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Scheduling · head to head

GlossGenius vs Zcal

GlossGenius logo

GlossGenius

Scheduling

Beautiful booking for beauty pros

From
$28/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Zcal logo

Zcal

Scheduling

Scheduling with an unusually large free tier and heavy branding control

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Zcal has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: GlossGenius card payments are charged at a flat 2.6 percent, and instant payouts cost a further 1.8 percent; Zcal zcal branding stays on the free booking page, so the tier that is otherwise generous is not usable as a customer facing page for a business that cares how it looks.
  • They diverge on capability: GlossGenius covers Custom booking pages, Zcal covers Unlimited booking links.
  • Prices and features above were last checked on 31 August 2026.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which GlossGenius and Zcal actually diverge.

Attributes where GlossGenius and Zcal differ
AttributeGlossGeniusZcal
Starting price$28/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionPer user per month
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, AndroidWeb
Founded2016Unknown

Identical on both: user rating (Not yet rated), category (Scheduling).

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 GlossGenius

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

Only in Zcal

  • Unlimited booking links
  • Branded booking pages
  • Meeting polls
  • Group events
  • Round robin and collective
  • SMS reminders
  • Paid bookings

What people use each for

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

GlossGenius

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

Zcal

  • A consultant who runs several different meeting types and refuses to pay a subscription for the privilege of having more than one booking linknot GlossGenius
  • A coach or recruiter who wants a branded page with a welcome video and intake questions before the call happensnot GlossGenius
  • A small team that needs round robin distribution of inbound calls without buying a full sales engagement platformnot GlossGenius
  • Anyone taking payment at the point of booking, where the Stripe connection removes an invoicing step afterwardsnot GlossGenius

Where each one falls short

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

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

Zcal

  • Zcal branding stays on the free booking page, so the tier that is otherwise generous is not usable as a customer facing page for a business that cares how it looks.
  • Paid tier prices are not stated plainly in the product documentation and third party sources disagree on the figure, so the paid step up has to be confirmed on the vendor pricing page before budgeting for a team.
  • SMS reminders are credit metered on paid tiers, so a high volume booker can exhaust the allowance and be pushed up a tier by message count rather than by needing any feature.
  • The integration list is short next to established competitors, and there is no deep native CRM object writing, so a sales team that wants bookings to create and update CRM records will need automation glue.
  • It is a small vendor in a category dominated by much larger companies, which is fine for a personal booking link and a real consideration if booking is a core business process you cannot afford to migrate off in a hurry.

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Zcal

Free
  • Free ForeverFree
    • Unlimited booking links
    • Unlimited connected calendar accounts
    • Meeting polls and group events
  • Pro$undefined/month
    • Per user per month, priced on the vendor pricing page
    • Team creation and team pages
    • Round robin and collective events
  • Business$undefined/month
    • Per user per month, priced on the vendor pricing page
    • Everything in Pro
    • Custom domain and custom sending email domain

Which should you pick?

Choose GlossGenius if

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

Choose Zcal if

  • You need unlimited booking links.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You also want branded booking pages.
Zcal review

Questions people ask

Is GlossGenius or Zcal better?
Neither clearly leads. GlossGenius starts at $28/month and Zcal at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, GlossGenius or Zcal?
Zcal has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $28/month for GlossGenius and Free for Zcal.
Does GlossGenius or Zcal run on more platforms?
GlossGenius runs on Web, Ios, Android. Zcal runs on Web.
Can I use Zcal for free?
Yes. Zcal has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. GlossGenius starts at $28/month.
What is GlossGenius best used for?
GlossGenius is most often used for appointment booking and calendar management for salons, card payments and tipping at the chair, client records, forms and waivers, memberships and prepaid packages. Of those, appointment booking and calendar management for salons and card payments and tipping at the chair are not what Zcal is typically brought in for.
What can GlossGenius do that Zcal cannot?
GlossGenius covers Custom booking pages, Payment processing, Client management, Automated reminders. Zcal covers Unlimited booking links, Branded booking pages, Meeting polls, Group events.

Answered from the vendors’ own pages

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
Zcal: Is the free plan actually usable?

Yes. Unlimited booking links and unlimited calendar connections, which is more than most competitors allow, but Zcal branding stays on the page.

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
Zcal: What do you pay for?

Team features, round robin and collective events, branding removal, custom fonts, SMS reminders and custom domains.

GlossGenius: Is there a free trial for GlossGenius?

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

Source
Zcal: Can I take payment for bookings?

Yes, through the Stripe connection at the point of booking.

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
Zcal: Does it do round robin?

Yes, on the paid tiers. Round robin and collective events are not on the free plan.

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