Spa POS System Costs in 2026: What Each One Really Charges
In short
A spa POS system costs $0 to $325 a month in software for six staff at one location, from Square Free to Boulevard Premier at its normal price. Card processing usually costs more: on $18,000 of monthly card sales across 200 sales, published in-person rates come to $434 to $498 (read September 25 and 27, 2026).
- Subscriptions meter differently: per location, per calendar, per user or per plan tier, so price the plan at your real headcount.
- At six staff, Vagaro, GlossGenius and Square Plus totals sit within $10.19 of each other once processing is added (read September 25 and 27, 2026).
- At Mangomint, six providers and two front desk staff cost $200 a month: $120 per location plus $10 per user (read September 25, 2026).
Source: Square Appointments pricing page (US) (opens in a new tab), read
In this article10 sections
A spa POS system has two prices and most comparisons only show you one. There is the subscription, which every vendor advertises, and there is the card processing rate, which sits underneath every sale you ring up. For a six-staff spa taking $18,000 a month in card sales, processing costs more than any six-staff subscription below.
Every vendor figure below was read from the vendor's own pricing page or its own support documentation on September 25 to 28, 2026, and each source is linked. Where a vendor does not publish a number, this guide says so rather than borrowing one from a comparison site. If your spa sells services rather than retail, compare spa booking software that takes payments online before you price a point of sale.
What does a spa POS system actually have to do?
A spa POS system has to take a card in person, sell and count retail, redeem packages and gift cards, handle tips and close out the drawer. Those are the core spa POS features; booking software that takes payments covers the appointment and the online payment, not the retail floor.
The phrase covers two different products and picking the wrong category wastes more money than picking the wrong vendor. A full spa point of sale system rings up a sale at a physical counter: it takes a card in person through a reader or terminal, sells retail product from tracked inventory, redeems packages and gift cards, splits tips between the therapist and the assistant, and closes out a drawer at closing.
The lighter category is booking software that also takes payment. It handles the appointment, takes a deposit or full prepayment online, and records what was paid. It does not run a retail floor.
Most spas need less of the first category than they assume, and some need all of it. The test is retail. If product sales are a real line of revenue and you count stock, you need a spa POS system with inventory. If your revenue is almost entirely services and retail is a shelf of six products you reorder by eye, you are buying a payments-capable booking tool, and paying spa POS prices for shelf management you will never open.
How much does a spa POS system cost per month?
At six staff and one location, spa POS software runs from $0 a month on Square Free to $325 on Boulevard Premier at its normal price, billed monthly (read September 25 and 27, 2026). What moves the bill is the billing unit: per location, per calendar, per user or per plan tier.
Subscription pricing splits into three meters, and the meter matters more than the sticker. Some vendors charge one price for the business. Some charge per location. Some charge for every person who touches the software, which means the price you agree to in month one is not the price you pay after two hires.
Figure 1. Spa POS software subscription at six staff and one location, billed monthly, from each vendor's page read September 25 and 27, 2026. Vagaro is its $23.99 limited-time rate plus five added calendars at $10; Mangomint is $120 plus six users at $10; Boulevard Essentials stops at five providers, so six staff need Premier, hatched at its limited-time offer for new customers. Clover (device bundles) and Zenoti (quote only) are not plotted.
Table 1. Spa POS software subscription at six staff and one location, billed monthly, before tax and card processing, from each vendor's page on the date shown.
