Booking Shortlist

For: Barbershops · Tanning salons · Spas · Massage

Vagaro vs Fresha vs MeetScarlet 2026: which booking app fits you?

By Booking Shortlist · Published · Updated · Prices checked on · Based on public documentation

Watch: Vagaro vs Fresha vs MeetScarlet (2026): what a 5-person shop really pays (4:24, with transcript)

Disclosure: Our #1 pick is MeetScarlet, and we are affiliated with them. We also cover competing tools and where they shine. We may earn commissions from links on this page. Details

The short answer: Fresha is the better pick for a one- or two-person business on a tight budget, at $19.95 a month for one, as long as you’re happy to pay 20% on each brand-new client its marketplace sends you. Vagaro is the better pick for teams of five or more, because its price stops rising at seven calendars, and for anyone who wants free, done-for-you switching and a marketplace with no booking fees. Neither has court booking. Based on both vendors’ public pages, checked November 3, 2026. Our #1 pick, MeetScarlet, offers a branded app instead of a marketplace and says it’s live (November 5, 2026).

Key takeaways

  • For one or two people, Fresha is cheaper: $19.95 a month for one, vs Vagaro's $30.00 after a 6-month promotional $23.99 (checked November 3, 2026).
  • From 5 people, Vagaro is cheaper after its promotion ($70.00 vs $74.75 a month), and its price stops rising at seven calendars ($90.00), while Fresha adds $14.95 per team member.
  • Vagaro says its marketplace has "no booking fees" unless you opt into its Fill My Books promotion (5% on existing, 20% on brand-new clients); Fresha charges a one-time 20% (minimum $6) on each brand-new client who finds you through its marketplace.
  • Vagaro's team moves your data for free; on Fresha you import it yourself, with paid help for complex moves.
  • Vagaro's free card reader comes with a 12-month processing commitment; Fresha's terms mention 30 days' written notice to end the agreement.

Vagaro vs Fresha vs MeetScarlet at a glance

MeetScarlet (our pick)VagaroFresha
Best forBusinesses that want their own branded app and can wait about 4 to 6 weeks for the store appsTeams of 5+, and anyone who wants free switching helpOne- or two-person businesses on a tight budget
How it’s pricedBy plan: Scarlet is “For one location”, with 5 staff logins; Scarlet Pro “includes up to 3 locations” and 20 loginsPer location, by number of bookable calendarsPer bookable team member
1 person$349/month plus $999 setup, or $3,490/year with setup free$23.99/month for 6 months, then $30.00$19.95/month
3 peopleSame as 1 person (5 staff logins, owner included)$43.99/month for 6 months, then $50.00$44.85/month
5 peopleSame as 1 person (5 staff logins, owner included)$63.99/month for 6 months, then $70.00$74.75/month
10 peopleScarlet Pro: $499/month plus $999 setup, or $4,990/year with setup free (20 staff logins)$83.99/month for 6 months, then $90.00 (capped at 7+)$149.50/month
Marketplace fee on new clientsNone: no marketplace, so no marketplace clients either“No booking fees”; 20% on new clients only if you opt into Fill My Books20% one-time, $6 minimum
In-person card rateWe found no card reader or in-person rate; in-app card payments are Stripe’s fees + 1%; on once your Stripe account is approved; its help says “no live card payment has been run yet”2.6% + 10¢ under $4,000/month; 2.29% + 19¢ above, plus $10/month; Tap to Pay adds 6¢2.29% + $0.20; Tap to Pay adds $0.10
SupportInstagram message to @meetscarletapp; it aims “to reply within one business day”. Also email (“A person reads every message”); “Priority support” on Scarlet Pro24/7 phone, email and chat advertisedEmail and chat; phone on the Team plan
Free trialNone: its terms say “There is no free trial”; it offers a demo30 days7 days
Switching helpIts team sets you up and imports clients, “not booking or payment history”; no direct importer for Vagaro or FreshaFree, done for youDo-it-yourself import; paid help for complex moves
Biggest limitationCard payments wait on Stripe approving your account, and its help says “no live card payment has been run yet”; store apps take about 4 to 6 weeksFree card reader means 12 months of Vagaro processing ($150 to leave early)20% fee on each new marketplace client

Sources: Vagaro pricing, Vagaro card processing, Fresha pricing, checked November 3, 2026. US dollars, before tax. The Fresha team prices are our arithmetic from $14.95 per team member. Vagaro’s 5-person price is our arithmetic from its FAQ rule of $10 per extra calendar; the 1-, 3- and 7+-person prices are as shown on its page. MeetScarlet: pricing, team logins help and switching page, checked November 4, 2026; terms, payments help and appointments help, checked November 5, 2026.

