Timely Alternatives: 7 Salon Booking Options for 2026

Timely pricing in 2026: what the salon software costs per staff member

On September 25, 2026, with the USA region selected, Timely’s pricing page listed Build at $26, Elevate at $39 and Innovate at $47 a month for one staff member, billed monthly with no contract. Each plan includes a monthly SMS allowance for every staff member, 100 on Build, 200 on Elevate and 350 on Innovate, not counting targeted SMS, and charges 12 cents for each extra SMS. The page says part-time staff are charged at the same rate as full-time staff and lists “No new client fees.” Payments are included in each plan apart from processing fees, and Timely does not print its processing rate.

On September 27, 2026, the same US selector showed totals of $122, $155 and $191 a month for five staff and $146, $184 and $227 for six, so each staff member after the first adds $24, $29 or $36 on Build, Elevate or Innovate. Build is offered only to salons with one to seven staff; from eight to 19 staff, Elevate and Innovate show a flat total of $241 and $300 a month, and teams of 20 or more are asked to book a call for a custom quote.

Timely’s salon pricing depends on region, plan and selected bookable staff count. Use the US pricing selector for each plan and record the displayed total for your team. Do not infer a five-person price from the one-person card. Keep the selected SMS allowance, overage and payment conditions beside that quote.

Take those figures from Timely’s own pricing page (read September 25 and 27, 2026) with the US region selected. Record the plan, bookable staff count, billing term and date from the current US selector before comparing a team price.

Compare like-for-like team quotes

If the table is wider than your screen, scroll sideways to see every column.

The 7 best Timely alternatives for 2026

Timely and its alternatives bill a growing salon team in four ways: per staff member; per added member, calendar or user; per location; or per business. On each vendor’s pricing page, read September 25, 2026, Timely charges $26 to $47 a month for one staff member; Booksy adds $20 per member, Vagaro $10 per calendar up to seven licenses and Setmore Pro $12 per user billed monthly; Square Appointments charges $0 to $149 per location; and Twizzlo Business Pro ($29.99) and GlossGenius Gold ($56, up to nine staff) charge per business.

Timely alternatives at a glance: how each one bills a five-person salon

Prices as printed on each vendor’s own pricing page, read September 25, 2026, on monthly billing unless marked (Vagaro from its US help center; Booksy prints no currency; Fresha’s US prices were not readable from our location); Twizzlo from its own pricing page. Timely’s team figures are the totals its US selector showed on September 27, 2026; the cost of one more staff member is our arithmetic from those totals. Five-staff figures for Booksy, Vagaro and Setmore are our arithmetic from the printed per-member prices. Subscriptions only: tax, extra texts and card processing are left out.

Example, on pricing pages read September 25 and 27, 2026: hiring a sixth stylist adds $24, $29 or $36 a month on Timely (its selector totals at five and six staff), $20 on Booksy, $10 on Vagaro, $12 on Setmore Pro billed monthly, and nothing on Twizzlo, Square Appointments Free or GlossGenius Gold, which covers up to nine staff.

1. Twizzlo, the flat-rate pick

Twizzlo is web-based online booking and appointment scheduling software for appointment-based service businesses. Twizzlo Free is $0 a month for up to 150 bookings, with no SMS; it is free forever, not a trial. Business Pro is $29.99 a month per business, with unlimited bookings, 50 SMS a month and additional messages at $0.03 each, and a 30-day money-back guarantee. Online payments carry your Stripe processing rate plus a 1.5% Twizzlo platform fee. The subscription is one part of the bill; payment volume and messaging can change the total.

Twizzlo supports a no-show fee setting the salon controls, and prepaid bookings that charge the full service price at booking; if a client skips a prepaid appointment, the salon decides whether to keep or refund the payment. Twizzlo covers the booking side of a salon: an online booking page, email reminders (SMS on Business Pro), client records, staff schedules and shifts, and online payments with tips. Use a trial appointment to decide whether the booking layer covers your salon’s required work.

Unlimited staff, locations and client records apply on both plans; the 150 limit counts bookings, not seats. To see the setup in context, visit Twizzlo’s salon appointment software page or read the Business Pro and Free plan details.

2. Fresha, the marketplace option

Fresha: Confirm the current US Independent/Team price and acquisition terms. Fresha is a candidate when marketplace discovery matters. Confirm the qualifying marketplace-client rules, then separate acquisition from payment and messaging charges. Check the current figures on Fresha’s own pricing page.

A wider list of options sits at Fresha alternatives.

3. Booksy, the marketplace engine

Booksy: $29.99 a month plus $20 for each additional team member, plus tax. Against Timely’s per-staff plans, that puts a five-person team at $109.99 plus tax, with the first member included in the base price. Booksy combines its subscription with a consumer booking marketplace. Its optional Boost service charges 30% of a qualifying new client’s first visit; later visits have no Boost commission under the reviewed terms. Confirm attribution for clients acquired through your own links.

The terms are on Booksy’s pricing page, read September 25, 2026, and its Boost page, read September 27, 2026; check Booksy pricing for its plans and fees.

4. Vagaro, the all-in-one

Vagaro: $23.99 a month, a limited-time rate, per location with one bookable calendar (Vagaro’s US help center, read September 25, 2026; the regular price is not printed there). Each additional bookable calendar through six additional calendars adds $10; this is a charge cap, not a seven-person capacity limit. Vagaro stops charging for extra calendars after seven licenses; Timely’s Elevate and Innovate plans switch to a flat total at eight staff (selector read September 27, 2026).

