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Beauty & Salon · head to head

Phorest vs Salon Ultimate

Phorest logo

Phorest

Beauty & Salon

Salon software that grows your business

From
$99/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Salon Ultimate logo

Salon Ultimate

Beauty & Salon

Complete salon management made simple

From
$29/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

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 Ultimate multi-location businesses pay per location ($199 per location per month) rather than a flat enterprise rate, and the vendor charges $0.03 per additional SMS message on top of subscription plans, per its own pricing page.
  • They diverge on capability: Phorest covers Appointment booking, Salon Ultimate covers Appointment scheduling.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Phorest and Salon Ultimate actually diverge.

Attributes where Phorest and Salon Ultimate differ
AttributePhorestSalon Ultimate
Starting price$99/month$29/month
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, Ios, Android
Founded20032008

Identical on both: pricing model (subscription), free tier (No), user rating (Not yet rated), category (Beauty & Salon).

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
  • Client management
  • Marketing automation
  • Reputation management
  • Staff management
  • Inventory tracking
  • Business reports
  • Facebook

Only in Salon Ultimate

  • Appointment scheduling
  • Client database
  • Inventory management
  • Staff scheduling
  • Online booking
  • Reporting & analytics
  • Email marketing
  • QuickBooks

Both cover

  • Point of sale
  • Mailchimp
  • Stripe
  • 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 Ultimate
  • Marketing, memberships and staff management for beauty businessesnot Salon Ultimate

Salon Ultimate

  • Appointment managementnot Phorest
  • Client retentionnot Phorest
  • Inventory controlnot Phorest
  • Business reportingnot 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 Ultimate

  • Multi-location businesses pay per location ($199 per location per month) rather than a flat enterprise rate, and the vendor charges $0.03 per additional SMS message on top of subscription plans, per its own pricing page.

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 Ultimate

$29/month
  • Basic$29/month
    • Appointment scheduling
    • Client management
    • Basic reporting
  • Professional$59/month
    • All Basic features
    • Online booking
    • POS system

Which should you pick?

Choose Phorest if

  • You need appointment booking.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android, Api.
  • You also want client management.
Phorest review

Choose Salon Ultimate if

  • You need appointment scheduling.
  • You work on Web, Ios, Android.
  • You also want client database.
Salon Ultimate review

Questions people ask

Is Phorest or Salon Ultimate better?
Neither clearly leads. Phorest starts at $99/month and Salon Ultimate at $29/month, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Phorest or Salon Ultimate?
Phorest starts at $99/month and Salon Ultimate at $29/month.
Does Phorest or Salon Ultimate run on more platforms?
Phorest runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Salon Ultimate runs on Web, 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 Ultimate is typically brought in for.
What can Phorest do that Salon Ultimate cannot?
Phorest covers Appointment booking, Client management, Marketing automation, Reputation management. Salon Ultimate covers Appointment scheduling, Client database, Inventory management, Staff scheduling. Both handle Point of sale, Mailchimp, Stripe, PCI DSS.
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