Phorest Alternatives: 10 Best Salon & Spa Platforms Compared (2026)
Phorest doesn’t publish its prices. You book a sales call, and the quote depends on your staff count, locations, and add-ons. Third-party reviewers such as ITQlick estimate entry pricing at roughly $150 per month, and Pabau’s 2026 review reports per-booking fees of about $1 in the US and Canada plus one-year contracts for most new customers. If that model no longer fits your salon or spa, this guide compares 10 alternatives with entry prices verified against each vendor’s own pricing page in July 2026 — so you can see exactly what switching would cost before you sit through a single demo.
Key takeaways
- Phorest doesn’t publish subscription prices — every plan is quote-based, with third parties reporting roughly $150/month entry pricing, about $1 per online booking in the US and Canada, and one-year contracts for most new customers.
- Nine of the ten alternatives here publish their prices; Zenoti is the only one that also requires a sales consultation.
- Per-staff platforms (Fresha, Booksy, Timely, Vagaro) get more expensive as you hire — a five-person team on Booksy pays $109.99/month before processing.
- Square Appointments has the only genuinely free plan; you pay processing fees only.
- For multi-location growth, compare per-site costs: Square, Boulevard, and GlossGenius bill per location, Mangomint adds $95–$175 per extra site, and Twizzlo includes unlimited locations at a flat $29.99/month.
Phorest alternatives at a glance
| Platform | Pricing model | Verified entry price (US) | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|
| Twizzlo | Flat monthly rate | $29.99/mo — unlimited staff, locations, bookings | Teams and multi-location businesses that want a fixed software bill |
| Vagaro | Per bookable calendar | $23.99/mo promo ($30 list) for 1 calendar; +$10 per calendar up to 7 | Salons that want booking, POS, and a consumer marketplace in one |
| Fresha | Per bookable team member | $19.95/mo solo; $14.95 per team member/mo | Teams that value marketplace exposure over fixed costs |
| Booksy | Base fee + per staff | $29.99/mo + $20/mo per extra team member | Barbershops and salons that win clients through marketplace search |
| GlossGenius | Flat tiers, per location | From $24/mo billed annually ($28 monthly) | Solo pros and small teams that want polished, simple tools |
| Square Appointments | Freemium + per location | Free plan; Plus $49/mo per location | Businesses already running Square POS and hardware |
| Mangomint | Flat tiers by provider count | $165/mo (2–10 service providers) | Established salons and spas that want premium daily workflows |
| Boulevard | Tiers, per location | $176/mo per location list price ($140/mo current promo) | Upscale salons, spas, and medspas |
| Zenoti | Quote-based | No published pricing — sales consultation required | Chains, franchises, and large multi-location groups |
| Timely | Per bookable staff member | ~$26–$29/mo for 1 staff, per third-party guides | Solo stylists and small teams, especially in UK/AU/NZ markets |
Prices verified July 2026 against vendor pricing pages, except where noted as third-party reported. US pricing shown before tax; payment processing fees are separate on every platform.
How we compared
Every platform here was scored on five criteria that matter most to owners leaving a quote-based system: pricing transparency (is the price published, or do you need a sales call?), per-staff fees (does the bill grow when you hire?), multi-location support (and what each extra site costs), automated SMS and email reminders (included or metered?), and integrated payments (the processing rate you’ll actually pay). We pulled every number from the vendor’s own pricing page in July 2026. Where a vendor doesn’t publish pricing, we say so and attribute any estimates to the third party that reported them.
What Phorest costs in 2026
Phorest sells four plans — Starter, Grow, Complete Advantage, and Elite — aimed at salons and medspas with three or more staff, with unlimited staff and devices on every tier. None of them carries a published price; Phorest’s pricing page lists features and SMS rates (5 cents per message on Starter, 4 cents on Grow) but requires a quote for the subscription itself. Beyond ITQlick’s ~$150/month entry estimate, Pabau’s review flags online booking fees of roughly $1 per booking in the US and Canada, paid add-ons for two-way chat and the branded app, and annual contracts. Phorest is a capable, mature system — the issue for smaller operators is that its cost is negotiated, variable, and hard to budget. Every alternative below except Zenoti publishes its prices.
1. Twizzlo — flat $29.99/month for unlimited staff and locations
Verified pricing: One paid plan at $29.99/month with unlimited bookings, staff, locations, and clients, plus a free plan capped at 150 bookings per month. SMS and email confirmations and reminders are built in (50 SMS included monthly, then $0.03 per message), and there are no feature tiers — every feature ships on both plans. Online payments run through Stripe, with a 1.5% Twizzlo platform fee on top of Stripe’s processing rates.
