If you still haven’t utilized online booking in your salon in 2023, what are you waiting for? But don’t worry, it’s not too late just yet. Maybe you’ve waited for our blog on the best salon booking apps in 2023.
Jokes aside, maybe you tried salon booking apps, but things got too complicated, you didn’t have enough time and you got back to the old ways of doing things (We hope it’s not pen & paper).
Luckily, we’re diving deep into the features, pricing, and unique differentiators of the best salon booking apps in 2023. After you’ve read this blog, the choice is all yours, and you’ll have all the information you need to make it.
What Are the Best Salon Booking Apps in 2023?
If you want to streamline the whole appointment scheduling process, these salon booking apps will provide you with effective solutions. Besides booking appointments, these salon booking apps also have other powerful features such as automated appointment reminders, upfront payments, managing employees, and integrations with other tools you might use (such as Outlook, Google and Apple calendars, payment processors, Zapier, Mailchimp, etc). Let’s see the list of the best salon booking apps out there:
- Trafft
- Amelia
- SimplyBook.me
- GlossGenius
- Salon Software
- Square Appointments
- TimeTap
- Salon Booking WordPress Plugin
- Acuity Scheduling
- Phorest
- SuperSaaS
- Booxi
- CHIDESK
- Zenoti
- Vagaro
- Fresha
- Mindbody
- Booksy
- Setmore
- Timely
- 10to8
The Most Comprehensive Salon Booking App in 2023
Trafft
Trafft is the winner of the most comprehensive salon booking app in 2023 because it’s more than simple scheduling software – it offers comprehensive solutions to salon owners who want to streamline boring business processes and repetitive tasks – completely.
Trafft offers a wide range of features and functionalities that cater to both salon owners and customers. Whether you’re the only employee in your salon, or you have dozens of employees, Trafft can help you streamline business operations. It simplifies the salon booking process by allowing customers to book appointments directly through the app. They can browse time slots, select services, choose their favorite service provider, and book appointments in a few clicks.
When customers choose your salon, Trafft is here to help you keep them. It inspires customer loyalty by allowing you to create and send discount coupons to customers directly through the app. You have an array of tools at your fingertips to manage your whole salon, not just bookings. From managing employee schedules, and setting up automated reminders, to tax management, creating invoices, and tracking KPIs. You can enhance your salon’s overall performance, improve efficiency, and increase profitability.
Trafft even helps you promote your salon because of powerful integrations with salon marketing tools such as Mailchimp, Facebook Pixel, Google Analytics, and many more. You can also collect payments directly from Trafft and even ask for upfront payments.
Price: Free for up to 5 users. Paid plans start from $29 per month.
Best for: Salons who want a simple and easy-to-use solution that offers both basic and advanced features. Trafft is awesome if you are a one-man salon, but also when you grow to have dozens of employees. You won’t spend hours setting it up and it’s extremely intuitive and user-friendly.
The Best Salon Booking App in 2023 for WordPress
Amelia
If you want to integrate a salon booking app directly into your WordPress website, Amelia is the perfect solution.
If you’re looking for salon scheduling software that’s comprehensive and highly intuitive, go for Amelia. It uses the latest technology to make the lives of salon owners and employees easier. Get rid of your hairdresser appointment notebook and use Amelia to automatically manage your appointments instead.
By using this WordPress plugin, you will automate appointment scheduling. Amelia has many features available all under just one license. No hidden costs or add-ons.
Price: You can choose between annual and lifetime deals. Pricing starts from $79 for an annual and $199 for a lifetime subscription.
Best for: Salons that want to integrate a booking app that offers comprehensive features directly on their WordPress website.
Other Salon Booking Apps
SimplyBook.me
A great general-purpose option for salon apps is Simplybook.me. It’s a great multi-purpose app, as it will also function well for gyms, personal trainers, schools, and spas.
It can be easily accessed not only from your computer but from your phone and tablet. The functionality is great, and it will show up perfectly for you and your customers on any device.
One of the best things about Simplybook.me is that its online salon booking function can be added to your Facebook page or existing website. This makes it easy to access without the customer being redirected to another site.
Price: Pricing starts from $9.99 per month, but you have limited bookings.
Best for: Salon owners with a low volume of bookings per month.
GlossGenius
When looking for salon booking software, you can’t ignore GlossGenius. If you’re an independent hairstylist, it can be tough to both work and manage your appointments at the same time. That’s why more and more people are choosing to get GlossGenius. Instead of physical appointment books for hairstylists, you can replace those with this sleek and easy-to-use tool.
GlossGenius can accept payments and bookings online and they even have a mobile app on offer. Send clients appointment reminders to reduce no-shows and cancellations. You can also take appointments through your social media platforms. Giving clients more ways to book with you will surely result in better business and more customers.
Price: Pricing starts from $24 per month.
Best for: Salons who want to use their card readers and have point-of-sale support from their booking app.
Salon Software
Salon Software was created with the beauty, hair, and spa industry in mind. It functions essentially as your online appointment book so that you can access your appointments from anywhere. Your clients will love being able to book with you online from anywhere, and at any time.
