Quick compare
Checked Oct 28, 2026 on each vendor’s pricing page. US prices.
| GlossGenius | Vagaro | |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | 3 plans by team size (plus separate medspa plans) | Base subscription + per-calendar fee + à la carte add-ons |
| Starting price | $24/mo billed annually, $28 monthly (Standard) | $30/mo list; $23.99/mo for the first 6 months (limited time) |
| Team pricing | Gold covers up to 9 staff for $48/mo annually; Platinum for teams of 10+ at $148/mo annually | $10/mo per additional bookable calendar; after paying for seven licenses, more employees are free |
| In-person card rate | 2.4% + $0.15 | 2.6% + $0.10 (under $4k/mo); 2.29% + $0.19 (over $4k/mo, plus $10/mo) |
| Online / keyed card rate | Online invoicing 2.9% + $0.30 | Keyed-in 3.5% + $0.19 |
| Free trial | 14 days, no card required | 30 days |
| Free plan | No | No |
| Data transfer | Free | Migration help from Vagaro’s team |
How GlossGenius pricing works
Source: https://glossgenius.com/pricing
GlossGenius sells three main plans. Annual billing is cheaper than paying monthly.
| Plan | Billed annually | Billed monthly | Who it is aimed at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Standard | $24/mo | $28/mo | “Businesses just starting out” |
| Gold | $48/mo | $56/mo | “Businesses up to 9 staff” |
| Platinum | $148/mo | $168/mo | “Established businesses and teams 10+” |
What moves you from Standard to Gold, according to the plan comparison: forms and waivers, Reserve with Google and Google reviews, a waitlist, time tracking, room and resource booking, and 500 marketing texts per month. Platinum adds team goals, custom commission structures, Google Marketing Analytics, and 2,500 texts. The “separate bank accounts for booth renters” feature is marked as included on Gold and Platinum, not Standard.
Paid extras listed on the page: Payroll at $40/mo plus $6 per seat, and Reception AI at $50/mo. Extra locations get 15% off the plan price. There is no free plan, but the 14-day trial does not ask for a card, and data transfer from your current system is free.
Card rates are the same on every plan: 2.4% + $0.15 for tap, dip, or swipe, and 2.9% + $0.30 for online invoicing. Same-business-day payouts are free Monday through Thursday; instant payouts cost an extra 1.8%.
How Vagaro pricing works
Sources: https://www.vagaro.com/pro/pricing and https://support.vagaro.com/hc/en-us/articles/22781768988187-Vagaro-Plans-Pricing-and-Premium-Features
Vagaro starts with a base subscription that includes one bookable calendar. The pricing page lists $30.00/mo, with an “exclusive rate” of $23.99/mo for the first 6 months. Each additional employee calendar is $10/mo. Vagaro’s support article says that once you’ve paid for seven licenses, you can add more employees at no additional charge, so the subscription stops growing with headcount at that point.
| Team (bookable calendars) | Monthly subscription at $30 list | During the $23.99 intro period |
|---|---|---|
| Just you (1) | $30 | $23.99 |
| 2 | $40 | $33.99 |
| 3 | $50 | $43.99 |
| 5 | $70 | $63.99 |
Most of what GlossGenius bundles into Gold is an add-on at Vagaro. A few common ones, all US monthly prices from Vagaro’s support article:
| Vagaro add-on | Price |
|---|---|
| Forms (consent forms, waivers, intake) | $10/mo |
| Online Shopping Cart (deposits, cancellation fees, online sales) | $10/mo |
| MySite website | $20/mo |
| Check-In App | $10/mo |
| Vera Receptionist (AI messaging) | $10/mo |
| QuickBooks Online integration | $10/mo |
| Payroll | $34/mo + $5 per employee |
| Branded App | $100/mo (limited time) + $100 one-time |
| Text marketing | From $20/mo for 1,000 credits |
| Email marketing | 1,000 credits free; 5,000 for $10/mo |
Listing on the Vagaro Marketplace is free in the US. The Fill My Books promotion tool charges booking fees instead of a monthly price.
Card processing: the cost that grows with you
Both companies take their processing fee out before the deposit hits your bank. Here’s what the published in-person rates mean on a $90 service.
| Rate | Fee on a $90 ticket |
|---|---|
| GlossGenius 2.4% + $0.15 | $2.31 |
| Vagaro small merchant 2.6% + $0.10 | $2.44 |
| Vagaro large merchant 2.29% + $0.19 | $2.25 (plus $10/mo plan fee) |
Vagaro’s small-merchant rates are for businesses processing under $4,000 a month. At $3,600 a month in card sales (40 tickets at $90), that’s about $92 in fees at GlossGenius’s rate and about $98 at Vagaro’s small-merchant rate. At $6,000 a month (about 67 tickets), you’d be in Vagaro’s large-merchant tier: about $150 in fees plus the $10 monthly charge, so roughly $160, compared with about $154 at GlossGenius. On top of its rates, Vagaro charges monthly FANF and Mastercard location fees. If clients often pay through a link or a card on file, compare GlossGenius’s 2.9% + $0.30 online invoicing rate with Vagaro’s 3.5% + $0.19 keyed-in rate.
Worked example: a 3-chair salon
The salon wants online booking with deposits, digital consent forms, and texted reminders.
- GlossGenius Gold covers forms and includes 500 texts: $48/mo billed annually ($56 monthly).
- Vagaro: $50/mo subscription (3 calendars at list price) + Forms $10 + Online Shopping Cart $10 = $70/mo, or $63.99 during the intro period. Text marketing would add from $20/mo.
On subscription cost alone, GlossGenius comes out lower for this setup. Vagaro gets more competitive as headcount grows past seven, because the per-calendar fee stops.
Booth renters and suites
If your chairs are rented, this is where the two differ most. Vagaro has a built-in Rent Collection feature. You set rent per renter and collect it weekly, every other week, twice a month, or monthly. It can deduct commissions from rent, and it can require a signed rental contract (using Forms). It requires Vagaro card processing. Rent paid by card is charged the keyed-in rate; US bank (ACH) payments are 1%. GlossGenius lists separate bank accounts for booth renters on Gold and Platinum, so each renter’s money lands in their own account. More options are in best salon software for booth renters.
Which one to pick
Pick GlossGenius if you want a short price list that’s easy to predict and you’re under 10 people. Pick Vagaro if you need rent collection, want to start at the lowest possible subscription, or have a large team where the per-calendar cap works in your favor. Either way, use the free trial to rebuild your real service menu before switching. For the full fee breakdown on each, see GlossGenius pricing and Vagaro pricing.
Sources
- GlossGenius pricing: https://glossgenius.com/pricing (checked Oct 28, 2026)
- Vagaro pricing: https://www.vagaro.com/pro/pricing (checked Oct 28, 2026)
- Vagaro Plans, Pricing, and Premium Features (support article): https://support.vagaro.com/hc/en-us/articles/22781768988187-Vagaro-Plans-Pricing-and-Premium-Features
- Vagaro Rent Collection setup: https://support.vagaro.com/hc/en-us/articles/204347790-Set-Up-Automatic-Rent-Collection