| Platform | Entry prices | Six staff, one location | What the price meters on | Source, read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square Appointments | Free $0; Plus $49; Premium $149 | $0 on Free, $49 on Plus | Each location; unlimited staff calendars | Square's pricing page, September 25, 2026 |
| GlossGenius | Standard $28; Gold $56; Platinum $168 | $56 on Gold | Plan tier, Gold up to 9 staff; each added location at the plan price less 15% | GlossGenius's pricing page, September 27, 2026 |
| Vagaro | $23.99 (a limited-time rate) with one bookable calendar, plus $10 a month per added calendar up to seven licenses | $73.99 | Bookable calendars, no charge after seven licenses; no subscription price printed for an added location | US help center, September 25, 2026 |
| Mangomint | $120 per location plus $10 per user | $180 with six users | Anyone with a profile counts, front desk included | Mangomint's pricing page, September 25, 2026; user rule September 28 |
| Boulevard | Essentials $159 (up to 5 providers); Premier $325 normally or $260 on a limited-time offer for new customers; Prestige $455 normally or $364 on the offer | Premier $325 normally, $260 on the offer | Essentials capped at 5 providers; Premier and Prestige per location | Boulevard's pricing page, September 25, 2026 |
| Clover | Device bundle per system: Basic $16, Standard $130, Advanced $180 a month for 36 months (or $349; $849 plus $84.95 a month; $1,899 plus $84.95 a month to buy) | Not comparable (priced per device system) | Per system; appointment management not on Basic | Clover's personal services pricing page, September 25, 2026 |
| Zenoti | Quote only | Quote only | Quote | Zenoti's pricing page, September 25, 2026 |
Zenoti quotes every plan; our Zenoti cost guide sets out what is known about its pricing.
Two rows carry offer labels. Boulevard's $260 Premier price is a limited-time fall offer for new customers against $325 normally, and Vagaro calls its $23.99 a limited-time rate without printing a regular price (read September 25, 2026). Either can change before you sign.
The per-user meter is where budgets break. Mangomint counts anyone with a profile, and its pricing page says that includes service providers and front desk employees (read September 28, 2026). A spa with six providers, two front desk staff and a manager is paying for nine users, not six: $210 a month rather than $180. Vagaro takes the opposite approach past seven licenses, where additional employees stop adding cost.
What will card processing cost on top?
Card processing usually costs more than the software. On $18,000 a month across 200 in-person sales, published rates come to $434 on Clover Standard up to $498 on Square Free, more than any six-staff subscription in Table 1 (read September 25 and 27, 2026).
Table 2. Published US card rates by payment type, read September 25 and 27, 2026. "Not printed" means the vendor's page shows no rate for that payment type.
| Platform | In person (tap, dip, swipe) | Keyed or card on file | Online | Source, read |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square Appointments | 2.6% + 15 cents (Free), 2.5% + 15 cents (Plus), 2.4% + 15 cents (Premium) | 3.5% + 15 cents | 3.3% + 30 cents (Free), 2.9% + 30 cents (Plus, Premium) | Square's pricing page, September 25, 2026; manual entry September 27 |
| GlossGenius | Flat 2.6% | Flat 2.6% | Flat 2.6% | GlossGenius's pricing page, September 27, 2026 |
| Vagaro | 2.6% + $0.10 under $4,000 a month in card sales; 2.29% + $0.19 above it, with a $10 monthly Large Merchant fee; FANF and Mastercard location fees apply, amounts not printed | Keyed-in 3.5% + $0.19 | No rate listed for online booking payments | US help center, September 27, 2026 |
| Mangomint | 2.45% + 15 cents | Virtual 2.90% + 30 cents | Virtual 2.90% + 30 cents | Mangomint's pricing page, September 25, 2026 |
| Boulevard | Starting at 2.65%, or as low as 1% with Offset, which passes a 3% charge to the client | Not printed | Not printed | Boulevard's pricing page, September 25, 2026; Offset terms September 27 |
| Clover | 2.6% + 10 cents (Basic); 2.3% + 10 cents (Standard, Advanced) | Card typed in 3.5% + 10 cents | Not on the page | Clover's personal services pricing page, September 25, 2026 |
| Zenoti | Quote only | Quote only | Quote only | Zenoti's pricing page, September 25, 2026 |
GlossGenius is the only platform here that prints one rate for every transaction type: its pricing page lists no Tap to Pay, card-on-file or manual entry fee (read September 27, 2026). That is worth real money to a spa that keeps cards on file for memberships or takes deposits over the phone, because Square charges 3.5% plus 15 cents for card-on-file and manually entered sales, and Vagaro and Clover charge 3.5% plus a per-sale fee on keyed-in or typed-in cards. On a $200 package deposit the difference between 2.6% and 3.5% is $1.80, which sounds trivial until it is forty deposits a month ($72 a month).