Salon Software gives you the ability to set up different tasks for each employee to manage their types of appointments. It will send notifications to your clients with their appointment time and date. Another great feature is that customers will be able to select which of your staff they book with based on their availability.
Price: Starts from $25 per month for a one-person salon business.
Best for: For salons who want to focus on text messaging and credit card processing with basic scheduling features.
Square Appointments
Square Appointments is a fantastic salon appointment booking app for salons that are managed by one person.
It even offers its basic membership for free, which is a great way to try out the product without having to make a commitment.
Square Appointments will integrate with many other handy products you might already be using, including Bigcommerce and QuickBooks. It’s a great choice if you want to manage your calendar, receive payments, and communicate with customers all in one place.
Price: Starts from $29 per month per location.
Best for: If you’re just starting out and don’t have big money to spend on software, this is a great option for you.
TimeTap
Service providers and other businesses with appointment-based bookings can struggle to manage multiple bookings over many staff. TimeTap Online Scheduling gives these people an ‘insanely simple’ way of managing bookings. It keeps the customer at the heart of the process and makes it as easy as possible for them to schedule appointments. That’s why the system is so user-friendly. Plus, it features a calendar to see all available appointment options in one glance.
Price: $28.45 /month for one employee and one location.
Best for: Salons who have time to devote to booking app that offers complex scheduling.
Salon Booking WordPress Plugin
Salon Booking WordPress Plugin is a great salon scheduling app for use with WordPress websites. It is a sleek and stylish booking form that lets your customers choose the services they want and make an appointment right away.
From the back end, it remains easy to use with the back-end booking calendar. You can view this either monthly, weekly, or daily. You can create advanced booking rules to set up your holiday times and work hours, too. You can also customize the booking form with colors and text to make things easier to understand.
Price: Starts from $69 annually.
Best for: If you’re owner of a small salon with high demands, Salon Booking might be a good choice for you.
Acuity Scheduling
No matter how large or small your salon is, Acuity will give you the best scheduling experience possible. This hair salon software is highly customizable so you can tailor it to suit the needs of your business. You can integrate it with other platforms, too. In fact, this is recommended to get the best use out of the software.
Add your own branding to your booking page to give your customers the ultimate user experience. It is very flexible and lets you integrate with a myriad of third-party software. With Acuity Scheduling, you can turn appointment scheduling into the ultimate streamlined customer experience for your clients.
Price: $20 per month for 1 location.
Best for: Great for salon owners who want to offer their customers exceptional experience.
Phorest
Phorest is not just a salon scheduling tool, it’s a whole management system. You can manage your marketing as well as take online appointment bookings all in one place. It really does it all! Manage the appointments from Facebook or your website to give your customers the best possible booking experience.
After you’ve accepted an appointment, your system will automatically update. This takes away any chance of double booking yourself and having to reschedule.
Price: They don’t have transparent pricing and only provide prices when you request a quote.
Best for: What sets it apart is the feature called “ReConnect Client”, which lets you send automatic emails to your customers. These emails are based on the individual customer’s booking history, so it is tailored to the customer.
SuperSaaS
This salon booking system will stop the back-and-forth flurry of emails trying to arrange an appointment after an appointment. It is affordable and flexible for any business. SuperSaaS lets you send automatic email and text reminders, so your customers never miss an appointment again. It has many features, including waitlists, online payment acceptance, and customizable booking forms. Much of it can be customized to integrate seamlessly with your website.
Price: $9 per month for 50 appointments.
Best for: It’s available in 34 languages and lets you create promotions and more.
booxi
Booxi works best for small businesses that want to up their game by using a salon appointment booking app to save time and money. With booxi, you can give customers a better experience and save yourself a ton of time. booxi can scale to your requirements, whether you’re just one service provider or a chain of stores.
Price: $24 per month for one user. Best for: Salons that need appointment scheduling and back office management.
CHIDESK
If you want a quick and reliable software, look no further than CHIDESK for your spa business. It features a user-friendly interface that makes managing the back end of the system simple. Your customers will love the simplicity when they use it to schedule their appointments. You’ll be able to color-code your services and even set up recurring bookings, too.
Price: $40 per month for salons with one employee.
Best for: Salons who want simple appointment scheduling features.
Zenoti
Zenoti is an unobtrusive salon booking app that will support the scheduling processes for your spa or salon business. Give yourself more time in the day by reducing your admin time with this salon appointment booking app.
Price: They don’t offer transparent pricing on their website.
Best for: Whether you have multiple locations or just one, you’ll find them easy to manage with the exceptional design of this tool. It offers many functionalities for you to manage your business more easily.
Vagaro
Vagaro is a popular salon booking app and it offers a range of features that salon owners can find useful. Customers can easily book appointments and browse available services but also pay directly through the app. Vagaro also offers you to list your salon and promote it to new customers.
Price: $30 per month for one employee.
Best for: Salons who want to utilize their platform to promote their business.
Fresha
Formerly known as Shedul, Fresha is a highly regarded salon booking app. It’s gained popularity due to an extensive set of features. Fresha offers a seamless booking experience for salon owners and customers alike. It’s reliable and user-friendly, making it a good choice for salon owners who want to enable customers to book appointments online.
