Vagaro vs Booksy

by Gralio Feb 03, 2025

Vagaro and Booksy are both popular choices for businesses in the beauty and wellness industry. Vagaro is a better fit for businesses needing inventory management and in-depth reporting, while Booksy is a good fit for businesses primarily needing appointment scheduling and marketing tools. Booksy might be a more budget-friendly option.

At Gralio.ai we help to simplify your decision-making process by offering detailed, side-by-side software comparisons like this one, to help you confidently choose the tool that aligns with your business goals.

This comparison was created by analysing 717 reviews and 57 websites, saving 4 hours, 27 minutes of reading.

Vagaro

Website LinkedIn Twitter

Booksy

Website LinkedIn Twitter

About

Vagaro is an all-in-one business management software designed specifically for the beauty, wellness, and fitness industries. It offers tools for online appointment scheduling, payment processing, customer tracking, marketing, inventory management, and more. Vagaro helps businesses attract new customers, manage appointments, reduce no-shows, and streamline operations. It's accessible on any device and offers a free trial period.

Booksy is an all-in-one business management platform designed for appointment-based businesses, particularly in the beauty and wellness industries. It offers online appointment scheduling, payment processing, marketing tools, and customer management features. Booksy aims to streamline operations, attract new customers, and reduce no-shows. With a strong global presence, serving over 380,000 businesses and 38 million customers, Booksy provides a centralized solution for managing and growing a service-based business.

Summary

Main difference

Vagaro offers a wider range of features, including inventory management and detailed reporting, making it a more comprehensive solution. Booksy focuses on core scheduling and marketing features, providing a simpler, potentially more affordable option.

Relative strengths of Vagaro (compared to Booksy)

Vagaro provides more comprehensive features, including inventory management, which is crucial for businesses that sell products.
Vagaro offers more detailed reporting and analytics, allowing businesses to gain deeper insights into their performance.
Vagaro seems to have better customer support based on user reviews, which can be vital for resolving issues quickly.

Relative weaknesses of Vagaro (compared to Booksy)

Booksy has a cleaner and possibly simpler user interface, making it potentially easier to learn and use.
Booksy's pricing may be more transparent and affordable, though details are limited.
Booksy has a wider range of integrations with other platforms, potentially enhancing its versatility.

Who should use Vagaro VS. Booksy

Vagaro is a user-friendly, all-in-one software ideal for salons, spas, and fitness studios. Users love the automated appointment reminders and comprehensive features but dislike the pricing and limited customization. It streamlines bookings, payments, and marketing, helping businesses attract clients and manage operations efficiently.

Booksy is a user-friendly platform for appointment-based businesses to manage bookings, payments, and marketing. It streamlines operations with 24/7 online booking and reduces no-shows with automated reminders. However, some users have reported issues with fake accounts and customer service responsiveness.

Vagaro is best for small to medium businesses.
Vagaro is ideal for beauty, wellness and fitness businesses.

Best for small to mid-sized businesses in the beauty and wellness industry.
Ideal for beauty salons, barbershops, spas, and wellness centers.

Vagaro and Booksy features

Supported

Partially supported

Not supported

Type in the name of the feature or in your own words tell us what you need

Direct booking website

Supported

Clients can book directly from a business website using the customizable booking widget.

Supported

Clients can book directly from a business website using a booking widget or custom link.
Messaging integrations

Partially supported

Vagaro supports SMS, email and team chats via Connect, but Booking.com and WhatsApp are not mentioned.

Partially supported

Booksy supports internal messaging but external messaging platform integrations are not clearly documented.
24/7 Online Booking

Supported

Vagaro supports 24/7 online booking, allowing clients to book at their convenience.

Supported

Booksy allows clients to book appointments online 24/7.
Online booking

Supported

Vagaro enables clients to schedule appointments online via a booking widget, their online booking page, and various integrations like Facebook, Yelp, and Google.

Supported

Booksy allows clients to book appointments online 24/7 via their website, Google Search, Google Maps, Instagram, and Facebook.
Manage bookings

Supported

Vagaro provides clients with the ability to manage their bookings, including canceling and rescheduling.

Supported

Booksy enables clients to manage their bookings, including cancellations and reschedulings, directly through their platform and mobile app.
Appointment scheduling

Supported

Vagaro offers extensive appointment scheduling and management features, including real-time booking, automated reminders, recurring appointments, multi-location support, and customizable booking options.

Supported

Booksy fully satisfies the requirement for appointment scheduling and management, as evidenced by the various features and functionalities described in the provided sources.

Qualities

Value and Pricing Transparency

-0.07

Neutral sentiment

-0.29

Neutral sentiment
Customer Service

+0.9

Strongly positive sentiment

-0.24

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Use

+1

Strongly positive sentiment

+0.69

Rather positive sentiment
Reliability and Performance

+0.43

Rather positive sentiment

+0

Neutral sentiment
Ease of Implementation

+0.82

Strongly positive sentiment

-0.75

Strongly negative sentiment
Scalability

No data

+0

Neutral sentiment

Vagaro and Booksy Pricing

No data

User sentiment

Neutral

-0.07

See full Pricing page

No data

User sentiment

Neutral

-0.29

See full Pricing page

Vagaro and Booksy review insights

549 reviews analysed from and

Users love

Vagaro is praised for its user-friendly interface and ease of use.
Excellent customer support is a recurring highlight in positive reviews.
The automated appointment reminders and confirmations are highly appreciated by users.
The platform is lauded for its comprehensive features, acting as a one-stop shop for managing a business.
Many users appreciate the convenience of online booking for both themselves and their clients.