Vagaro's two-tier structure is the trap in that table. Cross $4,000 of monthly card sales and the percentage drops, which is good, but a $10 monthly fee appears and the per-sale fee nearly doubles from 10 to 19 cents. On the same sale, 2.29% plus 19 cents costs more than 2.6% plus 10 cents whenever the ticket is under about $29, or about $45 once the $10 fee is spread over 200 sales. Vagaro's help center adds that monthly FANF (Fixed Acquirer Network Fee) and Mastercard location fees apply on both tiers, with no amounts printed (read September 27, 2026). Our Vagaro pricing and GlossGenius pricing pages go further into how those meters behave as a team grows.
What does a spa POS system cost in total?
In total, a six-staff spa taking $18,000 a month across 200 card sales pays from $498 to $802 a month for software plus processing, before hardware, add-ons and network fees (read September 25 and 27, 2026). Square Free lands lowest and Boulevard Premier at its normal price highest.
Put the two halves together for a defined spa and the ranking changes. The profile below is six staff at one location, $18,000 of monthly card-present volume across 200 sales, which is an average ticket of $90.
Processing flattens the subscription gap at a mid-size spa
Figure 2. Subscription plus card processing at six staff and $18,000 of monthly card sales across 200 in-person sales, at each platform's published rate, read September 25 and 27, 2026. Boulevard prints a starting rate, so its bar is a floor. Excludes tax, hardware, add-ons and network fees; Table 3 has the figures.
Table 3. Total monthly cost at six staff with $18,000 of card sales across 200 in-person sales, an average ticket of $90, read September 25 and 27, 2026. Excludes tax, hardware, add-ons and FANF or other network fees. Clover is left out (device bundles) and Zenoti quotes every plan.
| Platform and plan | Subscription | Processing | Total a month | In-person rate used |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Square Free | $0 | $498.00 | $498.00 | 2.6% + 15 cents |
| GlossGenius Gold | $56 | $468.00 | $524.00 | Flat 2.6% |
| Square Plus | $49 | $480.00 | $529.00 | 2.5% + 15 cents |
| Vagaro, six calendars | $73.99 | $460.20 | $534.19 | 2.29% + $0.19, plus the $10 Large Merchant fee |
| Mangomint, six users | $180 | $471.00 | $651.00 | 2.45% + 15 cents |
| Boulevard Premier, normal price | $325 | From $477.00 | From $802.00 ($737.00 on the offer) | Starting at 2.65% |
Vagaro, GlossGenius and Square Appointments have subscriptions of $73.99, $56 and $49, a spread of about $25. Their totals are $534.19, $524 and $529, a spread of $10.19. The cheaper subscriptions carry the higher processing rates and the two effects almost cancel. Anyone choosing between those three on the monthly fee is optimizing the smaller number. Square Free, with no subscription and its highest in-person rate, still totals least at this volume: $498.
Mangomint lands about $117 above Vagaro, and almost all of that is the per-user meter rather than its processing rate, which is the third lowest in the group. Boulevard's total starts at $802 a month at its normal Premier price, or $737 on the offer, because its printed card rate is a starting rate.
The comparison also flips with volume. At $4,000 of monthly card sales and the same $90 average ticket, published in-person rates come to about $96 to $111, and the subscription becomes the deciding number again, which is why a solo therapist and a six-room spa should not use the same shortlist. The same arithmetic for adjacent verticals is in our salon POS software guide, our nail salon POS guide and our esthetician software guide.
What does the hardware cost?
Spa POS hardware runs from nothing to a counter system on a 36-month plan. Square says you do not need to buy hardware to take payments and lists hardware from $59; Clover's Basic system is $16 a month for 36 months or $349 to buy (read September 25 and 27, 2026).
