Last Updated on July 17, 2026 by Ewen Finser
As someone who’s been a licensed hairdresser for over 15 years, I can say firsthand that Goldie can be a great app for solo stylists who are just starting their careers. It’s mobile-first, simple to set up, and effective at eliminating the scheduling chaos that comes with managing appointments from your phone.
But there’s definitely a ceiling, and speaking from experience, that can be incredibly frustrating!
For example, a client asks for an email reminder instead of a text, and you realize Goldie literally can’t accommodate that. Or you hire a second stylist at a specific commission rate, only to find that Goldie doesn’t allow for custom commission tiers.
So, I’ve ordered my top five Goldie app alternatives from the best fit for brand-new solo stylists to the most comprehensive options designed to grow with you for years to come. By the end, you’ll have a clear picture of which one is the right choice for your business.
Where Goldie Falls Short for Hairdressers
Before we go any further, let’s get clear about the biggest areas where Goldie can be lacking. I’m also thrilled to report that all five of the platforms I’ve highlighted in this guide solve these specific problems.
Client Communication Limitations
Goldie only allows you to communicate with clients via SMS, whether it’s an appointment reminder or a marketing campaign. The very first time a client says, “I prefer email reminders, not text messages,” you literally can’t provide that!
Plus, your SMS credits are capped depending on your tier. You use those credits every time you send an appointment reminder or marketing message, which means you run out much faster than you’d expect.
Inflexible Booking System
Goldie’s model is built for a single stylist working through one appointment at a time. Staff permissions do exist on Pro Plus, but the platform doesn’t support booth renter or tiered commission structures.
So, if you’re a colorist who teams up with a stylist specializing in haircuts, everything from booking a client with two of you to divvying up the payment properly is very difficult.
Clunky Admin Tools
Goldie tracks daily earnings and can show you things like your top services and best clients. When you’re first starting out, that data is plenty. But there’s no QuickBooks integration, no inventory tools to support purchase order management, and no sales forecasting.
For a stylist who’s focused on retail sales, making data-driven business decisions, or planning ahead for the next phase of growth, the reporting doesn’t really set you up for that.
The 5 Best Goldie App Alternatives (At a Glance)
With Goldie’s biggest shortcomings established, now let me show you how each platform compares on the factors that will impact your business the most.
Platform | Starting Price | Text + Email on Base Tier | Payment Processing | Team Capacity | Best For |
Goldie | Free starter plan available $19.99/month (Pro) | SMS only | Integrated (3.5% + $0.30 per transaction) | 1 user; team requires Pro Plus tier | Solo stylists who need simple booking |
Boulevard | Demo only, then $158–$195/month per location (varies by billing cycle and promo) | Both included | Integrated (2.65% + $0.15 per transaction) | Up to 5; unlimited requires Premier tier | Growth-focused stylists who want an all-in-one platform |
Acuity | 7-day free trial, then $20/month billed monthly – $16/month billed annually) | Email only; SMS requires Standard tier | Non-integrated (You set up via Stripe or Square) | 1 user; team requires Standard tier | Wide-service or multi-discipline stylists |
Vagaro | Free trial, then $23.99/month (current promo; standard rate is $30/month) | Both included | Integrated (2.6% + $0.10 per transaction) | 1 user; pay $10 more for each add’l user | Stylists who are still building a clientele |
Mangomint | Free trial, then $165/month (Essentials) | Both included | Integrated (2.45% + $.15 per transaction) | Up to 10 (Essentials) | Two-stylist teams with no front desk staff |
Fresha | Free core plan available $19.95/month | Both included | Integrated (2.79% + $0.20 per transaction) | 1 user; team requires Team plan | Solo stylists who want just a bit more than Goldie’s features |
Now, the Goldie app alternatives below are ordered from the simplest, most budget-friendly upgrades to the most comprehensive option for long-term growth. The right fit depends on where your business is today and where you want to take it.
1. Boulevard
Boulevard is built specifically for salon and spa businesses, but unlike other apps, its creators worked shoulder-to-shoulder with stylists in real salons in order to design it.
