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Travel · head to head

FareHarbor vs GlossGenius

FareHarbor logo

FareHarbor

Travel

Booking and reservation software for tour and activity operators with no subscription fee

From
On request
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
GlossGenius logo

GlossGenius

Scheduling

Beautiful booking for beauty pros

From
$28/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Each has a real cost: FareHarbor the roughly 6% booking fee is added to the price your customer sees, so your headline price appears higher than a competitor absorbing their software cost, which is a direct disadvantage when guests price-compare.; GlossGenius card payments are charged at a flat 2.6 percent, and instant payouts cost a further 1.8 percent
  • They diverge on capability: FareHarbor covers Availability and capacity, GlossGenius covers Custom booking pages.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which FareHarbor and GlossGenius actually diverge.

Attributes where FareHarbor and GlossGenius differ
AttributeFareHarborGlossGenius
Starting priceOn request$28/month
Pricing modelPer booking fee added at checkoutsubscription
CategoryTravelScheduling
FoundedUnknown2016

Identical on both: free tier (No), platforms (Web, iOS, Android), user rating (Not yet rated).

What each one covers

Drawn from each product's published feature list. An absence here means we hold no record of it - not that the product lacks it.

Only in FareHarbor

  • Availability and capacity
  • Customer checkout
  • Digital waivers
  • Manifests and dispatch
  • OTA distribution
  • Gift cards and point of sale

Only in GlossGenius

  • Custom booking pages
  • Payment processing
  • Client management
  • Automated reminders
  • Marketing tools
  • Website builder
  • Reports & insights
  • Gift cards

What people use each for

The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.

FareHarbor

  • A kayak tour operator with strong seasonality that cannot justify a fixed monthly software fee through the winternot GlossGenius
  • An attraction wanting waivers, manifests and OTA distribution in one system without an upfront licencenot GlossGenius
  • A new operator launching with no capital who needs professional checkout from day onenot GlossGenius
  • A multi-activity business needing guide and equipment assignment across overlapping departuresnot GlossGenius

GlossGenius

  • Appointment booking and calendar management for salonsnot FareHarbor
  • Card payments and tipping at the chairnot FareHarbor
  • Client records, forms and waiversnot FareHarbor
  • Memberships and prepaid packagesnot FareHarbor
  • Medspa charting and photo markup on the clinical plansnot FareHarbor

Where each one falls short

Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.

FareHarbor

  • The roughly 6% booking fee is added to the price your customer sees, so your headline price appears higher than a competitor absorbing their software cost, which is a direct disadvantage when guests price-compare.
  • With card processing on top, the effective cost is commonly 9 to 11% of booking value, so a high-volume operator pays far more over a year than a flat subscription would cost.
  • There is no published rate card, so the fee you are quoted depends on the deal you negotiate and you cannot compare terms without going through onboarding.
  • FareHarbor is owned by Booking Holdings, so your reservation system, your customer data and your availability sit inside the group that owns the largest OTA competing for your direct bookings.
  • Because pricing is transactional, switching away is expensive in effort rather than money and operators tend to stay past the point where a subscription product would be cheaper.

GlossGenius

  • Card payments are charged at a flat 2.6 percent, and instant payouts cost a further 1.8 percent
  • Forms and waivers, waitlists and Google booking need the Gold plan at $56 a month
  • Team analytics, custom commissions and unlimited team members require Platinum at $168 a month
  • The medspa plans start where the beauty Platinum plan does, at $168 a month, rising to $298 for the full clinical suite
  • Payroll is a separate add-on at $40 a month plus $6 per staff member

Pricing, plan by plan

FareHarbor

On request
  • FareHarbor$undefined/month
    • No monthly subscription and no setup fee
    • Booking fee of around 6% added to the customer checkout price
    • Card processing charged separately, giving an effective 9 to 11% of booking value

GlossGenius

$28/month
  • Standard$28/month
    • Custom booking website
    • Unlimited client notifications
    • Email and text marketing
  • Gold$56/month
    • All Standard features
    • Supports up to 9 staff members
    • Forms and waivers
  • Platinum$168/month
    • All Gold features
    • Supports teams of 10 or more
    • Team goal setting
  • Practice Essentials$168/month
    • EMR compliance tools for aesthetics practices
    • Most popular for medspa and aesthetics tier

Which should you pick?

Choose FareHarbor if

  • You need availability and capacity.
  • You work on Web, iOS, Android.
  • You also want customer checkout.
FareHarbor review

Choose GlossGenius if

  • You need custom booking pages.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want payment processing.
GlossGenius review

Questions people ask

Is FareHarbor or GlossGenius better?
Neither clearly leads. FareHarbor starts at On request and GlossGenius at $28/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, FareHarbor or GlossGenius?
FareHarbor starts at On request and GlossGenius at $28/month.
Does FareHarbor or GlossGenius run on more platforms?
FareHarbor runs on Web, iOS, Android. GlossGenius runs on Web, Ios, Android.
What is FareHarbor best used for?
FareHarbor is most often used for a kayak tour operator with strong seasonality that cannot justify a fixed monthly software fee through the winter, an attraction wanting waivers, manifests and ota distribution in one system without an upfront licence, a new operator launching with no capital who needs professional checkout from day one, a multi-activity business needing guide and equipment assignment across overlapping departures. Of those, a kayak tour operator with strong seasonality that cannot justify a fixed monthly software fee through the winter and an attraction wanting waivers, manifests and ota distribution in one system without an upfront licence are not what GlossGenius is typically brought in for.
What can FareHarbor do that GlossGenius cannot?
FareHarbor covers Availability and capacity, Customer checkout, Digital waivers, Manifests and dispatch. GlossGenius covers Custom booking pages, Payment processing, Client management, Automated reminders.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

FareHarbor: What does FareHarbor cost?

No subscription. Around 6% is added to the customer checkout price, plus card processing, giving roughly 9 to 11% of booking value in total.

GlossGenius: How much does GlossGenius cost?

GlossGenius Standard plan is $28 per month, Gold is $56 per month, and Platinum is $168 per month for beauty and wellness businesses. For medspa and aesthetics, Practice Essentials is $168 per month and Practice Advanced is $298 per month.

Source
FareHarbor: Who pays the booking fee?

By default the customer, shown at checkout. Operators can choose to absorb it into their own price instead.

GlossGenius: What are the annual billing savings?

Switching from monthly to annual billing saves 12-14% on your subscription cost. For example, Gold drops from $56 per month to $48 per month when billed annually.

Source
FareHarbor: Who owns FareHarbor?

Booking Holdings, the parent of Booking.com, Priceline and Kayak.

GlossGenius: Is there a free trial for GlossGenius?

GlossGenius offers a 14-day free trial with no credit card required.

Source
FareHarbor: At what volume does a subscription tool become cheaper?

Broadly once annual bookings exceed a few hundred thousand in value, at which point 6% dwarfs a fixed monthly plan.

GlossGenius: What are GlossGenius payment processing fees?

GlossGenius charges a flat 2.6% payment processing rate. Free same-day payouts are available Monday through Thursday, and instant payouts can be requested at a 1.8% fee.

Source
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