Vagaro vs GlossGenius: pricing and which fits your salon
2026-11-11 · 8 min read
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It's Tuesday at a five-chair salon and the owner is at the front desk between clients with two tabs open. One is Vagaro, the other is GlossGenius. Both book appointments, send reminders and take cards. The stylists have opinions about both. The phone rings twice while she's reading and she lets it go, because the color at chair three needs rinsing in four minutes.
If you're weighing Vagaro vs GlossGenius, most of the decision comes down to how each one charges. Vagaro's price goes up with each bookable calendar. GlossGenius has flat tiers, and your team size decides which tier you land on. I read Vagaro's pricing page and GlossGenius's pricing page on November 11, 2026, and every number below comes from one of those two pages. Check them again before you sign up, because both change.
Vagaro vs GlossGenius at a glance
| Vagaro | GlossGenius | |
|---|---|---|
| How it's priced | One location price, plus $10 (US) for each bookable calendar license you add, up to seven. Staff past seven cost nothing extra | Three flat plans for beauty and wellness: Standard, Gold, Platinum |
| Published price | $30.00 a month shown as the regular price, with $23.99 a month as an "Exclusive rate for the first 6 months" | Standard $28, Gold $56, Platinum $168 a month. Billed annually: $24, $48, $148 a month |
| Team size | Selector runs from "Just Me" to "7+" | Gold is for "up to 9 staff," Platinum for "teams 10+" with unlimited team members |
| Free trial | 30 days | 14 days, no credit card |
| Contract | "Cancel anytime with no cancellation fees," then "Exclusions apply" (not spelled out) | "No contracts" |
| In-person card rate | Not listed on the pricing page | The page's FAQ says 2.4% + $0.15. The rate fields in the payments section didn't load when I checked |
| Second location | Each location priced on its own, "no added multi-location fees." No number published | Each additional location is charged the plan price at a 15% discount |
| Med spa plans | Same pricing, SOAP notes included | Practice Essentials $168 and Practice Advanced $298 a month ($148 and $248 billed annually) |
| Marketplace listing | Free listing on the Vagaro Marketplace | None mentioned |
Neither page mentions a commission on new clients.
What each one costs at your headcount
Vagaro's page shows a staff selector, but the per-headcount prices didn't appear in the page text when I fetched it. So the Vagaro column below is my arithmetic from two things the page does say: the $30.00 regular price and the FAQ line that "each bookable calendar license you add to a business location costs $10 (US), up to seven licenses." I'm assuming the $30.00 covers the first calendar. Set the selector to your real headcount and confirm the total before you rely on it.
| Team | Vagaro (my math, regular price) | GlossGenius, billed monthly | GlossGenius, billed annually |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo | $30 | Standard, $28 | $24 a month |
| 3 calendars | $50 | Gold, $56 | $48 a month |
| 5 calendars | $70 | Gold, $56 | $48 a month |
| 7 calendars | $90 | Gold, $56 | $48 a month |
| 10 staff | $90 (no charge past seven) | Platinum, $168 | $148 a month |
A few cautions on that table. GlossGenius's page doesn't say how many team members Standard allows, so a three-person shop may fit on Standard at $28. Ask before you assume Gold. Vagaro's $23.99 rate lasts six months, and the page doesn't say how it applies once you add calendars.
Going by the table, a solo stylist pays about the same either way. From four or five chairs up to nine, GlossGenius Gold stays at $56 while Vagaro keeps adding $10 a calendar. The tenth hire reverses it. GlossGenius moves you to Platinum at $168, and Vagaro stopped charging for staff at seven. If you're at eight or nine people and expect to hire, ask GlossGenius how it counts staff before you commit.
