Salon software cost calculator

The monthly price on a pricing page is rarely what you end up paying. Enter a few details about your business and we’ll estimate the total 12-month cost of each booking and POS tool, including setup fees and the add-ons most comparisons leave out. Every result uses published prices with a “last checked” date.

No tools with pricing data yet.

Inputs:

• Number of staff
• Number of locations
• Monthly card revenue
• Average ticket
• New clients per month from marketplace bookings
• Average new-client bill
• SMS messages per month
• Features you need (checkboxes), including “AI receptionist” (unticked by default)
• Contract preference
• Billing: monthly or yearly

Which tools are included: This calculator covers tools in our Booking & POS category only. Other categories, such as standalone marketing or AI tools, are not calculated here.

How results are ordered: Results are sorted only by estimated total 12-month cost, lowest first. Sponsored and Featured listings are never boosted in the results.

How filters work: If you tick required features or choose a contract type, tools that don’t match are left out of the results table. They aren’t removed silently: a note below the table names each one with the reason, for example “2 tools hidden: [Tool A] (needs a contract); [Tool B] (custom quote only).” Possible reasons are “custom quote only”, “not listed for this business type”, “needs a contract” (when you choose monthly and the tool requires an annual or custom contract), “no memberships”, “no walk-in queue”, “no POS”, “no SMS reminders” and “no AI receptionist”. If no tool is hidden, the note reads: “Sponsored tools are labeled and ranked by cost like every other tool.” If no tool matches every filter, you’ll see: “No tool matches all your filters. Try removing a required feature.”

Software without public pricing: If a vendor only offers custom quotes and publishes no starting or base price, we can’t calculate its cost, so it won’t get a total. It is still named in the note below the table, with the reason “custom quote only”, so you know it exists.

How the calculation works

For each tool, the calculator uses your inputs and the vendor’s published rates. The formula is:

12-month total = (monthly total × 12) + one-time setup fee

The monthly total is the sum of:

1. Plan price for your team size – the plan’s base price, plus the published charge for each extra staff member and each extra location.
2. Card fees – the vendor’s published percentage of your monthly card revenue, plus its fixed fee for every card payment.
3. Marketplace commission – any commission the vendor charges on new clients who book through its marketplace, calculated from your average new-client bill for each marketplace client.
4. SMS add-ons – the cost of text messages beyond any allowance included in the plan.
5. AI add-ons – only if you tick “AI receptionist”. The vendor’s published price for that add-on is then included. It is unticked by default, so AI costs are left out unless you choose them.
6. Other monthly fees – any other recurring monthly fees the vendor publishes.

To work out card fees, we estimate your number of card payments as card revenue ÷ average ticket.

Any one-time setup fee the vendor publishes, such as onboarding or data migration, is added once to the 12-month total.

Monthly or yearly billing

If you choose yearly billing, the calculator applies the vendor’s official annual discount, as published on its pricing page. This is a standard, ongoing price for paying yearly. It is not the same as a promotional discount.

Not included: taxes, hardware (such as card readers or tablets) and promotional discounts, such as limited-time offers or first-months-free deals. These vary too much by location and offer to estimate fairly.

The result is shown as one 12-month figure, with a breakdown for each cost line. Every price used shows the date it was last checked, and prices not checked in the last 90 days are flagged as stale.

The calculator is an estimate, not a quote. Always confirm final pricing with the vendor before you sign up.

What counts as a hidden fee

We call a fee “hidden” when it isn’t part of the headline price but can still change what you pay. The calculator includes:

Per-staff and per-location fees

Many tools charge for each extra team member, chair, calendar or location. A plan that looks cheap for one person can cost much more once your whole team, or a second location, is added.

Card processing

Most booking and POS tools take a percentage plus a fixed fee on every card payment. Small differences in the rate add up over a year of transactions.

If a vendor doesn’t publish its card processing rate, we use a fallback rate of 2.9% + $0.30 per payment. Any figure based on this fallback is marked “est.” so you can see it’s an estimate, not the vendor’s actual rate.

Marketplace new-client fees

Some platforms charge a commission when a new client finds and books you through their marketplace or app. We calculate it from your average new-client bill, because a first visit often costs a different amount than a regular appointment. If many of your new clients come this way, this can be one of your biggest costs.

SMS add-ons

Appointment reminders and marketing texts are often limited or charged separately. We count the cost of messages beyond the included allowance.

AI add-ons

AI features such as an AI receptionist are often sold as paid extras on top of the plan. Tick “AI receptionist” in the calculator to include the vendor’s published price for it.

Other monthly fees

Some vendors charge other recurring fees on top of the plan. Where these are published, we include them in the monthly total.

Setup fees

Some vendors charge a one-time fee for onboarding, setup or data migration. We add it once to the 12-month total, so tools with a low monthly price and a high setup fee are compared fairly.

Frequently asked questions

Learn more

• Read our methodology to see how we collect and check prices.
• Spotted a wrong price or fee? Report wrong data.