Salon Studio vs Booksy
Booksy is a marketplace booking app at $29.99/month plus $20 per additional staff member, with optional Boost marketing that takes 30% of a new client's first booking, while Salon Studio is white-label booking software at $50/month flat on your own domain with no marketplace and no commissions.
Booksy has earned its place — especially in the barber world, where its consumer app is often where clients already are. Its 44+ million users make discovery real, and Boost only charges when it actually delivers a new client. The trade-off is the same as every marketplace: your clients book through Booksy's app, your presence is a profile rather than a website, and growing your team grows your bill. Here is the honest version of how the two compare.
At a glance
Price
Booksy
$29.99/mo plus $20/mo per additional staff member (as of June 2026)
Salon Studio
$50/mo flat — unlimited staff
New-client commission
Booksy
Optional Boost: 30% of a new client's first booking (minimum $10, maximum $100); repeat visits free
Salon Studio
None — no marketplace, no commission, ever
Free trial
Booksy
14 days, no credit card required
Salon Studio
14 days, no credit card required
Where clients book
Booksy
booksy.com and the Booksy consumer app, with a Booksy account
Salon Studio
On your own website at your own domain
Marketplace exposure
Booksy
Yes — clients browse nearby businesses on a marketplace with 44+ million users
Salon Studio
No marketplace — your site only ever shows your salon
Your own custom domain
Booksy
No custom domain found — you get a Booksy profile link, plus a widget you can embed on a site you build elsewhere
Salon Studio
Yes — included, with white-label branding
Card payment processing
Booksy
Optional — Booksy Payments from 2.49% + 10¢ (as of June 2026)
Salon Studio
Optional — your own Stripe account at Stripe's rates (2.9% + 30¢ online as of June 2026); we add 0%
Multi-service booking
Booksy
Varies — check biz.booksy.com for current support
Salon Studio
Yes — clients book several services in one flow, auto-sequenced and conflict-checked
Analytics & reporting
Booksy
Available; varies by plan
Salon Studio
Included — revenue, top services, staff performance, and top clients
Client data ownership
Booksy
Clients hold Booksy accounts; the marketplace relationship runs through Booksy
Salon Studio
Yours — direct relationship, export anytime
| Feature | Booksy | Salon Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | $29.99/mo plus $20/mo per additional staff member (as of June 2026) | $50/mo flat — unlimited staff |
| New-client commission | Optional Boost: 30% of a new client's first booking (minimum $10, maximum $100); repeat visits free | None — no marketplace, no commission, ever |
| Free trial | 14 days, no credit card required | 14 days, no credit card required |
| Where clients book | booksy.com and the Booksy consumer app, with a Booksy account | On your own website at your own domain |
| Marketplace exposure | Yes — clients browse nearby businesses on a marketplace with 44+ million users | No marketplace — your site only ever shows your salon |
| Your own custom domain | No custom domain found — you get a Booksy profile link, plus a widget you can embed on a site you build elsewhere | Yes — included, with white-label branding |
| Card payment processing | Optional — Booksy Payments from 2.49% + 10¢ (as of June 2026) | Optional — your own Stripe account at Stripe's rates (2.9% + 30¢ online as of June 2026); we add 0% |
| Multi-service booking | Varies — check biz.booksy.com for current support | Yes — clients book several services in one flow, auto-sequenced and conflict-checked |
| Analytics & reporting | Available; varies by plan | Included — revenue, top services, staff performance, and top clients |
| Client data ownership | Clients hold Booksy accounts; the marketplace relationship runs through Booksy | Yours — direct relationship, export anytime |
Booksy pricing and terms as of June 2026, from biz.booksy.com — check their pricing page for current rates.
Choose Booksy if…
- Your clients are already on the Booksy app — in many barber and salon scenes, it's the default place to book.
- You want pay-per-result acquisition: Boost only costs you when it delivers a brand-new client.
- You're a solo operator and $29.99/month beats $50.
- You want built-in no-show protection with deposits and cancellation fees, plus payments from the same vendor.
Choose Salon Studio if…
- You want a real website at your own domain — not a profile in someone else's app next to nearby competitors.
- You have (or plan) a team — $50 flat beats $29.99 + $20 per staff member from the second hire on.
