Are you looking for an all-in-one appointment and business management software for your salon, spa, or health and wellness business?
Then this is probably not the first time you’re hearing about Vagaro.
Vagaro Pro is a top-rated salon and spa software that comes with complete support to manage your total business. It’s incredible how they have managed to include so many features into this platform while still keeping pricing so affordable.
Vagaro is also one of our picks for the best salon software of 2025. Check out that list to see where they ranked against the best salon software options on the market!
In this Vagaro review, I break down every detail about the Vagaro software and platform so you can fully see its strengths, limitations, and gotchas.
Let’s dive into the details.
Vagaro at a Glance
The Feature Rich and Affordable Salon Software
Note
The overall score considers ease of use, customer service, features, user ratings, and cost. Scores are determined solely by our editorial team.
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
U.S., Canada, Australia, and the UK
Vagaro takes what you might call the “kitchen sink” approach to salon software – packing numerous features into an affordable platform. At $30/month for individuals, it offers more built-in capabilities than most competitors at this price point, though mastering all these tools takes time.
The platform impresses with its website integration features. Clients can book appointments, choose specific staff, and purchase gift cards directly through your site without being redirected.
New AI tools help craft professional service descriptions and marketing content, while core features like appointment scheduling, payments, and inventory management form a solid operational foundation.
However, there’s still a learning curve to consider. The platform’s “kitchen sink” approach means you get access to numerous features, but the sheer amount of features and the way the software presents them to you may seem overwhelming, especially at first.
When you log into the software for the first time, you will be bombarded with notifications asking you to complete your credit card processing application, finish your business profile, and tell Vagaro exactly how much you’re enjoying their software via a smiley-face chart. Even for software afficianados like us, this approach was a bit much to process, and we feel that there are better ways to accomplish new account setup.
The trade-off becomes apparent in day-to-day use: the interface can feel slower than some of its premium competitors, and clients will need to create a Vagaro account to book appointments with your business. While this extra step is said to simplify future bookings, it may deter some new customers, and annoy long-time clients who don’t want to hand over their contact info to Vagaro.
The other downside to this account creation process is that your clients now require a middleman to book with your business, meaning they become Vagaro’s clients as well. This means that they will receive marketing communications from Vagaro as well as access to and promotion of their marketplace – where your competitors are.
The pricing structure starts at $30/month for individuals, with additional team members at $10 each. While this base price is competitive, costs can add up with essential add-ons. However, unlike some competitors targeting larger salons, Vagaro doesn’t lock you into long-term contracts. You can adjust or cancel your subscription as your needs change.
Perfect For: Small to mid-sized salons seeking a feature-rich platform that can scale with their growth, especially those willing to prioritize functionality and affordability over speed.
Think Twice If: You prefer streamlined, minimalist tools or need highly customized solutions. Also consider alternatives if maintaining a fully branded booking experience is crucial for your business.
Pro Tip: While Vagaro’s marketplace can help attract new clients, weigh this benefit against your desire for a fully branded client experience. Some businesses find the marketplace invaluable for growth, while others prefer complete control over their client relationships.
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
Watch my video review of Vagaro
How Users Rate and Review Vagaro
Vagaro has great user ratings on the app stores and on the major online review sites.
Vagaro Alternatives
Here are my recommended alternatives to Vagaro. Mangomint if you run a business with a team and want a more streamlined experience. GlossGenius if you are a solopreneur who prefers to run their business from their phone alone.
Browse all Vagaro Alternatives.
Mangomint
Read my detailed Vagaro 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.
GlossGenius
Read my detailed GlossGenius vs. Vagaro comparison
Who is it for
For independent professionals who want to start accepting payments and get appointment scheduling, a website and marketing up fast without compromising on the experience of their brand
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.
$48 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.
Which Features does Vagaro support?
It’s incredible how much they’ve packed into this software while keeping it affordable.
Dedicated hardware, integrated payments, full payroll support, native booking & online store integration with your website, a client marketplace, and marketing support.
Feature Comparison
Here’s an overview of commonly available salon and spa software features.
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Vagaro
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| Online Booking | Vagaro | |
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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? |
Note Very limited: Change accent color but all else is Vagaro standard. |
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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 | ||
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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 | ||
| 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 | ||
Integrations
To a large extent yes. Vagaro offers integration support with several popular systems. You cannot integrate with any old software you want, but they do better here than many other options.
