Phorest vs Shortcuts

Vagaro

Mindbody

DaySmart Salon

Boulevard

Meevo

TuCalendi

Compare Phorest and Shortcuts based on features, pricing, verified reviews, integrations & more on GetApp. Find out which software is best for your business in 2026.

GlossGenius

GlossGenius is a booking and payment app for beauty and wellness professionals. With a custom website, card readers, smooth booking experience, text and email marketing, client reminders, and more, GlossGenius helps businesses make more and stress less.

DaySmart Salon helps salons, spas, and barbershops manage scheduling, payments, staff, and client communication, all in one place. Built for solo pros and full teams, it keeps you organized and focused on clients. Start your 14-day free trial (no credit card required) or book a demo today.

Aura Salonware

Aura Salonware is a salon management software that helps businesses track inventory, create loyalty programs, manage clients, monitor activity bookings, and more on a centralized platform. With the point of sale module, team members can generate custom branded receipts, distribute gift cards, manage referral credits, and process payments via cash and online wallets.

Phorest Software is an all-in-one solution med-spa solution used by 155,000 professionals worldwide. Phorest is proud to be a life force for our industry, offering everything you need to manage, market and grow your business to take it to the next level.

Alerts/Notifications

Appointment Management

Appointment Scheduling

Automated Scheduling

Availability Management

Barcode/Ticket Scanning

Before & After Pictures

Booking Management

Booth Rental Management

Calendar Management

Client Database

Client Management

Client Portal

Client Profiles

Commission Management

Confirmations/Reminders

Credit Card Processing

Customer Database

Customer History

Customer Mobile App

Customer Surveys

Customizable Branding

Customizable Forms

Customizable Reports

Customizable Templates

Data Import/Export

Discount Management

Drag & Drop

Electronic Forms

Electronic Payments

Email Marketing

Email Reminders

Employee Management

Faculty/Staff Management

For Barbershops

For Medical Spas

For Salons and Spas

Gift Card Management

HIPAA Compliant

Inventory Management

Inventory Tracking

Loyalty Program

Marketing Automation

Mobile Alerts

Multi-Location

Online Booking

Online Store

Payment Processing

Payroll & Commissions

Payroll Management

Performance Metrics

Point of Sale (POS)

Promotions Management

Real-Time Reporting

Receipt Management

Recurring Appointments

Reminders

Reporting & Statistics

Reputation Management

Rescheduling

Sales Reports

SMS Marketing

SMS Messaging

SOAP notes

Social Media Integration

Stock Management

Third-Party Integrations

Transaction History

Treatment Packages

Wait List Management

Website Integration

Phorest

Windows

Android

iPad

iPhone

Linux

Web-based

Starter

Grow

Complete Advantage

Elite

Owner

The price is higher than all other platforms similar, I feel like if I have two locations we should be able to split sms msgs between both locations, I’m paying for them already and if I don’t use all in one location I should have ability to use at other location.

Salon owner

Online booking has been great and the fact that we can requests deposits for first time client's and also give them a policy notice for no/shows-late appointment.

The only thing I wish I could fix about phorest is that phorest should automatically email the account holder when the inventory drops below the minimum quantity.

Owner Operator

The ease of use, keeping track of clients history, notes, the chat feature in the desktop version, and the quick response from support if I need help with anything.

President

Phorest is a game changer as far as being software that I feel like PARTNERS with me to bring the best experience to and for our guests as well as our team members.

I love the text reminder features as they are very helpful for ensuring my clients arrive when they're scheduled.

salon Davachi by Felor

The price is expensive, especially like I am one person and I pay $85 or something like that monthly so that’s lots for one person but as a group in Salon is a good price but not for me

I also like if I add products to my clients tab then exit out of it - it will remember the product.

salon leader and marketing director

some reports are a bit confusing, like the retention report. when you archive a guest, they still have the availability to book, but wont show on the appointment screen until you unarchive them.

The price point could be more competitive comparably to other brands. When there are bugs in the system sometimes takes awhile to get it fixed.

There are differences between the desktop and web applications as far as functionality, so I find myself toggling between the 2 to get the information I need.   And most importantly, there was not honest full disclosure from sales on what was included AND that we would be locked into a 1-year contract that will be automatically renewed unless you give no less than 2 months notification in writing to cancel.  

Manager

For my end on the fly I need the app to be ready for me whenever because I am on the move and not in front of a PC.

owner

the text reminders the control in management that I have being able to navigate the system

Salon owner and stylist

Very salon friendly, good options to customize the service to fit the specific needs of our salon.

Also, I don’t like that I can’t see all stylists on the screen when I’m searching for the weak view.

