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You’re here because you’re looking for Pabau competitors, right?
We’re not going to take that to heart. Competition is great. Obviously. It helps us all raise our game. Just excuse us while we go away and listen to Taylor Swift on repeat.
🎶 It’s me, hi. I’m the problem, it’s me 🎶
Seriously, though, we want what’s best for you. And that might not be Pabau. The decision on what software you choose is a complex one and it depends on a lot of factors: budget, business size, industry, the particular role you do in your practice, and lots more.
Ready to check out the competition? Here’s the list.
Pabau: why there’s really no comparison
So we know you’re on the hunt for a Pabau alternative, but hear us out.
We’re more than happy to shoot our shot one more time as, genuinely, we think our practice management software is the best out there. Not only does it all, it makes it feel easy. In the words of one of our customers: “I would highly recommend Pabau to other clinic’s because if you want an easy life, then this is the only client management software to use.”
What features does Pabau have?
The quicker answer would be what features do we not have?
Pabau is packed with hundreds of powerful features that work together to automate, streamline, and make your business work like clockwork. Speaking of time, we can save you five hours a day on admin and keep your online bookings rolling in, even while you sleep.
Here’s a quick highlights reel…
Online booking and calendar
…so that booking with you is easier than ever
Hundreds of pre-built forms
…so that you can customize your forms to your business
Secure patient management system
… so you can access patient notes from anywhere
Deposits and payment protection
…so that you can reduce no-shows and operate more efficiently
Automated pre-care and aftercare emails
…so clients always receive the information at the right time
What industries is Pabau for?
In other words, who is Pabau for? Let’s break it down for you. We have a lot of clients in the medi aesthetic and med spa sector. We also have a lot of clients in medical and healthcare businesses, who love alllll the in-depth medical features and integrations.
Aside from that, we serve cosmetic surgery clinics, IV clinics, physiotherapists, hair transplant clinics, laser hair removal clinics, travel clinics, and more.
How much does Pabau cost?
Pabau has a range of options that are designed to meet you where you’re at, whether you’re a new business with less than a hundred clients or an enterprise clinic with multiple locations.
We prefer to show before we tell. Our team will be able to walk you through the system and showcase what you can expect before sending a proposal that meets your needs.
Everyone who signs up for Pabau gets access to:
- Online booking system
- Calendar
- The client card
- Robust EMR system
- Pre-built editable forms
- Email and SMS reminders
- Smart marketing tools
- Stock and inventory management
- The client journey (iPad)
- The client portal
- Analytics and reports
- And much more
Is Pabau GDPR and HIPAA compliant?
We’re happy to confirm that Pabau can help you stay GDPR and HIPAA-compliant. Just to be clear, though, that doesn’t mean that using Pabau alone will help you stay compliant.
Alas, it’s a little more complex than that and the ball is firmly in your court in terms of having the appropriate policies and procedures in place in your business. What we have done is built functionality in the system that you can enable or disable. Simply switch on the toggle to activate specific functionality in the system that will help you stay compliant.
More information about compliance in Pabau:
- Visit our GDPR compliance page
- Visit our HIPAA compliance page
That’s enough preamble, let’s get on with rating the best Pabau competitors and alternatives.
15 ‘OK-ish’ Pabau competitors and alternatives in 2024
1. Phorest
Phorest is a legitimately great product and we’re a little in awe of their brand-spanking new social media ad management tool. They are mostly geared towards hair and beauty salons – which is a pro or a con depending on what type of business you run.
Most notable features
- Multi-branch salon scheduling
- Social media ad management tool
- Scheduling app for salon owners
- PhorestPay card terminals
Pricing
Phorest doesn’t disclose its pricing details on its website. You can head over to check out their different pricing plans, however, which include Starter, Grow, Ultimate, and Elite.
How does Pabau compare
In a nutshell, Pabau is designed for the medi aesthetic and healthcare industries. If you need to do a lot of medical-based tasks in your business, such as integrating with labs, prescribing, injection plotting, writing detailed treatment notes and so on, Pabau probably swings it.
In fact, Phorest has just built an integration with Aesthetic Nurse Software (ANS), so if you need these features you’ll have to pay an additional monthly fee. In Pabau, it’s all in one.
Here’s what Pabau customers (who considered Phorest) say:
“I particularly like Pabau because it is easy to use, intuitive, and multi-purpose. It is the best fit for a busy medical and aesthetic medicine practice such as ours.”
