7 Booksy Alternatives for Barbers and Stylists

Barbers and stylists look at Booksy alternatives because of the per-user charge for each extra chair, the 30% Boost fee on new marketplace clients, or because Booksy doesn’t fit how they find clients. The best three: Vagaro for US shops wanting a marketplace without booking fees, GlossGenius for independent stylists and startbuddi for barbers in Africa taking deposits through Paystack.

startbuddi is our product. We’ve included it where it fits and listed its limits as plainly as everyone else’s.

Key takeaways

• Booksy’s US price is $29.99 a month plus tax, with $20 a month for each extra user, so a three-chair shop pays $69.99 before tax and card fees.
• If new clients find you through a marketplace, Vagaro and Fresha are the closest swaps. If they come from Instagram, WhatsApp and word of mouth, you may not need a marketplace at all.
• Square Appointments and Setmore have genuinely free plans, but Square only works in eight countries.
• For barbers in Nigeria, Ghana or Kenya, check that a tool can take local payments before anything else.
• Moving off Booksy means getting your client list out first. Plan the switch for a quiet week.

Why look for a Booksy alternative?

Booksy is a booking app for barbers and beauty professionals, with a client app and marketplace where people find and book you. Plenty of barbers like it. The reasons people move are usually specific, and you can check each one on Booksy’s US pricing page (checked on 1 October 2026):

• Cost per chair. The base plan is $29.99 a month plus tax, and each extra user is $20 a month. For a shop with chair renters, that adds up, and someone has to decide who pays it.
• The Boost fee. Boost has no monthly fee, but takes a one-time 30% of a Boost client’s first visit, up to $100. That’s fair if Boost brings you clients you’d never have reached. It stings if those clients would have found you on Instagram anyway.
• Payments on top. Card payments and fast payouts are charged on top of the subscription; check Booksy’s pricing page for current rates.
• Where you are. The US pricing and payments don’t apply everywhere. A barber in Lagos or Accra needs a tool that prices and takes payment in a way local clients can use.
• How you get clients. If most bookings come from your regulars and your WhatsApp, a marketplace app may be more than you need.

Booksy alternatives compared

Prices are the starting list prices on each vendor’s own pricing page, checked on 1 October 2026. They exclude tax and card processing.

Tool	Best for	Starting price	Free plan	Standout feature
Vagaro	US shops wanting a marketplace	$30 a month for one calendar ($23.99 for the first 6 months)	No (30-day trial)	Marketplace with no booking fees
GlossGenius	US independent stylists	$28 a month ($24 billed yearly)	No (14-day trial)	Booking site and card payments in one app
startbuddi	Barbers in Africa taking deposits	Free plan, paid plans on the pricing page	Yes	Paystack deposits plus a built-in client list and inbox
Fresha	Shops in many countries wanting a marketplace	NGN 6,800 a month for one person (as shown in Nigeria)	No (7-day trial)	Marketplace with fees only on brand-new clients
Square Appointments	Solo barbers in Square’s countries	$0 (Free plan)	Yes	Free plan with card payments
Setmore	Small teams wanting a free start	$0 for up to 4 users	Yes	Free plan for four users
SimplyBook.me	Shops wanting flat pricing by bookings	€0 for 50 bookings a month	Yes	Pricing by booking volume, not per chair

1. Vagaro

Vagaro is salon, spa and barbershop software with a consumer marketplace, which makes it the most direct swap for Booksy in the US.

Best for: US barbershops and salons that rely on new clients finding them online.

Key features: online booking, calendar and resource management, payments, marketing tools and a listing on the Vagaro Marketplace.

Pricing: Vagaro’s US pricing page (checked on 1 October 2026) shows $30 a month for one location, or $23.99 a month for the first six months. Each bookable staff calendar costs $10 more, up to seven; after seven, extra employees cost nothing. There’s a 30-day free trial. Vagaro’s marketplace page says there are $0 booking fees.

Pros:

• A marketplace without a per-client commission.
• Calendar licences stop costing more after seven.
• A long free trial to test it properly.

Cons:

• The introductory price rises after six months.
• Built mainly for the US market.
• Lots of features to learn if you only need booking.

Skip it if: you’re outside the US, or you don’t need marketplace clients.

2. GlossGenius

GlossGenius is booking and payments software for beauty and wellness pros, designed around independent stylists and small salons.

Best for: US solo stylists and barbers who want simple pricing and a clean booking site.

Key features: online booking, a booking site builder, point of sale, basic marketing and client records.

Pricing: GlossGenius’s pricing page (checked on 1 October 2026) shows Standard at $28 a month ($24 billed yearly), Gold at $56 for businesses up to nine staff and Platinum at $168 for ten or more. Card payments are built in, with rates on the same page, and there’s a 14-day trial with no card needed.