Operations Manager

I also enjoy the consistent updates that keep us up to date with all the latest feature to help our salons business run smoothly!

Salon Coordinator and Online Representative

Support feels lacking after onboarding. When real issues come up, it often turns into finger pointing instead of problem solving.

It has made our front desk WAY more proficient, labor costs go down due to easy simple to use features that make cashing in and out a breeze.

Director of Team Development

For someone who is not tech savvy having the ability to quickly jump on a call and navigate the site with a Phorest employee has been very helpful.

I love the customer service and the fact that I can get in touch with someone and they get back to me right away if they don’t know something.

What I love most about Phorest is their outstanding customer service. Whenever I have a question, I always get a fast response from a real human—not just an automated text.

I don’t like that the save card on file is  hard to see when checking out.

Salon Owner

Anytime i have a question about a feature or if I can't figure something out I can send a quick email and get fast responses from their team.

The email marketing built in helps us get so many bookings from repeat customers.

Barber

I wish clients could get on a waiting list and be notified of openings

Lots of ways to customize for personalization

Excellant top notch service is awesome questions always answered in a timely fashion smart move to switch

Features are bugged and take forever to get fixed.

They told me they would credit me this month when I’m signing off the contract and without notice they disabled my account during a work day and took hours to get ahold of anybody.

security seems pretty good and haven't had any bugs or issues with the software itself.

Salon Owner Manager

Director of Operations

We have one person to reach out to if we have specific questions or need support on specific things.

It makes knowing tracking your progress very easy.

I have been flying solo and I'm sure I'm not utilizing things correctly to help improve business.

I think there are some things that can be changed to make it more user friendly.

I’ve been with them for about 7 years, and their constant evolution has elevated my business and kept me ahead in the beauty industry.

I was told that I would get business support through my journey and I have yet to get that.

Phorest has the BEST reporting system I have ever worked with!

Co-Owner CEO

The cost/charge per text. And the text line not being able to go to just one employee.

Secretary

Pricing wise its on much higher side, I hope Phorest will consider pricing structure making it much more affordable

The helpdesk feature for our front desk staff has been super helpful.

there is no return inventory besides the returns report.

Owner, Educator

It has almost every feature we need and being able to actually utilize the features is simple.

The marketing tools are unmatched, the reporting capabilities are endless.

I am not happy with high pricing, I personally feel phorest can revise pricing making it more affordable.

All the options for reporting, tech support, Phorest Go.

I also appreciate their constant innovation; Phorest is always evolving to meet salon and beauty industry standards.

The reporting isn't always as straight forward as I hope for it to be. But we always ask for help when we can't find what we are looking for.

Overall We love the product from reporting to appointments and everything in between.

I like that it’s really user friendly for clients and salon.

Pricing

Customer Support

Ease of Use

Salon Management

Reports

Reports and Stock Management

Reminder Emails and Texts

Client Cards and Payments

Small Business

Large Enterprises

Mid-size Business

Freelancers

Phorest Software

Calendly

Calendly is a scheduling automation platform that helps individuals, teams, and enterprises book meetings faster, eliminate back-and-forth emails, and connect their calendar, CRM, and video tools into one seamless scheduling workflow.

Google Calendar

Google Calendar is an online calendar solution that enables users to manage business and personal schedules. The platform offers calendar migration options, allowing users to integrate existing calendars, including those from Microsoft and IBM. Google provides comprehensive tools and resources to facilitate data migrations into the Google Workspace ecosystem.

Goldie

Goldie is a comprehensive software designed for salon and beauty professionals. The platform offers appointment scheduling, automated client reminders, and integrated payment processing capabilities to help reduce no-shows and streamline business operations. Beauty professionals can manage their calendars, create branded online booking websites, and track business performance through detailed reports.

Shortcuts is a salon management software that helps businesses of all sizes with their daily operations, ranging from client to business management. Users can personalize customer interactions & market towards their target audience, all whilst ensuring that business operations are running smoothly.

Access Controls/Permissions

Automatic Re-ordering

Calendar Sync

Email Management

Group Scheduling

Mobile Access

Online Payments

Website Management

Open Source

Shortcuts

Basic

I needed a way to set up appointments and track the hours of more than a dozen hairstylists and massage therapists.

We lost thousands not being able to see our appointment book as we do our bookings remotely.

Director

I enjoyed shortcuts and am grateful to have used it as a first time hair stylist it set the bar and allowed me to learn salon software .

Salon Receptionist

Sometimes this system needs rebooting as there can be a syncing error that occurs

Phorest vs Shortcuts Comparison (2026)

Phorest

Shortcuts

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives