7 Best Boulevard Competitors & Alternatives in 2026: Compare Features, Pricing, & More

Key Takeaways

Not all salon software fits medical practices. Many Boulevard alternatives work well for beauty businesses but lack EMR, compliance, and clinical workflows needed by med spas.

Pricing structures vary widely. Some platforms look affordable upfront, but add-ons, per-user fees, or long contracts can quickly increase your real monthly cost.

Some platforms are designed to scale with medical aesthetics. Solutions like Pabau offer deeper clinical tools and automation for practices that need more than basic booking.

Boulevard looks great on paper… until you actually try to scale.

Maybe the pricing doesn’t make sense for your growing clinic. Or the features feel built for small salons, not multi-location med spas. Whatever the reason, you’re here looking for Boulevard competitors that can actually keep up with your business.

The good thing is that there are solid alternatives out there.

We’ve compared the top Boulevard competitors based on what matters most: pricing transparency, automation depth, and whether they can handle real growth.

Let’s find you something better.

Compare 7 Best Boulevard Alternatives

Pabau: Best for Practices That Actually Need Medical-Grade Features

If you’re running a med spa, aesthetic clinic, or any practice where medical documentation actually matters, Pabau is built for you.

It includes complete EMR and client medical records, detailed treatment notes, consent forms, before-and-after photos, prescribing support, and proper clinical documentation. Everything is designed with compliance, traceability, and patient safety in mind.

Start solo, add practitioners, open new locations, and introduce advanced treatments, Pabau grows with your clinic without capping functionality.

Key features

Here’s what sets Pabau apart when you’re running a practice that needs more than basic booking software.

Full EMR & clinical records

Pabau offers a true electronic medical record system built specifically for medical aesthetics and healthcare practices. You get proper clinical documentation, treatment history, medical notes, and everything you need the moment treatments become advanced or regulated. 

This isn’t a customer profile with a notes field—it’s a real EMR designed for patient safety and compliance.

Smart intake forms & fully custom clinical workflows

Complete control over how patient information gets collected, documented, and managed. Create treatment-specific forms, build custom clinical workflows, and adapt documentation as your services evolve. 

Advanced automation across the full patient journey

Pabau automates way beyond appointment reminders. We’re talking smart intake forms before visits, automated follow-ups and post-care messages, recalls and re-booking prompts based on treatment history—the whole patient lifecycle runs smoother without your team lifting a finger.

Scalable reporting & insights for growing practices

In-depth reporting designed for strategic growth. Track practitioner performance, treatment popularity, revenue by service, retention rates—everything you need to optimize services and make long-term decisions. Check out Pabau’s Insights Plus for the full breakdown of what’s possible.

Unified scheduling synced to electronic health records across multiple locations

Book appointments and manage calendars across all your locations from one system, with complete client history following them everywhere. 

Your team sees full treatment records, preferences, and notes, no matter which location the client visits. 

Perfect for growing practices that need seamless coordination without juggling multiple systems or losing patient context.

AI-assisted patient care management

Turn patient conversations into organized, structured notes with a simple click. Echo AI transcribes consultations during appointments, extracting key details and handling medical terminology automatically. 

No more rushed note-taking or typing up summaries afterward—just be more present with your patients while the AI handles documentation.

Pricing

Pabau plans start from $69/month in the US and £53/month in the UK, with flexible options designed to support practices as they grow.

Every plan includes core features like calendar, online booking, treatment forms, automated client communication, before-and-after photos, and much more.

Learn more about Pabau’s plans and pricing on our pricing page.

Where Pabau shines

• Medical-grade workflows: Full EMR, clinical documentation, consent forms, prescribing support, and before-and-after photos built specifically for healthcare practices.
• Scales without migration: Add practitioners, locations, and advanced treatments without hitting feature caps or switching systems.
• Deep automation: Smart intake forms, treatment-based recalls, post-care sequences, and automated follow-ups across the entire patient journey.

Where Pabau falls short

• Learning curve: The depth of features means there’s more to learn upfront compared to simpler booking tools.
• Overkill for basic needs: If you’re only doing simple appointments without medical documentation, you might not need everything Pabau offers.

Customer reviews

“I can tailor treatment notes, forms, and workflows to match exactly how our clinic practices, which helps keep our documentation consistent and efficient. The AI dictation feature has been a huge time-saver, accurately capturing my notes and reducing the amount of typing I have to do.” – Michael B. (Capterra)

Who Pabau is best for

• Growing med spas and aesthetic practices: Need clinical documentation, compliance tools, and room to scale without switching systems.
• Multi-location practices: Want unified scheduling, client records, and reporting across all locations from day one.
• Practices offering medical treatments: Require EMR features, prescribing support, and proper clinical workflows beyond basic booking.

