Fresha vs. Mangomint – Two of the best new salon and spa software options on the market right now, but which one is the best?
As a salon software expert, I often get asked which software is the “best” or to help decide between two popular platforms.
Both questions are hard to answer, which is one of the reasons I decided not only to review each software independently but also to do these head-to-head reviews.
Fresha (previously known as Shedul) burst onto the scene in 2015, offering a subscription-free model, only charging fees when the software starts generating revenue. This appealing model has attracted many solo entrepreneurs for its flexibility and cost-effectiveness.
Mangomint emerged as a major competitor in 2017 with a fresh approach to salon and spa software for teams, both small and large – creating intelligent workflows that automate tedious daily tasks and simplify the complicated stuff. This seemingly simple approach to features goes much deeper with thoughtful, intelligently designed tools that are intuitive to use and integrate seamlessly with other software.
So, if you’re a solo entrepreneur just starting out and you’re attracted by Fresha’s free tier, it could be a great fit. But if you run a team-based salon or spa and want a premium, highly tailored experience, Mangomint is tough to beat.
Alright, now that we’ve got the bird’s eye view of each piece of software, let’s dive in a little deeper and see what really sets each of these salon and spa software solutions apart.
Here is a breakdown of everything you will learn in this post:
Fresha vs Mangomint
Let's kick off with an overview of the two platforms we're diving into today.
Fresha
Mangomint
Overall score
Note
The overall score considers ease of use, customer service, features, user ratings, and cost. Scores are determined solely by our editorial team.
Average price
Note
Assumes you run a business with a mid-size team and have activated the more common add-ons. What you will pay will be lower or higher than this. See the separate section about pricing for full details.
Who is it for
Ease of use
Customer Service
Countries
Available in 22 languages in over 120 countries worldwide
U.S. and Canada
Key features
- FREE subscription with unlimited staff
- Fresha marketplace where clients can discover your salon
- Easy to use with a modern minimalistic design interface
- Available in over 120 countries!
- Modern, intuitive, and easy to use
- Smart automations that help cut down on time spent managing business operations
- Open data ownership and no contracts (you’re not locked into anything)
- Can integrate with any other platform who allows for integrations
- Highest-rated customer service on the market
A Double-Click on Each System
Let’s look closer at what these systems do differently and assess the pros and cons of each in this Fresha vs. Mangomint guide.
Fresha At a Glance
Overall score
Fresha (formerly known as Shedul) is the only subscription-free software for salons and spas with no trial period and no limits on usage. Fresha is headquartered in London, UK, but is available in 120 countries.
The strengths of Fresha lie in the ease of use, the subscription-free plan, and the continuous development of the platform.
It’s important to note that subscription-free is not the same as free. You’re paying for each transaction, and when new clients find you on the Fresha marketplace.
Pros and Cons
- Free subscription for unlimited staff. Only usage-based pricing.
- User-friendly and easy to learn
- Available in many countries and languages
- Limited options to customize the appearance (default designs look good, though)
- Clients are required to create a Fresha account to book
- Online booking cannot be integrated with your website (need to link out to your Fresha page)
- Limited support for integration with other platforms. You’re locked into using the Fresha tools.
Mangomint At a Glance
Overall score
Mangomint is the most modern and well-designed salon and spa software platform in the United States & Canada.
It’s the platform with the most buzz around right now that beats all competitors on user review websites.
Every little detail of this software has been designed to perfection – making it incredibly intuitive and easy to use. It also offers intelligent automations that reduces time spent managing your appointments and business operations.
Mangomint’s vision is to make salon software invisible—so smart and easy to use that it essentially disappears into your day-to-day operations. And boy, is this software a pleasure to use for both you and your clients, which is why it is now, in 2023, my #1 recommendation.
Pros and Cons
- Modern, easy-to-use, interface
- Smart automations that help cut down on time spent managing business operations
- Open data ownership and no contracts (you’re not locked into anything)
- Can integrate with any other platform that allow for integrations
- Highest-rated customer service on the market
- Not for solopreneurs. Only teams.
- Higher entry-level price than most other salon & spa software
- Only available in the United States & Canada
How Do They Compare? Strengths and Weaknesses
When it comes to salon software, Fresha and Mangomint both aim to make life easier for beauty professionals, but they take different paths to get there.
A major plus for Fresha is its free subscription tier, which allows businesses to pay fees only when revenue is generated. It also has quite a geographic advantage, being offered in more than 120 countries around the world with broad multilanguage support.
Fresha’s most important point of differentiation is its large client marketplace that businesses can use to draw in new clients and offer promotions.
While Mangomint has chosen to forego a client marketplace, it packs in some clever tools that Fresha lacks.