Table 4. Spa POS hardware as each vendor prints it, read September 25 to 28, 2026.
| Platform | Device or option | Price as printed | Source, read |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square Appointments | Hardware, which is not required to take payments | From $59 | Square's pricing page, September 25, 2026; no-hardware line September 27 |
| Clover Basic | Compact countertop terminal | $16 a month for 36 months, or $349 | Clover's personal services pricing page, September 25, 2026 |
| Clover Standard | Mini POS with an 8-inch screen | $130 a month for 36 months, or $849 plus $84.95 a month | Same page, September 25, 2026 |
| Clover Advanced | Station Duo with a customer-facing display | $180 a month for 36 months, or $1,899 plus $84.95 a month | Same page, September 25, 2026 |
| Boulevard | Duo point-of-sale, which must be bought to process payments | Not on the pricing page | Boulevard's pricing page, September 27, 2026 |
| Vagaro | Vagaro hardware, including an EMV card reader, on its included-features list | Not on that list | Vagaro's features help article, September 28, 2026 |
| GlossGenius | Tap to Pay | No added Tap to Pay fee | GlossGenius's pricing page, September 27, 2026 |
Two readings worth taking from that. First, a phone can now stand in for a reader at a small spa: beyond Square's no-hardware line, GlossGenius charges no extra Tap to Pay fee, and Vagaro prints a tap-to-phone rate of 2.6% plus 16 cents per tap under $4,000 a month (both read September 27, 2026). Second, Boulevard requires its Duo point-of-sale to process payments but does not print the device price on its pricing page, so a Boulevard quote is not comparable with Square's published hardware (see our Square Appointments pricing page) until you have asked for the device cost.
Why do published spa POS prices disagree?
Published spa POS prices disagree mostly because of billing terms, not errors: monthly or annual billing, limited-time offers and roundups that lag the vendor. Boulevard's Premier plan shows four prices on one page read September 25, 2026: $325 or $260 billed monthly, and $293 or $234 billed annually.
Billing terms come first. GlossGenius's own pricing page shows Standard at $28 a month on monthly billing and $24 a month billed annually (read September 27, 2026). Set one vendor's annual price beside another's monthly price and the cheaper-looking row may simply be the one paid a year up front, so match the billing term before you compare.
Offers come second. Boulevard's lower Premier and Prestige prices are a fall offer for new customers, and Vagaro labels its $23.99 a limited-time rate (both read September 25, 2026). A price quoted from either page in a few months may not be the price on offer.
Roundups lag the vendor. On September 27, 2026, PortraitCare's Boulevard alternatives page still listed Mangomint Essentials at $165 a month, while Mangomint's own pricing page shows $120 per location plus $10 per user (read September 25, 2026). It also matters who publishes a comparison: TheSalonBusiness, a salon software review site, states on its Boulevard alternatives page that it is a subsidiary of Mangomint (read September 27, 2026).
Card rates are the last trap. Boulevard's pricing page says "Starting at 2.65% or as low as 1% with Boulevard Offset" (read September 25, 2026), and Offset passes a 3% charge to the client (read September 27, 2026), so any single Boulevard rate is the start of a range, not a quote. That is the argument for checking the date on any pricing comparison, including this one. We ran the same exercise on the wider category in our spa management software comparison.
Where does Twizzlo fit for a spa?
Twizzlo fits a spa that sells services rather than retail. It is web-based online booking and appointment scheduling software for appointment-based service businesses: it books appointments, takes payments and tips online through Stripe, charges the full service price for a prepaid booking, and lets staff record payments taken at the desk, such as cash, as manual payments.
Online payments carry your Stripe processing rate plus a 1.5% Twizzlo platform fee. On twenty $90 services prepaid online, $1,800 in all, the platform fee is $27, before your Stripe processing rate.
Staff and location counts never change the price. Business Pro is $29.99 a month per business with unlimited bookings, staff and locations, 50 SMS a month and then $0.03 each, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. The Free plan is $0 a month for up to 150 bookings, with no SMS. The full detail is on our pricing page.
Twizzlo does not run payroll, commission tracking or memberships. For a spa with a retail counter, Twizzlo covers the appointment side: online booking, payments and tips at booking, and client records; a spa that sells services only can take payment when clients book, charge no-show fees at its own discretion and log the rest as manual payments.