Katerina, Doctor in Cyprus
Via Capterra
Read more
2. Fresha
Fresha is designed for hair and beauty salons and will help you launch your business with minimum upfront costs. However, while it is subscription-free it’s not actually free, sadly. Fresha charges commission on any new client online bookings via their marketplace.
Most notable features
- Appointment scheduling
- Confirmation emails and texts
- Product inventory management
- Card terminals
Pricing
Let’s break it down. Fresha is free but charges a 20% commission on any new client online booking made through their online marketplace. The details are on their pricing pages.
How does Pabau compare
The big difference with Pabau is you have to pay a monthly subscription fee. However, the benefit is that no one takes a cut of your online bookings – it’s all money in your pocket.
The other thing to mention is that Pabau is purpose-built for the medi aesthetics and healthcare industry. As we mentioned with Phorest, if you want to prescribe, process lab results, annotate diagrams, and write detailed treatment notes, all that functionality is available in Pabau.
Finally, one other thing we hear that customers like about Pabau is it’s super customizable. You can tailor all your client communication to put your brand and logo front and centre.
Here’s what Pabau customers (who considered Fresha) say:
“Pabau is a very complete system which integrates several features including patient bookings, marketing, payments and stock control. All very useful to achieve a high-quality patient experience and overall business success. Excellent customer support: quick, efficient and willing to provide training.”
Yobany, director in the UK
Via Capterra
Read more
3. Cliniko
We’re big fans of what Cliniko do over here at Pabau. They’ve created a really robust practice management software that is packed with the kind of features medi aesthetics and healthcare practitioners will love. It’s really up to you to decide who edges it!
Most notable features
- Online bookings
- Secure, online health records
- Integrated telehealth software
- GDPR, PIPEDA, and HIPAA compliant
Pricing
Cliniko charges a monthly subscription fee which varies depending on the number of practitioners using the system. They offer a 30-day free trial to try before you buy.
How does Pabau compare
Cliniko is a practice management software solution, the same as Pabau. It’s purpose-designed for med spas and healthcare businesses, so it comes equipped with all the features you would expect from that type of business. Arguably, Pabau edges it with some features – having a more comprehensive suite of reports for example – but we’ll leave that up to you.
Here’s what Pabau customers (who considered Cliniko) say:
“Pabau is intuitive, user-friendly and packed with features. We have researched the top 10 practice software programs and it by FAR outweighs all the rest. SO EXCITED.”
Carissa, Manager in Australia
Via Capterra
Read more
4. Treatwell
Treatwell is an all-in-one salon software system that is targeted at hair salons, barbers, beauty salons, and massage businesses. It’ll help you get new clients, boost online visibility, and reduce no-shows – but it comes with a sting in the tail in the form of commission fees.
Most notable features
- Online bookings
- Confirmation and reminder emails and SMS
- Marketing and promotional tools
- POS system
Pricing
Treatwell has a choice of three pricing plans to choose from which are paid annually. All of the plans include unlimited appointment confirmation and reminder emails and SMS.
You’ll be charged 35% commission fees on new client online marketplace bookings. There is also a 2% processing fee for any repeat or widget bookings when pre-paid online.
How does Pabau compare
The main difference is that Pabau is an all-in-one practice management software specifically designed for the complex needs of a medically-related patient journey. Meanwhile, Treatwell is typically for salons and spas so it doesn’t have those purpose-built medical features.
The second point to mention is pricing. With Pabau, you can pay monthly rather than annually. Additionally, you don’t have to pay any commission fees for online booking.
Read more
5. Acuity Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling is a solid scheduling tool that can work well as part of a software stack. It’ll work 24/7 behind the scenes to fill your calendar and take busy work off your plate. It works for any kind of business, which can get tricky if you need industry-specific features.
Most notable features
- Self-serve online booking
- Confirmation, reminder, and follow-up emails
- Advanced feature add-ons, such as tipping
- Signed BAA for HIPAA compliance
Pricing
Acuity has three pricing plans – Emerging, Growing, and Powerhouse – all with the option to pay monthly or annually. See the most up-to-date pricing information on their website.
How does Pabau compare
Pabau is designed for med spas and healthcare businesses. If you need specific medical features, Pabau is robust enough to help you do everything you need – all in one place. Acuity works best as part of a tech stack, where you can connect any integrations.
