Vagaro vs Fresha: prices, fees and which fits your salon

It's Tuesday at a three-chair salon. You're between a root touch-up and a blowout, and you have two browser tabs open on the front desk computer: Vagaro and Fresha. Both say they handle booking, reminders and payments. Both start under $25 a month. A stylist you trained with swears by one, and your nail tech's last shop used the other. You have about ten minutes before the next client sits down, and you want to know which one costs less for a shop your size and which one will cut down the phone calls.

This is Vagaro vs Fresha from the owner's side. I checked Vagaro's pricing page, Vagaro's card processing page and Fresha's pricing page on October 27, 2026. Every number below comes from those pages. Both companies change their pricing, so look again before you sign up.

Vagaro vs Fresha in one table

At a glance, Fresha is cheaper for one or two people, and Vagaro's staff cost flattens out once you pass seven calendars. Unlimited reminders on Vagaro and Fresha's marketplace fee are the two lines most likely to swing a small shop's bill.

What each one costs a month by headcount

You'll see the gap most clearly in the subscription. Fresha's math is simple because every price is published per person. Vagaro's needs one question answered first.

The open question on Vagaro is whether the base price already includes your first calendar. The FAQ says "each bookable calendar license you add to a business location costs $10," and the page has a staff selector that runs from "Just Me" to "7+." Set it to your real headcount and write down the total, then ask what you'll pay once the six-month rate ends. The page shows $30.00 next to the intro price but doesn't label it as the regular rate. My Vagaro pricing breakdown has a worksheet for that call.

On Fresha, a front desk person who never takes appointments isn't a bookable team member, so you don't pay for them. The Fresha pricing post goes through every add-on if you want the full bill.

Card fees on a normal $80 service

For most salons, card processing costs more each month than the subscription does. Here's one $80 service paid with a tapped card at the front desk, using each page's published rates:

Under $4,000 a month in card charges, your ticket size decides it. Vagaro's small-merchant rate takes a higher percentage and fewer cents, so it comes out cheaper on services under about $32 (a brow wax, a quick trim) and costs more on anything above that. Past $4,000 a month the per-tap cost is close to even, and Vagaro adds $10 a month. $4,000 is only 50 services at $80, so check your real monthly card volume before you compare. Vagaro's page also says "processing rates as low as 2.2%" without saying who gets that rate, so ask.

Fresha says its payment processing is optional, so you could keep your current card reader. Vagaro's free card reader comes with signing up for Vagaro Merchant Services, and the page says "terms apply" without listing them.

Text reminders and the no-show question

If you're shopping because of no-shows, start with this line. Vagaro includes unlimited reminders in every plan. Fresha gives each bookable team member 100 free texts a month and charges $0.02 per text after that. Emails and app notifications are free and unlimited.

In practice, 100 texts per person covers a confirmation and one reminder for about 50 appointments a month per stylist. A busy stylist goes past that, but at two cents a text the overage is small. On either system, the reminder only works if the wording is clear and the client can reply to move the appointment. I keep a set of appointment reminder templates ready to copy, and a no-show policy template for the part reminders can't fix.

Both let you take deposits or charge no-show fees through their payments. Fresha lists "no-shows and cancellation fees" and "upfront payments" as features. If you're torn on how to use them, I compared booking deposits and a card on file for salons.

The marketplace fee, and when it matters

Both list your business in a consumer booking app. Vagaro's pricing page lists a "free listing on the Vagaro Marketplace" and no fee. Fresha charges a 20% one-time commission, with a $6 minimum, when a brand new client finds you through the Fresha marketplace and books. Returning clients, your direct booking link, Facebook and Instagram bookings are free.

So on Fresha, a new client's $80 first visit through the marketplace costs $16 in commission before card fees. That's money well spent if the marketplace sends people you'd never have reached. If most of your new clients already find you on Google or Instagram, put your direct Fresha link everywhere they look, and the commission rarely applies.

Which one fits how your shop runs

If you're also weighing a bigger system, I wrote up Mindbody vs Vagaro the same way.

What neither one does for you

Both systems book whoever reaches them. The work that slips usually happens before the booking and after the visit:

1. A caller hangs up on voicemail while you're mid-foil. A missed-call text back from the salon's number, sent within a minute with your booking link, reaches them before they call the next salon on the list. I wrote up what to say in that text.
2. A client walks out without rebooking. A rebooking text timed to the service, so a cut and a color don't run on one schedule, gives her an easy way back. I compared that with asking at the chair in rebook at checkout vs a rebooking text.
3. Nobody asks for the review while the visit is fresh. A short request the evening of the appointment, sent only to clients who didn't flag a problem, takes care of it.
4. The numbers sit in reports nobody opens. A Friday text with new clients, rebooks and no-shows by stylist is easier to read than a dashboard you have to log in to.

I build these to run next to whichever system you pick, so you don't need to upgrade or stack add-ons to get them. Builds start at $500 one-time, then a flat monthly from $99 after an included run-in period, cancellable. Sometimes the vendor's own add-on is the better buy because it's one login and one bill, and I'll say so when it is. More on this kind of work is on the salon and med spa automation page.

What stays with a person

The software can send the reminders and keep count of the no-shows. It shouldn't decide whether to charge a no-show fee to a client who's been in your chair every five weeks for six years and got stuck at school pickup. You make that call. You also handle the consult before a big color correction or a first injectable appointment, the regular who's unhappy with her last cut, and the 6:30 squeeze-in before a wedding. Whichever system you choose, set it up so those conversations reach you and the routine texts don't.

Vagaro vs Fresha questions

Is Fresha cheaper than Vagaro?

For one person, yes. On October 27, 2026, Fresha's Independent plan was $19.95 a month against Vagaro's $23.99 intro rate and the $30.00 shown beside it. With more staff, the answer depends on your headcount, your text volume, and whether new clients come through Fresha's marketplace.

Does Fresha charge a fee per booking?

Fresha says it doesn't charge per appointment. The one exception is the 20% one-time commission, $6 minimum, on a new client who finds you through the Fresha marketplace.

Are text reminders free on Vagaro?

Vagaro's pricing page lists "unlimited notifications & appointment reminders" as included with every plan.

Which one has a longer free trial?

Vagaro offers 30 days. Fresha offers 7 days with no credit card required.

If you're choosing between Vagaro and Fresha, or you've already picked one and the phone still eats your afternoons, book a free 20 minute process audit. We'll look at where bookings slip in your week and what's worth paying for. Book it here.