Vagaro Pro vs. Fresha – Which software should you pick for your salon or spa?
Both platforms have obvious similarities – like their client marketplaces and low-price positioning.
But they differ in many ways.
Judging by user ratings alone, Vagaro and Fresha (formerly known as Shedul) are equally popular among their users. Vagaro is headquartered in its home market, the U.S., while Fresha serves a more extensive, global market out of its London, U.K. offices.
Vagaro Pro, one of the leading platforms in the industry, offers more extensive features than Fresha. Meanwhile, Fresha gives you the features you need without all the extras, including a big technical learning curve.
They can both be a good fit for independent professionals and businesses on a budget.
How they serve their users and how this may differ from one platform to the other is what we’re diving into today.
There is so much to be said about these two software platforms. I’ll walk you through all the features of Vagaro and Fresha, along with a comparison of the two products.
Here is a breakdown of everything you will learn in this Vagaro vs. Fresha comparison:
Vagaro vs Fresha
Let's kick off with an overview of the two platforms we're diving into today.
Vagaro
Fresha
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
U.S., Canada, Australia, and the UK
Available in 22 languages in over 120 countries worldwide
Key features
- A client marketplace where they can browse and find your business
- Very comprehensive marketing suite.
- Vagaro branded POS hardware
- Support for classes (as also used by fitness businesses)
- 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!
A Double-Click on Each System: Vagaro vs. Fresha
Let’s cover what these systems are and the pros and cons of each.
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
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.
How Do They Compare? Strengths and Weaknesses
Although Vagaro and Fresha serve similar businesses, they differ in many ways.
Fresha is available almost everywhere. Vagaro is expanding and is available in the U.S., Canada, the U.K., and Australia. Both brands have a client marketplace, making it easy for clients to browse businesses listed with them.
Vagaro has moved beyond the salon, spa, and barbershop businesses to incorporate health and wellness. This is why you find strong support for classes, memberships, and more sophisticated intake forms with Vagaro compared to other platforms.
Overall, Vagaro comes with many more features than Fresha. Instead, Fresha is focused on ease of use and makes it possible for anyone to incorporate technology effectively in their business.
Vagaro vs Fresha
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: Vagaro vs. Fresha
I think it’s clear by now that Vagaro is known for the sheer amount of features inside. With this platform, I am confident you will find all the features you need.
Although Fresha offers fewer features compared to Vagaro, it’s still a pretty rich offer. It’s also easier to use in many ways, even if that also comes at the expense of your ability to customize the platform to your needs. Fresha looks and feels as it is, and you cannot do much to adapt that.
Vagaro vs Fresha
Vagaro offers more features than Fresha. Let's go through what these features are and where they differ.
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Vagaro
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Fresha
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| Online Booking | Vagaro | Fresha |
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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 |
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 | ||
| 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
Integrating with other platforms becomes more important as your business grows.
A key difference to note is that Fresha has limited support for integration with other software tools. Unfortunately, you’ll be stuck using Fresha tools. Vagaro wins here as it can link with some popular third-party platforms even if the amount of integrations is limited.
If software integration is important to you, then you will be better off with Vagaro or another alternative on my salon on spa software top list
Vagaro vs Fresha
These platforms do not put a big emphasis on integration support even though Vagaro is has the richest support out of the two.
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Vagaro
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Fresha
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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: Vagaro vs. Fresha
Fresha’s subscription-free pricing model does stand out among all other platforms. However, Vagaro still has one of the cheapest plans in the industry. It’s actually pretty likely that Vagaro will come in at a lower monthly cost to you than Fresha, as Fresha’s model is performance-based and you pay for new clients who find you on their market place (details below).
Even if Vagaro also offers a marketplace, they will not charge you for new clients like fresh does (but you will have a monthly subscription fee).
Vagaro vs Fresha Pricing
It's easy to calculate what you will pay with Vagaro. It's a bit harder to understand what Fresha will cost and it will vary month to month.
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Vagaro |
Fresha |
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| Average Price | ||
| Trial Options | ||
| Minimum contract length | ||
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Plans
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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?
So you’ve read my opinion on these two systems. Now, let’s see what other users have to say. Check out the ratings below.
Vagaro vs Fresha
Let's compare scores for these systems on the major user review sites.
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Vagaro |
Fresha |
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What Alternatives Should You Consider?
Vagaro and Fresha are two good options for many businesses. However, if you are still searching, check out the other platforms below.
Mangomint is the highest-rated software for salons and spas. If you have a team, I suggest you explore this option.
GlossGenius is my recommended alternative for independent professionals.
Mangomint vs GlossGenius
A quick comparison of the two Vagaro and Fresha alternatives.
Mangomint
GlossGenius
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
U.S. and Canada
U.S.
Key features
- 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
- Premium beauty-inspired interface design
- Professional-looking website in just a few clicks
- Integrated payment and card reader with customizable design
- Affordable, transparent, flat fee pricing
Conclusion
I hope this comparison between Vagaro and Fresha has answered some of your questions.
For more alternatives, please read my list of the best salon and spa software.