- You never want to give up 30% of a new client's first visit — your marketing spend stays yours to choose.
- You want the client relationship and list to belong to your salon, exportable any time.
Be the destination, not a listing
Start your free 14-day trial and put booking on your own domain — no credit card required.
Start Free TrialNo credit card required · Cancel anytime
The real cost: per-staff pricing plus Boost
Booksy's sticker price is honest but per-person: $29.99/month covers you, and each additional staff member adds $20/month. A three-stylist salon pays about $69.99/month; five stylists, about $109.99 — versus $50 flat with Salon Studio at any size. Boost is the other lever: a new client whose first appointment is $120 costs you $36 of it. Booksy's pitch is fair — you only pay when Boost works, and that client is yours afterward — but it means your acquisition channel takes a percentage, on top of a subscription that grows with your team. Salon Studio charges neither: no per-staff fees, no commission, and optional payments through your own Stripe account with 0% markup from us. On processing itself, credit where due: Booksy Payments starts at 2.49% + 10¢, which is lower than the 2.9% + 30¢ you'd pay Stripe for online card payments with Salon Studio (as of June 2026). Our difference isn't a cheaper rate — it's that payments are optional, in-person payments never touch us, and we make nothing on your processing.
The clients Google sends you are free
Booksy's app is a real discovery channel, and Boost only charges when it delivers — but it does charge: 30% of that first booking. Search is the other channel. Most new clients start on Google with something like "fade near me" or "balayage in your town," and a Salon Studio site is your own domain with SEO and structured data built in, so those searches can land directly on your booking site. A client who finds you that way costs nothing — not on the first visit, not ever. And the ranking works differently too: a Booksy profile builds booksy.com's authority on Google, while your own site builds yours, and that compounds for as long as you run your salon.
An app profile is not a website
On Booksy, your salon is a profile inside their experience: clients open the Booksy app, see Booksy's interface, and can browse every other business in your area from the same screen. That's exactly what makes the marketplace good at discovery — and exactly what keeps the relationship anchored to the platform. With Salon Studio, "book with us" means your own website at your own domain, your brand end to end, confirmation emails from your salon's name, and a client list you can export whenever you like. If Booksy's reach earns its keep for you, keep the profile for discovery — and give your regulars a home that's actually yours.
Frequently asked questions
How much does Booksy cost for a team?
As of June 2026, Booksy is $29.99/month plus $20/month for each additional staff member — so a three-stylist salon pays about $69.99/month before any Boost fees. Salon Studio is $50/month flat with unlimited staff, so the comparison flips somewhere around the second hire.
Does Booksy take a commission?
Only through Boost, which is optional: when Boost sends you a brand-new client, Booksy takes 30% of that first booking (minimum $10, maximum $100), and repeat visits from that client are free. Salon Studio has no equivalent — there's no marketplace, so no booking ever carries a commission.
Can I use my own domain with Booksy?
We couldn't find a custom-domain or white-label option on Booksy's site as of June 2026 — clients book through your Booksy profile or the Booksy app, though a booking widget can be embedded on a website you build separately. Salon Studio includes the website itself, white-labeled on your own custom domain, in the flat $50/month.
How do I get new clients without Booksy's marketplace?
Through search. Salon Studio sites ship with SEO and structured data built in, on your own domain — so searches like "fade near me" or "balayage in your town" can land directly on your booking site, and your Google Business Profile can link straight to it. A client who finds you on Google costs nothing, while a Boost client costs 30% of their first booking (minimum $10). Both channels are real; only one takes a cut of the introduction.
How do I move from Booksy to Salon Studio?
Export your client list from Booksy so you have your own copy, then set up your services, staff, and hours in Salon Studio — you can be up and running the same day. The 14-day free trial gives full access, so you can run both side by side while you switch.
See your salon's name on your own domain
Start your free 14-day trial. Get your own custom domain, branded website, and online booking — no credit card required.
Start Free TrialNo credit card required · Cancel anytime
Last updated June 11, 2026. This page is published by Salon Studio. Competitor pricing and features change — we verify claims against each company's public pages and date them. Spot something inaccurate? Email chris@klowd.software and we'll fix it.