Barberly

Barberly is an all-in-one booking and shop-management service for barbershops, salons, mobile barbers and individual barbers. It fits businesses that need scheduled appointments and walk-ins in the same operation, plus branded customer channels and payment controls. The main buying decision is whether its team-based billing and SMS allowance match your shop.

Overview

Barberly combines online booking, walk-in queuing, payments, staff tools and client marketing. Its strongest case is a shop that wants its own app and booking site rather than sending customers to a generic marketplace, while still keeping a shared appointment board for the front desk. Unlimited locations, team members, services and mobile app users give growing businesses room to expand without per-booking fees.

Key features

A branded mobile app can be published on the App Store and Google Play with bookings, waitlists, payments and loyalty features. The accompanying booking website supports a custom domain and can be embedded in an existing site. This is useful for shops investing in a recognizable direct-booking presence; a solo operator who only needs a basic calendar may not use the extra channels fully.

Walk-ins can check in through a branded tablet kiosk and enter the same queue as online bookings. The appointment board displays upcoming appointments alongside an electronic queue for walk-ins and kiosk check-ins, making the workflow suitable for busy shops that mix reservations with passing trade.

Barberly supports Stripe, Square, Revolut and SumUp and says it takes no commission on payments. Businesses can require deposits, saved card details or advance payment, and apply fees for no-shows and late cancellations. These controls can reduce unpaid appointments, but they depend on using one of the supported providers.

Google integration lets clients book from a shop's Google Search or Maps profile, with separate booking links for multiple locations. The client-facing Booking API covers availability browsing and creating, rescheduling, reading and cancelling appointments. It does not provide back-office account functions, and API keys with real scopes must stay on a server rather than in website code.

Marketing tools include SMS and email campaigns, basic automation, client segmentation and loyalty tools. The subscription includes 500 SMS notifications each month; additional messages cost $0.03 each. That allowance may be adequate for targeted reminders, but frequent campaign use can add a variable monthly charge.

Pricing

Every plan includes all services, and a 30-day trial provides every feature without a credit card. There is no free plan.

1 team member: $25 a month, billed monthly as a flat fee. It suits an individual barber who wants the complete feature set without per-barber billing.

2–5 team members: $45 a month, billed monthly as a flat fee. This is the clearest fit for a small shop within that headcount.

5+ team members: $9 per month. Shops with more than 20 team members must contact Barberly for enterprise pricing. At five barbers, the per-barber plan totals $45 monthly; above that, its cost scales with headcount while the 2–5 plan does not.

The plans include unlimited locations, staff, services and mobile app users, with no fee per booking. SMS beyond 500 messages is billed separately at $0.03 per message, so campaign-heavy shops should budget for overage.

Platforms

Barberly runs on Android, iOS, macOS, Windows and the web. The branded app is distributed through the App Store and Google Play, while a tablet can serve as the self-check-in kiosk.

Who it's for

Choose Barberly if you run a barbershop or salon that needs online reservations, walk-in queues and payment policies in one system. It is also relevant to mobile barbers and individual barbers, especially those wanting a branded app and website. Shops with many locations or staff benefit from the unlimited capacity, while businesses that send large SMS campaigns need to account for message overages.

Pros and cons

Pros

Branded customer experience: App, custom-domain website and embeddable booking page keep reservations under the shop's identity.

Unified walk-in and appointment flow: Kiosk check-ins and online bookings share one queue and board.

Flexible payment controls: Deposits, saved cards, advance payment and cancellation fees address common no-show risks.

Room to grow: Locations, team members, services and app users are unlimited, with no booking commission.

Cons

SMS is metered: Only 500 notifications are included monthly; extra messages cost $0.03 each.

Billing changes by team size: The 5+ plan is per barber, while smaller plans are flat-fee, so the best value depends on headcount.

API scope is limited: The client-facing API cannot manage back-office accounts, and server-side key handling is required.

Alternatives

Barbershop Scheduling Software is the broader category guide for comparing scheduling products. For salon-focused promotion tools, see Salon Marketing Software.

Nearcut is a freemium Android, iOS and web option with a £0 monthly free plan and a client booking charge instead of a monthly bill.

theCut offers free Android, iOS and web plans, with payment processing and client-discovery charges on its free tier.

Pronto has a self-hosted and web-capable free plan capped at one staff member, 100 clients and 50 bookings per month.

Phorest is a paid alternative with unlimited devices and staff on its listed plans, but custom pricing.

Reservio provides a free plan limited to 40 bookings per 30 days and 100 clients.

StyleSeat costs $19 a month after its trial for unlimited bookings and calendars, up to 15 chairs.

Barbs has a free MYR plan for one barber with unlimited queue and walk-ins, POS and receipts, plus 15 online bookings per day.

Booksy costs $29.99 a month plus tax, with $20 per additional user; payment processing and hardware are excluded.

Verdict

Barberly is a strong choice for a barbershop or salon that wants branded booking channels, a shared walk-in queue and detailed payment controls, with capacity for multiple locations and staff. Look elsewhere if you need a permanent free tier, a simpler flat price as the team grows, or SMS-heavy marketing without overage charges.