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Vagaro Alternative

The Vagaro alternative that does not bill per bookable calendar

Vagaro prices its subscription per bookable calendar – every person who takes appointments has one, so the invoice follows your rota. Beside it sits the Vagaro Marketplace: your business is listed there automatically once the profile is complete, and a one-time share of the first appointment applies when a client books you through it. Salon Wizard is built the other way round: one plan with the team inside it, and no marketplace to be referred from or charged for.

from €7.00 per month

Team plan

4

Salon Wizard
€29.00
per month, however large your team gets
Extra cost per team member
€0.00

Subscription per bookable calendar Every person taking appointments needs a bookable calendar, and the subscription scales with them

Only additional locations carry a fixed, transparent surcharge.

Salon Wizard compared to Vagaro

Criterion Salon Wizard Vagaro
Pricing model Fair flat price – monthly or yearly Subscription per bookable calendar, with the MySite website builder, a branded app, text marketing and email beyond the included allowance billed on top
Staff Unlimited – no extra charge Every person taking appointments needs a bookable calendar, and the subscription scales with them
Your own booking website Yes, under your brand A booking site of its own is the MySite add-on, billed on top of the subscription; the subscription itself carries a booking widget for a site you host elsewhere – alongside a listing in the Vagaro Marketplace
Data ownership German servers, GDPR, your data A global booking platform; where your records are stored follows its own privacy terms
Third-party ads & competition None – only your business The marketplace shows businesses near the searcher, so competitors appear in the same result list

Why salons switch to Salon Wizard

The marketplace is where the share falls

We take no share of any appointment, first or fiftieth. On your ordinary bookings Vagaro takes none either – that is not where the two of us part company. The share falls once, on the first appointment with a client the Marketplace sends you; here nothing falls at all, because there is no marketplace to send anyone. If that reach is what you are buying, it is a fair trade – simply not one we ask you to make.

Your own booking website

Your guests book on your own page under your brand, and that page is part of the plan. At Vagaro a site of your own is the MySite add-on, billed on top of the subscription; what the subscription itself carries is a booking widget for a site you host elsewhere – and the marketplace listing beside it, where the salons of your street turn up under the same search.

Data in Germany, GDPR-compliant

Your client records sit on servers in Germany and belong to you. Where a global platform stores yours, and under which arrangements, is set out in its own privacy terms – worth reading before the data has moved rather than after.

Your whole team at no extra cost

Staff are included in the Team plan. Where billing runs per bookable calendar, every person who takes appointments adds to the invoice before serving a single client. Here a growing team does not move the price, and only additional locations cost a fixed, transparent surcharge.

Switch in a few steps

  1. Create your account

    Sign up, name your salon, add your opening hours – no payment details.

  2. Add services and team

    Set up treatments with duration and price, then add your staff. Included in the Team plan at no extra cost.

  3. Publish your booking page

    Your page goes live and guests book under your brand – every appointment is yours.

What switching actually changes

Leaving a platform that is a marketplace and a scheduling tool at once changes two things in the same moment – and a third one on the invoice.

  1. The invoice stops following the rota

    Instead of a subscription per bookable calendar, one plan carries the team. Taking somebody on becomes a staffing decision again rather than a software decision, and a quiet month costs exactly what a busy one costs.

  2. The first appointment stays whole

    No referral share falls on a new client, because there is no referral to charge for. What that also means belongs on the page: nobody is sending the client either. Your page has to be found through your own channels.

  3. The extras stop being platform lines

    A website builder, a branded app, a card terminal – with a platform each of those is its own line: a fixed monthly add-on, or a device, or free if you also let them process your payments. Here the plan covers the software, and everything at the counter stays your own arrangement with whoever you already pay for it. The branded app is the honest gap: Vagaro sells one, we build none at all. Your guests book in the browser under your brand, with nothing to install – a deliberate limit, not a cheaper version of the same thing.

What you keep, what you give up

What you keep

Online booking around the clock, the calendar and staff scheduling, services with duration and price, and client records with history and recurring appointments. Your own booking page comes with it, and the whole team sits in the Team plan at no extra cost.

What you give up

The marketplace reach and the till side of the platform. Vagaro sells card readers and terminals and settles payments; we do none of that and offer no certified till, so cash trade will keep needing the device you use now. And an app under your own name in the stores: Vagaro sells one, we build none. Booking here happens in the browser, which needs no installation and also gives your guests no icon on their home screen. The listing that put you in front of strangers goes as well – your own page has to earn that traffic.

Frequently asked questions about the Vagaro alternative

Does Vagaro take a commission on appointments?

Not on your ordinary appointments. According to Vagaro's own pricing page a one-time share applies to the first appointment when a client finds you through the Vagaro Marketplace, and appointments with that client afterwards carry nothing further. So it is a fee for a referral rather than a cut of your day.

What does an extra team member cost at Vagaro?

We deliberately name no figure – other people's prices change, and an outdated claim about a named provider would be unfair. The model is the part that lasts: the subscription is priced per bookable calendar, so each additional person who takes appointments is a step up. The current amount is on Vagaro's pricing page.

Does Salon Wizard charge per staff member?

No. Staff are included in the Team plan whatever the size of your team. Only additional locations cost a fixed surcharge, and it stands on our pricing page before you decide anything.

Do I lose reach without the marketplace?

The borrowed kind, yes. Someone searching a marketplace for a salon nearby, with no name in mind, will not meet you there after the switch. Your own page serves first the people who already know you – and it does not put your neighbours in the same list.

How does the billing model differ from Vagaro?

Vagaro bills per bookable calendar and prices several things on top of it: the MySite website builder and a branded app as fixed monthly add-ons, text marketing by volume, and email marketing above the allowance the plan includes. Card readers it advertises free with its own merchant services. Salon Wizard charges one plan with the team inside it, and a fixed surcharge per additional location. A branded app is something we do not offer in any form – booking here runs in the browser.

Can I take my client data with me from Vagaro?

Ask for the export before you cancel, while your access still exists. What a platform releases, and in what format, it decides itself; that is not a promise we can make on its behalf. Afterwards you set up records, services and opening hours here.

Can I keep the marketplace profile and use you as well?

Yes – for as long as the Vagaro subscription runs, because the listing is part of that plan. Keeping the profile therefore means paying both for a while: it keeps catching new faces while your regulars move across to your own page. Pick one calendar as the leading one so the two cannot double-book you, and end the old plan when the traffic has moved.

Does my salon need a point of sale?

That is decided by the country you invoice in. The question is whether your law requires a certified security device for electronic tills, and from when – in Germany, for example, that is the case for cash trade with an electronic till. Vagaro sells card readers and terminals. Salon Wizard is deliberately not a till and settles nothing: we plan appointments, keep the client record and write invoices, and whatever stands on your counter stays.

Is Salon Wizard right for your business?

A comparison answers the price question. It does not answer the question of fit. What each plan contains is on the pricing page – how Salon Wizard works in the day-to-day of your trade is what the vertical pages beside it show, each with the services, routines and examples that are usual there.