Vagaro vs Simple Salon

Goldie

Acuity Scheduling

GlossGenius

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.

Acuity Scheduling is an online appointment scheduling solution that allows clients to self-schedule appointments or classes online, complete custom forms, receive confirmation notifications and reminders, and pay or donate with a credit card.

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.

Operations Manager

All they do is give you links to articles on their customer support page and take days, sometimes even weeks to respond to you regarding ongoing issues.

Owner

Even after I had already performed the service, they insisted on holding the funds. When I contacted customer service, they blamed an onboarding issue with my medical director and even asked for his personal password from another account something completely unprofessional. After I expressed my frustration (politely, without any rude behavior), I received an email stating they were dropping my account entirely and refunding all charges to the clients I had already serviced. If these had been new clients with no prior relationship, I could have easily lost thousands of dollars.

Owner CEO

The only con/dislike that I have currently is that I have to place an individual individually each service in settings prior to developing an invoice.

All-in-one med spa platform. EMR, SOAP notes, HIPAA compliance, injectable tracking, online booking & POS — for medical aesthetics. 

Access Controls/Permissions

Accounting Integration

ACH Payment Processing

Activity Dashboard

Activity Tracking

Address Book

Alerts/Notifications

Application Management

Appointment Management

Appointment Scheduling

Attendance Management

Attendance Tracking

Audit Trail

Automated Scheduling

Automated Text Generation

Auto-Save

Availability Indicator

Availability Management

Barcode/Ticket Scanning

Before & After Pictures

Billing & Invoicing

Booking Management

Booth Rental Management

Business Coaching

Calendar Management

Calendar/Reminder System

Calendar Sync

Capacity Management

Charting

Class Management

Class Registration

Class Scheduling

Client Database

Client Management

Client Portal

Client Profiles

Collaboration Tools

Color Codes/Icons

Commission Management

Committee Management

Communication Management

Compensation Management

Compliance Management

Confirmations/Reminders

Consent Forms

Consent Management

Contact Database

Costume Management

Credit Card Management

Credit Card Processing

Customer Accounts

Customer Database

Customer History

Customer Mobile App

Customer Surveys

Customizable Branding

Customizable Fields

Customizable Forms

Customizable Reports

Customizable Templates

Data Import/Export

Data Security

Debit/Credit Card Processing

Discount Management

Document Management

Document Storage

Drag & Drop

Dues Management

eCommerce Management

Electronic Forms

Electronic Payments

Electronic Signature

Email Management

Email Marketing

Email Reminders

Email Templates

Employee Database

Employee Management

Employee Scheduling

Employee Time Clock

EMR/EHR

Enrollments/Onboarding

Event Calendar

Event Management

Event Scheduling

Facility Scheduling

Faculty/Staff Management

Financial Reporting

Fitness Assessments

Fitness Plan

For Barbershops

For Chiropractors

For Dance Studios

For Gyms

For Martial Arts

For Medical Spas

Forms Creation & Design

Forms Management

By industry, Vagaro reviewers are most commonly professionals in health, wellness and fitness (28%). The most frequent use case for Vagaro cited by reviewers is appointment scheduling (66% of reviewers).

Users and use cases

Most reviewers indicate that Vagaro provides strong value for money with affordable pricing and a wide range of included features. However, some users report frustration with extra fees, confusing pricing, and higher costs for advanced tools.

Value for money

The Vagaro integrations most frequently cited by reviewers are: Instagram (a social networking product rated 4.6 out of 5 for its integration with Vagaro), Meta for Business (a social media marketing product, 4.3), and Google Calendar (a scheduling product, 4.7).

Integrations

Vagaro is an appointment scheduling solution with key features that include appointment management, confirmations and reminders, calendar management, mobile access, online booking, and more.

Vagaro

iPhone

iPad

Android

Windows

Linux

Chromebook

Web-based

Mindbody

Square Point of Sale

Booker

Booksy Biz

Rosy

Square Appointments

Fresha

Phorest

Square Payments

Meevo

Mangomint

WellnessLiving

DaySmart Salon

MassageBook

ABC Glofox

Jane

One Location

Multiple Locations

Complex and costly transactions

60% of reviewers feel negative about Credit Card Processing. Reviewers say the system involves numerous fees, complicated workflows, and limited flexibility with payment methods. They report issues with hardware integration, delays in deposits, and difficulties with refunds or splitting payments. Users also mention that certain features are locked behind proprietary processing, and that support for alternative payment options is lacking, making the process confusing and sometimes unreliable.

Cumbersome email campaigns

40% of reviewers feel negative about Email Marketing. Users report high costs for email and text campaigns, issues with duplicate or missing client emails, and difficulties managing or customizing campaigns. They say the system lacks automation and advanced segmentation, and that glitches or confusing workflows can result in lost work or ineffective communication. Reviewers also mention that support for resolving marketing-related issues is often slow or unhelpful.

Inflexible payment options

System Admin

It lumps all sales into one deposit line and integrates as Uncategorized Asset instead of Service Sales and Product Sales.

50% of reviewers feel negative about Payment Processing. Users report challenges with limited payment method support, difficulty tracking external payments, and inflexible deposit or payroll features. They say the system often requires workarounds for non-standard transactions, leading to tedious or error-prone processes. Reviewers also mention that integrating with other payment providers is not straightforward, which complicates financial management and reconciliation.