How we compared them

  • Price at 1, 3, 5 and 10 bookable staff, from each vendor’s US pricing page on November 3, 2026.
  • Card and marketplace fees, from each vendor’s pricing and payments pages and help articles.
  • Contract, cancellation and refund terms, from Vagaro’s customer agreement and Fresha’s Partner Terms.
  • Switching help and support, from each vendor’s onboarding pages, help articles and pricing pages.
  • Fit for each business type, from each vendor’s pages for barbers, spas, massage, tanning and fitness.
  • We haven’t used any of the three hands-on; MeetScarlet’s facts come only from its own pages, so this comparison is based on public documentation. Our method explains more.

Pricing compared

For one person, Fresha’s $19.95 beats Vagaro’s $30.00 standard price, though Vagaro’s first 6 months cost $23.99. At three people, Fresha is cheaper after Vagaro’s promotion ($44.85 vs $50.00), and the two are almost level at four ($59.80 vs $60.00). From five people, Vagaro is cheaper ($70.00 vs $74.75), and the gap grows, because Vagaro’s price stops at $90.00 for seven or more while Fresha keeps adding $14.95 per person.

Both charge extra for some tools. Vagaro’s branded app is a paid add-on, and some tools aren’t on its “Included with every plan” list. Fresha lists its add-ons with prices, such as Client Loyalty at $59.95 per location a month. See our Vagaro review and Fresha review for the full lists, or compare prices across apps.

Card fees: under $4,000 a month in card sales, Vagaro’s 2.6% + 10¢ is cheaper on small payments and Fresha’s 2.29% + $0.20 on bigger ones. By our arithmetic, the break-even is about $32 per payment on a card reader (chip or tap) and about $45 with Tap to Pay on a phone. Above $4,000 a month, the rates are almost identical, but Vagaro adds a $10 monthly fee.

Our pick, MeetScarlet, is $349 a month plus $999 setup, or $3,490 a year with setup free, for one location and up to 5 staff logins (owner included); its card payments carry Stripe’s fees plus 1% and go through your own Stripe account, turning on once Stripe finishes checking it (its payments help, updated November 5, 2026).

Booking and scheduling

Both handle appointments, staff calendars, waitlists, and rooms or equipment as bookable resources, which matters for massage rooms and tanning beds. Fresha’s tanning page explicitly covers sunbed and booth studios. Vagaro has a tanning page too, but we found no example of a tanning bed set up as a resource.

Both fitness pages advertise class booking: Vagaro’s mentions “Easy class booking” and class packs, and Fresha’s mentions group classes and class schedules. We couldn’t confirm either in help documentation, so a class-based studio should test class booking in each free trial. Neither offers court booking.

Our pick, MeetScarlet, lists “Chairs, beds, courts, rooms and class spots on one calendar” on its homepage, court booking included, but “Each Scarlet studio has one schedule”.

Memberships and payments

Both sell memberships with automatic billing, packages and gift cards. Payments are where they differ.

Vagaro runs payments through its own processor, and we found no option to use another one. Its free card reader means agreeing to 12 months of Vagaro processing, with a $150 early cancellation fee and a $10 monthly rental fee in any month under $1,000.

Fresha’s FAQ says you can use Fresha without its payments. But saved-card membership billing works with Fresha Payments, and cancellation fees on Fresha bookings must go through it. Fresha’s card terminals start at $139.

Our pick, MeetScarlet, lists memberships, packs and gift cards and runs card payments through your own Stripe account. Its payments help says they turn on once Stripe finishes checking your account, and “Until Stripe is connected, members pay at the desk”. Its appointments help still says “no live card payment has been run yet”, so check with MeetScarlet before counting on card payments (both checked November 5, 2026).

