore packages online booking, automated reminders, customer records and card payment into one German contract, with support and documentation in German and local payment conventions handled properly.
Reminder automation does most of the work on no-shows, which for a small salon is enough. The product is plainer than Phorest on retention analysis and than Mangomint on speed, and outside the German-speaking market the local advantages that justify it simply disappear.
What stands out
German market
Reminders
Payments
Where it costs you
Diary and reporting are plainer than the specialists
Payment hardware is a separate cost
Right for
German-speaking salons wanting booking, reminders and payments on one contract
Wrong for
Salons trading outside the German-speaking market and its integrations
GermanyPer location per month, published tiers, payment terminal extra
Benelux salon system with its own booking marketplace
Ranked #5 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Salonkee's value is regional: in Luxembourg and parts of Belgium its booking marketplace has genuine consumer traffic, and the software handles a salon serving clients in three languages without awkwardness.
The administration side is solid without being distinctive. Take it outside that footprint and you are buying an ordinary salon system with an empty marketplace attached, at a price you have to negotiate rather than read. Ask for local reference salons before signing.
What stands out
Benelux
Marketplace listing
Multilingual
Where it costs you
Marketplace traffic only exists in a few countries
Subscription is quoted rather than published
Right for
Salons in Luxembourg, Belgium and the Netherlands using local demand
Wrong for
Salons operating outside the Benelux region and its marketplace
Salon system attached to Europe's largest beauty marketplace
Ranked #6 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Treatwell has the largest beauty marketplace in Europe, and for a new or quiet salon that demand is worth paying for. The mechanism matters: commission is charged on bookings made through the marketplace, and over time clients who first arrived that way keep returning through the same route, so the acquisition fee never quite ends.
Use it deliberately for off-peak capacity, keep your own booking page prominent, and watch what share of revenue arrives with a commission attached.
What stands out
Marketplace demand
Commission model
Europe wide
Where it costs you
Commission applies to bookings the marketplace claims
Regulars can migrate to booking through the marketplace brand
Right for
City-centre salons with empty midweek slots they cannot fill themselves
Wrong for
Salons with a full book and loyal regulars
United KingdomSubscription plus commission on marketplace bookings
Barbershop and salon booking with a consumer app behind it
Ranked #7 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Booksy won barbering because its consumer app is where those clients already search, and per-staff pricing fits a shop of chair renters where each person pays for themselves. Booking, reminders and payments are smooth.
Beyond appointments it thins out: inventory, treatment rooms, packages and commission payroll are all better handled elsewhere. Model the marketplace fees on your expected new-client volume, because that is the part of the bill that moves.
What stands out
Barbershops
Consumer app
New client fees
Where it costs you
Extra fees for clients the marketplace introduces
Weak on stock, rooms and commission payroll
Right for
Barbershops and independent stylists whose clients book on a phone
Wrong for
Spas with treatment rooms, packages and retail stock
PolandPer staff member per month, plus fees for marketplace clients
French salon booking on a flat subscription, not commission
Ranked #8 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestEurope
Planity built its position by refusing the commission model: a salon pays a monthly subscription and keeps the value of every booking, which for a busy shop is straightforwardly cheaper than a percentage.
Online booking, reminders and the client app work well and the French support is close at hand. Outside France the consumer traffic is thin and the local integrations are missing, and a multi-site group will want more analysis than the reporting offers.
What stands out
France focus
Flat subscription
Online booking
Where it costs you
Marketplace and integrations weaken outside France
Group-level reporting is light
Right for
French salons and barbershops wanting a predictable flat monthly fee
Wrong for
Groups needing detailed reporting across several French sites
Front-desk software for larger American salons and medspas
Ranked #9 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Boulevard is front-desk software first: it schedules staff, rooms and equipment against service rules so self-booking does not create impossible days, and it gives managers numbers they act on the same afternoon.
That fits a larger salon or a medspa with treatment protocols. It is also among the most expensive here once per-professional fees are added, and its payments, integrations and support are built for the United States, which makes it hard to recommend in Europe.
What stands out
Medspa
Front desk flow
Self-booking
Where it costs you
Per-professional fees on top of the location fee
Little European presence or payment support
Right for
Larger American salons and medspas with a busy front desk
Wrong for
European salons and small independent studios watching cost
United StatesPer location per month plus per-professional fees, published
Low-cost booking and payments for salons, spas and studios
Ranked #10 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Published pricingNorth America
Vagaro gets you a booking page, a diary and card payments for less than anything else here, and it serves salons, spas and fitness with the same product.
That breadth is the trade: forms, marketing, the branded app and several reports are add-ons, so the real monthly cost lands well above the advertised entry price, and the interface carries options that belong to somebody else's trade. Price the bundle you will actually run.