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Vagaro
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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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Affordable Pricing
Vagaro offers very good value for the money. They also offer a free trial and do not require a contract.
$120 per month
30 day free trial
Cancel any time
- Monthly subscription fee starts at $30 for individuals
- $10 for every additional user
- Everyone after the 7th user is free
- Multi-location businesses require Vagaro’s enterprise platform with personalized prizing.
- Automated text marketing: $20/month
- MySite website builder: $20/month
- Forms: $10/month
- Cloud storage: $10/month
- Check-in app: $10/month
- Additional visibility at the Vagaro client marketplace: $10/month
- Branded app: $200/month
- Payroll: $34/month +$5/employee
- SMS marketing: $20/mo for 500 sms and they offer plans up to $400/mo for 20,000 sms.
- Email marketing: 1000 emails/mo are included in your plan. If you need more, you pay $10/mo for 5 000 emails up to $90/mo for 100 000 emails.
- Small merchants (less than $4000/month): 2.75% per swipe, 3.5% + $0.15 per keyed-in transaction.
- Multiple merchants (less than $4000/month): 2.5% + $0.10 per swipe, 3.5% +$0.15 per keyed-in transaction.
- Large merchants (more than $4000/month): 2.2% + $0.19 per swipe, 3% + $0.19 per keyed-in transaction. Monthly cost $10.
Vagaro Features
Vagaro shines with its richness of features, offering everything from basic business operations to advanced marketing tools.
Let’s examine how each of these features works in practice and how they could benefit your business.
- Point of Sale System
- Appointment Management
- Online Booking
- Client Data Management
- Inventory Management
- Staff & Payroll Management
- Email & SMS Marketing
- MySite Website Builder
- Social Media & Reputation Management
- Appointment Apps
Vagaro POS, Checkout & Payments
You can access the POS using the Vagaro hardware, web browser, Android, or iOS app.
Their “Pay Desk” is beautifully designed and comes with dual screens – one for the client and one for you. This is something you need to purchase separately from your Vagaro plan.
However, you get the card reader (which you see next to the screen below) for free when you sign up for their merchant service.
Vagaro is also one of the options on my list of the best POS systems for salons and spas.
You can check out the customer directly from the calendar or by going to check out in the top navigation.
Vagaro Appointment and Calendar Management
The Vagaro calendar is intuitive and easy to navigate. You can drag and drop appointments to change the time.
Hover an appointment with the mouse for more details. Color code the appointments for an easy overview. Switch between team view, day view, week view, or month view.
Vagaro Online Booking
Vagaro offers multiple ways for clients to book you. You can create a full website using the Vagaro website builder, embed a booking widget on your existing website, integrate appointment scheduling with Facebook, and allow clients to find and book you on the Vagaro marketplace.
You’ll find rich website embedding options. You can choose if you want it on your website, in a separate pop-up, or if you want the booking to open in a new browser tab.
Vagaro is in fact also listed on my list of the best appointment-scheduling software.
You can also customize multiple widgets that you can embed on different pages. For example, you can have your services bookable on your service page, show products on your product page, and show reviews on your home page.
This gives you more options than most other online appointment scheduling apps. However, design customization is currently limited to color changes.
Below is an example of what the preview of a booking experience would look like.
Notifications & Alerts
Vagaro can notify clients about new appointments, remind them about upcoming bookings, and send appointment confirmation requests. Notifications are sent as SMS, e-mail, and an app notification (in case the user has the Vagaro app installed).
Note that SMS notifications will be an add-on to the standard plan.
You can also choose to notify the staff member and business owner.
The information included in the notification is set by Vagaro but you can add additional information to appointment notifications.
Vagaro Client Data Management
The Vagaro client directory really sets Vagaro apart from most other platforms out there. The amount of information you can store and track on your client is incredibly extensive.
You can store multiple notes on each client and upload PDF files and images to the client profile. Just be aware that you have to purchase additional cloud storage space for images and documents.
Vagaro supports advanced SOAP forms which make the tool very powerful for chiropractors and other similar practices.
Vagaro Inventory Management
Vagaro allows you to manage vendors, brands, and products. You can set up inventory tracking and notifications so that you’re in control of any stock levels. Really, you’ll find all the support you need to effectively manage your product inventory.
