What software is the suits your needs better – Booksy or Vagaro?
Looking for some assistance in picking the ideal scheduling software? We’ve got your back. We compare Booksy and Vagaro to help you make a decision. And, just to keep things interesting, we’ve brought another name into the mix – Pabau!
According to Booksy, they’re not just an appointment app. They’re your partner, your sidekick, your employee of the month. Booksy will help you streamline the small stuff, so you can focus on running your business and not the other way around.
Based in the US, Booksy mainly looks after hair and beauty businesses. They cater to five main categories of business – hair, barbers, nails, brows and lashes, and massages.
Vagaro is a cloud-based salon, spa and fitness business management solution that allows professionals to book appointments and manage various facility roles. It offers an integrated solution to manage bookkeeping, payroll, client databases and inventory management.
It’s a fairly affordable option, with prices starting at £30 a month for one user. On top of their monthly fee, you can pay extra for various add-ons to get all the features you need.
Pabau is an all-in-one clinic management software specifically designed for medi aesthetic clinics. With clients all around the world, it provides everything clinics need to reduce time spent on admin, improve the patient experience, and attract new customers.
Because it’s purpose-built for beauty and healthcare businesses, Pabau has key features that this client base will find particularly valuable.
Let’s start by breaking down the pricing in Booksy, Vagaro, and Pabau…
Booksy has two pricing plans: Booksy Lite and Booksy Pro. Both of these cost $29.99 a month for one user. The Lite version is for mobile and Pro is for mobile, tablet and desktop. Booksy Pro has more advanced versions of the features in Booksy Lite. You’ll also pay an additional $20 for every additional user you need, up to nine users.
The most important pricing point is their optional Boost add-on feature. This will charge you a commission fee for every new client that books an appointment via the Booksy marketplace. They don’t list how much they charge for commission on their site but it’s listed as up to $100 per treatment – pretty pricey.
Vagaro’s pricing starts at $25 a month for one user in one location, increasing up to $85 a month for 7+ users in one location. If you have multiple locations, you’ll have to get in touch with their team.
They also charge for a number of add-ons, for everything from client data storage, forms, text messaging campaigns, and a client check-up app, which all cost $10 a month.
Pabau charges a flat monthly fee. Pabau’s pricing structure is based on the number of users and every client will get access to all features in the system.
As an all-in-one system, we don’t charge extra for things such as reminder communication, data storage or client photos. The only additional costs you’ll pay are the SMS charges and advanced marketing feature, if needed.
| Why Choose Pabau Over Booksy vs Vagaro | Booksy | Vagaro | Pabau |
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| No online marketplace
Vagaro and Booksy give you the option to appear on their online marketplace, where you’ll be pitched alongside the competition. With Pabau, customize the online booking experience with an online booking widget to match the look and feel of your brand. |
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| Automated pre-care and aftercare emails Want to send pre-care and aftercare emails to a client at the time of booking? In Pabau, this process is fully automated. Simply check a box at the time of booking and it’s taken care of. |
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| No commission fees If you use the Boost function on Booksy you’ll be charged a commission fee for every new customer that books through the Booksy online marketplace, reportedly up to $100 per treatment. Pabau won’t charge you fees for your online bookings. | |
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| Before and after photos Want to upload before and after photos of clients to the system? This is simple to do in Pabau and you can store them directly in the patient file. Booksy and Vagaro don’t have a before-and-after feature. |
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| Patient journey app Want a way of making sure you have all correct documentation on file before a client has their appointment, such as consent, questionnaires, and before and after photos? Use Pabau’s dedicated patient app to keep you right and ensure you never miss a step again. |
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| Simple, all-access features If you choose Pabau you have access to the whole system. In Vagaro, you have to pay extra to get certain features such as intake forms. Meanwhile, Booksy has Lite and Pro versions, which makes it a little tricky to know which version of each feature is best for you. |
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The best software understands you, your business, and your challenges. Booksy is for hair and beauty businesses, Vagaro is mostly for the salons, spas, and fitness industry. Meanwhile, Pabau has been built to meet the needs of med spas.
That’s why it has features that have been created specifically for this sector, such as automated pre-care and aftercare emails, electronic medical records (EMR), before and after photos, injection plotting, customizable forms, and so on. At Pabau, we get you.
Want to just pay one simple price each month without having to shell out for extras?
If you choose Vagaro you’ll pay a monthly fee and then have to pay extra for everything from data storage to forms to a client check-in app. With Booksy, your commission fees will vary month to month, making it difficult to forecast your overall costs.
In Pabau, we keep it simple. All the features you need are under one roof, charged at one simple price. You don’t need to worry about all your add-ons adding up.
Want to create detailed patient notes? Need to store and manage patient allergies and contraindications? Want to have all your consent forms and medical questionnaires stored in one easy-to-access location? You won’t get this with most scheduling tools.
But Pabau has a robust system for storing electronic medical records (EMR). And because everything’s digital, you won’t have to deal with hundreds of pieces of paper.
Getting new clients booking appointments with you should be something to celebrate - it means that your reputation is growing and you’re doing an excellent job, right?
That’s why, with Pabau, you won’t be stung with commission charges for new clients. You also won’t have to read the fine print about what constitutes a new customer. The money you earn through online bookings goes straight to you, every single time.
Clinics need to collect a LOT of documentation before an appointment, right? With Pabau, you don’t have to break a sweat trying to remember everything. Simply use our app to ensure you have up-to-date health records, signed medical consents, and photos.
Not every provider has this functionality, but we know how needed by med spa practitioners. Not only does it protect the client, it also protects your business.
“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.”
Roxanne Merchant,
Head of Operations, Juvea Medical
“Pabau is feature-rich, allowing us functionality to grow as our business needs grow, and at the same time quite intuitive to use. Competing software offerings can’t compete!”
Daniel, Doctor,
G2 review
“I’ve been in business for almost nine years. I’ve tried a lot of different software, but I was always missing some features. This software has everything that saves my time, keeps my records and medical forms in one place, and is easy to use.”
Angelina, Owner
G2 review
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