Looking for better alternatives to GlossGenius Salon and Spa software in 2024?
Well, you’re in the right place.
Today, we’ll take a look at GlossGenius and its best alternatives so you can make the right choice for your next salon or spa management software.
GlossGenius, founded in 2016, is part of the new wave of beauty and wellness software.
With their mobile-first approach to salon and spa management, they stand out drastically from the majority of their competitors. Designed to allow you to run your business right from your phone, GlossGenius has inverted the primarily desktop nature of salon and spa booking and management software to great success.
But there are a handful of reasons I might not recommend GlossGenius for your business in particular.
We had a lot to say about GlossGenius in our full review, so if you want the full details of our experience testing it out, check that article out.
But for the sake of today’s look at the best alternatives to GlossGenius, I’ll share the areas where competitors one-up this mobile-first management software and where GlossGenius shines.
There are good reasons why you may want to consider the handful of alternatives I’ll share with you today. I’ll summarize some of the most important ones and give an overview of each alternative below.
Let’s dive in!
Why Consider a GlossGenius Alternative?
Some of the reasons you may want to choose an alternative to GlossGenius are:
- You want a full-featured desktop app: GlossGenius is a primarily mobile-focused salon software, meaning it’s intended to be used on your phone rather than your desktop or laptop for the majority of tasks. Some may feel that the desktop experience is lacking in features or that it doesn’t have the support needed for a busy salon or spa and front desk.
- You want to integrate online booking on your existing website: While GlossGenius offers online booking capabilities that are great for non-techies, you do not have much flexibility with the website design and must use what GlossGenius provides you with. You’re also not able to set up a custom domain name but need to stick with “yourname.glossgenius.com”. If you already have a website, you can’t embed a booking widget on your page. You’ll need to link out to the separate GlossGenius website if you want to keep your existing site.
- You’re outgrowing the platform: As your business grows, so will your demand for better support and system flexibility. As your business reaches a certain size, you may want to consider GlossGenius alternatives that better support your new workflows and better integrate with your daily tasks.
As with any system, there are pros and cons of GlossGenius. Let’s dive into my top recommended alternatives.
GlossGenius Alternatives
We’ll start with a quick summary of my recommended GlossGenius alternatives. Following this, I’ll dive into each one in a bit more depth.
Mangomint
Read my detailed GlossGenius vs. Mangomint comparison
Who is it for
The highest-rated software for salons & spas. Designed for businesses with a team who want the best design experience, smart automations, and the flexibility to integrate with other systems.
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.
$245 per month
Supported countries
U.S. and Canada
Note
The overall score considers ease of use, customer service, features, user ratings, and cost. Scores are determined solely by our editorial team.
Square Appointments
Read my detailed Square vs. GlossGenius comparison
Who is it for
For solopreneurs or small teams in any type of local service business (salon, spa, fitness, repair, cleaning, and professional services) who want access to Square’s broad range of products.
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.
$45 per month
Supported countries
U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK.
Note
The overall score considers ease of use, customer service, features, user ratings, and cost. Scores are determined solely by our editorial team.
Fresha
Read my detailed GlossGenius vs. Fresha comparison
Who is it for
For the independent professional or business on a budget that want to avoid subscription fees and a big technical learning curve.
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.
$80 per month
Supported countries
Available in 22 languages in over 120 countries worldwide
Note
The overall score considers ease of use, customer service, features, user ratings, and cost. Scores are determined solely by our editorial team.
Vagaro
Read my detailed Vagaro vs. GlossGenius comparison
Who is it for
For cost conscious solopreneurs or smaller teams who are looking for an all-in-one software, with a lot of features, to support their salon, spa, or fitness business.
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.
$120 per month
Supported countries
U.S., Canada, Australia, and the UK
Note
The overall score considers ease of use, customer service, features, user ratings, and cost. Scores are determined solely by our editorial team.
Boulevard
Read my detailed GlossGenius vs. Boulevard comparison
Who is it for
Established beauty and wellness businesses with several service providers who want flexible reporting options and need an all-in-one marketing suite baked right into the software
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.
