The landscape
Booking software for salons and barbers
There is no single best one, because a solo braider with an empty book and a six-chair shop with a full one have opposite problems. Start from yours.
Read this first
We make BurgundyBlend, one of the products on this page. So this is not a neutral review and we are not going to pretend otherwise. What we have done instead is describe each tool by what it is built for, say where a competitor is the better answer, and give you the arithmetic to check any of it yourself.
Why you can trust BurgundyBlend
Payments run on Stripe
Deposits and payouts are handled by Stripe. Card details never touch our servers.
How we handle your dataA Canadian company
BurgundyBlend Inc., incorporated in Alberta, serving businesses across Canada and the US.
About usA real app, already shipped
Live on the App Store, and the web app works in any browser with nothing to install. Google Play is on the way.
View on the App StoreStart with your problem
Find the line that sounds like your month.
Your calendar is fine. Not enough people know you exist.
You need discovery, and most of this list does not do it. Fresha and Booksy have marketplaces; we have The Chair. Scheduling tools like Acuity, Calendly and Square will not move this number however good they are.
You are busy, and the admin is eating your evenings.
This is a management problem, and Vagaro, Square and Acuity are all strong at it. Our calendar, staff and deposits are included at no cost too, so it is worth a look, but be honest that this is the problem you are solving.
You are paying for bookings you would have got anyway.
Work out what share of last month came from people you brought yourself, then what you paid on them. A percentage on repeat clients, or a subscription in a quiet month, is where this money goes. Clients you bring are free with us, forever.
Your months are uneven and fixed costs bite.
Avoid anything with a per-seat monthly fee as the main cost. Pay-per-result models suit uneven books better, which is why ours works that way.
Retail and the counter are half your business.
Square or Vagaro. Point of sale, stock and retail are outside what we do, and we would rather say so than have you find out in week two.
What each one is for
Described by how they are built and how they charge, rather than by a price that changes.
BurgundyBlend
Ours- Built for
- Beauty and style businesses that need new clients, not just a tidier calendar. Discovery through The Chair, with the calendar, staff, deposits, payouts and reporting included.
- How it charges
- Free to list and to take bookings. A flat $3 when we introduce somebody new, and nothing on clients you brought yourself.
- The trade-off
- We are the newest name here, so we have fewer businesses listed than the incumbents and no point of sale, stock or retail. If your problem is the counter rather than the chair, we are not the answer.
Fresha
- Built for
- Salons and spas that want a marketplace bringing them clients and a full management suite behind it.
- How it charges
- Free software, paid for by a commission on the new clients the marketplace sends.
- The trade-off
- The commission is a percentage, so the same introduction costs more as your prices rise.
Booksy
- Built for
- Barbers and stylists who want a well-known booking app and a listing inside it.
- How it charges
- A monthly subscription, priced per staff member, with the listing bundled in.
- The trade-off
- You pay the same in a quiet month as a busy one, and more every time you hire.
Square Appointments
- Built for
- Shops where payments and retail are central, and the calendar needs to sit next to the card reader.
- How it charges
- Free for a single person, then a monthly fee once you have staff, plus card processing.
- The trade-off
- No marketplace at all, so every client is one you found and paid to find yourself.
Vagaro
- Built for
- Larger salons, spas and fitness studios that want one system covering payroll, inventory and memberships.
- How it charges
- A monthly subscription that scales with how many calendars you need.
- The trade-off
- Broad and deep, which also makes it the heaviest to learn and to set up.
Acuity Scheduling
- Built for
- Independent professionals who want a clean booking page bolted onto a site they already run.
- How it charges
- A monthly subscription per account.
- The trade-off
- Scheduling only. It is not trying to bring you clients and does not claim to.
Calendly
- Built for
- Consultations, quotes and virtual appointments rather than a chair with a price on it.
- How it charges
- Free for basic use, subscription for anything beyond it.
- The trade-off
- Built for meetings, not for services with deposits, staff rotas and no-show policies.
How to check any of this yourself
-
Price your three biggest services
Work out the fee each one would carry on every tool you are weighing up. A percentage and a flat amount look similar until the service is expensive.
-
Split last month's bookings in two
People you brought, and people the platform brought. Then check what you paid on the first group. That number decides more of this than any feature list.
-
Run two at once before cancelling either
Anything free to list can be tested alongside what you already use. Comparing a live system against a memory of one is how people end up moving twice.
Try the one you can test for free
Listing is free, taking bookings is free, and we only charge when we bring you somebody new. Run it alongside whatever you use now.
