Most comparisons of salon software put the monthly subscription in a table and stop there. That number is the smallest part of what you will pay, and for a busy solo operator it can be less than a fifth of the real total.
Here is the whole bill.
All figures published by each vendor as of September 2026. Verify before deciding; they change frequently.
Several platforms run a consumer marketplace and charge you when a client books through it:
| Platform | New client fee |
|---|---|
| Booksy | 30% of the first visit if using optional Boost Marketing |
| Fresha | 20% one-time, $6 minimum |
| Mindbody | 20%, capped at $30 |
| GlossGenius, Mangomint, Boulevard, Zenoti, Acuity, Square | None |
What that costs in practice, for a solo taking 15 new clients a month at a $75 average service:
| Platform | Monthly commission |
|---|---|
| Booksy at 30% | $337 |
| Fresha at 20% | $225 |
| Mindbody at 20% capped at $30 | up to $225 |
That is on top of the subscription and the processing. And it scales exactly with success: the better your marketing works, the more you pay.
Even when a marketplace charges no commission, your business is competing for attention alongside every other salon on the platform. A client who originally came looking for you may be shown competing businesses, promotional offers, or lower prices before making their next appointment.
Over time, customers may become more loyal to the marketplace than to your business, making it harder to maintain direct relationships and control how you attract and retain clients.
The real cost of a free marketplace may not be what you pay the platform, but how much control you give up over your own customer relationships.
Before signing up for anything with a commission, ask exactly what counts as a "new" client and who decides.
The answer usually is not "someone the platform introduced to you." It is "someone whose first booking with you happened inside the platform's app." Those are very different things. A client who found you on Instagram, followed you for six months and then booked through the app can be a chargeable new client.
Guidance circulating among Fresha users is to import your entire existing client list before going live, specifically so your own regulars are not classified as new. That tells you what the default behavior is.
Ask these three questions:
Some platforms price the base cheaply and sell the rest separately. Vagaro's list, $23.99 per month... (As of September 20, 2026)
A solo operator who wants intake forms, a website and text reminders, not an extravagant list, is at roughly $74 to $80 a month against a $23.99 headline.
| Subscription | Add-ons | Commission | Processing | Total | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square (free tier) | $0 | , | , | ~$180 | ~$180 |
| Acuity Standard | $27 | , | , | via your own processor | ~$27 + |
| GlossGenius Standard | $24–28 | , | , | ~$156 | ~$180 |
| Fresha Independent | $19.95 | SMS extra | ~$225 | ~$150 | ~$395 |
| Vagaro | $23.99 | ~$50 | ~$225 | ~$170 | ~$470 |
| Booksy | $29.99 | , | ~$337 | ~$160 | ~$527 |
| Mangomint | $130 | varies | , | ~$155 | ~$285 |
Assumes $6,000 monthly card billing and 15 new clients at $75. Your numbers will differ. The point is the shape, not the decimal.
Most people are surprised by step five.
It depends entirely on where your clients come from.
If most of your new business arrives through the platform's marketplace, the commission is a customer acquisition cost and might be a good one. Paying $22 to meet someone who spends $2,000 with you over five years is a bargain.
If most of your new business comes from your own Instagram, your own referrals and people walking past your door, you are paying a percentage to a middleman for introducing you to people you introduced yourself. That is where the money leaks.
Count last month's new clients. Be honest about where each one actually came from. That number decides which column of this article applies to you.
We built Book Visit Now for independent professionals who want to manage their appointments, clients, and business without paying for a growing collection of add-ons.
Book Visit Now is $24.99 a month for unlimited clients, with no marketplace commissions, no per-staff or per-calendar fees, and no paid feature upgrades. It is also free for up to ten active clients, with the same features included. Note that Book Visit Now does support multiple providers and multiple locations, but does not have multiple user logons. This can be important. If everyone at your shop is using the same logon, you can all make appointments for any of your providers and any of your locations.
Book Visit Now includes several features in its $24.99 monthly Pro subscription that competing salon software platforms may charge for separately, restrict to higher-priced plans, or charge per staff member.
Book Visit Now feature | Potential extra cost with competitors |
|---|---|
Multiple staff member calendars | Per-staff or per-bookable-calendar fees |
Multiple business locations | Additional location subscriptions |
| Scanning of Intake Forms or other documents | Additional storage upgrade subscription |
Client notes and SOAP treatment records | Advanced client records or treatment documentation modules |
Before-and-after client photos | Advanced client management or treatment record upgrades |
PDF invoices | Invoicing or business management upgrades |
Sales and financial reports | Advanced reporting or analytics tiers |
CSV exports | Data export or advanced reporting features |
Product and service management | Inventory or product management add-ons |
Multiple services per appointment | Advanced scheduling functionality |
Recurring appointments | Higher-tier scheduling plans |
Appointment conflict detection | Advanced scheduling or resource management features |
Customizable business hours and time-off management | Staff scheduling and availability management upgrades |
Client purchase and appointment history | Advanced CRM or client management features |
iPhone, iPad, and Mac access with iCloud synchronization | Additional device, workstation, or user licenses on some platforms |
| Getting your Client Data - It's already saved on your device |
Not every competitor charges separately for every feature. Some include these capabilities in their standard subscriptions, while others reserve them for higher-priced plans.
