“How much is it?” is the first question every owner asks, and the hardest one to get a straight answer to. Some apps show a price on their site. Some show a price that only covers part of the bill. Some, Hayven included, don’t show one at all.
This guide puts the published numbers side by side, then walks through what lands on top of them. Every competitor number below comes from that company’s own pages, checked on October 30, 2026. Fresha’s US prices come from a saved copy of its pricing page dated October 21, 2026, because the live page did not show US prices to us. Prices change, so check the page before you decide.
What do the published prices look like?
| App | Published monthly price | Per-tech or per-calendar fee |
|---|---|---|
| Square Appointments | Free plan $0. Plus $49/mo and Premium $149/mo per location, each with a 30-day free trial | Free plan includes unlimited staff calendars |
| Booksy | $29.99/mo + tax for one plan with all features; 14-day trial | Each extra team member $20/mo |
| Fresha | Independent $19.95/mo (one person); 7-day trial | Team plan $14.95/mo per team member |
| Vagaro | The page shows $30 and a $23.99/mo rate for the first 6 months, but does not say which plan or location count each belongs to; 30-day free trial | $10 per bookable calendar license (up to seven) |
| GlossGenius | Standard $28/mo, Gold $56/mo, Platinum $168/mo billed monthly; 14-day free trial | Not listed with the plan prices |
| Mangomint | $120/mo per location | Plus $10/mo per person with a profile |
| Hayven | Shared on a demo | Shared on a demo |
The base price is only the start. For a salon with several techs, the per-tech line often matters more than the base.
Take an example salon, My Nail Spa, with six techs. On Fresha’s Team plan that is 6 × $14.95 = $89.70 a month. On Mangomint it is $120 + 6 × $10 = $180 a month, if every tech has a profile. Neither number includes card fees or texts yet.
What gets added on top of the monthly price?
Four things show up on the bill that the headline price does not.
Card processing
If the app also takes your payments, you pay a share of every ticket. Here are the published rates:
| App | In person | Online | Keyed-in or card on file |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square Appointments | 2.6% + 15¢ (Free), 2.5% + 15¢ (Plus), 2.4% + 15¢ (Premium) | 3.3% + 30¢ (Free), 2.9% + 30¢ (Plus and Premium) | 3.5% + 15¢ |
| Booksy | Card reader 2.49% + $0.10, Tap to Pay 2.49% + $0.20 | Not listed separately | Mobile and keyed-in 2.69% + $0.30 |
| Fresha | 2.29% + $0.20 (+$0.10 per Tap to Pay) | 2.79% + $0.20 | Keyed-in 3.30% + $0.20 |
| Vagaro | Under $4,000 a month: 2.6% + 10¢ (+6¢ Tap to Pay); over $4,000: 2.29% + 19¢ and $10/mo | Not listed separately | Keyed-in 3.5% + 19¢ (under $4,000) |
| GlossGenius | 2.4% + $0.15 | Online invoices 2.9% + $0.30 | Not listed separately |
| Mangomint | 2.45% + 15¢ | Virtual 2.90% + 30¢ | Virtual 2.90% + 30¢ |
At a busy salon, a few tenths of a percent can add up to more than the software itself. That is why the card rate deserves as much attention as the monthly price.
Texts
Confirmations and reminders are usually included. Marketing texts often are not.
- Fresha: 100 free automated texts a month (per team member on Team), then $0.02 each; marketing texts $0.08 each.
- Booksy: 2,000 free marketing texts a month; confirmations and reminders are free.
- Mangomint: confirmations and reminders free and unlimited; marketing is a paid add-on from $30/mo.
- Vagaro: reminders are included; text marketing is listed as an extra tool.
- Square Appointments: the Free plan has no text marketing.
Marketplace fees
Some apps list your salon in their own app for clients to find, and charge when a new client comes that way.
- Booksy Boost (optional): a one-time 30% fee on a Boost client’s first visit, capped at $100.
- Fresha: a one-time 20% fee (at least $6) on a brand-new client who finds you on the Fresha marketplace. No fee on returning clients, or on clients from your own website, Instagram or Facebook.
These can be worth it if they bring clients you would not get otherwise. Just count them.
Add-ons
- Fresha AI Concierge: messaging only $29.95/mo per location; calls and messaging $99.95/mo per location with 200 minutes, then $0.60/min.
- Mangomint: Phone $70/mo per line, Marketing from $30/mo, Payroll $50/mo + $8 per worker.
- GlossGenius Reception: its pricing page lists it as a $50/mo add-on; its early-access page says it is free for now and becomes a paid add-on later.
Is a free plan really free?
Square Appointments’ Free plan is $0 a month and includes online booking, reminders and unlimited staff calendars. It does not include text marketing. And every card payment still costs 2.6% + 15¢ in person, or 3.3% + 30¢ online, on the Free plan.
So “free” means no monthly fee, not no cost. For a salon that already runs its payments through Square, that can be a very good deal. For a salon that likes its current POS and card rates, it means moving payments too.
Does keeping your POS change the math?
Yes, quite a lot. Most apps above also sell card processing. If you switch to them for booking, you usually switch your payments too, along with new card readers and new rates.
If you keep the POS you have, your card rates stay what you pay today, and there is no hardware to replace. Hayven works that way: it runs beside your POS, and clients pay for their services there. See how Hayven works with your POS.
That doesn’t make keeping your POS right for everyone. If your POS is old or your rates are high, a new system with payments built in may cost less overall.
Why doesn’t Hayven publish a price?
Because the honest answer depends on your salon: your menu, your team size, and which parts you want. Some salons only want online booking and the turn list. Others also want the AI phone assistant, or done-for-you marketing, which is an optional add-on.
So we’ll walk you through pricing on your demo, with your own menu and team size. We know that is less convenient than a number on a page. If you want to compare before talking to anyone, the apps above let you do that.
When does an app with a published price fit better?
- You want to compare cost without a demo. Square, Booksy, Fresha, Vagaro, GlossGenius and Mangomint all publish prices.
- You want payments and booking in one system. Square, Booksy, Fresha, Vagaro, GlossGenius and Mangomint all take card payments.
- You want a marketplace to bring new clients. Booksy Boost and Fresha’s marketplace do that, each for a one-time fee on a new client they bring.
- You are a solo tech on a tight budget. Square’s Free plan or Fresha’s Independent plan keep the monthly cost low.
How do you compare quotes?
Before you sign up for anything, write down the whole bill for one normal month:
- The base price, per location.
- The per-tech, per-person or per-calendar fee, times your team.
- Your card rate, times a normal month of tickets. Include keyed-in payments if you take them.
- Text fees for reminders and for marketing.
- Marketplace fees, if you plan to use one.
- Add-ons you would turn on: phone, marketing, payroll.
- New hardware, if you change POS.
- Whether the price on the page is a first-months rate.
The cheapest headline price is often not the cheapest month.