What stands out
Low entry price
Wide feature list
Add-on modules
Where it costs you
Core salon needs arrive as paid add-ons
Interface reflects serving several industries at once
Right for
Price-sensitive salons and studios that want a working diary cheaply
Wrong for
Operators wanting real depth in one specific trade
United StatesPer bookable staff member per month, published; add-ons extra
Enterprise platform for spa, medspa and salon chains
Ranked #11 of 12 in Best Salon Software in 2026.
Pricing on requestNorth America
Zenoti is aimed at chains that need one price list, one membership programme and one inventory position across many centres, plus the clinical record-keeping medspas need. At that size it does things no independent-scale product attempts.
The cost is the whole enterprise apparatus: quoted pricing, an implementation project, configuration decisions that are hard to reverse, and support that customers report as uneven depending on where they are. Below about ten sites, look lower on this page.
What stands out
Chains
Medspa compliance
Central reporting
Where it costs you
Enterprise buying process and phased implementation
Support experience varies by region
Right for
Spa, medspa and salon chains running dozens of centres centrally
Wrong for
Independent salons and small groups under ten sites
United StatesQuoted per centre, enterprise contract
Core by Premier is built for spa operations, where a booking consumes a room, a therapist with the right qualification, and a piece of equipment, and where the charge may need to post to a hotel guest's folio through the property management system.
It handles packages, memberships and retail alongside that. The trade-offs are plain: traditional licensing with an annual support contract, no public pricing, and a look that newer products have long since overtaken.
What stands out
Hotel spa
Room scheduling
PMS links
Where it costs you
No published pricing and a traditional licence model
Interface is dated compared with newer products
Right for
Hotel spas and day spas scheduling rooms, therapists and packages
Wrong for
Hair salons that want a quick, modern diary
United KingdomQuoted per site, licence plus annual support contract
Salon and spa software books treatments, holds client and treatment history, pays staff on commission, takes deposits against no-shows and tracks the retail products sold alongside services. The differences that matter are rarely in the feature list, so this is
the order we would work through them.
01
Decide whether you need a published price
5 of the 12 tools here publish what they cost; the other 7 quote per organisation, which means a sales conversation before you can compare anything. If you are buying without a procurement function, start with the ones that publish: Salonized, Mangomint, Shore, Boulevard, Vagaro.
02
Work out what the first ninety days cost in time
Licence cost is the number in the contract; setup effort is the number that surprises people. Ask every shortlisted vendor who does the configuration, how long it took the last customer of your size, and what happens if that person leaves halfway.
03
Check the exit before the entry
Ask for an export of your own data in a format you can open, and ask whether it is included or billed as a project. A vendor that hesitates here is telling you what renewal negotiations will feel like in three years.
04
Match the tool to the size you are, not the size you plan to be
Most regret in this category comes from buying for a headcount that never arrived. The entry-level products here are not worse; they are aimed at a different company.
05
Decide how much the jurisdiction matters
These 12 vendors are established in 8 countries across 2 regions (Europe 8, North America 4). Where a vendor is established decides which government can compel access to what it holds, which is a different question from where the servers are. For most buyers that is a factor, not a veto.
Free software with a marketplace commission is a distribution deal
The loudest offer in this category is software at no cost, paid for by a fee on new clients the marketplace introduces. Treatwell Pro, Booksy and the well-known free-plus-commission products all work this way, and for a salon with empty midweek slots it is rational: you pay only when someone walks in. The arithmetic turns when the salon fills.
A regular who books every six weeks through the marketplace carries an acquisition cost forever, and the relationship belongs to the platform, which also decides where you rank. Planity and Salonized took the opposite position and charge a flat subscription. Work out your annual commission at your current new-client rate, then compare it with a subscription before deciding which model you are in.
Calculate twelve months of commission at your real new-client numbers.
Ask how long a marketplace-introduced client keeps attracting a fee.
Check whether your own booking page can rank ahead of your marketplace listing.
Commission pay is payroll, and most products approximate it
Stylists are paid on a mix of base pay, service commission at tiered rates, retail commission at a different rate, and sometimes a share of a colleague's work. Most salon software models one flat percentage and leaves the rest in a spreadsheet, which is where disputes come from.
Phorest and Zenoti handle tiers and separate retail rates properly; lighter products do not. Ask the vendor to reproduce last month's actual pay run for two of your staff during the trial, using your real rates. If the numbers do not match what you paid, you have found the amount of manual work the product is quietly handing back to you every month.
Test a real pay run for your two most complicated staff members.
Confirm retail commission can differ from service commission.
Check whether a discounted service reduces the commission base automatically.
No-shows: a deposit only works if the card can be charged
A reminder message reduces no-shows; a card on file ends them. The gap between those two is where the money is, and it is also where European rules bite. Taking a card at booking and charging it later needs the mandate set up correctly at the time of booking, with strong customer authentication done up front, or the charge fails exactly when you need it.
Mangomint is the strongest here, Phorest and Shore handle deposits well, and several cheaper products only send reminders. Decide your policy first, including who waives the fee and when, because a cancellation charge applied inconsistently damages more goodwill than the no-show it punished.
