Mangomint is the platform with the most buzz around right now. If you’re looking for a sophisticated platform that simplifies your work, saves you time, and makes your spa business more beautiful, look no further.

Mangomint is beautifully designed and super intuitive to use. The attention to detail here is impressive – everything is exactly where it should be.

It also offers unique features where this platform goes beyond any other. Examples would be fully featured two-way client texting, an intelligent waitlist that recommends appointments from the waitlist, self check out, service customizations that allow your clients to add on treatments to their service when booking online as well as powerful targeted marketing tools.

And if you want more than what’s available inside Mangomint, the spa software allows you to integrate with pretty much any other system. Something that not many other platforms will let you do.

More an more spa businesses are joining Mangomint as the software is HIPAA compliant, offers rich charting tools as well as sophisticated notes to help you capture treatment notes.

Are you a solopreneur and want something that’s simply easy to use and looks good? Then GlossGenius might be the answer.

GlossGenius is an appointment, payment, and marketing software for independent spa professionals in the United States. With GlossGenius, you can manage your total business out of a simple yet attractive mobile app.

GlossGenius exudes high-end beauty. Everything from the website to the card reader is created with premium client satisfaction in mind. And it’s the integration of a beautiful design and ease of use that I feel is what makes this tool stand out.

GlossGenius is the tool I suggest to independent professionals who are looking for a beautiful internet booking experience and useful marketing tools without having to deal with technical difficulties.

Bigger businesses will likely require more flexibility and team support than the app offers. A good option for solo business owners but businesses with a team should go with something like Mangomint.

Do you want a feature-rich yet affordable spa software? Then Vagaro may be a good option for you.

It’s amazing how much they’ve crammed into this software while still keeping the pricing low.

You’ll likely find all the features that you’ll need inside Vagaro.

Vagaro is what I would recommend if you are on a limited budget but still want to be able to run email marketing campaigns, build a website, run payroll, and manage your appointments – all under one roof.

Where Vagaro gets some negative user reviews, those are typically around service outages and smaller glitches in the platform. I have tested it quite extensively and haven’t experienced any major challenges, but it’s something that will want to consider and may want to test out yourself before making the switch.

Fresha is the only subscription-free software without usage limitations. Despite being subscription-free, it does offer rich features.

The strengths I see with Fresha is the ease of use, subscription-free plan, and the fact that it continues to develop with new features announced regularly.

Naturally, this platform is ideal for a budget-conscious spa owner. Also, if you’re not technologically savvy, you won’t have to deal with a steep learning curve. It just works. The end-user market on the Fresha side may also help your business.

The drawback you’ll want to consider is that it’s pretty limited when it comes to customization choices. It works well out of the box so, hopefully, this should not be an issue. But, for example, you won’t be able to change the appearance of your booking page or enable booking that integrates with your website. You’re limited to linking out to the Fresha-designed booking page.

You should also be aware that, even if it’s subscription-free, you’ll be charged for each appointment and up to 20% of the appointment value if it’s a new client that finds you on the Fresha marketplace.

If you’re looking for a simple, effective, and affordable appointment scheduler for your spa, then Square Appointments is a good option. It’s super easy to use and includes all the features you need to manage your appointment book effectively.

This system also works with Square’s other products (such as a POS system, credit card reader, and marketing suite) to provide a complete solution for the larger spa business.

If you run a medical spa with strict requirements for safeguarding patient data, you’ll want to ensure the platform you use for storing personal information is compliant with HIPAA.

Most of the spa software choices recommended above have some form of HIPAA compliance. However, Aesthetics Pro goes even further when it comes to protecting client information while offering med spa-specific features.

Aesthetics Pro includes a POS system with payment processing, booking, scheduling, marketing tools as well as functions like E-prescribe, EMR, E-records, and other tools important to med spas.

If you’re the kind of spa owner that needs a strong marketing tool kit to grow repeat clientele and brand presence in your area, Boulevard might just be a good option for you.

Building off of its core feature set (calendar scheduling, POS, online booking, reporting), Boulevard also offers a handful of premium add-on features aimed at email marketing and two-way messaging so that you can stay in touch with your clients and keep them coming back more often.