Client experience

Both list you on a consumer marketplace and send free booking reminders. The difference is the fee. Vagaro’s barber page says its marketplace lets you “keep 100% of your profits with no booking fees”. Its optional Fill My Books promotion is the exception: it charges “a per-booking fee (5% for existing customers, 20% for brand-new ones)”, and Vagaro says that if you don’t use it “you won’t be charged any booking fees”. Fresha charges a one-time 20% (minimum $6) on each brand-new client from its marketplace, including clients who view your Fresha profile first and then book on your website or social pages. Returning clients carry no fee. Fresha’s help centre also says unlisting your marketplace profile disables all your online booking channels.

Neither gives you an app under your own business name without extra cost: Vagaro’s branded app is a paid add-on, and we found none on Fresha. Our pick, MeetScarlet, includes one on iPhone, Android and web with every plan but has no marketplace, and its Jane comparison page says email reminders are “built but not sending yet”, and text reminders (coming soon) need Scarlet Pro ($499 a month).

What users say (third-party opinion, not our own research, read November 3, 2026):

Rating sourceMeetScarlet (our pick)VagaroFresha
App Store, business appNo third-party ratings found (checked November 4, 2026)4.4 out of 5 (15,970 ratings)4.8 out of 5 (3,957 ratings)
Google Play, business appNo third-party ratings found (checked November 4, 2026)3.5 out of 5 (9,789 ratings)4.6 out of 5 (9,071 ratings)
Trustpilot, whole companyNo third-party ratings found (checked November 4, 2026)3.5 out of 5 (725 reviews)4.8 out of 5 (7,651 reviews)

Trustpilot reviews may include consumers as well as businesses.

Switching from one to the other

To Vagaro: its onboarding team transfers your clients, appointments, services, staff, packages and memberships for free, in “as little as one business day”, per its White Glove page (checked November 4, 2026).

To Fresha: its fitness page says you can import your client list, appointment history and class packages. Its pricing FAQ offers paid migration packages for “larger partners with more complex needs”.

To MeetScarlet: it imports clients, “not booking or payment history”, and has no direct importer for Vagaro or Fresha (switching page).

Leaving either: Vagaro doesn’t refund fees already paid, and if you took its free reader in the last 12 months, you’ll owe $150. Fresha’s FAQ says “cancel at any time”, but its Partner Terms mention 30 days’ written notice, and cancelling removes access to your workspace, so export your data first.

What about our pick, MeetScarlet?

MeetScarlet works differently from both: you get your own branded app (iPhone, Android and web) instead of a marketplace listing, so there’s no marketplace fee but also no marketplace clients. It costs $349 a month plus $999 setup, or $3,490 a year with setup free, which is far more than Vagaro or Fresha for one person. Its terms page says “Scarlet is live, and founding studios can join now”. Founding studios pay $299 a month instead of $349 for the first 24 months, on monthly billing, with the $999 setup included at no charge; MeetScarlet plans 10 places. Its terms also say plans renew automatically, and cancelling takes effect at the end of the paid period. You can export the member list as a CSV file at any time, and your data stays available after you cancel until you ask for it to be deleted (checked November 5, 2026). Its FAQ says store apps take “about 4 to 6 weeks” after you sign up. Card payments go through your own Stripe account and turn on once Stripe finishes checking it, but its appointments help still says “no live card payment has been run yet”, so check with MeetScarlet before counting on card deposits or no-show fees. We found no third-party reviews as of November 4, 2026. Choose MeetScarlet, our pick, if your own branded app matters most and you can wait about 4 to 6 weeks for the store apps. Choose Vagaro or Fresha if you need card payments and email reminders working today, at a lower price. Sources: MeetScarlet pricing and FAQ and white-label page, checked November 4, 2026; terms, payments help and appointments help, checked November 5, 2026.