Which spa POS system fits which kind of spa?
The right spa POS system depends on how much of your revenue is retail, how clients pay and how big your team is. Match your spa to one of the six profiles below, then price the shortlist on your own card volume.
- Retail is a real revenue line. You need inventory. Vagaro lists inventory and retail, memberships, packages and gift cards among its included features, Mangomint's pricing page lists retail and inventory, gift cards, and memberships and packages (both read September 28, 2026), and Boulevard lists gift cards and inventory on every plan (read September 27, 2026). Zenoti quotes every plan.
- Mostly services, some retail, a growing team. Square Appointments charges per location with unlimited staff calendars, and GlossGenius holds one price up to nine staff on Gold; GlossGenius is also the only platform here that prints the same rate for in-person, card-on-file and keyed sales.
- High volume, low average ticket. Look at the per-sale cents, not the percentage. Above $4,000 a month in card sales, Vagaro's 19-cent fee costs more than its lower percentage saves on tickets under about $29.
- Memberships and packages are central. Rule out anything without stored balances, and check how failed recurring payments are handled before you sign.
- Services only, no retail floor, and the per-seat bill is the pain. A booking tool with no per-seat fees, such as Twizzlo, covers it, provided clients pay online at booking or you record desk payments as manual payments.
- Multi-location. Square charges per location, Boulevard's Premier and Prestige plans per location, Mangomint $120 per added location plus its users, and GlossGenius each added location at its plan price less 15%. Vagaro's help center prints no subscription price for an added location, so ask (read September 25 and 27, 2026).
Whichever way that lands, price it the way Table 3 does rather than the way the vendor's homepage does. Take your actual monthly card volume and your actual sale count, apply the published rate, and add the subscription at your real headcount. It is ten minutes of arithmetic and it can reorder the shortlist. More guides like this one are in the Learn Center.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a spa POS system cost?
For six staff at one location, software runs from $0 on Square Free to $325 a month on Boulevard Premier at its normal price, billed monthly (read September 25 and 27, 2026). Card processing adds more: on $18,000 a month across 200 sales, published in-person rates cost $434 to $498. Zenoti quotes every plan.
What payment processing rate should a spa expect?
In person, published rates run from 2.29% plus 19 cents (Vagaro, above $4,000 a month in card sales, with a $10 monthly fee) and 2.3% plus 10 cents (Clover Standard and Advanced) up to Boulevard's starting 2.65%. Keyed and card-on-file sales cost more almost everywhere, typically 3.5%, except GlossGenius's flat 2.6%. Online rates sit near 2.9% plus 30 cents (read September 25 and 27, 2026).
Is there a free spa POS system?
Square Appointments has a $0 plan. For a spa that sells services and takes payment when clients book online, Twizzlo's Free plan is $0 a month for up to 150 bookings, with no SMS, according to Twizzlo's pricing page, read September 28, 2026. Neither makes taking money free: card processing applies to every card payment, and Square Free carries Square's highest in-person rate, 2.6% plus 15 cents (read September 25, 2026). Online payments carry your Stripe processing rate plus a 1.5% Twizzlo platform fee.
Does spa POS software come with hardware?
Sometimes. Square says you do not need to buy hardware to take payments and sells hardware from $59; Clover bundles a device from $16 a month over 36 months, or $349 to buy; Boulevard requires its Duo point-of-sale to process payments; Vagaro's feature list includes an EMV reader (read September 25 to 28, 2026). Ask each vendor for its current device price.
What is the difference between a spa POS system and spa booking software?
A spa POS system rings up sales at a counter, which means in-person card acceptance, retail inventory, gift cards and package redemption. Spa booking software manages the appointment and can take payment online or as a deposit. A spa whose retail is a shelf rather than a revenue line may need only the second one.
Do spa POS systems charge per staff member?
Some do, and it is the biggest single driver of subscription cost. Mangomint charges $10 a month for every user, front desk included, on top of $120 per location. Vagaro charges $10 per added bookable calendar and stops after the seventh license. GlossGenius and Boulevard price by plan with staff limits (Gold up to 9 staff; Essentials up to 5 providers), and Square charges per location (read September 25 and 27, 2026). Twizzlo's plans include unlimited staff.
