Salon Booking System vs Salonist

Salon Booking System is a WordPress appointment booking plugin that runs on a business's own website. It provides a real-time calendar, staff availability and scheduling, group and recurring appointments, and booking forms that can be embedded as a widget, shortcode, or full page. The plugin supports unlimited services and categories, staff permissions and calendars, commissions, and service prices that vary by staff member. Clients can manage booking history, reschedule or cancel appointments, save payment methods, and leave reviews. Paid plans support Stripe and PayPal with deposits or full prepayment; Business adds local payment gateways and WooCommerce checkout. The system also lists Google Calendar sync, a REST API, and Zapier-ready webhooks. Email confirmations and reminders are supported; SMS reminders are an add-on. Its staff mobile web app runs on the business website and can be added to a phone's home screen. Free is free. Basic costs €89 a year, billed yearly, and Business costs €169 a year, billed yearly; each paid plan includes a 15-day free trial.

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.