Vagaro

Vagaro keeps things simple. It’s an affordable, cloud-based platform that handles appointment scheduling, payments, and client management without the bells and whistles. 

Popular with solo practitioners and small teams who need straightforward booking functionality that actually works and doesn’t cost a fortune.

Key features

• Online booking: Book via your website or a marketplace, with automated confirmations and reminders to reduce no-shows.
• Integrated payments: Take in-person or online card payments, with fees that vary by monthly volume.
• Marketing add-ons: Email and SMS campaigns are available as paid extras.
• Marketplace exposure: Appear in the Vagaro marketplace to help attract new clients.

Pricing

Vagaro pricing is based on the number of bookable calendars (staff members who take appointments):

Add-on costs: Email marketing, text marketing, forms, QuickBooks integration, and payroll all cost extra.

Where Vagaro shines

• Low entry price: Starting at $30/month makes it accessible for solo practitioners and small teams just getting started.
• Easy to use: Clean interface that’s simple to navigate, especially on mobile—most users are up and running quickly.
• Marketplace exposure: Built-in listing on Vagaro’s consumer marketplace can bring new clients without extra marketing effort.

Where Vagaro falls short

• Costs add up fast: Essential features like forms, email marketing, and integrations are sold as paid add-ons, so your real monthly cost climbs quickly.
• Limited medical features: No EMR, clinical documentation, or compliance tools—built for beauty/wellness, not healthcare.
• Performance issues: Users frequently report bugs, glitches, and app crashes during busy periods.

Customer reviews

“What I love most about VAGARO is its ease and affordability for small business owners like me. It’s given me the tools and resources to both launch and scale my service-based business with confidence and professionalism.” – Stacey F. (Capterra)

Who Vagaro is best for

• Solo beauty and wellness pros: Hairstylists, estheticians, massage therapists, and personal trainers who need simple booking and payment processing.
• Small salons and spas: Teams under 5 staff members looking for an affordable entry-level solution without complex features.
• Businesses avoiding medical compliance: If you don’t need EMR/electronic health records, clinical documentation, or HIPAA compliance, Vagaro covers the basics.

Shortcuts Software

Shortcuts is an Australian-born salon management platform that’s grown into a global option for hair salons, beauty businesses, barbers, and multi-location spas. 

It’s a solid choice if you want deep front-desk tools and reporting, but it’s not built for medical workflows or clinical documentation like health-focused platforms.

Key features

• All-in-one salon management: Booking, calendars, client records, and staff scheduling in one dashboard.
• Integrated POS: Quick checkout, sales, discounts, and inventory at the front desk.
• Marketing capabilities & loyalty tools: Email/SMS campaigns and client loyalty programs.
• Performance reporting: Revenue, service trends, staff metrics, and stock insights.

Pricing

Shortcuts does not publish full pricing tiers on its website, so exact costs usually require speaking with their sales team.

But third-party sites state that Shorcut’s pricing starts at around $29/month per feature, and exact costs depend on which modules you need and how many locations or users you have.

Where Shortcuts shines

• Front-desk & ops power: Combines scheduling, POS, marketing, and reports in one system.
• Great for salons with sales focus: Built for teams that upsell retail, track performance, and manage staff revenue.

Where Shortcuts falls short

• Not medical-focused: No EMR, clinical notes, consents, or compliance tools.
• Learning curve: Some users say the interface has a steeper learning curve than newer platforms.
• Long contracts & limited remote access: Users report being tied into lengthy contracts and limited cloud/remote functionality, which can be frustrating for multi-location teams.

Customer reviews

“This salon software is so user friendly. It is easy to train my staff to use this. We use Shortcuts to schedule clients appointments and for point of sale. The variety of reports and marketing lists is great.” – Julie L. (Software Advice)

Who Shortcuts is best for

• Salons and spas craving full operational control.
• Multi-location beauty businesses that want centralised data and reporting.
• Teams that need POS and marketing tools tightly integrated with scheduling.

Meevo

Meevo is a long-standing salon, spa, and med spa management platform designed to help beauty businesses streamline operations from booking to checkout. 

It puts retail sales and operational control at the center of its feature set, which can be a big plus if selling products and tracking inventory are core to your business

Key features

• Appointment scheduling & online booking: Manage calendars, online appointments, automatic reminders and confirmations across devices.
• Point of Sale (POS): Integrated checkout with support for payments, receipts, gift cards, and split pay right at the front desk or chairside.
• Inventory & retail management: Track stock levels, manage products, and reconcile sales across services and retail channels.
• Business reporting: Dashboards and KPIs to track revenue, service performance, staff productivity, and retail trends — key for operational insights. 