Pros:

• Tap to pay and card on file built in.
• Gold covers up to nine staff for one price.
• Free data transfer is included.

Cons:

• No free plan.
• No marketplace to bring new clients.
• US-focused.

Skip it if: you depend on a marketplace, or you work outside the US.

3. startbuddi

startbuddi is a business app for service businesses that puts bookings, clients, messages and payments in one place, with Chip, an AI assistant, built in. It isn’t a barber-only app, and it doesn’t have a marketplace.

Best for: barbers and stylists in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and other markets who take bookings through WhatsApp and Instagram and want deposits paid upfront.

Key features:

• Bookable services with your own price and currency (including NGN, KES, GHS, ZAR, USD, GBP and EUR).
• “Require payment to book”, for the full amount or a deposit, through Paystack or Stripe. Paystack takes card, bank transfer, USSD and mobile money.
• A booking page you share as a link, a QR code or straight to WhatsApp.
• Automatic reminders before the appointment by email, WhatsApp or SMS, and a follow-up email after a no-show.
• Booking rotation across barbers, with personal booking pages for each one.
• Every client who books lands in your contact list, and their messages from WhatsApp, Instagram and email sit in one inbox.

Pricing: there’s a free plan. Paid plans are on our pricing page.

Pros:

• Deposits through Paystack suit clients who pay by transfer or USSD.
• Bookings, client history, messages and invoices in one app.
• No per-client marketplace fees, because there’s no marketplace.

Cons:

• No marketplace, so it won’t bring you new clients by itself.
• Not a card terminal or till, and no Apple Pay or Google Pay.
• Each booking gets one automatic reminder. WhatsApp reminders need a connected WhatsApp number, SMS reminders need an SMS connection and a plan that includes SMS, and extra or custom messages need an automation.
• Calendar sync pushes bookings to Google Calendar but doesn’t read your busy times.
• On a phone, you can see the overview and share links; managing services and staff is done on a computer.

Skip it if: you want walk-in queueing, a card reader at the chair or a marketplace that sends you clients.

4. Fresha

Fresha is booking software for salons, barbers and spas with a large consumer marketplace, and it operates in many countries.

Best for: shops outside the US that want a marketplace and per-person pricing.

Key features: calendar scheduling, point of sale, client records, consultation forms, reviews, retail stock and marketing tools. The Team plan adds shift scheduling, commissions and timesheets.

Pricing: Fresha’s pricing page (checked on 1 October 2026) shows prices in the visitor’s local currency. Viewed from Nigeria, the Independent plan is NGN 6,800 a month for one calendar, and the Team plan NGN 4,500 per team member a month, both with a 7-day trial. Each includes 20 free messages and 50 free marketing emails a month, with more charged per message. Fresha charges a one-time fee on brand-new clients who find you through its marketplace, and nothing on returning clients.

Pros:

• A marketplace that only charges for brand-new clients.
• Local currency pricing in many countries.
• Plenty of features for team shops.

Cons:

• Extra messages, add-ons and marketplace fees add to the base price.
• Short 7-day trial.
• The marketplace fee works much like Booksy’s Boost, so it may not solve that problem.

Skip it if: your main complaint about Booksy is paying for new clients. Our Fresha alternatives roundup covers that in more depth.

5. Square Appointments

Square Appointments is the booking product from Square, the payments company.

Best for: solo barbers in the countries Square serves who want a free plan with card payments.

Key features: online booking site, reminders, unlimited staff calendars on the Free plan, and Square’s card readers and point of sale. Plus adds cancellation policies, no-show fees and waitlists.

Pricing: Square’s appointments pricing page (checked on 1 October 2026) shows Free at $0, Plus at $49 and Premium at $149 per location a month. Card payments go through Square, at the rates on Square’s fees page.

Pros:

• A genuinely free plan.
• Strong card readers and point of sale.
• Easy to grow into if you already use Square.

Cons:

• No-show fees and cancellation policies need Plus.
• Square’s developer documentation (checked on 1 October 2026) lists payment processing in eight countries only: Australia, Canada, France, Ireland, Japan, Spain, the UK and the US.

Skip it if: you’re in Nigeria, Ghana or Kenya. Our startbuddi vs Square Appointments comparison goes into more detail.

6. Setmore

Setmore is a simple appointment scheduler with a generous free plan.

Best for: small shops that need a free booking page for up to four people.

Key features: unlimited appointments, a branded booking page, email reminders and confirmations, mobile apps and payments. Pro adds SMS reminders, two-way calendar sync, deposits and recurring appointments.

