Salon Studio vs GlossGenius
Salon Studio is white-label salon booking software at $50/month flat with your own custom domain, while GlossGenius is a polished all-in-one salon app from $24/month plus a 2.6% processing fee on every card payment.
Both are good tools built for salons — they just make different trade-offs. GlossGenius gives you a slick native app and integrated card readers on its platform. Salon Studio gives you your own branded website on your own domain, with predictable flat pricing. Here is the honest version of how they differ.
At a glance
Price
GlossGenius
Standard $24/mo, Gold $48/mo, Platinum $148/mo (as of June 2026)
Salon Studio
$50/mo flat — one plan, everything included
Free plan
GlossGenius
No — free trial only
Salon Studio
No — 14-day free trial, no credit card required
Your own custom domain
GlossGenius
No — booking pages live on GlossGenius's platform
Salon Studio
Yes — your website and booking run on your own domain
White-label branding
GlossGenius
No — the booking experience is GlossGenius-hosted
Salon Studio
Yes — clients never see the Salon Studio name
Client data ownership
GlossGenius
Your clients, managed inside GlossGenius
Salon Studio
Yours — direct relationship, export anytime
Card payment processing
GlossGenius
2.6% on every transaction, on top of the subscription
Salon Studio
Optional — your own Stripe account at Stripe's rates (2.9% + 30¢ online as of June 2026); we add 0%
Payment hardware
GlossGenius
Yes — integrated GlossGenius card readers
Salon Studio
No card hardware — use any terminal or processor you like
Mobile experience
GlossGenius
Polished native mobile app
Salon Studio
Mobile-first web app — no native app
Multi-service booking
GlossGenius
Varies — check glossgenius.com for current support
Salon Studio
Yes — clients book several services in one flow, auto-sequenced and conflict-checked
Client self-service reschedule & cancel
GlossGenius
Varies — check glossgenius.com for current support
Salon Studio
Yes — clients manage their own appointments online
Analytics & reporting
GlossGenius
Available; varies by plan
Salon Studio
Included — revenue, top services, staff performance, and top clients
User limits
GlossGenius
Standard covers up to 2 users; larger teams need Gold
Salon Studio
Unlimited staff, services, and appointments
| Feature | GlossGenius | Salon Studio |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Standard $24/mo, Gold $48/mo, Platinum $148/mo (as of June 2026) | $50/mo flat — one plan, everything included |
| Free plan | No — free trial only | No — 14-day free trial, no credit card required |
| Your own custom domain | No — booking pages live on GlossGenius's platform | Yes — your website and booking run on your own domain |
| White-label branding | No — the booking experience is GlossGenius-hosted | Yes — clients never see the Salon Studio name |
| Client data ownership | Your clients, managed inside GlossGenius | Yours — direct relationship, export anytime |
| Card payment processing | 2.6% on every transaction, on top of the subscription | Optional — your own Stripe account at Stripe's rates (2.9% + 30¢ online as of June 2026); we add 0% |
| Payment hardware | Yes — integrated GlossGenius card readers | No card hardware — use any terminal or processor you like |
| Mobile experience | Polished native mobile app | Mobile-first web app — no native app |
| Multi-service booking | Varies — check glossgenius.com for current support | Yes — clients book several services in one flow, auto-sequenced and conflict-checked |
| Client self-service reschedule & cancel | Varies — check glossgenius.com for current support | Yes — clients manage their own appointments online |
| Analytics & reporting | Available; varies by plan | Included — revenue, top services, staff performance, and top clients |
| User limits | Standard covers up to 2 users; larger teams need Gold | Unlimited staff, services, and appointments |
GlossGenius pricing and features as of June 2026 — check glossgenius.com for current rates.
Choose GlossGenius if…
- You run your whole business from your phone and want a polished native mobile app.
- You want integrated card readers and in-person checkout hardware from the same vendor.
- You take bookings through Instagram and want its built-in social booking integration.
- You're a solo stylist, the $24/month Standard plan fits, and a custom domain isn't a priority.
Choose Salon Studio if…
- You want your booking site on your own domain, branded entirely as your salon — clients never see our name.
- You want one flat $50/month price with unlimited staff, services, and appointments.
- You don't want a mandatory processing fee — take payments your way, or turn on optional Stripe payments at Stripe's standard rates with 0% markup from us.
- You want to own the client relationship directly, with your client list always exportable.