Pricing

Meevo does not publish full pricing on its website — you need to contact their team for a quote. Third-party sources indicate plans often start around $139/month for up to 5 professionals, scaling with business size and user count.

Where Meevo shines

• Strong POS & inventory: Excellent tools for retail-heavy salons and spas that depend on product sales to boost revenue.
• Operational depth: Integrated bookings, marketing, reporting, and sales make it a true all-in-one suite for daily business management.
• Customisation & flexibility: Meevo’s modular approach lets businesses tailor features to workflows, from front desk to back office.

Where Meevo falls short

• Not clinic-centered: Meevo doesn’t include medical documentation or compliance tools built for regulated treatments.
• Online booking usability issues: A number of users report that the client booking experience isn’t intuitive and can confuse clients or cause booking errors.
• Setup and interface friction: Some businesses find the onboarding process time-consuming and certain parts of the interface clunky or hard to navigate without training.

Customer reviews

“Overall the experience was just alright. Simple to use, would be helpful growing your business. But the cost kept me away.” – Bianca P. (Capterra)

Who Meevo is best for

• Salons and spas with heavy retail sales and inventory tracking needs.
• Multi-location beauty businesses that want unified booking, POS, and reporting.
• Teams that need strong operational and sales tools beyond basic booking.

GlossGenius 

GlossGenius is a modern, mobile-first booking and business platform built specifically for independent beauty pros, like stylists, lash artists, brow techs, and solo estheticians. 

It’s designed to make client management simple, visually appealing, and highly social-friendly.

Key features

• Mobile-first workflow: Manage appointments, clients, and payments straight from your phone.
• Instagram booking integration: Easily link your booking page to Instagram so clients can book without leaving the app.
• Online booking & calendar: Customizable booking page with automated confirmations and reminders.
• Payments & POS: Accept card payments in-person or online, send invoices, track sales and tips.

Pricing

Where GlossGenius shines

• Designed for social sellers: Instagram booking links and mobile-ready UI make it easy to turn followers into clients.
• Fast setup & simplicity: You can go from signup to live booking in minutes — ideal for solopreneurs and first-time business owners.
• Polished client experience: Branded booking page and automated reminders help reduce no-shows without extra effort.

Where GlossGenius falls short

• Not built for clinical workflows: No EMR, medical documentation, compliance tools, or advanced treatment planning.
• Limited scalability: Best for solo pros and small teams — teams with many practitioners or multiple locations may find it too basic.
• Feature gaps vs full suites: Lacks deep reporting, inventory management, and advanced automation found in larger platforms.

Customer reviews

“I love how easy GlossGenius is to use on the back end for me, and it’s very straightforward for my clients as well. The platform’s ease of use has significantly streamlined the way I manage my beauty business.” – Aza Image B. (G2)

Who GlossGenius is best for

• Independent beauty pros and solo practitioners active on social media.
• Businesses that rely on Instagram and mobile booking for client acquisition and client communication.
• Small teams that want a simple, stylish, mobile-first management tool without complex workflows.

Squire

Squire was built specifically for barbershops and won’t let you forget it. Everything from the Instagram booking integration to the client discovery app is designed around the barber industry. 

It’s well-funded, used by 2,800+ shops across the US, Canada, and UK, and comes with that sleek, modern vibe you’d expect from a venture-backed tech platform.

Key features

• Instagram booking integration: Clients book directly from your Instagram page—huge for barbershops where most discovery happens on social.
• Client discovery marketplace: Get listed in Squire’s consumer app where clients find and book barbers in their city. Free marketing that brings new clients to your chair.
• Customizable branded mobile app: Create your own iOS app with your shop’s logo and colors so clients can book and pay without leaving your brand.
• Flat-rate pricing per location: Charges by location, not per barber. Add team members without your monthly costs climbing every time you hire.

Pricing

Where Squire shines

• Built for barbershops only: Every feature—Instagram booking, client marketplace, branding—is designed specifically for barbers, not generic salons.
• Modern, mobile-first experience: Clean interface that works beautifully on mobile. Both clients and barbers love the client experience.
• Scalable pricing: Flat rate per location means adding barbers won’t increase your monthly costs.

Where Squire falls short

• Customer service complaints: Reviews mention aggressive sales tactics followed by poor post-sale support once you’re signed up.
• Desktop limitations: Several features work on mobile but not desktop, creating frustrating schedule gaps for shop managers.
• Inventory management gaps: No barcode scanning or product search. Fine for cuts-only shops, limiting if you sell retail products.