Frequent technical glitches

68% of reviewers feel negative about Bugs and Issues. Users report recurring problems such as system crashes, freezing, slow performance, and glitches with booking or checkout, especially during busy periods. They say these issues disrupt business operations, sometimes resulting in lost revenue or delays. Reviewers also mention frustration with delayed support responses and the need for frequent troubleshooting, which can impact workflow and customer satisfaction.

Intuitive user experience

95% of reviewers feel positive about the User Interface. Reviewers say the platform is consistently user-friendly, making daily business operations smoother for both staff and clients. They find navigation straightforward and appreciate that both the app and desktop versions are easy to use. Many users highlight that switching from other systems was seamless due to the intuitive design, and they note that the interface helps them manage all aspects of their business efficiently.

Supportive onboarding process

She guided me through the setup process with clarity and precision, addressing all my questions and concerns along the way.

91% of reviewers feel positive about Setup. Users say the initial setup process is straightforward, with helpful and responsive customer support available to guide them through any challenges. They appreciate the flexibility to customize the system to fit their business needs and mention that once setup is complete, the platform runs smoothly. Reviewers highlight that ongoing support is readily accessible for troubleshooting or further customization.

Reduces no-shows efficiently

93% of reviewers feel positive about Appointment Reminders. Users say automated reminders save them significant time by eliminating the need for manual follow-ups and calls. They report that clients appreciate receiving timely notifications via text or email, which helps reduce missed appointments and cancellations. Reviewers find that customizable reminder schedules and the ability for clients to confirm or reschedule appointments independently are particularly valuable features.

Enhances client communication

Permanent makeup and tattoo

It excels in Online Booking and Scheduling and Appointment Management, providing a seamless experience for both staff and clients with automated reminders that reduce no-shows.

93% of reviewers feel positive about Client Reminders. Reviewers indicate that automated reminders and notifications help maintain strong communication with clients, reducing no-shows and improving overall scheduling efficiency. They appreciate being able to send reminders via text or email, and note that clients value these reminders as well. Users say this feature saves them time and supports better client relationships by keeping everyone informed and on schedule.

The customer support is amazing and they follow up with you and go over your help request. When I first started I used it solely on my own, but now I have multiple independent contractors that use it under my account and they are able to generate their reports and schedule clients for themselves.

It offers incredible Value for Money by combining Online Booking, Scheduling, and Shift Management into one reliable tool. While the interface has a slight learning curve, the efficiency gained in Client Management and the quality of Customer Support make it a top-tier choice for any professional.

Nurse Practitioner

The online scheduling and automated reminders help reduce no-shows and keep my schedule full, while flexible payment options make checkout easy for my clients.

Chief Product Officer and Co-Founder

Vagaro now allows my schedule to run pretty much itself, reminds clients about upcoming appointments, and reduces cancellations to simple conversations, rather than long drawn-out ones.

Massage Therapist, Business Owner

The ease of scheduling clients, the clean and concise look of the day, week or month calendar. And that it includes SMS reminders- it’s incredibly helpful!

The amount of customer service support, client communication options, ease of navigation of the platform, and cc processing transparency has made things easy for our business.

Hairstylist

there are technical glitches, especially with the mobile app and booking system—things like sync issues, crashes, or clients having trouble booking appointments can be frustrating.

It makes sense why it’s done that way but we run an à la carte menu so our guests sometimes receive multiple appointment notifications for just one scheduled visit because they are booking multiple services in that visit.

HR Director

The fees for cancelation wotj the vendors and last minute changes are challenging sometimes because it is automatic the fees if you cancel even if your vendor says they won’t charge you

Esthetician

It allows you to manage your entire business from a smartphone. While the dashboard is clean, the sheer volume of settings can feel overwhelming at first.

Owner and Licensed Esthetician

From a business perspective, I like that Vagaro is linked to my website making it easy for me to add/delete services, make revisions, make price adjustments, etc.  

Lash Artist

I have had some isolated incidents were clients have not been able to open the booking site whenever I copy the link and send it through messenger. And I’ve also had clients unable to book for various reasons, but that rarely happens.

Additionally, its robust Client Management features make personalized marketing simple, all while being backed by reliable Customer Support available whenever you hit a snag.

Barber

Vagaro makes online booking easier for me with email,text and in app notifications so there’s no way to miss an appointment!

Stylist

Can’t integrate my instagram account can’t really connect booking tab to my account- not sure how I can get more accurate source of my appointments

Master Stylist - Colorist - Owner

Overall, Vagaro has been very helpful for organizing my appointments and client information. While it has minor issues, it greatly simplifies my daily workflow and saves me time.

Dog grooming

I love the fact that they’ve virtually updated the software to accommodate Dog Grooming as I own a Dog Grooming business there’s still a few more things that they could add to help out a dog groomers to use the program, but they’re definitely going in the right direction.

My clients love that it is easy to book an appointment and I love that it is easy to navigate hiring staff doing payroll, sending email marketing and running reports and connecting external things like QuickBooks and gusto.

I wish there was an easier way to move a client who has booked multiple appointments (example: underarm wax, bikini wax, leg wax) to another appointment time without having to move each individual appointment

AI features not intuitive, features buried in the menu screens, checkout complicated sometimes, card reader never connects

Cosmetologist

The amount of clicks needed to checkout an appointment  is ridiculous , it takes so much longer, they dont give you a dollar amount up front for the upcoming week, you have to dig deep to get it.

What I like about using Vagaro for my aesthetics business is how it brings everything I need into one place and makes my day run smoother.

Vagaro vs Simple Salon Comparison (2026)

Vagaro

Simple Salon

Overview

Video & Screenshots

Pricing

User reviews

Key features

Integrations

Alternatives