Appy Pie Salon App Builder vs Salonist

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.

Salonist is cloud-based salon management software covering bookings, point of sale, inventory, staff, marketing and memberships. It works on web and mobile without installation. Clients can book at any time through a website, Instagram or the Salonist app, with automatic reminders and options for recurring or package bookings. Its integrated POS supports card, contactless and Stripe terminal payments, bulk checkout, payment reports and stock updates. The service targets businesses ranging from hair salons, massage centers and spas to barbershops, nail salons, aesthetic skin clinics and pet groomers. Salonist lists more than 40 integrations, including Stripe, PayPal, Razorpay, Clover, QuickBooks and Authorize.Net. The free Market Place Listing plan includes 50 appointments per month. Essential costs $59.00 per month, Advance costs $109.00 per month and Expert costs $179.00 per month. Expert includes a custom-branded client app published under the salon's name. A 15% commission applies once to the first visit from a new client discovered through its marketplace; returning-client and direct bookings do not incur that fee.