My favorite feature here is Precision Scheduling. Rather than presenting clients with your full calendar availability from the get-go, Precision Scheduling surfaces the booking times that make the most sense for your schedule, based on usual slow times, what else you have booked that day, and how long that specific service will take.
The rest of the platform follows the same logic. Booking, POS, email marketing, SMS campaigns, client management, and reporting all live on the same dashboard. And you might think that since everything is available in one place, the features would be simple or shallow. But in reality, every feature is still deep and customizable.
Pricing is roughly $158–$195/month per location (varies by billing cycle and promo). There’s no free trial, so you’ll instead book a demo with the sales team to get started.
Pros:
- Precision Scheduling highlights optimal booking times to fill calendar gaps and maximize daily revenue
- Two-way client conversations, email, and SMS marketing live on the same dashboard as your scheduling and POS
- Supports booth renter and commission tiers to make payments simple
Cons:
- Starting at $195/month month-to-month, it carries the highest price point on this list
- No free trial; access requires booking a sales demo with the Boulevard team before you can get started
- May be more than a solo stylist needs if growth isn’t part of the near-term plan
Best For:
Solo stylists and small teams thinking about growth from day one who want a platform purpose-built for the beauty industry. Booking, payments, marketing, and reporting all live together, and they never become bottlenecks as your business scales.
2. Acuity Scheduling
Acuity isn’t designed specifically for salons the way most platforms on this list are. It’s a general-purpose scheduling tool owned by Squarespace, and for a specific kind of stylist, that general-purpose flexibility is exactly what makes it worth considering!
Where it really shines is for stylists offering something beyond the standard cut-and-color menu. Think family-friendly stylists who offer services for adults and children, operators who do nails or lashes alongside hair, or anyone running group education sessions alongside chair work.
The Starter plan is $20/month billed monthly ($16/month billed annually) and includes email reminders, intuitive controls for listing your availability each day, and solid scheduling customization.
That said, Acuity kind of has the opposite problem of Goldie when it comes to client communication. You can only send emails unless you upgrade to the Standard tier, which gives you the option to send emails and text messages.
Pros:
- Deep scheduling customization handles wide, varied service menus better than most salon-specific platforms
- Integrates with Stripe, Square, and Squarespace, which makes set-up easy if you already use any of them
- Supports group and class booking alongside individual appointments at no additional cost
Cons:
- You have to upgrade to the $34/month Standard tier if you want to offer both email and SMS reminders
- Mobile interface is cluttered and best suited for stylists who manage their business primarily from a desktop
- No multi-merchant payment routing, which rules it out for any booth rental setup
Best For:
Solo stylists and small teams with wide or unconventional service menus, including family-focused stylists, multi-discipline operators, and anyone running education sessions alongside chair work.
3. Vagaro
Vagaro is a name most of us in the beauty industry know well! Its biggest draw has always been the Vagaro Marketplace. List your salon there for free, get discovered by potential new clients, and pay zero commission fees, not even on first-time bookings.
If you’re a stylist still building your clientele, that’s a serious differentiator. Even Fresha charges a commission for their marketplace bookings.
Pricing starts at $23.99/month for one bookable calendar, with each additional calendar adding $10/month from there. I love that the base pricing is so accessible, but Vagaro’s add-on model is where the monthly total can quickly climb.
You see, text marketing, digital forms, and other premium features are all separate charges on top of the base rate, so if you find yourself needing several of them, Vagaro gets pricey fast.
Lastly, Vagaro has a reputation for feeling less polished than newer platforms in this space. Stylists and clients alike have long complained about clunkiness and an interface that doesn’t always feel intuitive.
Pros:
- Vagaro Marketplace listing is free with no commission fees, even on first-time bookings through the platform
- Per-calendar pricing means you only pay for the staff you currently have, and can add more as you hire
- QuickBooks and Xero integrations work well if you’re already using either platform to manage finances
Cons:
- Add-on features like text marketing ($20/month) and automated forms ($10/month) are charged separately, and stack up quickly
- The platform feels unintuitive compared to newer alternatives, for both staff and clients
- There’s a serious learning curve thanks to the extensive features and add-ons
Best For:
Small salons with 5 chairs or less that are still building their client base and want truly, 100% free marketplace exposure, who don’t mind taking a bit of time to learn the ins and outs of the platform.