Separate the core subscription from any optional tools you require. The same help-center page lists add-ons such as Forms at $10 a month, Online Shopping Cart at $10 and Payroll at $34 plus $5 per employee; it prints no subscription price for an added location and does not say how calendar licenses count across locations. Use Vagaro’s current plan table to confirm retail, forms, payroll and website requirements and their billing conditions.

Sources: Vagaro’s pricing page and its plans and premium features article, read September 25, 2026; the US figures come from that help-center article, because the pricing page showed Canadian prices from our location. For a side-by-side view, see Vagaro pricing.

5. Square Appointments, the free start

Square Appointments: Free, $49 Plus and $149 Premium a month per location, with unlimited staff calendars and plan-specific booking features. Square Free is an ongoing free tier; unlimited calendars do not establish that every feature is included on Free. Where Timely bills per staff member, Square Appointments bills per location, so a five-person salon on Free pays no subscription fee. Check the selected tier against your required booking and payment workflow.

Source: Square’s pricing page, read September 25, 2026. Our Square Appointments pricing page breaks down each plan.

6. GlossGenius, flat plans for solos and small teams

GlossGenius: Standard $28, Gold $56 and Platinum $168 a month on monthly billing ($24, $48 and $148 billed annually). Match the selected tier to your team: the reviewed Gold plan supports up to nine staff and Platinum is for teams of 10 or more. Standard does not include staff management, and Gold includes 500 text credits (Platinum 2,500). Confirm any messaging and payment conditions for the chosen offer.

Source: GlossGenius’ pricing page, read September 25, 2026, which also says each additional location is charged the plan price at a 15% discount. See GlossGenius pricing for the plan-by-plan view.

7. Setmore, the budget generalist

Setmore: Free for up to four users, or Pro at $12 per user a month on monthly billing ($5 per user a month billed annually). Pro adds the features listed in its current web pricing, including SMS reminders with 500 SMS credits a month (availability varies by country). Test specialist salon requirements separately.

Source: Setmore’s pricing page, read September 25, 2026. Our Setmore pricing page compares the plans. For more tools in this price range, see our guide to Setmore alternatives.

Fresha vs Timely: which one fits your salon?

Fresha vs Timely comes down to where your new clients come from and how each one prices your team. Fresha pairs booking with a consumer marketplace and charges for qualifying marketplace acquisition; Timely prices by region, plan and the number of bookable staff you select in its US pricing selector.

• Pick Fresha if marketplace discovery fills your book and you can track which bookings come from it, because acquisition charges apply to qualifying marketplace clients.
• Pick Timely if its workflow fits your salon and its US quote for your actual staff count, SMS allowance and billing term comes in lower.
• Price both the same way: same country and currency, same number of bookable staff and the same billing interval. This guide prints no current US price for Fresha, and Timely’s total changes with your staff count, so request both quotes before comparing.

If neither fits, a flat subscription changes the comparison. The per-business and per-location plans in the at-a-glance table show how. Use the quote worksheet in our full Fresha vs Timely comparison.

How do you switch from Timely without losing bookings?

Switch in five steps: export your records, test a small sample, choose one source of truth, move booking links after staff rehearse, then check marketplace rules.

1. Export and securely retain the client and appointment data your current account permits. Inventory notes, forms, balances and attachments separately; do not assume they transfer.
2. Test a small sample in the replacement: one future appointment, one cancellation, one deposit and one existing client. Reconcile dates, time zones and balances manually.
3. Choose one source of truth for each future appointment and one reminder sender. Disable duplicate reminders before a controlled cutover.
4. Replace public booking links only after staff rehearse the new flow. Keep the old account readable until outstanding appointments, refunds and records are reconciled.
5. Check marketplace attribution rules before importing clients or enabling paid acquisition; an import is not a guarantee of commission exemption.

This is a migration protocol to follow, not a tested import: no automatic transfer is asserted here.

Which Timely alternative fits your salon?

The right Timely alternative is the one whose billing unit matches how your team will grow and whose workflow passes a test booking. If staff count is changing, compare the selected subscription at today’s team size and the next expected headcount. If acquisition matters, compare the source of new clients and the qualifying fee rules. If you need retail, forms or payroll, request a demonstration on the quoted plan before comparing cost. For a free starting tier, check Square, Setmore and Twizzlo against their own limits. A smaller subscription does not by itself establish the lowest bill or a complete replacement.

On pricing pages read September 25, 2026, each alternative fits a different case:

• Choose Square Appointments if a $0 plan per location covers your booking needs.
• Choose GlossGenius if its Gold plan, $56 a month for up to nine staff with 500 text credits, suits your team.
• Choose Booksy or Fresha if marketplace discovery brings you new clients.
• Choose Setmore if up to four users can run on its free plan.
• Choose Vagaro if you want listed add-ons such as forms or payroll.

Staying with Timely can be the right call for a team that uses its included texts, values the “No new client fees” line on its pricing page, or has eight to 19 staff on Elevate or Innovate, which carry a flat total.

If Phorest or Boulevard is also on your list, our guides to Phorest alternatives and to choosing a Boulevard alternative compare each with other salon tools.

Related reading: appointment software with no seat fees and, for spa teams, spa booking software.

The bottom line on leaving Timely

Change systems when the new workflow is a better fit and a complete quote supports the decision. A flat subscription may simplify budgeting, but messaging, payments and any replacement tools still belong in the comparison.