Test a real card-on-file charge on a cancelled booking during the trial.
Confirm the deposit rules can differ by service and by new client.
Write the waiver policy down before you switch the feature on.
Retail stock is the half of the business the diary ignores
Shampoo, colour and skincare are inventory: they have stock levels, supplier orders, professional use versus retail sale, and a margin that is often better than the chair. Salon software treats this unevenly. Phorest and Zenoti track stock against both retail sales and back-bar consumption, Core by Premier handles it alongside spa packages, and app-first products such as Booksy leave you counting bottles by hand.
If a third of your revenue is product, the stock module is not a secondary feature. Ask specifically how colour used in a service is deducted, because that is the part most products cannot do without a manual adjustment.
Ask how professional use is deducted from stock, not just retail sales.
Check whether supplier orders can be raised from reorder levels.
Confirm stock value appears in reporting next to service revenue.
What goes wrong most often when buying salon and spa software
Judging free software by the subscription line. Commission on new clients is the price, and it is a percentage of your growth rather than a fixed cost.
Letting the marketplace own the client relationship. Every regular who books through a platform is a regular you are renting.
Buying on the look of the diary and discovering the commission pay run still lives in a spreadsheet.
Turning on cancellation fees without a written policy. Staff waive them inconsistently and the protection quietly stops existing.
07
Frequently asked questions
9 answers
What is the best salon and spa in 2026?
Phorest leads our ranking of 12. The reporting is aimed at the two numbers that decide whether a salon grows, client retention and rebooking rate, and staff can see their own figures rather than waiting for a manager.
Commission, stock and multi-site all work. Pricing is quoted by staff band and climbs faster than the entry plan suggests, and the marketing add-ons are sold hard on top of a subscription you already pay.
How did you rank these salon and spa tools?
On what separates products after the demo: how much setup the first ninety days take, what the price becomes once the modules a normal buyer needs are added, how your data comes back out, whether you can buy and leave it without a partner engagement, and who the product is genuinely for.
That fourth test is why the large platform suites usually sit lower here than their market share would suggest. Not on feature counts, and not on a score we invented.
Which salon and spa tools publish their pricing?
5 of the 12, with the pricing model each one publishes:
Salonized: Per location per month, published, staff add-ons extra.
Mangomint: Per month by staff count, published.
Shore: Per location per month, published tiers, payment terminal extra.
Boulevard: Per location per month plus per-professional fees, published.
Vagaro: Per bookable staff member per month, published; add-ons extra.
The other 7 quote per organisation.
Is there a free salon and spa tool?
None of the tools here offer a usable free tier, which is itself a signal about who this category is sold to.
Where are these salon and spa vendors established?
In 8 countries across 2 regions: Europe 8, North America 4.
Phorest is established in Ireland.
Salonized is established in the Netherlands.
Mangomint is established in the United States.
Shore is established in Germany.
Salonkee is established in Luxembourg.
Treatwell Pro is established in the United Kingdom.
Booksy is established in Poland.
Planity is established in France.
Boulevard is established in the United States.
Vagaro is established in the United States.
Zenoti is established in the United States.
Core by Premier is established in the United Kingdom.
Establishment decides whose courts and whose disclosure laws apply, which is a separate question from where the data is hosted.
What should you use instead of Phorest?
Salonized and Mangomint are the next two on this page.
Salonized is for Benelux salons that want published pricing and no booking commission; Mangomint is for Salons losing money to no-shows and a slow front desk. All 12 are ranked here with what each one is bad at.
Who should not buy Phorest?
A single chair wanting the cheapest working diary. Quoted price climbs with staff bands faster than expected.
Do you get paid for these rankings?
Vendors can pay for visibility, which affects where and how prominently a product appears. It does not change a word of what the entry says about that product, including the criticism, and it cannot buy inclusion for something that does not belong in the category.
We take no commission when you click through to a vendor and we do not know whether you bought anything. The full arrangement is on our disclosure page.
How often is this salon and spa guide updated?
Whenever the facts move: a price change, an acquisition, a product that stops being maintained. The published and updated dates at the top of the page are real, and a review means someone went back to the vendor documentation rather than bumping a date.
These 12 products are the ones we judged worth ranking in salon and spa. If yours belongs here and is missing, tell us what it does and who it is for, and we will look at it. Inclusion is an editorial call and it is not for sale — but nobody gets considered for a list they were never put in front of.
People land on this page with a shortlist to make, not a browsing habit to feed. That is a narrower audience than a banner reaches and a far more decided one.
Written by us, about you
We describe the product in our own words, say who it suits and say who it does not. A vendor never writes the entry and never sees it before it goes up.
A correction costs nothing
If a fact about your product is wrong here, tell us and we fix it, whether or not there is any money between us. That offer is older than any commercial arrangement on this site.
Placement is separate, and disclosed
Where a product sits in the ranking can be paid for, and the notice above the list says so on every page. What the entry says about the product is not for sale at any price.
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