Boulevard is another option that offers HIPAA compliance with, albeit with a more attractive system and user interface than AestheticsPro. However, a lack of other EMR related features make it a poor fit for businesses that require medical charting.

The up-and-coming luxury booking platform really is the everything-and-the-kitchen-sink option for bigger businesses that need just about every feature available in a piece of spa management and POS software, as long as they’re willing to pay a premium for it (and are willing to sign on for the mandatory 12-month contract).

When it comes to the core nuts and bolts of Zenoti, it’s all there.

Zenoti is feature-packed and competitive with its contemporaries, sporting online booking, POS, mobile apps, product and inventory support, memberships, packages, and gift cards, and even a marketing suite akin to the ones you’d see in Booker, Mindbody, or Boulevard.

There are even some extra KPI and reporting add-on features that make gaining business insights through the data you already collect every day possible (as long as you’re willing to pay a little extra).

Zenoti’s features build on the blueprint established by businesses like Booker and Mindbody, and expand the customizability and capability of those features with control over even the most minute details.

I mean it – the level of granularity with which you can specify even employee details is mindboggling and a little intimidating at first glance.

That said, Zenoti also falls prey to some of the same mistakes that veteran salon software companies like Mindbody and Booker are still making to this day.

For my money (and yours), there are definitely more streamlined, straightforward, and modern salon software options available at that $300-$600 price point that offer the same or better features and don’t require you to be locked in for a year.

But, if you want a salon software option that gets the job done, rarely goes down, and has all the tools you need to run your business, then Zenoti might be a good choice for you.

If you’re a spa owner with a new or growing business with overhead to spare that needs integrated marketing tools and must have a first-party online marketplace to drive new client acquisition, Booker is right up your alley.

Big businesses trust Booker, and the software suite has all the major headline features of smaller and equivalent competitors in the space.

Their pedigree and stable of big-name businesses have influenced thousands of spa owners to jump onboard, sight unseen (often without ever clicking a single button inside the software).

This is partially because Booker does not offer a free trial of their software.

Many businesses are willing to throw their hat in the ring with Booker due to its built-in email marketing suite and Mindbody Explore integration, which both offer considerable marketing opportunities for growing their revenue.

However, as a piece of spa software so long-established, I have to admit that I was left rather unimpressed by the features and options available in the desktop app itself, and I cannot recommend the Booker Mobile app in good faith due to its lack of reliability and years-long backlog of neglected bugs and glitches.

If you’re the kind of spa owner who has a major focus on client skincare or wellness courses and education, Mindbody offers you something no other software suite does — the ability to host and monetize your classes in the spa and online.

All the core features that a spa software suite needs to have (like appointment booking, reporting, inventory management, POS, and online booking) are there, and there are even some nice-to-have add-ons that make the prospect of signing on (and I literally mean signing on) a more attractive prospect.

Just like its sister company Booker, though — you can’t try out Mindbody before you buy. They do not offer a trial (free or paid).

Mindbody requires a minimum 12-month contract to even try the software for yourself.

Just like Booker, Mindbody offers a custom email builder and campaign manager, as well as Mindbody’s Messenger and Messenger[ai] features to communicate with clients, respond to missed calls, and field client inquiries during- and after-hours.

What Mindbody offers that Booker does not, however, is the ability to sell classes in-spa and online and livestream them. For spas that teach health, skincare, and wellness courses, this is a major opportunity to gain attendance and engagement and build your spa’s reputation and brand online.

In other areas, Mindbody offers a functional experience, but not necessarily a pleasant or intuitive one.

The user experience in Mindbody’s desktop and mobile apps is just that: functional.

Mindbody does what it says on the tin, but it definitely isn’t going to wow you in the process.

In fact, it throws a couple of curveballs your way that somehow make the experience worse than what its subsidiary and sister app, Booker, offers.

Booking and checking out are the two clearest examples of where Mindbody makes even the simplest of everyday tasks more challenging than the competition, requiring additional steps and extra clicks to do two of the things you will be doing the most for at least the next 12 months.

While features like the ability to livestream educational classes or create a branded web app may be important to some fitness and wellness businesses, they may not necessarily offer a whole lot of added value for most salons and spas.