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AlternativesUpdated

Best Vagaro Alternatives in 2026

Vagaro is booking and business software for salons, spas and fitness. For one person at one location it is $30 a month, or $23.99 a month for the first 6 months, and each extra bookable calendar adds $10. If you want a different price or a booking site of your own, here are five alternatives.

By the Fabricate teamWe make Fabricate6 min readPrices checked
Build this app freePublish on Pro
Salon booking
A salon booking site made with Fabricate: services to choose from before a stylist, a date and a time
A booking app made with Fabricate, shown with sample data.

Key takeaways

  • Vagaro is $30 a month for one person at one location, $23.99 for the first 6 months, and $10 for each extra bookable calendar.
  • Fresha starts at $19.95 a month with a marketplace that sends new clients; Mindbody Starter is from $79 a month per location; Acuity starts at $20 a month for 1 calendar.
  • Fabricate builds a booking site around your own services and staff; reminder texts, calendar sync and a point of sale are not built in. Building and previewing are free; publishing is on Pro and Max.

Why Are Salons Looking for Vagaro Alternatives?

  • A Price per Calendar

    One person is $30 a month, and each extra bookable calendar adds $10, up to seven.

  • The Regular Price After 6 Months

    The $23.99 rate lasts for the first 6 months; after that one person is $30 a month.

  • New Clients From a Marketplace

    Fresha lists you on its own marketplace, with a one-time commission on each new client it sends.

    Fits: Fresha

  • A Site Shaped Around Your Salon

    Your own services, staff and hours, in a booking site you describe, with no price for each person on your team who signs in.

    Fits: Fabricate

Compare at a glance

Fabricate beside Vagaro, feature by feature.

  • Builds From a Description
    Fabricate
    Yes
    Vagaro
    No, ready-made software
  • Free Plan
    Fabricate
    Build and preview
    Vagaro
    None; a 30-day free trial
  • Appointment Booking
    Fabricate
    Whatever you describe
    Vagaro
    Yes
  • Point of Sale and Card Reader
    Fabricate
    Not built in
    Vagaro
    Yes
  • Reminder Texts
    Fabricate
    Not built in; reminder emails on Pro and Max
    Vagaro
    Part of what Vagaro sells
  • Paid Plans From
    Fabricate
    $25 a month
    Vagaro
    $30 a month for one person
Number 1

Fabricate

We make this

Best for: A booking site shaped around your studio

Builds a booking website for your studio or salon from your description: classes with a limit on places, or services with a length and a price, booked without an account, and staff who join with an invite code you give them. On Pro and Max, it can email the client a confirmation and a reminder 24 hours before. On Pro and Max, the app can take card payments through Stripe Checkout, paid into your own Stripe account, which you connect under More > Payments. Reminder texts, calendar sync and a point of sale are not built in. Building and previewing are free; publishing is on Pro and Max.

Checks before you publish

Fabricate's security check on an app: one problem to fix and two quality warnings, each with a Fix in chat button
Each finding comes with a Fix in chat button. A real Fabricate screen, shown with sample data.

What it does well

  • Your own classes, services and hours
  • Clients book without an account
  • No price per staff member who signs in
Paid plans from
$25 a month
350 credits a month on Pro
Free plan
60 credits
A month, to build and preview
A live app
Pro and Max
Publishing is on paid plans

See the plans

How to Move from Vagaro to Fabricate

  1. 1

    List your services and staff

    Write down each service, how long it takes, its price and who does it, and each person's working hours.

  2. 2

    Describe the booking site

    Tell Fabricate what clients choose, what they leave, whether they pay a deposit and who signs in to see the bookings.

  3. 3

    Bring your clients over

    Save your client list as a CSV file and ask for an import page that adds it to the app's own database.

  4. 4

    Make test bookings

    Book two clients with the same person at the same time in the preview to check that the second is stopped.

  5. 5

    Put it online

    On Pro, one press of Publish gives it its own address to share, after the same browser check.

Chat

Fabricate's chat on a phone: the owner asks for opening hours and a note about cardamom buns, and Fabricate says what it changed and that it used 5 credits

Your app

The same bakery app in Fabricate's Your app view on a phone, now showing Open today 7am - 3pm above its menu
Asking for a change in chat, then trying the app. Real Fabricate screens on a phone, shown with sample data.

The other Vagaro alternatives

What each one does well, and the kind of project it suits best.

  1. Number 2

    Fresha

    Best for: Salons that want new clients from a marketplace

    Salon and spa software with its own marketplace where clients find and book you. Independent is $19.95 a month for one bookable member and Team $14.95 per bookable team member a month, after a 7-day free trial; a new client from the marketplace carries a one-time 20% commission, at least $6.

    • From $19.95 a month
    • A marketplace that sends new clients
    • A 7-day free trial

    Where Fresha beats Fabricate

    If you want new clients to find you as well as book you, Fresha lists you on its own marketplace, for a one-time commission on each new client it sends.