$425 per month
Supported countries
U.S.
Note
The overall score considers ease of use, customer service, features, user ratings, and cost. Scores are determined solely by our editorial team.
Alternative #1: Mangomint | The Highest Rated Sofware for Salons and Spas
When we place GlossGenius and Mangomint side by side, it’s evident that they cater to different segments within the salon industry, each with its distinct brand ethos and functionality.
Mangomint is purpose-built for salons and spas with teams, offering deeper, more advanced features designed for collaborative environments and clever innovations on classic features to make your day-to-day more efficient.
It stands out for its speed, reliability, and the thoughtful placement of every element in its interface, which appeals to businesses that place a high value on efficiency and design.
Mangomint is the fastest and most well-designed platform currently available on the market.
With their newly expanded feature set, they’ve brought email marketing tools, making them a formidable competitor to GlossGenius, especially for businesses with more than a couple of stylists and those who have more complex business models.
Mangomint and GlossGenius are two of the only salon and spa software companies that offer fully integrated payroll processing. Both companies offer support for multiple compensation types and unlimited payroll runs, as well as full tax support in the US.
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
Alternative #2: Square Appointments | The Complete POS & Appointment Software with a Subscription-Free Plan for Individuals
Square Appointments, and Square’s offer as a whole, makes a compelling counter to GlossGenius’ software.
Square Appointments has an easy-to-use interface with endless possibilities. Use it for core business management, such as inventory, reports, and client data.
Comparatively, GlossGenius is more about simplicity—beauty over technology. Features are easy to find and use without an extensive learning curve, but are more limited than what Square has to offer.
Square offers a subscription free option, making it a bit more attractive, especially for the solopreneur on a budget who is trying to decide between these two platforms.
Because aspects of Square’s ecosystem are distributed across multiple apps, you may need to connect several apps to integrate all the functions you want to use for your business.
This can be seen as a pro or a con. On one hand, you can choose to use only the apps you need. On the other, there is a potentially more work required in the setup process because every tool you need is not necessarily bundled into the base application.
Square Appointments At a Glance
Overall score
Square Appointments is a cloud-based appointment scheduling software for salons, spas and really any other local service businesses.
It integrates with the full suite of local business solutions from Square which makes it one of the most complete business management solutions on the market.
At the same time, it is free for individuals and has therefore quickly become one of the most popular platforms for one-person businesses like beauty booth renters and individual professionals.
Pros and Cons
- Free for individuals
- Well-designed, easy to use, interface
- Integration with the full suite of Square applications for endless possibilities
- Robust core business management (inventory, reports, and client data)
- Limited flexibility when designing online booking page, booking widget, e-mails and other aspects that you may want to adapt
- It gets a bit expensive for the growing team that expands with more locations
Alternative #3: Fresha | The Subscription-free Salon Software
If you’re a solo business owner who wants a truly-free salon software, Fresha is a fantastic choice.
The main reason I like Fresha is that it’s so easy to use and despite being subscription-free, you get many of the features that other companies charge for.
One thing to keep in mind with Fresha is that it works best as a complete system on their platform. If you already have an established website and other marketing solutions, other options might give you more control and flexibility.
An important difference with Fresha is that they offer a client marketplace. This allows you to promote your business and get discovered by new clients. Note that this is also where they earn their money back.
When you market your salon or spa on the platform and get a new client, they’ll charge you 20% of the appointment. Also, as you’ll be using their credit card payment gateway, you’ll be charged transaction fees when clients pay online.
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.
Alternative #4: Vagaro | The Feature-rich and Affordable Salon Software
Vagaro needs to be mentioned in the alternative comparison conversation. It is similarly rich in features and has an established client marketplace that GlossGenius simply does not offer.
Branding capability is an interesting comparison.
Vagaro offers branded mobile app creation services, so whether you are a larger business with multiple locations or a new salon just starting out, this is a clear benefit to unify booking and branding.
The software offers a website builder as well as the option to embed a booking widget on your existing website, a feature that GlossGenius does not offer.
Vagaro is very competitively priced with GlossGenius, and considering the broad feature set and client acquisition opportunities, it makes a lot of sense for small businesses looking to grow quickly.
