GlossGenius vs. Vagaro – A clash of two of the most popular salon and spa software options on the market in 2024.
Which one should you pick?
If it’s only you in your business (or you +1 or 2), I can see why you’re considering these two online booking systems.
Both these platforms ship with many powerful features for the independent professional (or small team), and their pricing is at a level that makes them affordable for even the smallest business.
Vagaro, founded in 2009, has been around the longest and offers many more features than GlossGenius.
However, GlossGenius, founded in 2015, has taken the salon and spa industry by storm with its premium beauty-inspired design and app-only software that independent professionals love.
There’s much to be said about these two alternatives, so in today’s review, I’ll break down the key differences between Vagaro and GlossGenius. I’ll also walk you through their features, pricing, and user reviews so that you can decide which platform is right for you.
Here’s what you’ll get in this Vagaro vs. GlossGenius comparison:
Vagaro vs GlossGenius
Let's kick off with an overview of the two platforms we're diving into today.
Vagaro
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., Canada, Australia, and the UK
U.S.
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)
- 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
A Double-Click on Each System: Vagaro vs. GlossGenius
Let’s cover what these systems are and the pros and cons of Vagaro vs. GlossGenius.
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
GlossGenius At a Glance
Overall score
GlossGenius is an all-in-one appointment, payment, and marketing app for salon and spa professionals in the USA.
It offers rich support for independent professionals. Teams can also use the app but it’s primarily designed for solopreneurs.
Here you manage your total business out of an easy-to-use, beautifully designed, mobile app.
In my opinion, it’s the design and premium beauty experience that GlossGenius delivers that makes this tool truly unique. You can even adapt the design of their credit card reader to fit your brand.
Pros and Cons
- Interface design that signals beauty (and not tech)
- Intuitive features that are easy-to-use
- Professional looking website in just a few clicks
- Integrated payments with beautiful hardware
- Affordable and transparent flat fee pricing
- Limited flexibility (you need to follow pre-defined standards)
- Can only be managed via app (only calendar can be accessed in web browser)
- No booking widget to integrate on existing website (need to link to your GlossGenius website)
How do They Compare? Strengths and Weaknesses
Vagaro and GlossGenius are two quite different systems.
Just the brands feel very different. GlossGenius is all about beauty and the experience of their (and your) brand. Vagaro feels more corporate as it also caters to a broader base of customers than beauty professionals.
Vagaro comes with many more features than GlossGenius. GlossGenius is instead focused on making it easy to find and use its features without spending much time learning the tool.
But probably the more considerable difference is the team support available. Although you can have team members set up in GlossGenius, the features available are limited. Thus, if you have a bigger team, you’re probably better off with Vagaro or another alternative on my top salon and spa software list.
But let’s double-click on this and review how they compare the different aspects of the software.
Vagaro vs GlossGenius
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. GlossGenius
I think it’s clear by now that feature volume is a strength of Vagaro. Pretty much any feature you will need is there.
However, what I appreciate about GlossGenius is its simplicity. Even the most non-technical professionals can now have access to powerful features without having to learn or customize things. It’s just there, and it looks good.
Feature Comparison
Vagaro offers more features than GlossGenius. Let's go through what these features are and where they differ.
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Vagaro
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GlossGenius
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| Online Booking | Vagaro | GlossGenius |
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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? |
Note You can enable/disable parts of the notification and add an additional message. |
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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 | ||
Integrating with Other Platforms for Additional Features
Integrating with other platforms becomes more important as your business grows and you increase your demands for specific, more sophisticated features.
As GlossGenius is primarily for independent business owners, they don’t offer integrations. I do, however, appreciate that you can synchronize your phone’s contact list and calendar—a valuable feature for solo business owners where personal life and business often blend.
Vagaro does a better job here, though, with some of the more standard integrations available.
Integrations
These platforms do not put big emphasis on integration support even Vagaro is has the richest support out of the two.
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Vagaro
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GlossGenius
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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. GlossGenius
Both Vagaro and GlossGenius offer affordable pricing.
I like both systems’ honest and transparent pricing models.
GlossGenius has the most straightforward pricing model – just two plans and one card transaction rate. You know exactly what you will pay. Vagaro is also doing a good job, even if there are a few more add-ons and other things to consider to understand what you will pay fully.
Vagaro vs GlossGenius Pricing
Both Vagaro and GlossGenius makes it easy to understand what you will pay.
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Vagaro
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GlossGenius
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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 heard what I say about these two systems. But you shouldn’t only trust me.. 🙂 Below is a summary of how these platforms are rated by their users.
User Reviews Compared
Let's compare scores for these systems on the major user review sites.
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Vagaro
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GlossGenius
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What Alternatives Should You Consider?
GlossGenius and Vagaro are two good alternatives for many businesses. However, if you’re unsure, I would consider the platforms below.
Mangomint is the highest-rated software for salons and spas. If you have a team, this is the alternative I recommend you try.
Square Appointments is a popular alternative to Vagaro and GlossGenius that also serves independent professionals on a budget well.
Mangomint vs Square Appointments
A quick comparison of the two Square Appointments and Vagaro alternatives.
Mangomint
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
U.S. and Canada
U.S., Canada, Australia, Japan, the UK.
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
- 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 of GlossGenius and Vagaro Pro has helped you decide on the right platform.
For more alternatives, I highly recommend you read my top list of the best salon and spa software.
