Software · head to head
Phorest vs Salon Iris
The short version
- Each has a real cost: Phorest no price is published for any of the seven plans, and every route ends at a quote request; Salon Iris saloniris.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to daysmart.com/salon/pricing; the product is sold as DaySmart Salon
- They diverge on capability: Phorest covers Appointment booking, Salon Iris covers Appointment scheduling.
Where they differ
Only the attributes on which Phorest and Salon Iris actually diverge.
| Attribute | Phorest | Salon Iris |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | $99/month | $29/month |
| Platforms | Web, Ios, Android, Api | Web, Windows, Ios, Android |
| Founded | 2003 | 1999 |
Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), 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 Phorest
- Appointment booking
- Marketing automation
- Reputation management
- Staff management
- Inventory tracking
- Business reports
- Google My Business
Only in Salon Iris
- Appointment scheduling
- Inventory management
- Marketing tools
- Payroll reports
- Online booking
- Mobile access
- QuickBooks
- Constant Contact
Both cover
- Client management
- Point of sale
- Mailchimp
- PCI DSS
- SSL encryption
- Cloud deployment
- Web support
What people use each for
The jobs each tool is most often brought in to do.
Phorest
- Salon and spa appointment booking with client recordsnot Salon Iris
- Marketing, memberships and staff management for beauty businessesnot Salon Iris
Salon Iris
- Salon appointment scheduling and client recordsnot Phorest
- Salon point of sale and inventorynot Phorest
- Stylist payroll and commission trackingnot Phorest
Where each one falls short
Documented limitations, not opinions. Every one is a constraint you would hit in normal use.
Phorest
- No price is published for any of the seven plans, and every route ends at a quote request
- There is no free trial at all, which the company states plainly
- The product is described as suited to 3 or more staff, so a solo operator is outside the intended range
- The branded booking app requires the Ultimate plan, and two way SMS, memberships, lead management and the ads manager are all Elite only
Salon Iris
- saloniris.com/pricing returns a 301 redirect to daysmart.com/salon/pricing; the product is sold as DaySmart Salon
- The $29 per month entry plan includes only 1 user and excludes resource management, packages, memberships, payroll and digital forms
- Additional users cost $9 per month each
- Text and email volumes are capped per plan, starting at 500 texts and 1,000 emails per month
- Text marketing, two way texting, reputation management and the website builder are separately priced add ons
Pricing, plan by plan
Phorest
$99/month- Grow$99/month
- Appointment booking
- Client management
- POS
- Elevate$179/month
- Everything in Grow
- Advanced marketing
- Online booking
- Innovate$299/month
- Everything in Elevate
- Multi-location
- Advanced analytics
Salon Iris
$29/month- Basic$29/month
- Appointment booking
- Client database
- Basic POS
- Deluxe$59/month
- Everything in Basic
- Online booking
- Marketing tools
- Premier$109/month
- Everything in Deluxe
- Advanced reports
- Multi-location
Which should you pick?
Choose Phorest if
- You need appointment booking.
- You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
- You also want marketing automation.
Choose Salon Iris if
- You need appointment scheduling.
- You work on Web, Windows, Ios, Android.
- You also want inventory management.
Questions people ask
- Is Phorest or Salon Iris better?
- Neither clearly leads. Phorest starts at $99/month and Salon Iris at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
- Which is cheaper, Phorest or Salon Iris?
- Phorest starts at $99/month and Salon Iris at $29/month.
- Does Phorest or Salon Iris run on more platforms?
- Phorest runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Salon Iris runs on Web, Windows, Ios, Android.
- What is Phorest best used for?
- Phorest is most often used for salon and spa appointment booking with client records, marketing, memberships and staff management for beauty businesses. Of those, salon and spa appointment booking with client records and marketing, memberships and staff management for beauty businesses are not what Salon Iris is typically brought in for.
- What can Phorest do that Salon Iris cannot?
- Phorest covers Appointment booking, Marketing automation, Reputation management, Staff management. Salon Iris covers Appointment scheduling, Inventory management, Marketing tools, Payroll reports. Both handle Client management, Point of sale, Mailchimp, Facebook.