Last Updated on April 14, 2025 by Ewen Finser
Vagaro is a solid all-in-one platform for appointment booking, payments, and marketing, especially for salons, spas, and fitness businesses, but it’s not without its issues. If, like others, your experience has been riddled with glitches, poor customer service, and a headache of an interface, it might be time to look into alternatives. Having worked with multiple platforms in my years behind the desk at a few salons, I’ve seen a few things.
Best Alternative to Vagaro
Upfront, my favorite alternative for Vagaro for almost all spa/salon-type businesses is Boulevard. They have so many useful features that go beyond simple scheduling that are all included in your monthly cost, but on the business end, they don’t have the same glitches as Vagaro or the hidden costs. The booking functions are even better than those of Calendly, with scalability far beyond Goldie and training/support that is stronger than Acuity.
I cannot speak highly enough about how visually calming the platform is on the business end, how simple it is to communicate with email and text reminders to clients who have booked services and to staff members within that platform, and how simple it is to look up relevant business metrics.
You might also be interested in: Vagaro-vs-Boulevard.
Things I Don’t Love About Vagaro
I compared these alternatives against some of my biggest Vagaro pain points:
Set-Up
As a small business, Vagaro can be very helpful. The platform is very inexpensive at face value, lets you set up auto-reminders and emails for your customers, designate individual employees based on their role within the company, and subsequently divide tasks between them.
However, I’ve seen business owners struggle with Vagaro, as it might be a great software platform for booking appointments, checking clients out, and selling products, but anything beyond that is really difficult to navigate.
It’s especially hard on businesses that rely on cancellation fees and gift certificate sales. When there is an issue on the back end, Varago has a no-refund policy.
Customer Interactions
It is quite a challenge to find what you are looking for on the Vagaro platform. This is not just frustrating for business owners and employees, it’s embarrassing and unprofessional when it happens with a client who is waiting to get information on their membership or make a payment.
By comparison, communication is a lot better with Boulevard thanks to the user-friendly software that is visually appealing with an easy, reliable layout. Unlike other platforms, Boulevard was created by salon insiders who knew firsthand what wasn’t working.
Boulevard also has an intelligent scheduling engine that ensures appointments are sequenced for both efficiency and optimal client flow. This is a must-have for med-spas that need to book certain treatments in a particular order and makes customers happy. Nobody wants to book a massage directly after a facial peel!
Finding client data is simple, and this is supported by the even easier in-software communication functions where employees can communicate quickly and effectively with all of their clients over things like confirmations, changes, additional services, and other questions.
Notifications/Communication
If all you want to do is send simple messages and reminders, Vagaro is great. However, the interface is cluttered and not as intuitive as other platforms. In addition, two-way texting is a premium feature that costs extra.
Acuity, on the other hand, is very easy to use and it has great documentation for key metrics for your company. The response time for customer service is fairly fast, and it’s very reliable for small and medium-sized businesses.
However, Acuity has no customer-facing help. There are also small issues within the platform that can cause a lot of headaches for businesses.
For example: When a client cancels an appointment, the platform pops up with one alert, after which the appointment completely disappears from the calendar. This means if you aren’t staring at the screen when that alert pops up, as the business owner or employee you won’t know why that appointment disappeared.
By comparison, Boulevard has a system that is much more efficient, with a lot of text marketing and email marketing options to communicate with clients. On the back end, if there is a situation where a client cancels or needs to reschedule, you can communicate with them directly, all from within the same platform, just by clicking on a new tab. The side panel on the interface will alert you whenever you have messages like these, and it keeps a small red dot there until you open the message, so you will never have issues like Acuity, where you don’t know why an appointment disappeared.
At the end of the day, the level of communication you need will depend on your business, but I prefer having as many options as possible.
Ease-of-Use
Vagaro’s interface can feel cluttered, leading to a steeper learning curve. While it offers extensive customization, the navigation isn’t always intuitive, and some workflows—like modifying appointments or managing memberships—require multiple steps.
By comparison, Boulevard provides a more streamlined user experience with a modern, well-structured layout. Its left-side and top-header menus make it easier to access key features like email marketing, memberships, and client messages without excessive clicking. The font size and spacing also improve readability, making it more user-friendly for both employees and clients.
Boulevard also has a booking overlay that keeps clients on the business’s website (not redirecting off-site), which means clients book directly on your site—no redirects—so your brand experience stays intact. I think that makes the entire customer experience better as well!
