The Best Salon Booking Apps To Use In 2024

The Best Salon Booking Apps To Use In 2026

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Salon booking apps are a fantastic way to organise and manage appointments whilst keeping a record of your clients' details. In 2026, there are hundreds of salon booking apps to choose from, but which one is right for your salon business?

Whether you're considering scrapping your salon appointment book, want to try a new salon booking app, or are simply curious to see what salon software is available, we'll be looking at some of the best salon booking apps to use in 2026.

The benefits of using salon booking apps

The right software can benefit you as a salon owner, stylist, or therapist and your clients, saving time for both of you. Various software options are available, from simple appointment booking management to more informed functionality such as invoice management, stock control, and HR features.

Save time and increase efficiency.

Booking apps allow your clients to manage appointment times themselves. Clients simply log in, choose from your available appointment slots and fill in their details. This method is incredibly convenient if you are a small or mobile business and you don't have reception staff to take bookings for you.

The convenience of clients booking themselves means you can free up the time that would be spent on the phone or social media and invest it elsewhere in the business, such as conducting appointments or managing your staff.

Save your client's time.

Another bonus of salon booking apps is that they can also save time for your clients. For many people, quickly booking an appointment online is a huge advantage. For clients who value their time over anything, a booking app could make them more likely to become loyal customers, as they know they can quickly and easily arrange their next appointment with their favourite stylist or therapist. This could put your business at an advantage over your competitors.

24/7 booking system - Anytime, anywhere

As we mentioned previously, many clients find themselves stretched for time. Between work, looking after families and squeezing in socialising, they might not have time to give you a call during your salon opening hours. Booking apps mean your clients can arrange their appointment whenever is most convenient, whether they’ve finished a late shift at work or just put their kids to bed. Making yourself available for your clients whenever and wherever is a brilliant benefit of booking apps.

You can attain new clients and grow your business.

When you use a booking app, you have more potential new clients available to you. This is especially prevalent in the digital-first world that we live in. Apps such as Treatwell are a great way to put your salon out there to a new audience and get new faces through the door to try you out. Plus, if you don’t have a website yet, your app page can act as your digital shopfront, which can really help you market yourself online.

What should you take into consideration when choosing salon software/apps?

What is the cost of using salon software?

There will be a financial outlay to using salon software, and perhaps this is a monthly or annual subscription or an initial upfront fee for everything. Be sure to do the numbers to see if this is a viable option for you now and in the future, as you may be tied into a contract. Another aspect to be mindful of is that some salon booking apps also take a % of the treatments that are booked with you via their service.

What in-app services do you really need?

Think about what you’d like your salon software to do and how it can best benefit you. Perhaps you already have a fantastic stock management system and only need to use an app for appointment booking and client management. Or maybe you are looking for a 360-degree salon management system.

Some booking apps offer several features that allow you to manage your entire business, including your finances, staff, and appointment diary. For some salon businesses, this is just what they want. Others might prefer their traditional tried-and-tested management systems. Make sure you take a look at what your chosen booking app offers and consider how it will integrate and impact your business.

You may not have a chance to speak to new clients before they come through the door.

We know how important it is for salons to have a solid personal relationship with their clients. While booking apps are great for getting new business, they miss out on one of your main points of contact with your clients.

Be aware that when one of your new clients who have booked on the app walks through the door, this is the first time you will have spoken to them. If you prefer to have a quick chat on the phone first, this might not be something you are comfortable with.

Would your clients use a booking app?

Booking apps are an investment, so be aware of the costs involved. While the potential for new clients is great, consider whether your business offers the type of service that is in demand on booking apps.

Can you benefit from this? Look at what other salons in your area are offering on the app and whether you can compete successfully with them.

Can you capture some client loyalty through an app?

If you prefer to focus on client loyalty, you must make sure you pull out all the stops to get your new app bookers back in the salon! With an array of hair, beauty and barbershops competing for clients on the app, many will offer discounts and deals to lure them away from you.

If you can’t do this, you will need to ensure your new clients receive the best possible service to keep them coming back.

The Best Salon Booking Apps To Use In 2026

We've done some of the legwork for you by pointing out each app's key features and considerations.

Take a look at some of the salon booking apps and salon management software available below to get a flavour of what's on offer in 2024.

