1v1 Pricing Showdown
Phorest vs Square Appointments
Side-by-side pricing breakdown for Salon & Spa Management Software decision-makers
Prices in USD, verified from the United States. Regional pricing may vary.
When choosing between Phorest and Square Appointments for your salon & spa management software stack, the right answer depends on three things: your budget, the specific features you actually use day-to-day, and your tolerance for renewal-price increases. Below we lay out the prices each vendor advertises today (verified against their live pricing pages), the plan limits that decide whether they'll fit your team, and the features that differ between them.
Phorest starts at custom pricing; Square Appointments starts at $49/mo. The cheaper headline price isn't always the cheaper total cost — renewal pricing, per-user fees, and overage charges can shift the math. Use the plan-by-plan tables below to model your actual spend.
Feature Comparison
| Feature | | |
|---|---|---|
| medspa specialty hipaa compliance | UNIQUE — dedicated Med Spa tiers with HIPAA-compliant medical record handling + injection tracking | — |
| unlimited devices staff | All plans (unique in category) | — |
| affordable sms rates | All plans — cost-effective SMS | — |
| phorest go mobile app | All plans — staff mobile app | — |
| appointment scheduling pos | All plans | — |
| online booking | All plans | — |
| automated communications | All plans | — |
| four salon spa tiers | Starter/Grow/Complete Advantage/Elite | — |
| two medspa tiers | Core Aesthetics/Elevate Aesthetics | — |
| 3 plus staff starter minimum | Starter tier positioned for 3+ staff (less suitable for solo practitioners) | — |
| branded apps addon | Separate pricing for custom branded apps | — |
| 2 way sms addon | Separate pricing for bidirectional SMS | — |
| memberships addon | Separate pricing for recurring memberships | — |
| custom quote only | No published pricing — demo + quote required | — |
| 12 month contract historical | Historical 12-month contracts — verify current terms | — |
| freemium with tiered upgrades | — | Free tier + Plus + Premium + Pro ecosystem |
| processing rate improves by tier | — | Free 2.6% / Plus 2.5% / Premium 2.4% — category-leading tiered processing |
| unlimited staff calendars all tiers | — | Unique — no per-staff pricing across all tiers |
| square ecosystem integration | — | Payments + POS + Online + Invoices + Payroll + Loans unified |
| sms 2500 included premium | — | Premium 2,500 SMS + 1.5¢ overage (category-leading for SMS-heavy) |
| 0 percent gift card load fee premium | — | Unique Premium feature (2.5% on other tiers) |
| future bookings report | — | Premium only |
| service cost tracking | — | Premium only |
| resource management | — | Premium only |
| cancellation policy no show fees | — | Plus+ |
| 30 day free trial | — | Plus + Premium |
| pro custom 250k plus | — | $250K+ annual processing qualifies |
| month to month no contracts | — | All tiers |
Affiliate links — you pay the same price
Dive Deeper
Square Appointments
About the salon & spa management software category
Salon & Spa Management Software in 2026 spans transparent affordable SMB pricing (Vagaro, Booksy, Square) to commission-based marketplace models (Fresha) and enterprise custom-quote (Phorest). Published rates: Vagaro Standard $23.99/month (1 location) or $30/month (multiple locations) + extensive modular add-ons, Booksy Biz Core Plan $29.99/month (single tier, all features) + $20/month per extra team member + payment processing fees, Square Appointments Free $0 (2.6%+$0.15 processing) / Plus $49/month/location (2.5%+$0.15) / Premium $149/month/location (2.4%+$0.15) / Pro custom ($250K+ annual processing). Commission-based marketplace: Fresha is 'free for partners' — no subscription, revenue from marketplace new-client commissions (typically 20% for first-time bookings from Fresha marketplace). Custom-quote enterprise: Phorest 4 tiers for salons/spas (Starter/Grow/Complete Advantage/Elite) + 2 tiers for med spas (Core Aesthetics/Elevate Aesthetics) — all custom pricing via sales contact. Major 2024-2026 category developments: Fresha continued aggressive growth via free-subscription + marketplace commission model (controversial among operators regarding commission on repeat clients + brand acquisition). Vagaro expanded add-on ecosystem adding Payroll ($34/mo + $5/employee), Data Lake ($40/mo), branded apps ($100/mo). Square Appointments repositioned Premium tier with lowest processing rates (2.4%) + 2,500 monthly SMS included at 1.5¢ per additional. Booksy Biz simplified to single-tier $29.99 model vs competitor multi-tier complexity. Phorest maintained premium positioning with extensive tier structure for salons + med spas. Category reflects appointment-based services requirements: online booking + calendar management + staff scheduling + client database + payment processing + SMS/email marketing + loyalty/memberships/gift cards + commission tracking + tip handling + inventory (for retail-heavy salons). Typical salon/spa management deployment: single-location small salons (1-5 chairs), mid-size salons (5-15 chairs), spas (multi-service wellness), barber shops, nail salons, medical spas (injectables + aesthetics), multi-location franchises + chains. AI integration is 2024-2025 development: Vagaro data lake + analytics, Square Appointments appointment reminders, Booksy AI-assisted marketing. Target users: independent stylists + barbers (solo), small salon/spa owners (1-10 staff), mid-size establishments (10-30 staff), multi-location chains + franchises, medical spas with aesthetic injectable services.