    From $19.95 a month

    Source: fresha.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked

  2. Number 3

    Mindbody

    Best for: Studios that want one ready-made system

    Business software for yoga studios, gyms and salons, from scheduling and marketing to a point of sale. Starter is from $79 a month per location; its larger plans are priced on request.

    • Made for studios, gyms and salons
    • Scheduling, marketing and a point of sale
    • Priced per location

    Where Mindbody beats Fabricate

    If your studio wants scheduling, marketing and a point of sale from one ready-made system, Mindbody is built for that.

    From $79 a month per locationMindbody alternatives

    Source: Mindbody pricing (opens in a new tab), checked

  3. Number 4

    Acuity Scheduling

    Best for: Appointments for a small staff

    Appointment scheduling priced by calendar: Starter is $20 a month billed monthly for 1 calendar, Standard $34 for up to 6 and Premium $69 for up to 36, after a 7-day free trial.

    • Priced by calendar, not seat
    • Up to 36 calendars
    • A 7-day free trial

    Where Acuity Scheduling beats Fabricate

    If you want a ready-made appointment scheduler for a few staff calendars, Acuity is priced by calendar, from $20 a month.

    From $20 a month

    Source: Acuity Scheduling plans (opens in a new tab), checked

  4. Number 5

    Cal.com

    Best for: Free scheduling for one person

    Scheduling with a free plan for one person: unlimited event types and calendars, and Stripe and PayPal payments. Teams is $12 per user a month billed yearly, and there is a self-hosted option.

    • Free for one person
    • Unlimited event types
    • A self-hosted option

    Where Cal.com beats Fabricate

    If people only need to book time on your own calendar, Cal.com's free plan connects your calendars and takes unlimited event types.

    From $12 per user a month, billed yearly

    Source: cal.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked

Vagaro and its alternatives: salon software, or a booking site of your own

Vagaro is made for salons, spas and fitness, with booking, payments, a card reader, marketing and client records in one system. It is priced by bookable calendar: $30 a month for one person at one location, less for the first 6 months, and $10 for each extra calendar up to seven.

Fresha's Independent plan is $19.95 a month, and new clients who find you on its marketplace carry a one-time 20% commission, at least $6. Mindbody suits studios and gyms, from $79 a month per location. Acuity Scheduling and Cal.com are appointment schedulers rather than salon systems.

A salon that wants a front desk with a card reader, marketing and client records from one company is the one these systems are built for. A salon that mainly needs clients to pick a service, a person and a time needs less.

A booking site built with Fabricate starts from your description of your services, your staff and your hours. Clients book without an account, staff join with an invite code you give them, and you see every booking. On Pro and Max you can turn on a confirmation email and a reminder 24 hours before. Reminder texts, calendar sync and a point of sale are not built in.

Frequently asked questions

How much does Vagaro cost?
For one person at one location, Vagaro is $30 a month, or $23.99 a month for the first 6 months, after a 30-day free trial. Each extra bookable calendar adds $10, up to seven; after that more staff cost nothing extra.
What is the best Vagaro alternative for a small salon?
For new clients from a marketplace, Fresha, from $19.95 a month. For appointment scheduling priced by calendar, Acuity Scheduling, from $20 a month. For a booking site shaped around your own services and staff, with no price for each person who signs in, Fabricate, which we make. Building and previewing are free; publishing is on Pro and Max.
Can I build my own salon booking website?
Yes. Describe your services, your staff and when you are open, and Fabricate builds the booking website and shows it working in a preview. Before you share the link, make a few test bookings, including two at the same time with the same person, to check that it stops the second.
Does a booking site built with Fabricate send reminders?
On Pro and Max, yes, by email: once the site is published, you can turn on a confirmation email and a reminder email 24 hours before each booking, up to a daily limit. Published as a phone app on Pro and Max, the app can remind each person on their own phone at a time they set, such as before a booking, a class or a due date, even with the app closed; on an iPhone, once they have added it to the home screen. It does not send text messages.
Can clients pay a deposit when they book?
On Pro and Max, the app can take card payments through Stripe Checkout, paid into your own Stripe account, which you connect under More > Payments. Ask for a deposit or the full price on some services. Fabricate takes no share of what you are paid; Stripe charges its own card fees.

Sources

The pages this guide quotes, each with the day it was read.

  1. vagaro.com/pro/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  2. fresha.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  3. Mindbody pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  4. Acuity Scheduling plans (opens in a new tab), checked
  5. cal.com/pricing (opens in a new tab), checked
  6. fabricate.build/pricing, from our live plans

About this guide

Written by the Fabricate team. Fabricate is our product, so it is first on this page and marked "We make this". Where a reason to switch fits another tool better, the reason says which.

Each tool's card lists the pages we read about it and the day we read them. We compared the tools from their own pricing pages and documentation, not by signing up for them. Spotted something out of date? Write to info@fabricate.build.

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