Vagaro Staff & Payroll Management
Vagaro is a tool I recommend to salon businesses with a team as it comes with great support in this area.
The Vagaro payroll software comes with complete support to simplify all aspects of paying your staff. For more advanced payroll services, it also integrates with QuickBooks, Xero, and Gusto.
The payroll report allows you to configure commission rates down to service and product level. It supports both flat-rate commission and percentage.
You can also customize detailed user access levels for all the groups shown below.
Charge Rent and Fees to Booth Renters
Another unique feature that Vagaro offers is the ability to charge rent and fees to booth renters.
I haven’t seen any other software offering this which makes it super easy and allows for the renter to automate payments from their bank account or credit card.
You can also set up a commission for product sales to be automatically deducted from the rent.
This means you don’t need to manage it the old-school way using cash, checks, or Venmo which can be a nightmare to keep track of.
Vagaro Email & SMS Marketing
Vagaro’s marketing capabilities have received significant upgrades in 2024, particularly with new AI-powered tools. The system now offers:
- AI-assisted content creation for professional marketing messages and service descriptions
- Drag-and-drop email builder with customizable templates
- Smart client segmentation for targeted campaigns (e.g., reaching inactive clients or promoting specific services)
- Automated communication flows for birthdays, appointment follow-ups, and retention campaigns
- Flexible SMS marketing plans starting at $20/month for 500 messages
- Integrated email marketing with 1,000 monthly emails included (additional capacity available)
The new AI features help craft polished, engaging content while saving time on marketing tasks. You can customize message tone (professional, casual, or uplifting) and length to match your brand voice.
Cost for Vagaro SMS & Email Marketing
Vagaro Text Marketing costs $20/mo for 500 SMS and they offer plans up to $400/mo for 20,000 SMS.
You’ll get 1000 emails/mo included in your plan and pay $10/mo for 5,000 emails up to $30/mo for 12,000 emails.
Vagaro MySite Website Builder
Vagaro’s updated website builder, MySite, helps salons create a strong online presence with its comprehensive features.
Select a template or style that suits your brand, and then customize it with drag-and-drop modules. Add text, images, videos, and more to reflect your personality and services.
Vagaro takes care of the technical details, syncing your website with your Vagaro account to keep everything up-to-date.
This includes online booking, availability, services, and more. You can sell products directly from your website, with the inventory synchronized from your Vagaro account.
Vagaro integrates with Facebook, Instagram, Yelp, and Google. These are the platforms all salon businesses should have some level of presence on.
This means people can book you directly from these platforms and that you can feature your gift cards for sale directly on your Google My Business profile.
You can also have your users leave a review of their visit on your Vagaro marketplace profile. The website widget also allows you to show these reviews on your website to strengthen the credibility of your business.
Of course, if you prefer to have reviews collected on your Google Business Profile, you can also change links in your emails, etc. to go to your Google profile instead of Vagaro.
Vagaro Apps
Vagaro offers two apps – one for professionals and one for clients. They are available for both iOS and Android devices. Unless you purchase the hardware from Vagaro, you’ll likely be using the professional app a lot 🙂
The Vagaro Professional app holds a 4.7 (5.0) user rating on the Apple App Store with over 7000 reviews (as of writing this). It has a 4.3 (5.0) user score on Android with close to 7000 reviews.
Summary
I hope you found this Vagaro review helpful and that it has helped you decide whether it is right for your business.
Vagaro
Vagaro 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 despite the incredible amount of built-in features, they are keeping their pricing affordable.
Operating System: iOS, Android,
Application Category: Business/Productivity
4
Pros
- Affordable price
- Integration with other software ( QuickBook, Xerox, Facebook, Zoom)
- Integrated payments (inc. recurring subscriptions)
- Client marketplace that help you attract more new clients
- Advanced payroll and team support that also allow you to charge rent to booth renters
Cons
- Slight learning curve in the beginning
- Pages could load faster and you may find some glitches as you use it
- Clients need to create a Vagaro account when booking (could also be a pro if they already have a Vagaro account)
If you want to compare Vagaro to other alternatives, check out our list of the best salon software in 2025.
Vagaro Social Media Integration & Reputation Management