How to choose between salon & spa management software options
First: subscription model preference? Subscription-based: Vagaro $23.99-30/mo, Booksy $29.99/mo, Square Plus $49-149/mo, Phorest custom. Commission-based: Fresha 'free' + 20% new-client commissions. For predictable monthly cost: subscription models. For $0 upfront with marketplace-driven revenue: Fresha (but commission economics become expensive as bookings scale). Second: appointment volume + business model? Appointment-light (under 100/month): Vagaro Standard $23.99/mo (most affordable transparent) or Booksy $29.99/mo (single-tier simplicity). Appointment-moderate (100-500/month): Vagaro + Square Plus + Booksy competitive. Appointment-heavy (500+/month): Square Premium $149/mo (lowest processing at scale) or Phorest mid-tier. Multi-location: Vagaro $30/mo multi-location or Square Plus/Premium per location + Phorest Complete/Elite. Third: payment processing rates? Square Premium 2.4%+$0.15 (lowest in category at scale), Square Plus 2.5%+$0.15, Square Free 2.6%+$0.15, Vagaro Payments starting 2.2%, Booksy Card Reader 2.49%+$0.10 / Mobile Payments 2.69%+$0.30 / Tap to Pay 2.49%+$0.20. For high-volume salons processing $500K+/year: Square Premium or Vagaro Payments negotiated 2.2-2.4%. Savings vs retail 2.6%: $1,000-2,000/year at $500K volume. Fourth: staff team size? Solo practitioners: Vagaro $23.99/mo + 1 bookable calendar, Booksy $29.99/mo (includes 1 team member), Square Free + unlimited staff calendars. Small teams (2-5 staff): Vagaro + additional employee costs, Booksy + $20/mo per additional staff ($29.99 + $80 = $109.99/mo for 5 staff), Square Plus $49/mo unlimited staff. Medium teams (5-15 staff): Square Plus $49/mo wins on economics (no per-staff fees), Phorest custom pricing scales. Large teams (15+ staff): Phorest Elite or Square Premium $149/mo or Vagaro multi-location + comprehensive add-ons. Fifth: SMS marketing + reminders? Booksy 2,000 free SMS/month included, Square Plus 500 included + 3¢/additional, Square Premium 2,500 included + 1.5¢/additional, Vagaro Text Marketing $20/mo add-on, Phorest affordable SMS rates included. For SMS-heavy salons: Square Premium (2,500 included + 1.5¢ cheapest overage) or Booksy (2,000 included + simple pricing). Sixth: branded mobile app? Vagaro Branded App $100/mo add-on (cheapest branded app in salon category), Phorest branded apps as add-on (custom pricing), Fresha branded capabilities, Square Appointments no dedicated salon branded app. For branded client app priority: Vagaro $100/mo add-on with wider feature ecosystem. Seventh: medical spa (injectables + aesthetics)? Phorest dedicated Med Spa tiers (Core Aesthetics + Elevate Aesthetics) — category-leading for medical aesthetics with HIPAA compliance + injection tracking + before/after photo documentation + intake forms for medical procedures. Medspa-specific capability unique in Phorest. For pure medical spa: Phorest. For general salon with some aesthetics: Vagaro or Booksy with HIPAA considerations.
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Frequently Asked Questions
- Does Phorest or Square Appointments offer a free plan?
- Square Appointments offers a free plan.
- Which is better, Phorest or Square Appointments?
- Square Appointments scores 9/10 compared to Phorest's 8.3/10 in our analysis. Square Appointments ranks higher on features and value, but Phorest may suit specific use cases — see the feature comparison above.
- Are there other salon & spa management software alternatives besides Phorest and Square Appointments?
- Yes. Our [Salon & Spa Management Software pricing comparison](/pricing/salon-spa-management/) page covers all major providers with daily-verified prices. You can also see the [cheapest salon & spa management software](/pricing/salon-spa-management/cheapest/) for budget-focused options.