Price: Free
Best for: Salons who want to utilize Fresha’s authority to promote their services.
Mindbody
Mindbody as a salon booking app offers a visually appealing interface and advanced features. You can use it to streamline the booking process and clients can easily find your salon and book services. When it comes to features, you have real-time availability, management and promotion tools, and payment processing options.
Price: They don’t provide pricing unless you request a quote.
Best for: Salons who need a boost in their marketing efforts and booking app all in one place.
Booksy
Booksy is designed to simplify the way clients discover your salon and book appointments. It empowers you to efficiently manage and grow your salon. As a salon booking app, it offers you online payments, automatic reminders, and enhanced convenience.
Price: $29 per month + taxes
Best for: Besides booking, Booksy is also great for promoting your salon business.
Setmore
Setmore is a great salon booking app that offers robust features and simplifies scheduling. Real-time availability makes sure you avoid double booking and it’s a great way to promote your services. Managing appointments with Setmore will help you boost productivity and reduce no-shows.
Price: $12 per user per month.
Best for: Owners who’re looking for a convenient salon booking app.
10to8
Do you want to make appointments happen effectively? 10to8 is here to help! This salon booking app offers you a chance to fill your calendar with appointments and manage them all effortlessly. With great customization options, 10to8 will make your salon’s booking page shine. It also offers you data insights to supercharge your marketing efforts.
Price: $7.20 per seat per month. Only annual subscription.
Best for: Salons that are looking for a booking app that focuses on marketing.
Other booking tools comparisons to check out
Trafft vs. Acuity Scheduling
If you’re still not sure which one is better, read how Trafft compares to Acuity Scheduling.
Vagaro vs. Mindbody
Looking for a more in-depth comparison? Check out a comprehensive breakdown of Vagaro vs. Mindbody.
Setmore vs. Acuity Scheduling
If you’re still wondering how Setmore compares to Acuity Scheduling, we’ve written a comprehensive review.
Booksy vs. Vagaro
We’ve compared Booksy and Vagaro so you don’t have to. Give it a thorough read and see which one is the better salon booking app.
Vagaro vs. Square
Wondering which one is better? Read a detailed comparison of Vagaro and Square.
Vagaro vs. Fresha vs. Trafft
Read a comprehensive comparison of Vagaro vs. Fresha vs. Trafft.
How to Choose a Salon Booking App for Your Business?
It’s a tough choice among these 25 salon booking apps. Which factors should you consider as your top priority when choosing a booking app for your salon?
- Make sure the salon booking app you choose actually provides resources to grow in your industry.
- Choose a salon booking app that offers both basic and advanced features and that can follow your business as you grow.
- You don’t want to spend hours figuring out how the booking app works. Choose an app with an intuitive interface that’s easy to use and set up.
- Look for a salon booking app that offers a wide variety of integrations, from payment getaways, salon marketing tools, SMS reminders, and Zapier and Webhooks. You never know when you’ll need integrations!
- Evaluate the pricing structure and how many team members and locations you need. If the salon booking app charges for every additional user and location, it can become pretty costly.
- Look for reliable customer support and see how promptly they answer your questions as well as their approach.
- Go for a salon booking app that offers both pre-made templates and customization.
FAQ About Best Salon Booking Apps
What is the best booking site for hairstylists?
Our top picks for the best hair salon booking apps include Trafft, Amelia, Vagaro, Mindbody, Fresha, SimplyBook.me, and Timely.
What is the best free booking app for salons?
The best salon booking apps with free subscriptions are:
- Trafft – the most comprehensive booking app for salons.
- SimplyBook
- Square
- 10to8
- Setmore
- Booksy – free trial only.
- Fresha
Why online booking for salons?
Online booking is a must-have if you want to run a successful salon in 2023. Clients can easily schedule appointments, check out available time slots, and book their preferred services and providers. They get confirmation and automated reminders, while you reduce no-shows, and avoid double bookings and other scheduling conflicts.
What is a salon booking app?
Salon booking apps make scheduling easier for salon owners, employees, and clients. You’ll get bookings 24/7 and grow your business, while simultaneously saving time and money by automating repetitive tasks.
Ending Thoughts on the Best Salon Appointment Booking App
Running any business in the service industry can be tough. From no-shows to late cancellations to the trouble getting clients in the first place, it’s hard to run a business. It requires dedication and wonderful customer service to get your business off the ground and keep it there. Some easy-to-make mistakes can send the whole operation into chaos, such as double bookings or booking outside of hours. Technology can take out all the instances of mishaps and human error, giving you peace of mind and better customer service.
Customers find it hard to get time to call up and book appointments between work and busy lives. That’s why you just might get more customers when they are able to book online anytime, from anywhere. A fantastic salon appointment booking app is an absolute must-have nowadays for any service provider. Choose one that suits your business from the above list and you’ll never look back.
PS If you want to learn about other Salon Appointment Scheduling Apps, check this thorough, overall performance study by SoftwareWorld that covers everything you need to know.