Vagaro

The Vagaro salon software is built to help you attract new clients, streamline scheduling, and facilitate hassle-free payments. It's an all-in-one solution that offers a unique and unprecedented level of scalability. This allows salon & spa businesses of any size, from the solopreneur to multi-location enterprise, to grow on their platform.

Starting out as the first booking app of its kind in the industry, Vagaro has grown from simplifying appointment scheduling, to: facilitating effective marketing, offering online payment and credit card processing, providing detailed financial and business reports, offering businesses revenue-based financing, providing consumers with flexible payment options, incorporating AI to elevate revenue generation, and so much more.

Why choose Vagaro?

Expand client base on Vagaro marketplace where 136 million+ appointments were booked in 2023 (~258 bookings per minute)
Elevate marketing and revenue generation with AI integration
Maximise revenue - all profits are your own (Vagaro doesn’t take any cut of your bookings)
Save time with completely customisable website builder, MySite, which updates itself
Automated appointment reminders for both your clients and your staff.
Quickly fill in last-minute cancellations using the waitlist.
Take easy contactless payments and store your client's card on file.
Clients can check themselves in for appointments and in salon events with a QR code.
24/7 customer support available
30-day free trial, no contract

What to consider with Vagaro?

Vagaro salon software costs just £30 monthly with our exclusive Salons Direct discount.

Salons Direct are in partnership with Vagaro. All views are factual and unbiased.

15 reasons why you should invest in Vagaro Salon Software

Fresha

Formerly known as Shedul, the Fresha app offers 360 salon management features for no monthly subscription fee, including unlimited appointment bookings, locations, product inventory, etc. If you need more tools, you can add any extra functionality required on a pay-as-you-use model.

Why choose Fresha?

Budget-friendly as there is no monthly subscription fee or upfront cost.
Great for attracting new clients to try out your services.
Ability to garner verified reviews from real clients.
Offers automated marketing such as personalised client messaging via SMS or email.
Ideal for all salon services, including nail salons, beauty salons, barbershops, spas and hair salons.
Run your salon from your phone as it is compatible with both iOS and Android.
Fresha has a global user base and network serving 120 countries!

What to consider with Fresha?

Fresha is not currently customisable from a design point of view, so you will have to use the standard Fresha template for your booking page.

Phorest

A salon receptionist devised the idea for Phorest nearly twenty years ago. Leveraging real salon experience, the software allows you to market your salon and manage your staff through stock management, client inventories, loyalty programs, and more.

Why choose Phorest?

Offers no-show alerts and records this information against multiple no-show clients so you know if this is a regular occurrence.
You can use Phorest to send marketing messages directly to clients via text or email.
Available on the App Store and Android Play Store.
Phorest has been a known, reputable name for a long time.
Ideal for all salon services, including nail salons, beauty salons, barbershops, spas and hair salons.
Perfect for stock management thanks to an inbuilt barcode scanner.

What to consider with Phorest?

Pricing plans are not available at a glance on the Phorest website, and you have to request more information to find out the pricing.

Booksy

Booksy is a particularly good barbershop option, though it also caters to most other services. It offers a full management software tool to quickly and easily monitor your business performance via data.

Why choose Booksy?

You can cancel your free trial anytime, and you don't need to input your card details to start your trial.
Offers the ability to sell services and treatments and salon retail products.
Clients can browse your treatments and services based on verified customer ratings and reviews.
Available on the web, iOS and Android.

What to consider with Booksy?

Booksy is a set monthly subscription that allows you to pay for add-on services.
A Booksy subscription starts at £40 per month.

Treatwell

Treatwell is great for advertising all hair and beauty services. As one of the leading booking apps, you can set up an attractive information page to showcase your work and client reviews. Treatwell also offers point-of-sale salon software, which you can integrate with the app if you choose to

Why choose Treatwell?

Create virtual warehouses for stock control.
Increase your online visibility with a pool of potential new clients.
Treatwell offers free training support to get you set up.
Great for attracting new clients to try out your services.
Process payments and print receipts for each client using the Treatwells Point Of Sale system.
Ability to gain verified reviews from real clients.

What to consider with Treatwell?

Can be expensive to set up if you are a smaller salon business. Prices start at £399 for the starter package and go up to £1.4k for a premium package.
There are fees and commissions that will be added to your bill

There is no one-size-fits-all approach to salon software; however, if you find an app that ticks all the boxes in terms of price point and service offering, it may just be exactly what you're looking for to save time and increase efficiency.