Salon booking software pricing: what a three-chair salon really pays

Per-calendar and per-staff fees are where salon software gets expensive. Here is the same three-chair salon priced on each tool.

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The short answer

Vagaro's US pricing page listed $30 a month for one location ($23.99 for the first six months), plus $10 for each extra calendar licence, as of September 2026. Booksy listed $29.99 a month plus tax, plus $20 a month for each extra staff member. For three chairs that is about $50 a month on Vagaro and $69.99 on Booksy, before card fees.

Square Appointments lists a free plan plus Plus and Premium tiers, but its page did not show us the dollar amounts on September 28, 2026. Fresha charges per team member, but it showed us prices in Pakistani rupees, so we do not quote a US figure. Check both vendors' pages.

Three-chair salon, one location (as of September 2026)

	Vagaro	Booksy	Square Appointments	Fresha
Base price	$30/mo ($23.99 first 6 months)	$29.99/mo + tax	Free plan; paid tier prices not shown to us	Per team member; US price not shown to us
Extra chairs	$10 per calendar licence	$20 per staff member	Unlimited staff calendars on Free	Charged per team member
3 chairs, per month	$50 (assumes base covers one calendar)	$69.99 + tax	Check squareup.com	Check fresha.com
Card fees	Not listed on the pricing page	2.69% + $0.30 keyed; 2.49% + $0.10 card reader	Processing fees apply; rate not shown to us	Not listed on the pricing page
Marketplace new-client fee	Not listed	30% of first visit via Boost (optional)	Not listed	One-time fee on new marketplace clients

Where a vendor's page blocked our check on September 28, 2026 we say so instead of quoting a figure. Confirm every price on the vendor's page before you buy.

Pros and cons

Vagaro

Best for: Salons that want low per-chair cost and a 30-day trial

Price: $30 a month for one location ($23.99 for the first six months) + $10 per extra calendar licence (checked Sept 28, 2026)

Pros: Cheapest per extra chair of the prices we could read; No extra cost after seven licences per location; No cancellation fees; 30-day free trial

Cons: Card processing rates not shown on the pricing page; Intro price rises after six months; Add-ons priced separately

Booksy

Best for: Salons that want marketplace bookings and clear card rates

Price: $29.99 a month + tax, $20 per extra staff member (checked Sept 28, 2026)

Pros: Card rates published on the pricing page; Boost marketplace has no monthly fee; 14-day trial with no card required

Cons: $20 per extra staff member adds up; Boost takes 30% of a new client's first visit; Tax on top of the listed price

We.Inc

Best for: People who want to describe a site or web app in plain English and have AI build it

Price: Free plan: up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, no AI. AI building from $20/mo (Starter, 250 credits). Pro $49/mo, Max $99/mo.

Pros: Describe what you want in chat and AI builds a full, editable site or app; Edit by clicking on the page, by asking in chat, or in a real code editor; Export the React and TypeScript code to GitHub, so you are never locked in; Unlimited sites on paid plans, custom domains from Starter

Cons: The free plan is templates only; AI building needs a paid plan; Newer platform with a smaller app marketplace than the big names; Store features are simpler than a dedicated ecommerce platform

Verdict by buyer

A solo stylist: Square Appointments' free plan or Vagaro's single licence are the cheapest starting points. A three-chair salon watching the monthly bill: Vagaro's per-licence price was the lowest we could read. A salon that wants new clients from a booking marketplace: Booksy or Fresha, remembering the fee on each new marketplace client. Any salon: keep your own website as the place clients book directly, so repeat clients do not come through a marketplace.

One-year and three-year cost for three chairs

Using the prices checked on September 28, 2026, assuming the base plan covers one calendar and nothing changes at renewal.

Vagaro: six months at $43.99 ($23.99 + $20) and six at $50 is $563.94 in year one, then $600 a year, so $1,763.94 over three years. Booksy: $69.99 a month is $839.88 a year and $2,519.64 over three years, plus tax. Card fees come on top of both and depend on your takings.

Add a website on your own domain: We.Inc Starter is $240 a year, $720 over three years.

How booking goes on your We.Inc site

Every tool above gives you a booking link, and most give you an embed code for a booking widget. The simplest route is a Book now button on every page that opens your booking link; that works on any site, including a template site on We.Inc's free plan.

To show the booking widget inside a page, paste the tool's embed code into the We.Inc chat and say where it goes, for example below your service list. That uses AI building, so it needs a paid plan (Starter and up). Test a booking from a phone once it is live.

A five-task test to run before you pay for salon booking software

Prices only tell you half the story. The fairest way to judge salon booking software is to give it the same small job you would give any builder: a five-page website for a local service business (home, services, about, reviews and contact).

1. Build the service list with a price or short description for each service. 2. Add a quote request form and send yourself a test entry to check it arrives. 3. Connect a custom domain and confirm the site loads on it with a padlock. 4. Change one piece of content, such as a new service or opening hours, and time how long it takes. 5. Check the result on a phone.

Note which plan each step needed. That tells you the plan you will really pay for, which is often not the cheapest one advertised. When the site is live, run it through our free website grader to check search basics and speed.

Ownership and moving away

Your client list and appointment history live in the booking tool. Before you sign up, ask how to export clients and future bookings, and whether card-on-file details can move. Your website and domain stay yours if you switch booking tools; you only change the link or embed code.

Where We.Inc fits

We.Inc builds the salon website; it is not booking software. Pair it with any tool above.

Where We.Inc fits: the free plan publishes up to 3 template sites on a we.inc address, with no AI and no custom domain, and needs no credit card. AI building, where you describe the site and it is written for you, starts at $20 a month (Starter, 250 credits); Pro is $49 and Max is $99.

Who wrote this and how

We.Inc makes a competing website builder, so read this with that in mind. Every price on this page comes from the vendor's own pricing page on the date shown, with a link to it. We say where the other option is the better choice, and we do not publish scores for tests we have not run.

Start from a template

Sources

Vagaro: Pricing (US) (Checked Sept 28, 2026)
Booksy: Pricing (US) (Checked Sept 28, 2026)
Square Appointments: Pricing (amounts not shown to us) (Checked Sept 28, 2026: prices could not be read)
Fresha: Pricing (shown to us in PKR, not USD) (Checked Sept 28, 2026: prices could not be read)
We.Inc: Pricing (Checked Sept 25, 2026)

Frequently asked questions

How much does Vagaro cost?

Vagaro's US pricing page listed $30 a month for one location, $23.99 for the first six months, plus $10 per extra calendar licence (up to seven per location), as of September 2026.

How much does Booksy cost?

Booksy listed $29.99 a month plus tax, with $20 a month for each extra staff member, as of September 2026.

Is Square Appointments free?

Square lists a free plan for solo professionals, with processing fees on payments. Its paid Plus and Premium prices were not shown to us on September 28, 2026.

What does salon software cost for three chairs?

About $50 a month on Vagaro and $69.99 plus tax on Booksy at September 2026 prices, before card fees.

Can I put a booking widget on my website?

Yes. Add a Book now link on any site, or on a paid We.Inc plan paste the tool's embed code into the chat and say where it should go.