Acuity, on the other hand, is highly customizable but simpler than Vagaro. It integrates seamlessly with external calendars and allows clients to reschedule appointments easily.
Calendly is the easiest to integrate and fully automates scheduling, but it’s more suited for straightforward appointment booking rather than full-scale salon and spa business management. However, the tool can be complex, and if you don’t have technologically literate clients, this can be a problem. I’ve found that older clients have struggled using this tool especially when modifying an existing appointment or adding services.
Vagaro Alternatives to Try Instead: The Things That Matter
Now let’s look at the things that really set these alternatives apart, namely the business type for which it is designed and by extension the price, the deployments, support level, and training provided.
Business Type
Vagaro is designed for smaller businesses although theoretically it can be scaled to fit larger businesses as well. This particular software is most affordable when used on one or two employees only. So what are the alternatives to try instead if you have a larger company or your company is growing?
- Acuity: Better for small or medium businesses. Not limited to salon and spa businesses.
- Boulevard: Ideal for salons and spas of all sizes.
- Calendly: Suitable for all business types and sizes (within reason).
- Goldie: This product is only suited to small salon/spa businesses.
The business type directly relates to pricing as well. Anyone who has started out with Vagaro probably did so because of the attractive minimum monthly fee.
However, in my experience, that monthly fee is never the baseline you legitimately pay. Why not?
Because additional fees are applied to just about every feature and service that is available in the platform like having your company show up on Vagaro search results, generating documents, and even having to manually enter a credit card payment when the “free” card reader they provide stops working.
Deployments
Vagaro is known for its deployments, with many options for cloud and web-based access as well as mobile apps. So what are some alternatives to try?
- Acuity: The deployment is limited with Acuity Scheduling, available through cloud, Saas, and web-based options or through mobile devices.
- Boulevard: The same limits apply here for deployments, with applicability on Android, iPhone, and iPad options as well as cloud, SaaS, and web-based use.
- Calendly: The deployment is the same as that of Acuity and Boulevard.
- Goldie: This deployment is on par with Vagaro, offering cloud, Saas, and web-based options as well as desktop support for Mac, Windows, Linux, and Chromebook. There is also a deployment option for mobile devices including Android, iPhone, and iPad.
Despite the fact that software like Boulevard and Acuity have limits, they also have interconnectivity which makes it easy for all client data, bookings, and other information to automatically transfer between different devices no matter how you access the platform.
Revenue and Business-Building Features
When evaluating salon and spa software, it’s important to look beyond booking and POS. The real power of a platform lies in how well it supports recurring revenue, retail sales, client retention, and performance tracking. Here’s how our top alternatives compare to Vagaro in this area:
Referral & Rewards Programs + Memberships
Boulevard makes this simple with built-in tools for referral incentives, loyalty rewards, and recurring memberships. There’s no need to bolt on a third-party app or customize a workaround—these features are part of the core platform, and they’re easy to configure. This makes it a standout choice for growing teams looking to reward client loyalty without extra tech overhead.
Fresha, while strong in its payment model and global reach, lacks native rewards or referral tracking systems. Users typically need to rely on manual processes or integrations to create membership models.
GlossGenius includes client notes and marketing, but it doesn’t support full-blown loyalty or membership structures out of the box.
By contrast, Vagaro does offer rewards and membership features, but users often report that setup is unintuitive and managing these tools can be clunky, especially when clients use multiple services or locations.
Retail Management + Ecommerce Integrations
If your business blends in-person services with retail or ecommerce (selling beauty products, skincare, etc.), Boulevard offers Shopify integration, making inventory and fulfillment more seamless across channels.
Fresha supports basic retail functions, but doesn’t sync with Shopify, meaning inventory management can become disjointed if you sell both online and in-store.
GlossGenius is best for solopreneurs or micro-businesses and has very basic retail support—it doesn’t yet compete on the ecommerce front.
Vagaro does support retail inventory, but does not offer direct Shopify integration, which can be a limitation for salons and spas with more advanced ecommerce needs. If you are looking for Shopifiy integration, you’ll have to go with Bouelvard here.
Support Features Compared
Vagaro has comprehensive support including an email help desk, a knowledge base online, an FAQ section, a chat feature, phone support, and a live rep available 24/7. However, in my experience, the email help desk is a dinosaur; you go weeks without a response to the point that you wonder if anyone is even receiving your message. The phone service isn’t any better.