4. Mangomint
If it’s just you and one other stylist, and you’re both handling checkout, answering the phone, and serving clients at the same time, Mangomint is designed for that specific two-stylist setup.
The best example of this is the Express Booking feature. Rather than having every client queue at the front desk to rebook at the end of their service, Mangomint lets you text them a link so they can finish scheduling on their own!
As someone who’s run a salon without a dedicated front desk person, that’s the difference between a smooth client experience and coming across as scattered or unprofessional.
The color-coded, fast-refreshing calendar supports the same kind of at-a-glance clarity. When both of you are behind the chair, and one of you has a gap opening up, it’s visible at a literal glance without having to stop mid-service.
Mangomint’s starting price is $165/month, which is on the more premium side. You should also know that must-have features like two-way texting ($75/month) and client intake forms ($50/month) are paid add-ons.
Pros:
- Express Booking lets clients finish scheduling from a text link so checkout never becomes a bottleneck at the front desk
- Color-coded calendar makes each day easy to read at a literal glance, even mid-service
- Individual payment routing keeps revenue simple for booth rental setups
Cons:
- Entry price of $165/month is on the higher side, with no annual discount available
- Two-way texting ($75/month) and client intake forms ($50/month) are paid add-ons, not included in the base plan
- Base tier is for “teams of 2 to 10” stylists, so it’s not an option for solo stylists
Best For:
Two-stylist teams running without a front desk, where both people are booking clients, handling checkout, and serving guests simultaneously, who need software specifically designed to support that model.
5. Fresha
For solo stylists, Fresha is probably the most direct upgrade from Goldie. The Independent plan runs $19.95/month, which is close to Goldie’s Pro plan in price, but you get so much more for your money here.
For example, Fresha includes both email and SMS reminders, with no upgrade to a higher tier required. That means clients who prefer email over text can set up their reminders as such, which is something Goldie doesn’t offer at any tier!
Fresha also includes a consumer marketplace where potential clients can discover and book with you, though you will pay a 20% commission on any new client who finds you here. If you’re still building your clientele, that kind of ongoing exposure is often worth the commission fees.
When you’re ready to bring on a second stylist or partner with a booth renter, the Team plan at $14.95 per bookable team member per month gives you that room to grow.
Pros:
- Email and SMS reminders are both available at the base tier, so clients can choose how they’re contacted
- Marketplace listing is free, which means you can get your name out there without spending on ads
- Booking button can be added to your website, Google Business Profile, Instagram, and Facebook so clients can instantly schedule
Cons:
- Like Goldie, you get a limited amount of marketing messages, and will have to pay extra if you need more
- You pay a hefty 20% commission on any new client who books with you through the Fresha marketplace
- On the Individual plan, customer support is email-only with up to a 48-hour response window
Best For:
Solo stylists who want a meaningful step up from Goldie’s communication and discovery tools without a big jump in cost.
How to Choose the Best Goldie App Alternative
If, at this point, you feel particularly excited about one or two of the platforms covered above, then I encourage you to pursue those! Start a free trial or book a demo, depending on which app you pick.
But if you’re still feeling a little unsure, here are my final tips.
If your biggest frustration with Goldie is the SMS-only communication and overall lack of marketing options, Fresha or Acuity solve both of those complaints at a comparable price.
If you’re a team of two managing every part of the business yourselves, with no plans to bring in front desk staff, Mangomint was built for that model.
If you’re still actively building your clientele and want marketplace exposure to help get you there, Vagaro’s per-calendar pricing gives you that without locking you into an annual contract.
And if you’re ready to invest in a platform that handles everything in one place and won’t require switching to yet another platform as your business grows, Boulevard is designed to support you every step of the way.
If you were to ask me which of these Goldie app alternatives is the “right” fit, I’d say it’s the one that solves the specific problem you’re facing right now and isn’t something you’ll outgrow in the next year.
Book demos and free trials, ask each platform how they handle migrating your data over from Goldie, and choose based on where you’re taking this business, not just where it is today.