Vagaro vs. Mangomint: The Ultimate Comparison 2024

Vagaro vs. Mangomint – Who will come out on top in the battle of salon software in 2024?

You’re not the only business owner trying to decide between these two U.S.-based salon and spa software platforms.

Vagaro, founded in 2009, has become one of the industry’s most well-known software brands. Mangomint, founded in 2017, is the newer kid on the block that has quickly become the highest-rated software for salons and spas by its users.

If I were to translate “Vagaro vs. Mangomint” in one sentence, it would be “Quantity vs. Quality”.

Vagaro is “more” in several ways. It’s one of the most feature-rich platforms that serves a very broad range of businesses. From independent professionals to growing teams. From hair stylists to fitness businesses. They even serve consumers via their marketplace, where you can create a profile and use that when booking with any businesses that use Vagaro.

Mangomint has chosen a different direction here.

It is for salon and spa businesses with a team only. You cannot even join as a solo business.

You’ll not find as many features inside Mangomint as you will in Vagaro. But what you find goes deeper than anything else.

Put simply, Mangomint is more thoughtfully and cleverly designed than the competition here. The app interface is aesthetically pleasing and genuinely more intuitive than Vagaro’s. Likewise, their mobile app is miles ahead of the rest of the industry in terms of functionality and polish.

And to add additional functionality with other apps you use, you can integrate and share your data with other tools. With Mangomint you’re not limited in any way.

This, together with exceptional customer service, is why users are raving about it and why it’s risen to the top in all rankings over the last few years.

There’s much to say about these two platforms and their differences.

To help you find out which one is right for you, here’s what I’m going to cover in this Vagaro vs. Mangomint comparison:

• An overview of each system
• A comparison of the differences that separate them
• A feature-by-feature comparison
• Pricing differences
• Ratings & reviews from their users.

Vagaro vs Mangomint

Let's kick off with an overview of the two platforms we're diving into today.

Vagaro

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.

4.1

4.9

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.

$120 per month

$245 per month

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.

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.

Ease of use

3

5

Customer Service

3

5

Countries

U.S., Canada, Australia, and the UK

U.S. and Canada

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)

• 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 quickly review each system before we compare these two platforms head-on.

How Do They Compare? Strengths and Weaknesses

Vagaro and Mangomint are different.

Again, quantity vs. quality.

Vagaro stands out with all its features, which they make available at a very affordable rate. If you’re on a budget and want a lot for your money, it makes sense to look to Vagaro.

You should, however, be prepared that with everything they have put into Vagaro, users a reporting it becoming buggy, glitchy, and slow. And I also started to get quite annoyed with the loading animation when navigating around the software.

Mangomint will not beat Vagaro on the number of features, but it is blazingly fast and reliable, and every pixel is exactly where it should be. It’s just much more beautiful to look at compared to Vagaro. Now, you will also pay more for Mangomint than Vagaro. But with that, you get more sophisticated features, the highest-rated customer support, and a user experience that is a level above.

Geography will also be a factor, as Mangomint is currently only available in the United States and Canada. If you are outside of this region, you may still be able to use Vagaro or another option 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.

Let’s Talk Features: Vagaro vs. Mangomint

Vagaro is incredibly rich in features and offers an established marketplace where you can promote your business to clients who have signed up with other Vagaro businesses.

I’m leaving it up to you to decide whether a client marketplace is desirable. The benefits are obvious: you can promote your business there and attract clients.

The drawback is that clients must create a Vagaro profile before booking with you. And just like you can market your business to other clients on the marketplace, other businesses can promote themselves to your clients.

Mangomint is firstly focused on the core features you use daily in your business.

The software is designed to simplify these ongoing tasks to reduce friction and help you save money and time. Thus, if you, for example, look closer into how Mangomint‘s automated checkout, client waitlist feature, and two-way client communication work, you’ll see that there’s just another level of sophistication that you don’t find in other similar platforms.

Where these two platforms’ features differ the most is the marketing support. Both platforms support email marketing, but Vagaro’s platform is a bit more in-depth, whereas Mangomint‘s is simple, intuitive, and offers a ton of email templates that look sleek and professional right out of the box.

Generally speaking, Mangomint either does something well or allows you to integrate with other apps that you already use. You will not find features that are “just ok” with Mangomint. Their features are either the best, or they let you integrate with whoever does it best.

Fortunately, they regularly roll out major feature releases and make constant quality-of-life improvements, so if they don’t have a feature currently, you’ll likely see it a few months down the line.

Take the website builder, for example. Vagaro allows you to build a website and store using their platform. Great if you’re on a budget and want something up quickly using what you already have. It will not look great, but you can do it.

Mangomint instead offers a native integration with Shopify. This means you will need to learn a separate tool, but you will also be able to create the absolute best online store experience.

Let’s take a lot at what is there and what is not.

Vagaro vs Mangomint

Vagaro offers more features and but Mangomint offers a higher level of feature sophistication.

