Vagaro pricing 2026: plans, calendars and the fine print
2026-10-22 · 7 min read
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It's Tuesday at a three-chair salon. One stylist is mid-balayage, the other is sweeping up, and you're at the front trying to work out why last month's software bill was higher than the number you remember signing up for. You've been on a paper book and a shared calendar, or on a tool you've outgrown, and Vagaro keeps coming up because the price on the ad is low. So what does Vagaro pricing actually come to for a shop your size?
I checked Vagaro's pricing page on October 22, 2026. Everything below comes from that page. Pricing pages change, so look again before you sign.
How much does Vagaro cost?
Vagaro publishes one plan price for a single location: $23.99 a month, labeled "Exclusive rate for the first 6 months," shown next to a regular price of $30.00. Multi-location businesses get a custom quote through sales.
On top of that, the FAQ says: "Each bookable calendar license you add to a business location costs $10 (US), up to seven licenses. Once you reach seven licenses, you can add more employees at no extra cost."
| Item | What the page says (checked Oct 22, 2026) |
|---|---|
| One location | $23.99/mo for the first 6 months, regular price shown as $30.00 |
| Multiple locations | Not published. "Contact Sales" |
| Bookable calendar licenses | $10 (US) each, up to seven. Employees past seven at no extra cost |
| Multi-location fees | None. Each location is priced by the features you pick for it |
| Free trial | 30 days |
| Cancelling | "Cancel anytime with no cancellation fees," followed by "Exclusions apply." The exclusions aren't listed |
| Card processing rate | Not listed on the pricing page |
| Add-on prices | Not listed on the pricing page |
The page has a staff selector that runs from "Just Me" up to "7+." Set it to your real headcount before you trust any total, including the ones you'll see on review sites. Then ask for the regular rate at that headcount, because the $23.99 figure only covers the first six months and the page doesn't spell out what you pay after.
What every Vagaro plan includes
Here Vagaro compares well. The "Included with every plan" list on the page covers:
- Calendar and resource management, with a customer waitlist
- Online booking through Vagaro, Instagram, Facebook and Apple Maps, plus a booking widget for your site
- Unlimited notifications and appointment reminders
- 1,000 free emails a month
- Payments, and a free card reader when you sign up for Vagaro Merchant Services
- Memberships, packages and gift certificates
- Client tracking, SOAP notes and loyalty programs
- Inventory tracking, invoices and Daily Deals
- Advanced reporting
- A free listing on the Vagaro Marketplace
Reminders are the line salon owners should look at twice. On Mindbody, text and email reminders start at the Accelerate plan, which has no published price (I went through that in the Mindbody pricing post). Vagaro puts unlimited reminders in the base plan. If the no-shows are what has you shopping, that matters.
What may cost extra
The page names several other products: email and text marketing, forms, a check-in app, livestream and virtual appointments, the MySite website builder, a branded app, payroll and rent collection, and Vagaro Capital. It doesn't print a price for any of them, and it doesn't say outright which ones are paid add-ons. Some review sites list figures for these. They don't agree with each other, and none of them is a number Vagaro publishes, so I'm leaving them out.
Card processing gets the same treatment. The pricing page offers the free reader with Vagaro Merchant Services but gives no rate. If most of your revenue goes through cards, the processing rate can cost you more than the subscription does, so get it in writing alongside the monthly price.
A Vagaro quote worksheet
Copy this into your notes before the sales call or before the trial ends, and fill in every line.
| Line | Your number |
|---|---|
| Monthly plan price, months 1 to 6 | |
| Monthly plan price from month 7 | |
| Bookable calendars I need | |
| Calendar license cost per month | |
| Add-ons I'll turn on, and each one's monthly price | |
| Card processing rate (swiped, tapped, keyed, online) | |
| Any fee to leave, or which exclusions apply to cancelling | |
| Total monthly cost from month 7 |
Questions worth asking, with the answers sent to you in writing:
- At my headcount, what do I pay each month once the intro rate ends?
- Which features I'd use are add-ons, and what does each one cost?
- What's my card processing rate, and is there a monthly minimum?
- What does "Exclusions apply" cover when I cancel?
- If I leave, can I export my clients, notes and gift card balances?
What a small salon actually uses day to day
Most small shops lean on a few features and never open the rest. Clients book from your Instagram link or website. You check who's in which chair. You take cards at checkout and sell packages. You keep client notes: formulas, allergies, what you did last time. And you need a text after every booking and before every visit, with a way to confirm or move the appointment.
Vagaro's base plan covers all of that on paper. Where shops feel gaps is usually outside the booking calendar: a caller who hangs up while you're mid-service, a DM nobody answered, a client who replies to your personal cell because that's the number she has. If any of that sounds familiar, the Vagaro alternative post walks through when switching fixes it and when it won't.
Filling the gaps without paying for more software
You can cover most of these gaps without moving to a bigger plan or a different system.
A missed-call text back sends a caller you couldn't answer a text within a minute, asking what they need and including your booking link. Rebooking nudges go out a few weeks after a color or a facial, timed to when that client usually comes back. I compared that with asking at checkout in rebook at checkout vs a rebooking text. And when a reminder doesn't do the job, a clear no-show policy that clients see before they book does more than any software setting.
This is the kind of work I do for salons and med spas. Builds start at $500 one-time, then a flat monthly from $99 after an included run-in period, and you can cancel. Compare that against the add-on quote Vagaro gives you. Sometimes the add-on wins because it's one vendor and one login, and I'll tell you that when it does.
What stays human
The conversations that decide whether a client comes back belong to you. A client nervous about a big color change, or a regular upset about her last cut, should never get an automated reply. The same goes for applying your no-show policy. A system can send the reminder and flag the no-show, and you still decide whether to charge the client who's been coming to you for six years and got stuck at school pickup. The texts that read the same every time can run on their own, and you get that time back for the conversations that need you.
Vagaro pricing questions
How much is Vagaro per month?
On October 22, 2026, the pricing page listed one location at $23.99 a month for the first six months, next to a regular price of $30.00. Each bookable calendar license costs $10, up to seven.
Does Vagaro charge per employee?
Per bookable calendar, up to seven. The FAQ says that once you reach seven licenses, you can add more employees at no extra cost.
Does Vagaro have a free trial?
Yes. The pricing page and FAQ both describe a 30-day free trial.
Are appointment reminders included?
Yes. "Unlimited notifications & appointment reminders" is on the list of what every plan includes. If you want wording for your own texts, these appointment reminder templates are ready to copy.
Is there a contract?
The page says "Cancel anytime with no cancellation fees," then "Exclusions apply," without saying what the exclusions are. Ask before you sign.
If you'd like a second opinion on whether Vagaro, an add-on or a lighter setup fits how your shop runs, book the free 20 minute process audit. I'll look at how booking, reminders and missed calls work for you today and tell you plainly what's worth paying for.