Mangomint has innovated on the oldest and most repetitive task in any salon or spa: over-the-phone booking.
With their Express Booking feature, over-the-phone booking times can be effectively cut in half, allowing the front desk to focus on serving clients rather than clarifying credit card details on the phone.
With Mangomint’s Intelligent Waitlist feature, customers can even waitlist themselves for dates and times that are currently unavailable, and the business will be automatically notified whenever a potential slot opens up on the schedule.
Fresha vs Mangomint
Let's kick off with an overview of the two platforms we're diving into today.
Ease of use
Design
Customer service
Pricing
Calendar and appointment management
Online booking
Point of sale and check out
Client data
Client communication
Inventory management
Team Management
Payroll
Marketing support
3rd party integrations
Mobile and tablet apps
Let’s Talk Features
When we pull up the feature lists of Fresha and Mangomint side by side, each platform flexes its muscles in different areas.
Fresha, while being wallet-friendly, surprises with a solid lineup of features. However, it’s not the go-to for those looking to tweak and fine-tune the aesthetics to match their brand’s unique style. It’s pretty much a ‘what you see is what you get’ tool, which keeps it simple and user-friendly but doesn’t leave much room for personalization.
When it comes to features, Mangomint shines by thoughtfully designing an exceptional user experience by innovating on the most critical salon and spa tasks.
Their client self-checkout lets clients on the run check out immediately from their phone.
Their fully integrated two-way messaging feature allows you to communicate with clients and automatically documents all those communications right in their client profile.
Each of these core features creates frictionless processes so you can focus on growing your business.
So if you are a solopreneur who values simplicity and low cost above all else, Fresha delivers that and is likely a great choice for you. But if you have a small or large team and want to genuinely simplify the daily tasks that eat up most of your time away from your clients, Mangomint is the choice for 2024.
Fresha vs Mangomint
Fresha shines with its marketplace, but Mangomint offers more sophisticated features.
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Fresha
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Mangomint
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| Online Booking | Fresha | Mangomint |
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Website booking widget Note Can you integrate the entire online booking experience directly into your website? |
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Branding control Note Can you customize the look and feel of the booking experience to fit your brand? |
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No-show protection Note Can you store credit card details and charge deposits to reinforce your cancellation policy? |
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Service customization Note Can clients adapt their service when they book, and can this change the price and duration of the booked appointment? |
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Free from account creation Note Can clients book without having first to create an account with the software? |
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Integrated gift cards Note Can you sell digital gift cards as part of the booking process? |
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| Calendar and Appointment Management | ||
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Customize notification messages Note Can you change the text sent to your clients as part of appointment reminders and other messages? |
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Customize notification timings Note Can you change when reminders and other messages go out to your clients? |
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| Client waitlist management | ||
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Rooms and resource scheduling Note Can you manage equipment, rooms, and other resources required to complete a service? |
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Repeat appointments Note Can you schedule clients for recurring appointments? |
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Time block Note Can you block out time on your calendar? |
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Processing time Note Can you allow for double booking of service providers by accepting appointments during service processing time? |
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Duration and price by staff Note Can you adapt the price and time needed for a service based on who is performing the service? |
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Automated check-in Note Can clients check in to their appointments themselves? |
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| Point of Sale/ Check out | ||
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Tablet compatible Note Can you run the POS on any tablet or do you need special hardware? |
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Dedicated POS hardware Note Does the system provider offer hardware to improve the check out expereince? |
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Self check out Note Can clients check out from their appointment themselves? |
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Route payments to renters Note If you have booth renters in your business, can you route payments directly to them? |
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Cards on file Note Can you store credit card details and charge the customer later? |
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Integrated payments Note Does the software offer a first-party payment processing solution? |
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| Client Data & Communication | ||
| SMS Notification | ||
| Email Notificition | ||
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Dedicated business SMS number Note Do you get a business phone number that your messages and notifications are send from? |
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| Two way SMS communication | ||
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Forms Note Can you create intake forms, store SOAP notes, and have clients sign your forms? |
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Client notes Note Can you store notes about clients on their profile? |
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Client files and images Note Can you store files and image on in the client’s profile? |
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| Inventory and Product Types | ||
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Inventory tracking Note Will the system keep track of stock levels, notify you when it’s time to re-order? |
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Purchase orders Note Can the system create automatic purchase orders for you? |
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| Retail | ||
| Memberships | ||
| Packages | ||
| Gift cards | ||
| Team Support & Payroll | ||
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Fully integrated payroll Note Can you run payroll and cut paychecks directly through the software? |
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3rd party payroll integration Note Does the software allow you integrate and share data with a 3rd party payroll solution (e.g. Gusto, ADP, Paychex, etc)? |
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| Payroll reports |
Note Fresha offer reports on staff commission, working hours, tips, and service and product sales by staff |
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Commission support Note Can you track and report on commission for service, retail, and other product types? |
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Multi-location support Note Does the system have specific support for businesses with multiple locations |
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Booth renter support Note Can the system help with rent collection, payments, and other booth renter management tasks. |
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| Marketing Support | ||
| Email marketing | ||
| SMS marketing |
Note Supports integration with SMS marketing platforms |
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| Website builder | ||
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Client marketplace Note Does it offer a platform where potential clients can browse businesses using the software? |
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Add-on offers Note Can you promote service add-ons/upsells as part of the online booking flow? |
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| Cloud & Mobile App Access | ||
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Full-featured mobile app Note Can you access all software features in the mobile app? |
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| Web browser | ||
| iPad | ||
| iPhone | ||
| Android | ||
Integrating with Other Platforms for Additional Features
When it comes to expanding the capabilities of your salon software, the ability to integrate with other platforms can be a game-changer.