Strongest use case: teams that plan to grow. The math is the whole argument: a five-provider salon pays $29.99 on Twizzlo versus $109.99 on Booksy ($29.99 + 4 × $20) or roughly $64–$74 on Vagaro under per-calendar pricing — and adding a second location changes nothing, because multi-location dashboards, staff scheduling, and client CRM are included rather than sold as upgrades. Billing is month to month with a 30-day money-back guarantee.
Honest limitation: Twizzlo has no consumer marketplace, so it won’t send you new clients the way Fresha or Booksy can — it’s built for businesses that already own their client flow. The 1.5% platform fee on processed payments also sits on top of Stripe’s standard rates.
2. Vagaro — the broadest toolset under $30 entry
Verified pricing: Per Vagaro’s official plan documentation (updated July 1, 2026), the US base subscription is $23.99/month for a limited time (list price $30) and includes one bookable calendar. Each additional employee calendar costs $10/month up to seven paid licenses; staff beyond that are free. In-person processing starts at 2.6% + $0.10 for smaller merchants.
Strongest use case: salons that want one system to cover booking, POS, inventory, memberships, and marketplace listings without a premium price tag. Vagaro also absorbed Schedulicity in 2025 — if you were considering Schedulicity as a Phorest alternative, this is now where you land. Weighing it against marketplace rival Booksy? Our Vagaro vs Booksy comparison breaks the pricing down line by line.
Honest limitation: the add-on catalog is long. Forms ($10/mo), text-message plans (from $20/mo for 1,000 credits), a website ($20/mo), payroll ($34/mo + $5 per employee), and a branded app ($100/mo) all cost extra, so a fully equipped Vagaro setup can quietly double or triple the advertised base price.
3. Fresha — lowest entry price, but no longer free
Verified pricing: Fresha ended its famous free-forever model. Its pricing page now lists an Independent plan at $19.95/month for one calendar and a Team plan at $14.95 per bookable team member per month, each with a 7-day trial. On top of the subscription: a one-time 20% commission (minimum $6) on new clients who find you through the Fresha marketplace, in-person processing at 2.29% + $0.20, online at 2.79% + $0.20, and 100 free texts per team member monthly, then $0.02 each.
Strongest use case: young businesses with empty chairs. Fresha’s marketplace claims over 25 million bookable consumers, and returning clients are commission-free, so the 20% new-client fee can be reasonable customer-acquisition cost for a spa still building its book.
Honest limitation: costs scale with headcount and activity — subscription per team member, commissions on marketplace clients, metered texts, and paid add-ons like Insights ($9.95 per team member/mo). If the usage-based model is what’s pushing you away, see our guide to Fresha alternatives.
4. Booksy — marketplace muscle with per-staff pricing
Verified pricing: Booksy’s pricing page lists $29.99/month plus tax, with every feature included, and $20/month for each additional team member. There’s a 14-day trial, 2,000 free SMS marketing messages monthly, and processing from 2.49% + $0.10 on Booksy’s card reader. The optional Boost feature charges a one-time 30% commission on a new marketplace client’s first visit.
Strongest use case: barbershops and salons in cities where the Booksy consumer app is a genuine client-acquisition channel. The all-features-included subscription is refreshingly simple — no feature tiers to decode — and appointment reminders are always free.
Honest limitation: per-staff fees add up fast. A five-person team pays $109.99/month before processing, and Boost’s 30% first-visit commission means a $200 color client costs you $60 to acquire. Booksy also has no free tier, and multi-location management is thinner than what Zenoti or Boulevard offer.
5. GlossGenius — flat tiers and a flat 2.6% processing rate
Verified pricing: GlossGenius publishes three beauty plans: Standard from $24/month billed annually ($28 monthly), Gold from $48 ($56 monthly), and Platinum from $148 ($168 monthly). Every plan includes a flat 2.6% card-processing rate with no card-on-file or manual-entry surcharges, unlimited client notifications, free data transfer, and a 14-day trial. Payroll is a $40/month + $6/seat add-on.
Strongest use case: solo professionals and small teams that want a design-forward booking site, simple checkout, and predictable costs without an operations manager. The flat processing rate is among the easiest to budget in the category.