For example, if you need digital signatures built into the system, Pabau has it, Acuity doesn’t. How about before and after photos? Again, Pabau has it, Acuity doesn’t. Additionally, Pabau works just as effectively over multiple locations, whereas Acuity falls a little short.
Here’s what Pabau customers say:
“It just wasn’t clear to the patient. If you had one office, Acuity Scheduling seemed to work. But the second I added two different locations, the patient became very confused about which location they were choosing and which clinician they were choosing. It resulted in some patients showing up at the wrong office when that office was closed for the day.”
Liz Riley, Ageless Enhancements
Read more
6. Power Diary
Power Diary, stop being so damn good over there. There’s no getting around it, Power Diary is a great software. They’re designed for a range of healthcare businesses, from nutritionists to occupational therapists to psychologists and mental health therapists.
And when we say they have some killer features, we mean it. We talking one-click appointment management, two-way texting, a client portal, a practice operations manual, and lots more.
Most notable features
- Online forms with pre-built templates
- Telehealth video calls
- Two-way texting
- Practice operations manual
Pricing
Power Diary has five different pricing options to choose from, which vary depending on the number of practitioners. You can find up-to-date pricing for your region on their pricing page.
They’re also interesting in that they charge per week, rather than per month.
You get access to every feature in the system and they have a free trial.
How does Pabau compare
Looking at the professions that Power Diary caters to, there’s definitely crossover with Pabau. However, Pabau is more geared towards med spa and healthcare businesses, which is why we have features like face mapping, labs, letter writing features, and a lot more. Similar to Power Diary, Pabau also has a really robust EMR for storing detailed patient notes.
So what are the differences? Pabau has built-in e-prescriptions, Power Diary doesn’t. Pabau has a room booking feature, Power Diary doesn’t. When it comes to customizability, Pabau also may have the edge – you can really tailor the system to suit your business.
Here’s what Pabau customers (who considered Power Diary) say:
“There are many features I could not find in other software. Particularly the use of consultation templates to reduce note writing time, photography with the assistance of stencils to always obtain the correct patient view (very good for before and after photos), integration of drug look up, the ability to assign permissions for data view amongst staff and online booking. Everything is customizable. There is a whole suite of tools to match the demands of my growing business.”
Ellysa, Owner in Australia
Via Capterra
7. Zenoti
Zenoti is targeted at salons, spas, fitness centres, and medi aesthetic businesses. It’s a solid, stand-alone software that is comprehensive enough to grow with you – you won’t have to keeping adding to your tech stack. Sounds a little (or a lot) like Pabau, then!
Most notable features
- Multi-location functionality
- Upselling and retail recommendations
- Abandoned cart notifications
- Membership packages
Pricing
There isn’t any information about pricing on the Zenoti website. If you want to find out more you’ll have to book a demo with one of their team to find out more.
How does Pabau compare
Zenoti describes itself as a complete software. At Pabau, we refer to ourselves as an all-in-one software. So while there probably are some differences, we’re probably more similar than we are different. Automated pre-care and aftercare instructions, check. Multi-location functionality, check. Built-in marketing features, check. Inventory management, check.
Pabau possssssibly nudges ahead when it comes to medical and healthcare business capabilities, with its comprehensive EMR, prescriptions, face mapping, and more.
8. Semble
Semble, formerly known as HeyDoc, is a practice management software built for healthcare businesses of all sizes. With a strong list of integrations in their locker – including Stripe, Xero, Healthcode, and Cloud Rx – Semble is an undeniably strong contender.
Most notable features
- Pre-consultation questionnaires
- Semble telehealth feature
- Strong security features
- Good medical integrations
Pricing
There’s no information about Semble’s pricing so if you want to get more details on that you’ll have to reach out to Semble and book a demo with one of their team.
How does Pabau compare
Semble is similar to Pabau in that it’s got solid medical and healthcare features. You’ll find integrations with labs so you can get pathology results faster and integrations with pharmacies so you can prescribe directly from the system. That’s just two examples.
If you’re looking for a really intuitive system, Pabau might edge it. We’ve reduced clicks everywhere in the system to ensure that using Pabau is smooth and seamless.
Here’s what Pabau customers (who considered Semble) say:
“Ability to customize your practice, appointment types, lengths, pre-care, specific templates for services, after care emails, prescribing online, recalls. In short, there are a lot of features! Lots of education available to teach you how to get the most out of it. Very responsive support team.”