The app is user-friendly and easy to navigate.
It effectively streamlines appointment scheduling and reduces no-shows.
The marketing tools are helpful for attracting new clients.
The platform allows 24/7 booking which is convenient for clients.

Users dislike

Many features require extra costs, leading to a high overall price.
Clients having trouble booking multiple services.
Some users report frequent system outages and slow loading times.
The inability to customize appointment reminders beyond standard settings is a common complaint.
Limited customization options for editing client information.

Fake accounts are a serious issue and support does not help to remove them.
Customer service is extremely unhelpful and slow to respond.
Prepayments are often not paid out within the promised timeframe.
The app is prone to crashing.

Vagaro and Booksy Ratings

G2

4.5/5

(204)
TrustPilot

4.3/5

(78)
Glassdoor

3.5/5

(134)

G2

4.7/5

(9)
Capterra

4.4/5

(360)
TrustPilot

4.5/5

(90)
Glassdoor

2.9/5

(238)

Company health

Employee growth

19% increase in the last year

10% increase in the last year

Web traffic

5% decrease in the last quarter

No change in the last quarter

Financing

July 2021 - $163M

June 2024 - $120M

How do Vagaro's and Booksy's inventory management features compare?

Vagaro explicitly lists inventory management as a feature, while Booksy does not. This suggests Vagaro offers dedicated tools for tracking stock levels, managing product orders, and potentially integrating with point-of-sale systems. Booksy's focus appears primarily centered on appointment scheduling and related functionalities, potentially lacking specific inventory management capabilities. Therefore, for businesses needing robust inventory control, Vagaro seems to be the better option.

Which product offers better customization for appointment reminders?

Vagaro offers slightly better customization for appointment reminders. While both platforms provide automated reminders, Vagaro users dislike the inability to customize the content of these reminders, but Booksy's product information doesn't mention any customization options at all, suggesting even less flexibility. Therefore, while neither excels in this area, Vagaro appears to offer marginally more control.

What are the advantages of Vagaro?

Vagaro offers a more comprehensive suite of features specifically tailored to the beauty, wellness, and fitness industries, including inventory management and customer tracking, which Booksy lacks. Vagaro also receives significantly more positive feedback regarding customer support, while Booksy has recurring complaints about unhelpful and slow customer service. Furthermore, Vagaro's user reviews highlight its comprehensive feature set and ease of use, while Booksy users complain about app crashes and issues with fake accounts.

What are the disadvantages of Vagaro?

Vagaro users report issues with high overall pricing due to many features requiring extra costs, difficulties booking multiple services, frequent system outages and slow loading times, limited customization of appointment reminders, and restricted options for editing client information.

Alternatives to Vagaro and Booksy

GlossGenius

GlossGenius is an all-in-one software designed for individual professionals and businesses in the beauty and wellness industry, such as salons and spas. It helps manage various aspects of the business including online appointment booking, processing payments, marketing, client management, and inventory. The software aims to simplify business operations, reduce administrative tasks, and provide a seamless experience for both the business and their clients. GlossGenius emphasizes its user-friendly interface, attractive design, and features intended to save time and increase revenue.

CampDoc

CampDoc is a web-based software platform designed for managing camps and youth programs. It offers tools for online registration, electronic health records (EHR), camper health forms, allergy and medication tracking, and communication with parents. The software focuses on increasing safety and efficiency for camps and is used by over 1,250 organizations nationwide. CampDoc also integrates with other camp management software programs.

Practice

Practice is a client management software designed for coaching and client-based businesses of all sizes. It consolidates scheduling, client communication, file storage, billing, and team management into one platform. Practice aims to streamline operations and reduce reliance on multiple tools. It offers a client portal for appointment scheduling, progress tracking, and communication, while providing business owners tools to manage their team, track payments, and automate administrative tasks.

Fresha

Fresha is a popular, subscription-free booking software designed specifically for the beauty and wellness industry. It helps salons, barbershops, and spas manage appointments, staff, and client communications. Businesses benefit from a free platform offering unlimited bookings, automated reminders, and online booking options through various channels like Google, Facebook, and Instagram. Fresha also offers paid features, including card processing.

Pabau

Pabau is a cloud-based practice management software designed for healthcare businesses like medical spas, clinics, and salons. It offers a wide range of features including online booking, electronic medical records, billing, inventory management, marketing automation, and reporting tools. Pabau aims to streamline operations, improve patient experience, and help businesses grow by automating tasks and providing data-driven insights. It's suitable for various healthcare providers, from small clinics to multi-location practices.

Mindbody

Mindbody is a popular business management software designed for the fitness and wellness industry. It offers a range of features including online appointment scheduling, staff management, payment processing, and marketing tools. Mindbody aims to simplify business operations for studios, gyms, salons, and individual practitioners, allowing them to focus on client relationships and business growth. Its large customer base and industry-specific features make it a leader in the wellness software market.

Page co-authored by

Michal Kaczor

CEO at Gralio

Michal has worked at startups for many years and writes about topics relating to software selection and IT management. As a former consultant for Bain, a business advisory company, he also knows how to understand needs of any business and find solutions to its problems.

Tymon Terlikiewicz

CTO at Gralio

Tymon is a seasoned CTO who loves finding the perfect tools for any task. He recently headed up the tech department at Batmaid, a well-known Swiss company, where he managed about 60 software purchases, including CX, HR, Payroll, Marketing automation and various developer tools.

How are we doing?

Is this information helpful to you? Is there anything we are missing?

Did this help you select your product?

Other issues? Vote & Let us know