Biggest limitations of each

  • MeetScarlet (our pick): card payments turn on only once Stripe has checked your account, and its appointments help says “no live card payment has been run yet”; store apps take about 4 to 6 weeks; part-used months or years aren’t refunded, except under its founding-plan rules; and it imports clients only (payments help, appointments help, terms).
  • Vagaro: the 6-month promotional price, the 12-month processor commitment for the free reader, no refunds, and some tools outside the included list with no price shown (Vagaro agreement).
  • Fresha: the 20% new-client marketplace fee, online booking that depends on the marketplace listing, and conflicting cancellation terms (Fresha Partner Terms).

Which should you choose?

Your situationPickWhy
Want an app under your own business nameMeetScarlet (our #1 pick)Included on every plan, from $349 a month plus $999 setup; store apps take about 4 to 6 weeks, and card payments turn on once your Stripe account is approved. Vagaro’s branded app is a paid add-on; we found none on Fresha
Solo barber or stylist, lowest monthly costFresha$19.95 a month; budget for 20% on new marketplace clients
Team of 5 or moreVagaroCheaper from 5 people, and capped at $90.00 a month from 7
Rely on the marketplace for new clientsVagaro“No booking fees” unless you opt into Fill My Books, vs 20% per new client on Fresha
Switching with lots of historyVagaroFree, done-for-you data transfer
Tanning salon with sunbedsFreshaIts tanning page covers sunbed and booth studios
Want to book without the built-in paymentsFreshaIts FAQ says you can; the Vagaro pages we read don’t say either way
Want phone support on the cheapest planVagaro24/7 phone advertised; Fresha’s phone support is Team-plan only
Padel or court clubNeitherNo court booking on either
Padel or court club that wants its own appMeetScarlet (our #1 pick)Its court page lists slot booking, peak prices and padel open matches; not for leagues, ladders or booking “without an account”, and paying shares by link needs card payments, on once your Stripe account is approved (its help says “no live card payment has been run yet”); store apps take about 4 to 6 weeks

The verdict

There’s no single winner. Fresha is cheaper for one or two people, better rated by users and clearer about tanning beds, but its 20% fee on marketplace clients adds up. Vagaro is cheaper for teams of five or more, charges no marketplace booking fees unless you opt into its Fill My Books promotion, and moves your data for free, but its free reader ties you in for 12 months. Our pick, MeetScarlet, suits a business that wants its own branded app with no marketplace fee and can wait about 4 to 6 weeks for its store apps. Read the full Vagaro review or Fresha review, or try them: Vagaro offered a 30-day free trial and Fresha a 7-day trial when we checked on November 3, 2026.

Frequently asked questions

Is Vagaro or Fresha cheaper?
Fresha for one or two people: $19.95 a month for one, vs Vagaro's $30.00 after its 6-month promotional $23.99. From 5 people, Vagaro: $70.00 vs $74.75 a month, and Vagaro's price stops at $90.00 for seven or more. Checked November 3, 2026.
Which has lower card fees, Vagaro or Fresha?
Under $4,000 a month in card sales, Vagaro (2.6% + 10¢) is cheaper on small payments and Fresha (2.29% + $0.20) on bigger ones; the break-even is about $32 per payment on a card reader (chip or tap) and about $45 with Tap to Pay on a phone. Above $4,000 a month the rates are almost identical, but Vagaro adds a $10 monthly fee.
Does Vagaro charge a marketplace fee like Fresha?
Vagaro's barber page says its marketplace lets you "keep 100% of your profits with no booking fees." Its optional Fill My Books promotion charges 5% on existing and 20% on brand-new clients, only if you turn it on. Fresha charges a one-time 20% commission, with a $6 minimum, on each brand-new client who finds you through its marketplace, including those who then book on your website.
Which is easier to switch to?
Vagaro's onboarding team transfers your clients, appointments, services, staff, packages and memberships for free. Fresha says you can import your client list, appointment history and class packages yourself, with paid migration packages for complex needs.
Can I cancel either one anytime?
Both say you can cancel, but read the details. Vagaro doesn't refund fees already paid, and its free card reader carries a $150 fee if you stop processing within 12 months; Fresha's Partner Terms mention 30 days' written notice.
Which is better for a tanning salon?
Fresha's tanning page explicitly covers sunbed and booth studios, and its resources feature books beds with capacity limits. Vagaro has a tanning page too, but we found no example of a bed set up as a resource, so check it in the trial.

Sources

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