Paul, Consultant Dermatologist in UK
Via Capterra
9. Setmore
Setmore is an online scheduling platform. It’s designed to work for any industry – education, legal, financial services, and lots more – as well as sectors we’ve talked about earlier such as spas and salons. You can get started for free so it’s an affordable option.
Most notable features
- All-in-one calendar
- Email and text reminders
- Secure online payments
- Class bookings
Pricing
Setmore has three pricing plans to choose from – Free, Pro, and Team – and you can choose to pay either monthly or annually. Take a look at their latest fees on their website.
How does Pabau compare
Setmore says it themselves – they’re an online scheduling software. What that means is that they work best as part of a tech stack where you can simply add in the other software you need.
If you need an all-in-one solution that will take care of online bookings as well as having robust features for medical and healthcare businesses, Pabau may be a better bet. With Pabau, you get a comprehensive EMR, labs, prescribing features, face mapping, and more.
10. Vagaro
Vagaro is a cloud-based salon, spa and fitness business management solution that helps run your business. They have a lot of features available, including a new Vagaro Pay Later feature which functions just like Klarna and enables clients to pay in interest-free instalments.
Most notable features
- Online booking
- Vagaro Pay Later
- Upselling and tipping features
- Live stream classes and consultations
Pricing
View their most up to date pricing here. If you have one location, price varies by the number of bookable calendars needed. For multiple locations, get in touch with their enterprise team.
Here’s what Pabau customers (who considered Vagaro) say:
The most obvious difference is that Vagaro is mostly targeted at beauty, wellness, and fitness businesses. While there is some crossover, Pabau has a lot more features that medical providers will need, such as labs, face plotting tools, being able to prescribe, etc.
Another big difference is the pricing model. With Pabau, you pay one price and you unlock all features – with the exception of the advanced marketing tool. With Vagaro, you pay a monthly fee and then pay extra for various add-ons, such as forms and data storage.
11. Booksy
Booksy is aimed at hair, beauty, and wellness salons.
Most notable features
- Online bookings
- Automated notifications and reminders
- Email and social media templates
- Customer app
Pricing
Booksy charges a set monthly fee with an additional cost per additional staff member up to 14 teammates, thereafter, it doesn’t cost any more. You can view their latest pricing here.
They also offer an optional boost feature which will give your more visibility on their online marketplace. The drawback is that you have to pay a commission fee on any new clients that book via their online marketplace, and they don’t state what the commission fee is.
How does Pabau compare
First of all, you don’t pay commission fees for any online bookings at Pabau. New customers, regular customers, it all goes straight to you. Pabau simply charges an agreed monthly fee.
Secondly, Booksy is built for hair and beauty salons primarily. If you need robust medical features such as labs, prescribing, and face plotting, these aren’t available in Booksy.
Another thing worth mentioning is the customizability of Pabau. You can tailor everything to your needs in Pabau – such as customizing your emails and SMS templates, changing when your review reminders are sent out, and so on. There isn’t as much flexibility with Booksy.
12. Jane App
Jane is a practice management software based out of Vancouver, Canada. They’re targeted at health and wellness practitioners and have lots of useful features – more on that below. They’re also a user-friendly system – for example, you can book an appointment in just four clicks.
Most notable features
- Online booking
- Smart charting features
- Billing and invoicing
- Waitlist feature
Pricing
Jane has three subscription plans to choose between, which are all available to pay monthly. You pay extra for each additional full license and each additional half licence.
How does Pabau compare
Jane is cut from the same cloth as Pabau in that it’s designed for medical and healthcare professionals, so you’ll find a lot of crossover there in terms of features. Pabau and Jane both have a telehealth function, detailed patient notes, and the ability to annotate diagrams.
Where Jane is a little light, however, is in the marketing arena. Pabau has solid marketing features built in that will enable you to send beautifully branded email and SMS campaigns. Meanwhile, with Jane you’ll have to integrate with another provider to do this.
Here’s what Pabau customers (who considered Jane) say:
“We have a busy practice with 30+ practitioners. Pabau makes it easy for us to manage their schedules and see all of the patient details in one place, for ease of managing their care alongside their admin.”
Elizabeth, Managing Director in the UK
Via Capterra
Read more
13. Timely
Timely is an online booking software that caters to hair, beauty, wellness, and medi aesthetic and med spa businesses. Honestly, there are a LOT of good features on offer if you go for Timely and they’ve also recently launched their own payment terminal, TimelyPay.