Your salon. Your domain. $50/month flat.
Start your free 14-day trial and see your salon's name on its own domain — no credit card required.
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The real cost: who profits from your processing
Let's show the math honestly, because the processing percentages are closer than most comparisons admit. GlossGenius charges 2.6% on every card transaction — about $260/month on $10,000 of card volume. If you switch on Salon Studio's optional online payments, you pay Stripe's standard rate of 2.9% + 30¢ per online card payment (as of June 2026) — about $320 on that same $10,000 at a $100 average ticket, paid to Stripe directly. That's about $60 more than GlossGenius at this volume — if cheaper processing is what you're shopping for, GlossGenius wins that line. The difference isn't the percentage. It's that GlossGenius processing is mandatory and part of how GlossGenius gets paid, while Salon Studio payments are optional and we make nothing on them — take cards online through your own Stripe account, or keep using cash, tap, or any terminal you already have, and pay no software-mandated processing at all.
Monthly cost at $10k card volume
Software subscription
GlossGenius (Gold)
$48
Salon Studio
$50
Processing if you take cards online
GlossGenius (Gold)
~$260 at 2.6% — mandatory on every card payment
Salon Studio
~$320 at Stripe's 2.9% + 30¢ (as of June 2026) — optional, paid to Stripe, not to us
What your software vendor makes on your payments
GlossGenius (Gold)
GlossGenius's margin is built into the 2.6%
Salon Studio
$0 — we add 0% and take no cut
Can you opt out or use your own terminal?
GlossGenius (Gold)
No — card payments run through GlossGenius
Salon Studio
Yes — keep cash, tap, or any terminal you already own; online payments are optional
Get found on Google — at your own address
Most new clients don't start in an app — they start with a search like "balayage in your town." What ranks for that search is a web page on a domain, and with a GlossGenius-hosted booking page, that domain is GlossGenius's. 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, and your Google Business Profile can point straight at it. A client who finds you that way costs nothing — and the ranking your pages earn belongs to your salon, compounding for as long as you're in business rather than building someone else's platform.
Whose name is on the door?
Every booking page is an advertisement. With GlossGenius, that page lives on their platform — it works well, but the address and experience belong to GlossGenius. With Salon Studio, your booking site lives at your own domain, in your colors, with your logo, and your confirmation emails carry your salon's name. There is a real difference between "book at yoursalon.com" and "find me on an app": one builds your brand equity with every visit, the other builds the platform's. The same goes for your client list — it should be something you own and can take with you, not something you rent.
Frequently asked questions
Is Salon Studio a cheaper alternative to GlossGenius?
On software, usually yes for teams: Salon Studio is $50/month flat with unlimited staff, while a multi-stylist salon on GlossGenius typically needs Gold at $48/month. On processing, no — if you take cards online with Salon Studio, you pay Stripe's standard 2.9% + 30¢ per transaction (as of June 2026), which is comparable to GlossGenius's 2.6%. The real difference is that our payments are optional with no markup from us: keep your current terminal and pay no software-mandated processing at all, and we never take a cut. For a solo stylist who doesn't need a custom domain, GlossGenius Standard at $24/month can be the cheaper option.
Can I use my own domain with GlossGenius?
No — as of June 2026, GlossGenius booking pages are hosted on GlossGenius's own platform rather than your domain. Salon Studio gives every salon a white-label website and booking on its own custom domain.
Does Salon Studio charge payment processing fees?
Salon Studio itself charges nothing and adds 0% to your payments — but Stripe does charge. Online payments are optional and run through your own Stripe account, so you pay Stripe's standard rates (2.9% + 30¢ per online card payment as of June 2026) directly to Stripe, and Salon Studio takes no cut. That's comparable to what other platforms charge for processing — the difference is it's optional, and your in-person payments are completely untouched: keep taking cash, tap, or any terminal you already use.
How do new clients find my salon with Salon Studio?
Through search, mostly. Every Salon Studio site ships with SEO and structured data built in, on your own custom domain — so searches like "balayage in your town" can land directly on your booking site, and your Google Business Profile can link straight to it. Clients who find you on Google cost nothing and book without creating a third-party account, and the search ranking those pages earn accrues to your domain.
How do I migrate from GlossGenius to Salon Studio?
Export your client list from GlossGenius 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 you full access to set everything up before you commit.
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.
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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.