Fresha, known for its cost-effective approach, does have its constraints, notably the lack of options for integration. It has a few useful social media and accounting integrations, but not much more. This can be a setback for salons that rely on a suite of tools and want everything to work seamlessly together.
Mangomint, on the other hand, offers a more flexible experience. It not only provides a selection of native integrations but also opens the door for custom integrations. This means Mangomint can customize a solution to sync up with those systems if you have a particular platform or tool you’re already using or want to use.
Fresha vs Mangomint
Mangomint wins here with both third-party and custom integrations.
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Fresha
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Mangomint
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Custom integrations Note Does the platform allow you to create new integrations to support your business-specific needs? |
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Native integrations Note Built-in integrations that you can activate as needed |
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Pricing
When it comes to pricing, Fresha and Mangomint take very different approaches.
The biggest allure of Fresha is its subscription-free model. You only pay transaction fees on bookings, payments, etc once revenue is flowing. This helps solo entrepreneurs get started at very little cost to them.
However, Fresha’s paid features and transaction fees can add up over time, and assessing revenue based on an ever-changing list of deductions and fees can make it harder to plan for the future.
Mangomint doesn’t offer a free tier, but they do offer multiple tiers for different-sized businesses’ needs. Even their starter plan supports up to 10 staff users.
Mangomint offers exceptional value for growing businesses with more advanced features and an up-front pricing model that means it’s always easy to know what you’ll be paying each month.
Fresha vs Mangomint Pricing
Fresha offers a lower-cost option to solopreneurs, but Mangomint offers great value for teams with its affordable, transparent pricing.
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Fresha |
Mangomint |
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| Average Price | ||
| Trial Options | ||
| Minimum contract length | ||
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Plans
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Add-ons
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| Add-ons | ||
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Credit card fees
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| Credit card fees | ||
What Do Users Think of These Platforms?
To read more about our experience testing these software suites, check out our comprehensive reviews of Mangomint and Fresha.
However, if you’re interested in hearing firsthand accounts from everyday business customers, take a look at the user review scores below.
Fresha vs Mangomint
Let's compare scores for these systems on the major user review sites.
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Fresha |
Mangomint |
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What Alternatives Should You Consider?
Fresha and Mangomint are both great choices for entirely different types of businesses.
If you’re still not sure if either is the right choice for you, take a look at these alternatives and see if they’re a better fit for you:
Booker also offers a massive client marketplace and supports small and large teams with its simplistic approach to booking software.
Square Appointments is a popular alternative to Fresha, serving independent professionals on a budget.
Booker vs Square Appointments
A quick comparison of the two Fresha and Mangomint alternatives.
Booker
Square Appointments
Overall score
Note
The overall score considers ease of use, customer service, features, user ratings, and cost. Scores are determined solely by our editorial team.
Average price
Note
Assumes you run a business with a mid-size team and have activated the more common add-ons. What you will pay will be lower or higher than this. See the separate section about pricing for full details.
Who is it for
Ease of use
Customer Service
Countries
Available almost worldwide
U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK.
Key features
- Two-way messaging available (only on Ultimate and Ultimate Plus)
- AI chatbot feature to help with scheduling (only on Ultimate Plus)
- Integrated payments through MindBody Payments (US & Canada only)
- Mindbody Explore Marketplace listing included with all subscriptions
- Large amount of native integrations with other apps
- Comprehensive, easy-to-use, marketing tools
- Best looking POS hardware on the market
- Free, sophisticated, website builder and online store
Conclusion
I hope this comparison was helpful in your search for the right salon and spa software for your business!
For more great software alternatives, see my list of the best salon and spa software of 2024.