With Book Visit Now, your client information, appointment history, and business records remain accessible even if you stop paying for Pro. You can continue using the free version and export your business data without maintaining a paid subscription. Some competing platforms restrict data exports or access to historical records based on your subscription. Your customer relationships and business history should never be held hostage by a monthly software fee.
Appointment and calendar management
Manage your schedule with day, week, and month views, customizable business hours, multiple service bookings, recurring appointments, appointment statuses, time-off blocks, and scheduling conflict detection. Manage multiple providers and service locations without purchasing additional calendar licenses.
Client management and treatment records
Keep client contact information, appointment history, service and product purchases, notes, and photos together in one place. Create and maintain treatment records using SOAP notes, attach before-and-after photos, and access your clients' history when preparing for their next visit. You can scan a customer's intake form directly into their profile.
Client communication
Contact clients directly through your Apple device's phone, Messages, and Mail apps. Use client information and appointment details to communicate without purchasing a separate messaging module or monthly message-credit package.
Services, products, and pricing
Manage your service menu, service durations, pricing, products, and applicable taxes. Record multiple services within an appointment, apply pricing adjustments, and maintain client purchase histories without paying for an additional product-management module.
Business reports and invoicing
Track sales and business activity, review financial reports, generate PDF invoices, and export business data to CSV or Apple Numbers. Reporting and invoicing are included rather than sold as separate upgrades.
Your Apple devices, one subscription
Use Book Visit Now on your iPhone, iPad, or Mac, with iCloud synchronization across your Apple devices. Manage appointments at your workstation, review client information on your iPad, and take your schedule with you on your iPhone.
There are no marketplace commissions, payment-processing fees, per-staff subscriptions, additional calendar licenses, or separate charges to unlock the features above. We do not process payments, so you can continue using your preferred payment provider and its applicable fees.
What Book Visit Now does not replace
Book Visit Now does not offer online self-booking, online deposits, a consumer marketplace, automated bulk SMS or email marketing, a website builder, payroll processing, or an Android app. It will not send new clients to your business.
Those distinctions matter. If you depend on marketplace discovery, need clients to book and pay online, or want automated marketing campaigns and payroll in the same system, another platform may provide services that Book Visit Now does not.
But if you already attract your own clients and want to manage your appointments, client records, services, products, and business reporting without purchasing additional software modules, Book Visit Now gives you those tools for one monthly price.
$24.99 a month. Unlimited clients. All included features. No add-on subscriptions.
Book Visit Now provides appointment management, notifications, client records, and business reporting, but it does not replace every service a salon or independent professional may need.
Payment processing: A separate payment provider or point-of-sale system to accept credit cards, debit cards, and digital payments.
You will most likely need a payment solution.
Online deposits and prepayments: A payment or booking service that collects deposits and processes payments before appointments.
With any payment solution, you will likely be able to take deposits, but just not online.
Website and domain: A website builder or hosting provider if you want a dedicated business website.
You might do just fine with social media alone.
Online booking: A separate booking service if you want clients to schedule their own appointments online.
You may want to be in control of your appointments and not allow just anyone to make appointments online.
Automated appointment reminders: A separate service for automatically sending SMS or email confirmations and reminders.
Book Visit Now offers a Notification Center that makes it easy for you to pre-populate and sent email or text notifications over Apple Mail or Messages. It's not automated, but there is no additional cost and it's easy.
Marketing and customer acquisition: Advertising, email marketing, SMS campaigns, social media promotion, or a marketplace to attract new clients.
You might do just fine with social media alone.
Digital intake forms: A separate forms service if you need clients to complete and submit intake forms, consent forms, or questionnaires online.
With Book Visit Now, you can scan documents directly into customer profile for no extra charge. The client will have to fill out the form.
Payroll and accounting: Separate software for employee payroll, bookkeeping, tax preparation, and accounting.
Book Visit Now allows all of it's reporting to be exported using .CSV files, which can be used for these features.
Android access: Book Visit Now is designed for Apple devices, so businesses requiring Android access will need another solution.
You might like your new iPhone. :)
The distinction: You can choose the outside services your business actually needs without paying Book Visit Now for features you do not use.