Software · head to head
Fresha vs Vagaro
The short version
- Only Fresha has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
- Each has a real cost: Fresha fresha charges a 50 percent one time commission on each new client booked through its marketplace, subject to a minimum fee per client; Vagaro the $23.99 per month entry price covers one location and one bookable calendar, so every extra staff calendar adds cost
- They diverge on capability: Fresha covers Online booking, Vagaro covers Online appointment booking.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Fresha and Vagaro actually diverge.
Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Unknown).
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 Fresha
- Online booking
- Appointment management
- Client database
- Inventory management
- Staff scheduling
- Marketing tools
- Reports & analytics
- Apple Calendar
Only in Vagaro
- Online appointment booking
- Client management
- Inventory tracking
- Marketing automation
- Payroll management
- Mobile app
- Reporting & analytics
- Quickbooks
Both cover
- Point of sale
- Google Calendar
- Stripe
- PCI DSS
- SSL encryption
- Cloud deployment
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Fresha
- Running appointment booking and point of sale for salons and spasnot Vagaro
- Attracting new clients through the Fresha consumer marketplacenot Vagaro
- Sending appointment reminders and marketing campaigns to clientsnot Vagaro
Vagaro
- Appointment booking and calendar management for salons, spas and fitness studiosnot Fresha
- Selling services and retail products with integrated card paymentsnot Fresha
- Marketing to clients by email and text and offering a branded booking appnot Fresha
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Fresha
- Fresha charges a 50 percent one time commission on each new client booked through its marketplace, subject to a minimum fee per client
- Online card payments carry a 4.90 percent plus fixed fee per transaction charge on top of the subscription
- Only 20 SMS or WhatsApp notifications and 50 marketing emails are free each month; everything beyond that is billed per message
- Team and Enterprise plans are quoted as custom rates with no published figure
- Add ons such as Team Connect and Insights are billed per team member per month on top of the plan
- Enterprise pricing applies to businesses with 20 or more team members
Vagaro
- The $23.99 per month entry price covers one location and one bookable calendar, so every extra staff calendar adds cost
- The free trial excludes email marketing, text marketing and the branded app
- Text and email marketing pricing is not published on the pricing page and requires contacting sales
- Card processing is sold separately through Vagaro Merchant Services, with the free card reader tied to signing up for it
Pricing, plan by plan
Fresha
Free- FreeFree
- Unlimited appointments
- Unlimited staff
- Online booking
- Payments (Add-on)$2.19/transaction
- Card payments
- Contactless payments
- Online payments
- Marketing (Add-on)$0.01/message
- Email campaigns
- SMS marketing
- Automated messages
Vagaro
$25/month- Single User$25/month
- Online booking
- Client management
- Calendar management
- 2-3 Users$45/month
- Everything in Single User
- Multiple staff calendars
- Staff permissions
- 4-6 Users$75/month
- Everything in 2-3 Users
- Inventory management
- Payroll reports
- 7+ Users$85/month
- Everything in 4-6 Users
- Enterprise features
- Priority support
Which should you pick?
Choose Fresha if
- You need online booking.
- You want to start without paying.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android.
- You also want appointment management.
Choose Vagaro if
- You need online appointment booking.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want client management.
Questions people ask
- Is Fresha or Vagaro better?
- Neither clearly leads. Fresha starts at Free and Vagaro at $25/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Fresha or Vagaro?
- Fresha has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at Free for Fresha and $25/month for Vagaro.
- Does Fresha or Vagaro run on more platforms?
- Fresha runs on Web, Ios, Android. Vagaro runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- Can I use Fresha for free?
- Yes. Fresha has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Vagaro starts at $25/month.
- What is Fresha best used for?
- Fresha is most often used for running appointment booking and point of sale for salons and spas, attracting new clients through the fresha consumer marketplace, sending appointment reminders and marketing campaigns to clients. Of those, running appointment booking and point of sale for salons and spas and attracting new clients through the fresha consumer marketplace are not what Vagaro is typically brought in for.
- What can Fresha do that Vagaro cannot?
- Fresha covers Online booking, Appointment management, Client database, Inventory management. Vagaro covers Online appointment booking, Client management, Inventory tracking, Marketing automation. Both handle Point of sale, Google Calendar, Instagram, Facebook.