Honest limitation: the useful mid-tier features — forms and waivers, waitlist, time tracking, Google Reviews — require Gold at double the Standard price, and multi-location businesses pay the full plan price for each location. Larger teams tend to outgrow its reporting and permissions.
6. Square Appointments — the only real free plan
Verified pricing: Square’s pricing page lists a Free plan with unlimited staff calendars, online booking, and automatic reminders — you pay only processing (2.6% + $0.15 in person, 3.3% + $0.30 online). Plus costs $49/month per location and adds no-show fees, waitlists, and multi-staff booking; Premium is $149/month per location with resource management and lower in-person rates (2.4% + $0.15). Paid plans carry a 30-day trial.
Strongest use case: businesses already on Square hardware and POS, or brand-new operators who want zero software cost on day one. The free tier is the cheapest legitimate way to leave Phorest.
Honest limitation: it’s a general-purpose scheduler, not salon software. Cancellation policies and no-show protection start at Plus, room and resource management is Premium-only, and the per-location fee structure means a three-site salon on Plus pays $147/month before add-ons.
7. Mangomint — the premium operator experience
Verified pricing: Mangomint’s pricing page lists Essentials at $165/month (2–10 service providers), Standard at $245 (up to 20), and Unlimited at $375. All plans include unlimited SMS and email appointment notifications, free data import, one-on-one onboarding, and no contracts. Additional locations run $95–$175/month; Forms & Charting ($50/mo), Connect calls and texts ($75/mo), and Payroll ($50/mo + $8 per worker) are add-ons. In-person processing is 2.45% + $0.15.
Strongest use case: established salons and spas replacing Phorest for usability rather than price. Mangomint consistently tops G2 and Capterra ease-of-use rankings, front-desk staff need little training, and the free assisted migration lowers switching risk more than almost any competitor.
Honest limitation: it’s the second-most expensive entry point on this list, solo providers aren’t eligible (plans start at two providers), and Essentials excludes memberships, the virtual waiting room, and Express Booking — features that push you toward $245/month.
8. Boulevard — built for the upscale client experience
Verified pricing: Boulevard’s pricing page lists Essentials at $176/month per location (a $140/month limited-time promotion for new customers was running in July 2026), covering up to five professionals and 100 free texts. Premier is $293/month per location with unlimited professionals; Prestige is $410; annual billing saves 10%. Forms start at $65/month per location, and the Offset program can shift most processing cost to clients (they pay 3% on credit transactions, you pay 1%).
Strongest use case: premium salons, spas, and medspas where precision scheduling, deposits, and a polished booking flow directly protect revenue. Boulevard’s appointment optimization and front-desk controls are genuinely stronger than most rivals’, and it scales cleanly into HIPAA-relevant medspa work.
Honest limitation: per-location pricing plus paid forms and metered texting make it one of the priciest options here for a growing group — five staff at two locations costs $352/month at list price before a single add-on.
9. Zenoti — enterprise control, enterprise procurement
Verified pricing: none published. Like Phorest, Zenoti’s pricing page routes every prospect to a demo and custom quote, and independent pricing guides consistently describe it as an enterprise-level investment with implementation fees and annual contracts on top of the subscription.
Strongest use case: salon and spa groups, franchises, and chains that need standardized pricing, memberships, reporting, and guest data across many sites. Zenoti says its platform draws on benchmarks from more than 30,000 businesses, and its AI-driven front-desk automation is aimed squarely at organizations with real operational complexity.
Honest limitation: if you’re leaving Phorest because sales-led, quote-based pricing makes budgeting hard, Zenoti replicates that exact model with more configuration overhead. Independent single-location salons will almost always be paying for scale machinery they don’t use.
10. Timely — per-staff simplicity for small teams
Verified pricing: Timely prices per bookable staff member across three plans — Build, Elevate, and Innovate — with a 14-day trial and an SMS allowance in each tier. Its site quotes prices dynamically by region rather than on a static US page; third-party listings on Capterra and SchedulingKit report US entry pricing at roughly $26–$29/month for a single staff member. Check Timely’s pricing page for a live quote in your currency.
Strongest use case: independent stylists and small salon teams — particularly in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand, where Timely competes with Phorest most directly — who want tidy scheduling, deposits, and client records without an all-in-one platform’s weight. Timely doesn’t take commissions on bookings.
Honest limitation: per-staff pricing scales linearly with hiring, US-dollar pricing isn’t plainly published, and its ecosystem (marketplace, payroll, multi-location depth) is lighter than the US-centric platforms above.
