Softwr

Scheduling & Booking · head to head

Vagaro vs Cal.com

Vagaro logo

Vagaro

Scheduling & Booking

All-in-one salon, spa & fitness software

From
$25/month
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite
Cal.com logo

Cal.com

Scheduling & Booking

Scheduling infrastructure for everyone

From
Free
Rated
-
Full reviewWebsite

The short version

  • Only Cal.com has a free tier, so it costs nothing to try first.
  • Each has a real cost: Vagaro the $23.99 per month entry price covers one location and one bookable calendar, so every extra staff calendar adds cost; Cal.com free plan limited to single user only
  • They diverge on capability: Vagaro covers Online appointment booking, Cal.com covers Custom booking pages.

Where they differ

Only the attributes on which Vagaro and Cal.com actually diverge.

Attributes where Vagaro and Cal.com differ
AttributeVagaroCal.com
Starting price$25/monthFree
Pricing modelsubscriptionfreemium
Free tierNoYes
PlatformsWeb, Ios, Android, ApiWeb, Mobile app, Browser extension
Founded20092021

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

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 Vagaro

  • Online appointment booking
  • Client management
  • Point of sale
  • Inventory tracking
  • Marketing automation
  • Payroll management
  • Mobile app
  • Reporting & analytics

Only in Cal.com

  • Custom booking pages
  • Team scheduling
  • Collective scheduling
  • Routing forms
  • Webhooks
  • Outlook
  • Zoom
  • Google Meet

Both cover

  • Google Calendar
  • Stripe

What people use each for

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

Vagaro

  • Appointment booking and calendar management for salons, spas and fitness studiosnot Cal.com
  • Selling services and retail products with integrated card paymentsnot Cal.com
  • Marketing to clients by email and text and offering a branded booking appnot Cal.com

Cal.com

  • Schedule meetings and manage availabilitynot Vagaro
  • Accept payments via Stripe and PayPalnot Vagaro
  • Integrate with Salesforce and HubSpotnot Vagaro

Where each one falls short

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

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

Cal.com

  • Free plan limited to single user only
  • Free plan restricted to 1 user account
  • Teams plan requires yearly billing at $12/user/month
  • Organizations plan requires yearly billing at $28/user/month
  • Free plan lacks team collaboration features

Pricing, plan by plan

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

Cal.com

Free

No published plan breakdown. See the Cal.com review.

Which should you pick?

Choose Vagaro if

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

Choose Cal.com if

  • You need custom booking pages.
  • You want to start without paying.
  • You work on Web, Mobile app, Browser extension.
  • You also want team scheduling.
Cal.com review

Questions people ask

Is Vagaro or Cal.com better?
Neither clearly leads. Vagaro starts at $25/month and Cal.com at Free, and user ratings are close enough to be indistinguishable. Choose on capability and platform support.
Which is cheaper, Vagaro or Cal.com?
Cal.com has a free tier; the other does not. Paid plans start at $25/month for Vagaro and Free for Cal.com.
Does Vagaro or Cal.com run on more platforms?
Vagaro runs on Web, Ios, Android, Api. Cal.com runs on Web, Mobile app, Browser extension.
Can I use Cal.com for free?
Yes. Cal.com has a free tier, so you can try it without paying. Vagaro starts at $25/month.
What is Vagaro best used for?
Vagaro is most often used for appointment booking and calendar management for salons, spas and fitness studios, selling services and retail products with integrated card payments, marketing to clients by email and text and offering a branded booking app. Of those, appointment booking and calendar management for salons, spas and fitness studios and selling services and retail products with integrated card payments are not what Cal.com is typically brought in for.
What can Vagaro do that Cal.com cannot?
Vagaro covers Online appointment booking, Client management, Point of sale, Inventory tracking. Cal.com covers Custom booking pages, Team scheduling, Collective scheduling, Routing forms. Both handle Google Calendar, Stripe.
ShareXLinkedInRedditWhatsAppEmail

Related pages

More on Vagaro

More on Cal.com

Keep looking

Other head to heads