Vagaro pricing in 2026: what you'll really pay per month

Vagaro's pricing looks refreshingly simple at first glance: $30 a month, done. Then you add a second chair, decide you want text marketing, need intake forms, and the bill starts climbing in $10 and $20 steps. None of that is hidden, exactly - it is spread across a pricing page, an add-on catalog, and a processing rate card. This post pulls it into one place, walks through the per-calendar math, and works out a realistic monthly bill for a solo pro and for a three-chair shop.

What Vagaro costs

Vagaro's base plan is $30 per month, and that covers one bookable calendar. Every additional calendar adds $10 per month, up to seven calendars at $90 - and that is the cap, because calendars beyond the seventh are free. There is no free plan, but there is a 30-day trial, and promotions sometimes show a first tier at $23.99. As of July 2026, the ladder looks like this.

The unit that matters is the bookable calendar, not the employee. Anyone who takes appointments needs their own calendar - a stylist, a barber, a massage therapist. A receptionist who never gets booked does not. For most salons that distinction still lands close to headcount, so plan on roughly $10 per month for every person behind a chair, up to the cap.

The costs that sneak up

The base price buys the core: scheduling, the booking page, and the client list. A lot of the features that make Vagaro feel like Vagaro live in the add-on catalog, each with its own monthly price. As of July 2026:

• Text marketing from $20 per month
• Forms $10 per month
• Online shopping cart $10 per month
• Website builder $20 per month
• File and photo storage from $10 per month
• Check-in app $10 per month
• Featured marketplace placement $10 per month
• Branded app $100 per month
• Payroll $34 per month plus $5 per employee
• QuickBooks integration $10 per month, Xero $30 per month

None of these are must-haves, and that is the fair way to read the list: you pay only for what you switch on. In practice, though, most shops switch a few on, and three modest add-ons can quietly double a solo's software bill.

Card processing sits on top. If you run under $4,000 per month through Vagaro, swiped payments cost 2.6% plus $0.10 and keyed-in payments 3.5% plus $0.15. Over $4,000 per month, the rate drops to 2.2% plus $0.19 per transaction, with a $10 monthly fee. Those rates are in the normal range for the industry - they only surprise you if you compared subscription prices and forgot the processing line.

One more thing worth knowing before you commit: Vagaro also runs a consumer marketplace, and your listing appears beside other businesses in your area - including your competitors. That cuts both ways. It can bring in new clients, and it can also put a row of nearby alternatives under your own profile.

A realistic monthly bill

A solo stylist

Say you are a solo stylist with one calendar, and you turn on two common add-ons: forms for consultations and text marketing to fill quiet weeks. That is $30 base, $10 forms, $20 texts - $60 per month in software. Now add processing: at $3,500 in card volume across roughly 70 swiped payments, you pay about $91 in percentage fees and $7 in transaction fees, call it $98. Total: around $158 per month, of which $60 is the software itself.

A three-chair shop

For a shop with three people behind chairs, three calendars cost $50 per month. Add text marketing at $20, forms at $10, and the check-in app at $10, and the software line is $90. Processing at $12,000 in monthly volume falls into the over-$4,000 tier: 2.2% is $264, around 240 transactions at $0.19 add roughly $46, plus the $10 monthly fee - about $320. Total: roughly $410 per month, with $90 of it being software.

A note on fairness: card processing exists everywhere, and Vagaro's rates are competitive. When you compare Vagaro against other tools, compare the software line - that is the part that actually differs.

Who Vagaro fits

Vagaro earns its price when you use the depth. It is a genuinely complete system: point of sale, memberships, packages, marketing, payroll, inventory, and mature multi-staff scheduling that big teams rely on. The per-calendar model also turns into a real bargain at scale - once calendars beyond the seventh are free, a fifteen-person salon pays the same $90 as a seven-person one. And the marketplace, for all its trade-offs, is real distribution that a standalone booking page cannot match.

Who should look elsewhere

The flip side is that solos and small teams often pay for depth they never open. If what you need is a calendar, reminders, and a booking page - and you already have your own way of taking payment - the $30 base plus a couple of add-ons buys a lot of features you will not touch. And if the idea of your profile sitting next to your competitors' bothers you, the marketplace becomes a cost rather than a perk.

How hey.booked compares

hey.booked sits at the opposite end of the spectrum, so the comparison stays honest by staying short. It does not process payments, so there is no POS, no deposits, and no card-on-file - if you want payments built in, Vagaro or Square is the better call. What it does is the booking itself: a calm calendar, a booking page your clients use without an account or an app, email reminders on every plan, and a Pro plan at $15 per month (or $150 per year) with unlimited staff, unlimited bookings, 100 text messages a month, and two-way Google Calendar sync. No per-calendar fees, no add-on catalog, no marketplace.

There is also a free plan - one staff member, three services, 30 confirmed bookings a month - which is enough to run a quiet solo book without paying anything.

How much does Vagaro cost per month?

The base plan is $30 per month for one bookable calendar. Each additional calendar adds $10 per month up to seven ($90 total), and calendars beyond the seventh are free. Add-ons and card processing come on top. As of July 2026.

Does Vagaro charge per employee?

It charges per bookable calendar, which usually maps to bookable staff. Team members who take appointments each need a calendar at $10 per month after the first; staff who never get booked, like a receptionist, do not need one.

What are Vagaro's payment processing fees?

Under $4,000 per month in volume: 2.6% plus $0.10 for swiped payments and 3.5% plus $0.15 for keyed-in ones. Over $4,000 per month: 2.2% plus $0.19 per transaction, plus a $10 monthly fee.

Is there a free version of Vagaro?

No. Vagaro offers a 30-day free trial, and promotions sometimes discount the first tier to $23.99, but there is no free plan. If you want free forever, Square Appointments and hey.booked both have one.

Which Vagaro features cost extra?

Quite a few: text marketing from $20 per month, forms $10, online shopping cart $10, website builder $20, storage from $10, check-in app $10, branded app $100, payroll $34 plus $5 per employee, and accounting integrations from $10.