The first time I called the phone support number for a glitch in the software, I was redirected to an article in their help section. To be clear, I had already used the chat function where they had linked that same article and I knew it wasn’t relevant.
I let it slide.
The second time I called the phone support number for a different glitch, the same thing happened. I stopped calling because it didn’t get me anywhere.
- Acuity: Support comes through a knowledge base of online articles, an email help desk, an FAQ forum, and a chat function.
- Boulevard: Support comes through an email help desk, FAQ forum, chat function, and a live representative available 24/7.
- Calendly: The support includes a knowledge base and FAQ forum, email help desk, and chat function but no live representation.
- Goldie: Goldie has pretty comprehensive support, too; they have phone support, chat support, email and help desk support, and access to an FAQ page, internal client forum, and articles on their website.
So, if you are looking for a Vagaro alternative to try instead, something that has much better support, out of the available options, Boulevard’s live rep made them the winner for me. Combine that with the fact that the interface is significantly easier to work with and the features handle a lot of internal booking problems, like automatically putting multiple services in their correct order (i.e., a massage before a facial), and Boulevard is an alternative that makes things a lot easier.
Training for Team Implementation
Vagaro training is pretty comprehensive at face value with videos, documents on their website, webinars, live online options, and in-person options. In my experience, you need that level of support when the platform isn’t all it’s meant to be.
I know firsthand how big of a commitment it can be to choose and fully implement a new spa or salon software solution, and having that support + team training is integral to make sure the entire transition goes smoothly.
So what are the alternatives to try instead?
- Acuity: Acuity offers webinars, documentation training, and videos to help new spa and salon staff members get accustomed to the layout.
- Boulevard: Boulevard offers webinars, live online training, and in-person training.
- Calendly: Training is available in the form of videos, documentation, webinars, and live online options.
- Goldie: This offers documentation and videos on their website with a live online option but is otherwise fairly limited.
All things considered, having reviewed the platforms, Boulevard and Calendly offer the best training options. Because Boulevard is much more intuitive with a less stressful interface that is seamless, not overcrowded or busy, I would imagine the learning curve won’t be as steep for most users. Boulevard also has really great dedicated support, with a real go-to support person to help teams navigate the implementation. I can’t stress enough how important it is to have a real live human just be there when things go sideways.
Custom Forms & HIPAA-Compliant Documentation
Vagaro offers client notes and SOAP templates but does not advertise HIPAA compliance, which may be a concern depending on your service offerings and location. For med spas and clinics offering treatments like injectables, skin services, or consultations, HIPAA compliance and custom client intake forms are non-negotiables.
Boulevard supports customizable digital forms and HIPAA-compliant client profiles, making it a strong choice for businesses that need to store sensitive medical or treatment data securely.
Fresha lacks HIPAA-compliant features, and while it supports basic client notes, it’s not suitable for med-spa-level compliance needs.
GlossGenius offers forms and SOAP note tracking, but doesn’t explicitly support HIPAA compliance.
Reporting & Business Insights
Salon and spa owners want insights, but they don’t have time for too much data (or reports that they don’t need). So many of my salon owner friends tell me that when it comes to many all-in-one salon software options, they are just overwhelmed with data. What matters to them – the basics, the actionable insights: knowing who your best clients are, which staff are top performers, and what products are moving fastest.
Boulevard seems to have clear, actionable reporting—including payroll summaries, top clients, staff productivity, and retail trends. The interface makes it easy to surface the information that actually impacts decisions.
Fresha offers good financial reports and analytics, especially around appointments and earnings. However, users report that the depth of insights is more basic, especially for growing teams, but this can be a good alternative to Vagaro for smaller teams who find too much data unnecessary.
GlossGenius offers clean visual dashboards, but lacks more detailed reporting for teams or multi-location salons.
Vagaro, on the other hand, offers extensive reports, but many users find them overwhelming, cluttered, or difficult to customize. For busy owners juggling client work and operations, too much raw data can become a burden.
Summing Up
Overall, there are good things to be said about all the alternatives listed above but my favorite by and large has been Boulevard. As soon as you launch the platform you will see the difference. Your staff will notice how much easier it is, and when it isn’t, they will have access to legitimate support.
Your customers won’t have to deal with glitches in the booking system or the payment system that reflect poorly on your business. If you’re running a salon, medspa, or spa, I would check them out. Other small businesses, like petsitters, photographers, and the like, might find that Acuity better suits their needs.