	Vagaro	Mangomint
Online Booking	Vagaro	Mangomint
Website booking widget Note Can you integrate the entire online booking experience directly into your website?
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.
No-show protection Note Can you store credit card details and charge deposits to reinforce your cancellation policy?
Service customization Note Can clients adapt their service when they book, and can this change the price and duration of the booked appointment?
Free from account creation Note Can clients book without having first to create an account with the software?
Integrated gift cards Note Can you sell digital gift cards as part of the booking process?
Calendar and Appointment Management
Customize notification messages Note Can you change the text sent to your clients as part of appointment reminders and other messages?
Customize notification timings Note Can you change when reminders and other messages go out to your clients?
Client waitlist management
Rooms and resource scheduling Note Can you manage equipment, rooms, and other resources required to complete a service?
Repeat appointments Note Can you schedule clients for recurring appointments?
Time block Note Can you block out time on your calendar?
Processing time Note Can you allow for double booking of service providers by accepting appointments during service processing time?
Duration and price by staff Note Can you adapt the price and time needed for a service based on who is performing the service?
Automated check-in Note Can clients check in to their appointments themselves?
Point of Sale/ Check out
Tablet compatible Note Can you run the POS on any tablet or do you need special hardware?
Dedicated POS hardware Note Does the system provider offer hardware to improve the check out expereince?
Self check out Note Can clients check out from their appointment themselves?
Route payments to renters Note If you have booth renters in your business, can you route payments directly to them?
Cards on file Note Can you store credit card details and charge the customer later?
Integrated payments Note Does the software offer a first-party payment processing solution?
Client Data & Communication
SMS Notification
Email Notificition
Dedicated business SMS number Note Do you get a business phone number that your messages and notifications are send from?
Two way SMS communication
Forms Note Can you create intake forms, store SOAP notes, and have clients sign your forms?
Client notes Note Can you store notes about clients on their profile?
Client files and images Note Can you store files and image on in the client’s profile?
Inventory and Product Types
Inventory tracking Note Will the system keep track of stock levels, notify you when it’s time to re-order?
Purchase orders Note Can the system create automatic purchase orders for you?
Retail
Memberships
Packages
Gift cards
Team Support & Payroll
Fully integrated payroll Note Can you run payroll and cut paychecks directly through the software?
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)?
Payroll reports
Commission support Note Can you track and report on commission for service, retail, and other product types?
Multi-location support Note Does the system have specific support for businesses with multiple locations
Booth renter support Note Can the system help with rent collection, payments, and other booth renter management tasks.
Marketing Support
Email marketing
SMS marketing		Note Supports integration with SMS marketing platforms
Website builder
Client marketplace Note Does it offer a platform where potential clients can browse businesses using the software?
Add-on offers Note Can you promote service add-ons/upsells as part of the online booking flow?
Cloud & Mobile App Access
Full-featured mobile app Note Can you access all software features in the mobile app?
Web browser
iPad
iPhone
Android

Integrating with Other Platforms for Additional Features

Both Vagaro and Mangomint offer the ability to integrate with other platforms. However, Mangomint goes beyond a set of native integrations and enables custom integrations with whatever system you need to integrate.

Vagaro vs Mangomint

These platforms both have integration support yet Mangomint is superior.

	Vagaro	Mangomint
Custom integrations Note Does the platform allow you to create new integrations to support your business-specific needs?
Native integrations Note Built-in integrations that you can activate as needed	Gusto Quickbooks Zoom Xero	Shopify Mailchimp WaiverForever GiftUp Custom integrations: Offers the ability to build custom integrations to fit your business

Pricing: Vagaro vs. Mangomint

Vagaro has taken the low-cost position on the market. I honestly don’t think they have ever increased their base tier pricing. Mangomint, however, doesn’t even offer a single-user plan. Their lowest tier already supports a big team, making their entry price higher than Vagaro’s.

Vagaro vs Mangomint Pricing

Both Vagaro and Mangomint pricing is based on a montly plan and add-ons which makes it easy to understand what you will be paying.

	Vagaro	Mangomint
Average Price	$120 per month	$245 per month
Trial Options	30 day free trial	30 day free trial
Minimum contract length	Cancel any time	Cancel any time
Plans Monthly subscription fee starts at $25 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. Essentials: $165 /mo (10 service providers) Standard: $245 /mo (20 service providers and advanced features) Unlimited: $375/ mo (unlimited service providers)
Plans	Monthly subscription fee starts at $25 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.	Essentials: $165 /mo (10 service providers) Standard: $245 /mo (20 service providers and advanced features) Unlimited: $375/ mo (unlimited service providers)
Add-ons Automated text marketing: $20/month Website builder: $10/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 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. Integrated Forms: $50/ mo Two-Way Texting: $75/ mo Payroll Processing: $50/ mo + $8/ mo per worker Marketing: Pay as you go, 1¢ per marketing credit
Add-ons	Automated text marketing: $20/month Website builder: $10/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 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.	Integrated Forms: $50/ mo Two-Way Texting: $75/ mo Payroll Processing: $50/ mo + $8/ mo per worker Marketing: Pay as you go, 1¢ per marketing credit
Credit card fees 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. In-person: 2.45% + $0.15 Virtual: 2.90% + $0.20 Custom rates: Over $50k/mo in volume may qualify for custom rates
Credit card fees	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.	In-person: 2.45% + $0.15 Virtual: 2.90% + $0.20 Custom rates: Over $50k/mo in volume may qualify for custom rates

What Do Users Think of These Platforms?

So, you’ve read what I say about these two systems. Now, check out a summary of how users rate these platforms.

Vagaro vs Mangomint

Let's compare scores for these systems on the major user review sites.

	Vagaro	Mangomint
	4.7	5.0
	4.4	4.8
	4.7	4.9
	4.4	4.6

Conclusion

I hope this comparison of Vagaro and Mangomint has helped you choose the right platform.

You can learn more about each platform in my individual reviews that you can access here:

• Mangomint Review
• Vagaro Pro Review

Looking to explore further? I highly recommend you read my list of the best salon software for 2024.

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