How to choose
Three questions settle most switches. First, what happens to the bill when you hire? Fresha, Booksy, Timely, and Vagaro all charge per staff member or calendar; Twizzlo, GlossGenius, and Mangomint charge flat rates per tier. Second, what happens when you open a second location? Square, Boulevard, and GlossGenius bill per location, Mangomint charges $95+ per extra site, and Twizzlo includes unlimited locations at $29.99. Third, do you need the software to bring you clients? If yes, the marketplace platforms (Fresha, Booksy, Vagaro) earn their commissions; if your book is already full, you’re paying for distribution you don’t need. For a wider look at the category beyond Phorest refugees specifically, see our roundup of the best salon booking software.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Phorest cost?
Phorest doesn’t publish pricing; all four plans (Starter, Grow, Complete Advantage, Elite) require a custom quote. ITQlick estimates entry pricing around $150/month, and Pabau’s 2026 review reports online booking fees of about $1 per booking in the US and Canada plus one-year contracts for most new customers.
What is the cheapest Phorest alternative?
Square Appointments has the only genuinely free plan — you pay processing fees only. Among paid options, Fresha’s Team plan starts at $14.95 per team member and Twizzlo’s free tier covers up to 150 bookings/month. For teams of three or more, flat-rate pricing usually wins: Twizzlo’s $29.99/month covers unlimited staff, while per-staff platforms pass $100/month by the fifth team member.
Can I migrate my client data from Phorest?
Yes. Export your client list, appointment history, and product data from Phorest, and most platforms will import it — Mangomint and GlossGenius both offer free assisted data transfers, Fresha supports client and inventory imports, and Boulevard’s onboarding team handles migrations. Get your export before canceling, since contract terms can affect data access.
Does Phorest charge for online bookings?
According to Pabau’s 2026 pricing review, Phorest charges roughly $1 per online booking in the US and Canada (about $1.25 in Australia and £0.60–£1.50 in the UK and Ireland), separate from the subscription. Confirm current per-booking fees with Phorest’s sales team, since they vary by region and booking value.
Which Phorest alternative is best for multi-location salons?
It depends on scale. Large chains and franchises should shortlist Zenoti for centralized enterprise control. Groups of two to five sites should compare per-location costs directly: Boulevard adds $176/month list price per site and Mangomint $95–$175/month, while Twizzlo includes unlimited locations in its flat $29.99/month plan.
Is Fresha still free?
No. As of 2026, Fresha’s pricing page lists an Independent plan at $19.95/month and a Team plan at $14.95 per bookable team member per month, plus a 20% one-time commission (minimum $6) on new clients acquired through its marketplace and standard payment processing fees.
Is there a Phorest alternative for medspas and clinics?
Yes — three options on this list fit medspa work. Boulevard scales cleanly into HIPAA-relevant medspa operations with precision scheduling and deposits, Zenoti serves medspa chains and franchises that need enterprise control, and Mangomint offers a Forms & Charting add-on for treatment documentation. Phorest itself targets salons and medspas with three or more staff, so switching is usually about pricing transparency rather than missing clinical features.
What is the best Phorest alternative overall?
It depends on the three questions in the how-to-choose section above. If you want a bill that stays flat as you hire and open locations, Twizzlo’s $29.99/month is the simplest math. If you’re paying for premium daily workflows and low-risk migration, Mangomint leads on usability. If you need the software to bring you clients, Fresha and Booksy earn their marketplace commissions. Model your real staff count against each pricing structure before committing.
Which Phorest alternatives don’t require an annual contract?
Pabau’s review reports that most new Phorest customers commit to one-year contracts. Among the alternatives here, Mangomint advertises no contracts, and Twizzlo bills month to month with a 30-day money-back guarantee. Zenoti, by contrast, is described by independent pricing guides as involving annual contracts on top of its custom quotes. Always confirm current terms during the sales process, since promotions can carry their own conditions.
The bottom line
Every platform above publishes enough information to model your real monthly cost before you commit — something Phorest still doesn’t offer. If your priority is a bill that stays the same as you add stylists, rooms, or locations, Twizzlo is the simplest math on this list: $29.99/month flat, unlimited staff and locations, SMS and email reminders and client CRM included, online payments via Stripe plus a 1.5% platform fee, month-to-month billing with a 30-day money-back guarantee, and a free plan (up to 150 bookings/month) to test it with your actual schedule before spending anything.