Which spa POS system has the lowest processing rate?
On in-person sales, Clover's 2.3% plus 10 cents on its Standard and Advanced systems and Vagaro's 2.29% plus 19 cents above $4,000 a month (with a $10 monthly fee) are the lowest published rates we read on September 25 and 27, 2026: $434 and $460.20 on a six-staff spa's $18,000 a month. On keyed sales, GlossGenius's flat 2.6% is the lowest printed rate, and it also covers card-on-file sales.
What features should a spa POS system have?
In-person card acceptance by reader or phone, keyed and card-on-file payments, retail inventory, gift cards, memberships and packages with stored balances, tips per provider and an end-of-day close-out. Vagaro's included features list inventory and retail, memberships, packages and gift cards, and Mangomint's pricing page lists the same areas (both read September 28, 2026).
What is the best POS system for a spa?
It depends on the spa. For a retail-heavy spa, Vagaro, Mangomint and Boulevard list inventory and gift cards; for a service-led team, Square Appointments and GlossGenius keep one price as you hire, within their plan limits; for many card-on-file sales, GlossGenius's flat 2.6% is simplest (read September 25 to 28, 2026). Price the shortlist on your own card volume.
Sources and methodology
Prices read
- Square Appointments pricing page (US) (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: plans per location, in-person and online card rates and hardware from $59; the manual entry and card-on-file rate and the no-hardware line re-read September 27, 2026
- GlossGenius pricing page (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: plans billed monthly and annually, staff limits, the flat 2.6% rate with no Tap to Pay, card-on-file or manual entry fee, and the added-location price
- Vagaro plans and pricing help article (US) (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: the limited-time $23.99 rate and $10 per added calendar up to seven licenses; no subscription price for an added location
- Vagaro plans and pricing help article (US), card rates (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: US card rates by monthly card volume, the keyed-in and tap-to-phone rates, no rate for online booking payments, FANF and Mastercard location fees with amounts not printed
- Vagaro help article: Features Included in Your Base Subscription (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: Vagaro hardware including an EMV card reader; inventory and retail, gift cards, memberships and packages
- Mangomint pricing page (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: $120 per location plus $10 per user and in-person and virtual card rates; who counts as a user and the retail, gift card, membership and package feature areas re-read September 28, 2026
- Boulevard pricing page (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: plan prices billed monthly and annually, normal prices and the limited-time offer, and the starting card rate; the Offset terms, the Duo point-of-sale requirement, gift cards and inventory re-read September 27, 2026
- Clover personal services pricing page (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: device bundles and prices, card-present and typed-in rates, appointment management not included on Basic
- Zenoti pricing page (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: every plan quoted, no published price
- PortraitCare, Top 13 Boulevard Alternatives (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: the $165 Mangomint Essentials figure the page printed
- TheSalonBusiness, Best Boulevard Alternatives (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: the editorial note that The Salon Business is a subsidiary of Mangomint
- Twizzlo pricing page (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: Twizzlo plans, booking cap, SMS allowance, money-back guarantee and online payment fee
- Twizzlo features page (opens in a new tab)Read . Supports: online payments and tips through Stripe, prepaid bookings, manual payments and no-show fees; the payment confirmation screenshot (same image)
From our editorial policy
- Twizzlo sells online booking and appointment scheduling software, the same category we write about. Twizzlo appears in our comparisons and roundups, and we have a commercial interest in you choosing it.
- We do not publish invented quotes, studies, statistics, customer stories or product tests, and we do not imply hands-on use of a product when the research came from the vendor's public documentation.
- To report an error, email support@twizzlo.com with the subject line "Correction: [page URL]". Tell us what is wrong and, if you can, link a source.
Update history
- : Re-read every vendor price, card rate and hardware line on September 25 to 28, 2026, removed figures no first-party page supports, added rate, total-cost and hardware tables, redrew both charts and added two FAQs.
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