Appy Pie Salon App Builder vs Next

Appy Pie Salon App Builder creates branded booking apps for hair, nail, beauty, spa, medspa, barbershop, tanning, lash and brow, and massage businesses. Appy Pie says its AI generates services, booking flows, stylist profiles, and client screens from a description in 60 seconds without coding. Clients can choose services, stylists, dates, and times using real-time availability, with deposits and push or email confirmations. Stripe or PayPal connections support deposits, balances, tips, partial refunds, cancellation fees, and saved cards. Staff calendars synchronize in both directions with Google Calendar and Outlook. Other listed features include loyalty points and tiers, segmented promotions, product and gift-card sales, inventory tracking, low-stock alerts, barcode scanning, staff scheduling, and multi-location support. The builder handles Google Play and Apple App Store submissions, although approval is not guaranteed. Client data can be exported and is described as belonging to the salon. Platforms are Android, iOS, and web. A seven-day trial is listed; publishing costs $18 a month, and pricing notes state paid plans from $16/mo.

Next is a free booking app for salon professionals working in salon suites. Professionals can set booking rules, choose request-based or direct booking, customize service durations and stack appointments. Marketing tools support email, in-app and SMS campaigns, including prepared or custom campaigns. Its point-of-sale system supports deposits, cards on file, coupons, discounts, touch and touchless payments, and merged or split payments. The payment page lists a flat 2.52% processing rate on chipped card transactions, including AMEX and Discover, with no per-transaction fees. Next can connect with participating salon suite locations for rent management, website booking, cross-marketing and maintenance requests. The maker identifies hairstylists, barbers, nail artists, makeup artists, lash technicians, estheticians, massage therapists and other personal-care professionals as its audience. The app is available on Android, iOS and the web. Booking features are free; unlimited SMS texts are an optional $5 a month plan. Connection to a salon suite website and check-in system is marked as coming soon.