Pricing: Setmore’s pricing page (checked on 1 October 2026) shows Free for up to four users and Pro at $5 per user a month on annual billing. Pro team members get 500 SMS credits a month, with availability varying by country.

Pros:

• Free for a four-chair shop.
• Pro is cheap per user.
• Simple to set up.

Cons:

• Deposits and SMS reminders need Pro.
• Fewer barber-specific tools such as stock and commissions.
• No marketplace.

Skip it if: you need point of sale, stock or commission tracking.

7. SimplyBook.me

SimplyBook.me is booking software for many kinds of service business, priced by how many bookings you take rather than by chair.

Best for: shops with several barbers and a steady, predictable number of bookings.

Key features: a booking website and widget, an admin app, and optional features you switch on, such as a client app, payments, deposits and tips.

Pricing: SimplyBook.me’s pricing page (checked on 1 October 2026) shows Free for 50 bookings a month and one provider. Basic costs €11.9 a month billed yearly (€13.9 monthly) for 100 bookings and five providers. Standard costs €24.9 billed yearly (€29.9 monthly) for 500 bookings and 15 providers.

Pros:

• Adding a barber doesn’t raise the price until you hit the plan’s limit.
• A free plan to try it with real clients.
• Lots of optional features.

Cons:

• A busy shop can outgrow the booking limits quickly.
• Choosing features takes some setup time.
• No marketplace.

Skip it if: your booking numbers swing a lot from month to month.

What a three-chair shop pays: a worked example

These are illustrative sums using list prices, before tax and card fees. A barbershop has three barbers, each with their own calendar.

Tool	How the price works	Monthly cost
Booksy	$29.99 + 2 extra users × $20	$69.99
Vagaro (after month 6)	$30 + 2 extra calendars × $10	$50.00
GlossGenius Gold	One price up to 9 staff	$56.00
Square Appointments Plus	Per location	$49.00
Setmore Pro (annual)	3 users × $5	$15.00
Setmore Free	Up to 4 users	$0.00

Now add marketplace fees. If Booksy Boost brings this shop 10 new clients a month whose first cut costs $35, the Boost fee is 30% × $35 = $10.50 per client, or $105 a month. Total Booksy cost that month: $69.99 + $105 = $174.99. Whether that’s good value depends on whether those 10 clients come back. If half of them become regulars, the fee is a cheap way to grow. If none do, it’s expensive.

How to choose a Booksy alternative

1. Where do new clients come from? If it’s a marketplace, look at Vagaro or Fresha. If it’s Instagram, WhatsApp and referrals, a marketplace fee pays for something you already have.
2. How do your clients pay? Card readers at the chair point to Square or Booksy itself. Transfers, USSD and mobile money point to a Paystack-based tool such as startbuddi.
3. Do you need deposits? Deposits are the strongest fix for no-show appointments. Check which plan includes them. Our deposit calculator helps you pick an amount.
4. Who pays for chairs? If chair renters pay their own way, per-user pricing may suit you. If you pay for everyone, flat or volume pricing is cheaper.
5. Price the whole month. Add card fees, message fees and add-ons, not just the headline price.

For a wider look at booking software, see our best booking software list and our guide to salon appointment software.

Migrating from Booksy

1. Get your client list out. Booksy’s help centre has an article on how to get a copy of your client list; ask Booksy support if you can’t find the option in your account. Card details won’t come with it.
2. List your services and prices. Write down every service, its length, price and which barber does it.
3. Set up the new tool in a quiet week. Add services, opening hours, each barber’s hours and your deposit rule.
4. Import your clients. Most tools accept a CSV file. In startbuddi, it’s Customers, then Contacts, then Import, up to 10,000 contacts at a time.
5. Move future bookings. Re-enter upcoming appointments by hand, then tell each client their booking is confirmed in the new system.
6. Swap your links. Update the booking link on Instagram, Google, WhatsApp and any QR codes in the shop.
7. Run both for two weeks. Keep Booksy open until no more bookings arrive there, then cancel.

How to set up bookings in startbuddi

1. Go to Bookings, then Services, and create each service with its length and barber.
2. Open a service, set the price and currency, and turn on “Require payment to book” for a deposit or the full amount.
3. Set each barber’s working hours and a buffer between appointments under Availability.
4. Share your booking link on WhatsApp and Instagram, or print the QR code for the mirror.

Read more about how startbuddi Bookings works, see our appointment scheduling software page, or our guide to running a salon business.

Find the right fit for your chair

Every tool here can take a booking. The right one matches how your clients find you and how they pay. If that’s WhatsApp, Instagram and Paystack, start free with startbuddi and share your first booking link today.

Frequently asked questions