Customer reviews

“Squire is definitely a good choice for barbershops looking for an easy-to-use software. As new features are added, the software becomes more and more efficient and helpful.” – Julie T. (Capterra)

Who Squire is best for

• Modern barbershops focused on growth: Shops that prioritize social media marketing, want client discovery tools, and plan to scale their team.
• Instagram-heavy barbers: If most of your bookings come from social and you want seamless Instagram integration, Squire delivers.
• Multi-chair shops expanding: Flat-rate pricing per location makes sense when you’re adding barbers and don’t want per-seat costs climbing.

DaySmart Salon 

DaySmart Salon (formerly Salon Iris) has been around for 20+ years, quietly powering salons, spas, and barbershops that want reliable basics without the fuss. 

It’s cloud-based, built specifically for the beauty industry, and emphasizes marketing automation to help you fill chairs and keep clients coming back.

Key features

• Automated marketing campaigns: Built-in email and text tools with templates for birthdays, promotions, and re-booking reminders.
• Flexible scheduling and online booking: Calendar system with 24/7 booking through your website or Instagram, plus automated reminders.
• Inventory and product tracking: Monitor stock levels with low-inventory alerts and track what’s actually selling.
• Integrated payment processing: CardConnect integration with next-day deposits and optional card-on-file requirements.

Pricing

Where DaySmart Salon shines

• Strong marketing automation: Built-in tools for targeted campaigns, birthday messages, and re-booking prompts.
• 20+ years in the industry: Established platform with proven track record in salons and spas.
• Includes website hosting: Basic website and online booking included, even on lower-tier plans.

Where DaySmart Salon falls short

• Can’t edit closed tickets: Once a ticket is closed, you can’t modify it—you have to void it and recreate it entirely.
• Occasional glitches: Users mention software bugs, especially around inventory tracking and ticket pricing, that can require manual fixes.
• Not built for medical practices: Designed for traditional beauty services—no EMR, clinical documentation, or compliance features for med spas or aesthetic clinics.

Customer reviews

“The best thing about DaySmart is that it’s easy to use. Clients being able to book online and confirm appointments by text have been a time saver.” – John H. (G2)

Who DaySmart Salon is best for

• Traditional hair salons and barbershops: Teams focused on cuts, color, and styling who need solid scheduling and marketing without medical features.
• Beauty businesses wanting automation: Salons and spas that want to automate client communication and marketing to boost rebooking rates.
• Multi-location salon owners: The Enterprise plan supports managing multiple locations from one system, though it’s a significant price jump.

Reasons to consider an alternative to Boulevard

Boulevard is a strong platform for modern clinics, but it may not be the best fit for every practice. Some teams outgrow their limitations around flexibility, advanced clinical tools, or pricing as they scale. 

If you’re looking for deeper customization and more all-in-one functionality, exploring alternatives like Pabau can be worthwhile.

Reason #1: Limited clinical depth as treatments become more advanced

Boulevard is built around appointments and client profiles — not full clinical care. As treatments become more advanced, clinics often need a detailed EMR + CRM system, injection plotting, medical history tracking, and structured treatment notes. 

Without these, teams may rely on workarounds or additional tools. 

Pabau, by contrast, is designed for medical aesthetics, with advanced clinical documentation built directly into the platform.

🚀 See how Pabau supports advanced clinical care — book a free demo today.

Reason #2: Workflows that don’t scale with growing clinics

Boulevard works well for straightforward booking flows. But growing clinics often need custom intake forms, treatment-specific consents, automated pre- and post-care journeys, and structured clinical processes. 

When workflows can’t adapt, admin increases and compliance risks rise. 

Pabau allows clinics to build fully customizable patient journeys that scale as the business grows.

Reason #3: Limited insight into performance and long-term growth

Boulevard reporting supports day-to-day operations, but scaling clinics often need deeper insights. 

Metrics like practitioner utilisation, treatment performance, revenue by service category, and patient retention are critical for long-term planning. 

Pabau offers advanced reporting and business intelligence tools that help clinic owners make confident, data-driven decisions.

👉 Ready to scale with confidence? Discover how Pabau helps growing clinics streamline operations and boost revenue. Book your demo here.

Final Word on Pabau

The real question isn’t “Which booking tool is cheapest?” It’s “Which system will still work when your clinic doubles in size?”

If you need medical-grade documentation, smart automation, and reporting that actually helps you grow, Pabau is built for that next level. 

Next steps: Book a free demo to see it in action — and if marketing is your next focus, don’t miss our guide to choosing the right med spa marketing software.