Vagaro At a Glance
Overall score
Vagaro, headquartered in the US, is one of the most popular salon software options. It is a complete system for salons, spas, barbershops, health, and fitness businesses.
It’s one of the most feature-rich platforms on the market and comes with POS, online appointment scheduling, email/SMS marketing, credit card processing, subscription payments, video streaming, website builder, eCommerce, payroll, hardware, and advanced business reporting just to name a few.
Despite the large amount of built-in features, it’s one of the cheapest platforms on the market. So if you want to spend as little as possible for as much as possible, Vagaro could be the right platform for you.
Pros and Cons
- Rich in features
- Affordable price
- Client marketplace that could help you attract more new clients
- Integrations with other software (QuickBook, Xerox, Facebook, Zoom)
- Pages could load faster, and you may find some glitches as you use it
- Clients need to create a Vagaro account when booking, which some find annoying
- There is a slight learning curve in the beginning, as a lot of features
Alternative #5: Boulevard | The Marketing-Focused Salon Management Software for Larger Businesses
Boulevard is a much better fit for larger businesses with in-depth data management needs.
It has impressive reporting features that allow you to take advantage of the data you gather from your customers to give you better insight into your business.
This information, alongside Boulevard’s integrated marketing tools, can be used to benefit business growth and better targeting via your marketing efforts.
Both Boulevard and GlossGenius have integrated payment solutions, email builders, and mobile apps.
On the flip side, there are definitely cons to going with Boulevard.
Boulevard has a pretty high cost of entry, and its feature-set and price point are much better suited to larger salons rather than solopreneus or small teams
It also has mixed app ratings, with many reviews describing a buggy experience. Likewise, staff settings and schedules are noted to be fiddly and a bit overly tedious to set up.
The way I see it, the two brands both have a focus on data utilization in different ways. Boulevard excels in client data management and marketing capabilities with a desktop-focused approach.
GlossGenius, on the other hand, takes the daily tasks associated with booking, payroll, and payments and simplifies it into an easy, streamlined mobile experience accessible to anyone, whether or not they are technically-inclined.
Boulevard At a Glance
Overall score
Boulevard is an up-and-coming cloud-based beauty and wellness software that offers a strong toolset of core features like appointment booking and POS, as well as advanced marketing features and two-way messaging.
It natively integrates with over a dozen apps, including Quickbooks, Instagram, Shopify, and more.
It is quite a pricey option, however, coming in at a starting price of $175 for the lowest-tier plan, which we (and Boulevard themselves) don’t recommend as it lacks some of Boulevard’s best reporting, marketing, and inventory features.
Boulevard offers a free trial, but they require a 12-month minimum contract to sign up, so make sure you are 100% sure about your choice before signing up.
Pros and Cons
- Client data that you can actually use to boost client retention and sales
- Can integrate with a large number of third party applications
- Precision Scheduling™ tech to fill the best gaps on the calendar first
- Well designed & easily-searchable help center
- High price-point across all plans
- Essentials plan lacks many of the best features Boulevard offers
- Boulevard Professional mobile app is buggy & has low ratings on iOS & Android
- Marketing suite can’t differentiate between bookings from emails vs other factors (you may end up paying more)
Choosing the Best GlossGenius Alternative
I hope this list was helpful in determining if any of these GlossGenius alternatives are a better fit for you.
If it’s a better price-to-performance ratio you’re looking for, Mangomint offers the best features and support for businesses with more than a couple of stylists or estheticians.
If you run a new or growing salon or spa, are on a budget, and want access to a client marketplace, Vagaro is the clear choice.
If you’re looking for a great no-monthly-cost option as a solopreneur, Fresha is your best bet, but you should also consider Square Appointments.
If you run a chain or franchise business and need support for multiple locations with complex management needs, consider Boulevard for its stellar reporting and marketing tools.
Still unsure which software is the best for you? That’s OK! We’ve reviewed a whole bunch more.
Check out our list of the best salon software in 2024 right now and see how each competitor stacks up in our in-depth comparisons!