What's included, and where the add-ons are
Vagaro puts a long list under "Included with every plan": calendar and resource management, a customer waitlist, online booking through Vagaro, Instagram, Facebook and Apple Maps, a booking widget, unlimited notifications and appointment reminders, 1,000 free emails a month, memberships, packages and gift certificates, loyalty programs, inventory, invoices, SOAP notes and reporting. The page also names features that aren't on that list, including text marketing, forms, a website builder, a check-in app, a branded app and payroll. None of them had a price on the page when I checked. Get those prices in writing during the trial, because they're what push a Vagaro bill past the number in the ad. My Vagaro pricing breakdown goes into more detail.
GlossGenius gates features by tier instead:
- Standard: a custom booking website, unlimited client notifications, email and text marketing, inventory and retail, packages and memberships.
- Gold: adds forms and waivers, Google booking and reviews, an automated waitlist, time tracking, and room and resource management.
- Platinum: adds team goal setting and analytics, customizable commissions and Google marketing analytics. The FAQ says Platinum includes 2,500 marketing texts.
GlossGenius does publish prices for two add-ons. Payroll is $40 a month plus $6 a seat, and Reception by GlossGenius, which answers calls and texts around the clock, is $50 a month. Online invoices are charged 2.9% + $0.30 on every plan. Same-day payouts are free Monday through Thursday, and instant payouts cost an extra 1.8%. There's more on the tiers in my GlossGenius pricing breakdown.
Two differences matter for a small salon. A waitlist comes with every Vagaro plan, while GlossGenius's automated waitlist starts at Gold. And forms and waivers come with Gold, while on Vagaro they're a separate feature with no published price.
Which one fits which salon
If you work solo or rent a booth, the subscription is close to a wash. Decide on card rates and on which app your clients find easier to book in, and ask Vagaro for its processing rate, since it isn't on the pricing page.
With three to nine staff, GlossGenius Gold is the simpler bill. You pay one flat price and forms, the waitlist and Google booking come with it.
At ten or more staff, Vagaro costs less on the subscription because it stops charging at seven calendars. Budget for whichever add-ons you'll use, since I couldn't find their prices.
Two other things can settle it. If you want new clients to find you while browsing, Vagaro lists you on its marketplace for free and GlossGenius's page doesn't mention one. If you run a med spa, GlossGenius has dedicated practice plans with EMR storage, while Vagaro includes SOAP notes on its regular plan. Go over charting needs with whoever handles your compliance before you compare price.
If Vagaro is on your list for other reasons, I also compared Mindbody vs Vagaro.
What neither one does for you
Go back to the opening scene. The owner let two calls ring out while she compared software. Either tool would have sent tomorrow's reminders for her. Neither one, on its base plan, would have texted those two callers back. GlossGenius sells a reception add-on for that at $50 a month. Vagaro's page names an assistant called Vera without a price.
The gaps I see most often in salons sit around the booking system, whichever one it is:
- A missed call gets a text from the salon's number within a minute, with the booking link in it. I wrote about what those calls cost in salon missed calls.
- A client who leaves without rebooking gets one short text a few weeks later, timed to her service.
- A cancellation opens a slot, and the waitlist hears about it before the front desk has time to make calls.
- The owner gets one page on Monday morning: bookings, no-shows, rebooking rate, retail.
Some of that is a setting inside Vagaro or GlossGenius that nobody has turned on. The rest is a small build that works alongside the tool you already pay for. Builds start at $500 one-time, then a flat monthly from $99 after an included run-in period, cancellable. The salon and med spa automation page shows what that covers.
What stays with a person
Either system will keep the book, but a stylist still does the consultation and decides whether a color correction fits in one visit or needs two. If a client is unhappy with her cut, the owner should be the one who answers her. The price conversation for a bride's party of eight belongs on a phone call with a person. And the no-show policy is the owner's to set, including when to waive it for a regular who has never missed. I automate the reminders and handoffs around those conversations and leave the conversations with you.
Before you move your book
Switching booking systems costs a weekend and some client confusion. Before you pick, book a free 20 minute process audit. We'll look at where calls, rebookings and no-shows leak in your week, and whether the fix is a different tool or a few automations around the one you have. Book it here.