Most notable features
- Online bookings
- Shopify online store
- New TimelyPay terminals
- You can allocate rooms and resources
Pricing
Timely has three pricing plans to suit businesses of any size, at any stage. They don’t sneak in any hidden fees or charges so you pay your agreed monthly fee and that’s all.
How does Pabau compare
The biggest difference is the in-depth medical features that Pabau has. With Pabau, you have all the benefits of a really robust EMR feature, hundreds of prebuilt treatment notes that you can customize to your needs, the ability to prescribe directly from the system, and lots more.
Additionally, with Pabau, you pay a set monthly subscription and that unlocks all features – with the exception of the advanced marketing tool. Timely reserves a lot of its premium features, such as intake forms, before and after photos, and more, for its pricier plans.
Here’s what Pabau customers (who considered Timely) say:
“The everything platform. Covers all the bases we need in our busy aesthetics clinic, which very few of the competitors did. Additional features are really useful too and ensure smooth running.”
Elizabeth, Clinic Owner in Jersey
Via Capterra
Read more
14. PracticePal
PracticePal is one of the stalwarts of the practice management software world, as it’s been going for over 16 years. It’s a comprehensive system and, in their words, a turnkey system, that will sort you out when it comes to scheduling, billing, online booking and lots more.
Most notable features
- Online booking portal
- Detailed patient notes
- HIPAA compliant
- Intake forms
Pricing
PracticePal charges a set monthly fee – you can view the most up-to-date pricing here. You then pay extra for additional features depending on the number of users you need.
How does Pabau compare
PracticePal is similar to Pabau. They’re both equipped with features that are designed for medical and healthcare practitioners. However, Pabau probably edges it with features such as robust electronic medical records, face mapping, lab integrations, and prescriptions.
Pabau is also probably more of an all-rounder. Let’s take marketing, for example. PracticePal has an integration with MailChimp for your marketing campaigns. Meanwhile, in Pabau you’ll find customizable email templates for your campaigns already built in to the system.
Here’s what Pabau customers (who considered PracticePal) say:
“Pabau has the most efficient diary management and communication systems that engages with the clients in a swift manner when needed. All other features such as finance, data collection, generating prescription, documentation and diary management is brilliant and far superior compared to other software.”
Vijay, Consultant Sonographer in UK
Via Capterra
15. Aesthetics Pro
Aesthetics Pro is an electronic medical records software primarily targeted at medi aesthetic and med spa businesses. They have the kind of robust features that medical and healthcare practitioners need, including EHR, a form library, digital signatures, and lots more.
Most notable features
- Online bookings
- E-prescribing feature
- Two-way appointment confirmation
- HIPAA compliance
Pricing
Aesthetics Pro have three pricing plans to choose from – Solo, Enterprise, and Enterprise Plus. You can view the latest pricing on their website. They also charge additional fees for some of their features, such as e-prescribing, reputation management, and text marketing.
How does Pabau compare
Pabau will also help you hit the ground running. The system is packed with hundreds of medical forms that you can edit and customize to your business needs. You also don’t have to spend hours uploading every single form – we offer a service where our team does it all for you.
What our customers say
“The best thing for me with Pabau is that all of these separate functionalities are integrated into one system. Having all of that integrated into a chronological system takes away so much of the brain power from the clinician.”
Dr Jordan Faulkner
Founder and Lead Injector, Allo Aesthetics
“After 16 years of using about 20 different client management software systems, this is the only one I can honestly say does it all, and does it all very well. There isn’t a single feature I’m not happy about.”
Roxanne Merchant
Head of Operations, Juvea Medical
Which Pabau competitor is the best?
If you made it this far, you’ll know that there’s still one important question to be answered: which Pabau competitors and alternatives are the best? Well, it’s a bit of a tricky one.
Forgive us for sitting on the fence here, but it really depends on what you need. There are solid alternatives out there if you’re looking for salon management software. There are also decent options if you just need an online scheduler rather than an all-in-one system.
Generally speaking though, the only real competition with Pabau is, well, Pabau. It’s not every day you come across software that combines a robust online booking system AND an equally robust electronic medical records system. It’s not every day you find software that just seems to ‘get’ all the things that you need to do and has specific features for them – deposits, face mapping, crystal clear before and after photos, labs, inventory, and much more.
Are we wrong? Final answer: the best Pabau competitor has to be… Pabau.
