17 years helping South African businesses
choose better software

About Vagaro

Use Vagaro® management software to get found, booked, & paid. Start your FREE trial today, and grow your business the easy way!

Learn more about Vagaro

Pros:

I like the professional view and the ease with integration.

Cons:

Poor customer service with and attitude. Difficult to use for for more then 1-2 people.

Vagaro ratings

Average score

Ease of Use
4.6
Customer Service
4.6
Features
4.6
Value for Money
4.7

Likelihood to recommend

9.0/10

Vagaro has an overall rating of 4.7 out 5 stars based on 3,444 user reviews on Capterra.

Have you used Vagaro before?

Share your experiences with other software buyers.

Filter reviews (3,444)

Axel
Axel
Engineer in Mexico
Verified LinkedIn User
Automotive, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

It's great but unnecessary

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: It's awesome really really awesome but like I said is not necessary for small companys, maybe if you grow up in the future it is a better idea. Is your decision.

Pros:

It's a good option for organize all the company schedule, there are so many functions for all, anyone can use this and is not necessary to know about this software, is so intuitive.

Cons:

I really thing that is unnecessary beacuse you can do a lot of this things in other app for free, but some functions are only in this app that made it better. If you don't have the money for pay this, I really recommend use your phone calendar or something like that.

Vagaro Response

2 years ago

Hello Axel. We appreciate the review. We'll definitely take your feedback into consideration.

Khan Md Mohaiuminul Islam
Khan Md Mohaiuminul Islam
Owner in Bangladesh
Verified LinkedIn User
Apparel & Fashion, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

As a small business Owner, Smart choice to deal daily activities.

4.0 last year

Comments: As a small business owner, Vagaro is really helpful. By using the Vagaro app, users can easily appoint the service.
On my end, its very easy to set , and learn the basics, such as scheduling auto reminders and emails for customers. It has the option to identify roles like owner, sales customer service bookkeeper, etc., so I can easily divide tasks.

Pros:

Simple to configure and set up; proper guidelines are available for that As a small business owner, it is difficult to handle all the responsibilities associated with running a business. Vagaro really helps me to divide tasks and set automated reminders and emails. Payment options also secure here.

Cons:

Paying the swipe fee for every credit card transaction is kind of a headache for me. It's a good option to take a one-time payment, like in this situation.

Angel
IT Manager in Spain
Automotive, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Vagaro is a lifesaver for managing my salon appointments and inventory. It's been a game-changer!

3.0 last month New

Pros:

Vagaro's appointment scheduling and inventory management features are top-notch. It's easy to use and has streamlined my business operations.

Cons:

I wish Vagaro had more customizable reporting options and better customer support. Sometimes it feels a bit limited in that aspect.

Vagaro Response

4 weeks ago

Thank you for sharing your experience with us! We're happy to hear that the appointment scheduling and inventory management features have streamlined your business operations—it's always our goal to make daily management as smooth as possible. We offer the premium feature Data Lake to build customizable reports with the system. Our dedicated 24/7 support team is always here to help, and we're continually enhancing our services. Let us know if there’s anything specific we can improve—we’re here to ensure you have the best experience possible! We value your input and look forward to supporting your continued success with Vagaro.

Kamaludin Abdi
Affiliate Marketer in Somalia
Consumer Services, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Efficient Scheduling with Minor Reporting Challenges

4.0 3 months ago

Comments: My experience with Vagaro has been positive. The scheduling tools are effective and user-friendly, though the reporting features can be complex and customer support sometimes slow.

Pros:

agaro’s user-friendly interface and robust scheduling tools make managing appointments effortless, and the automated reminders help reduce no-shows significantly.

Cons:

Vagaro's reporting features can be complex to navigate, and the customer support response times can be slow at times.

Zach
Senior Systems Analyst in US
Information Technology & Services, 1,001–5,000 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

A rock-solid basic booking tool

5.0 4 weeks ago New

Comments: I've been a user of vagaro for several years, booking appointments through the application. It works well both on a mobile device a desktop device. The system response time is quick, receiving confirmation emails after a booking is made that can also sync with your calendar. This tool is straight forward, easy to use, and I personally have nothing negative to say about the application.

Pros:

Easy to use booking tool with lots of options when selecting menu items (services)

Cons:

It's a fairly basic application that doesn't seem to have a ton of features; however, it excels at the basics, which is all you really need.

Vagaro Response

3 weeks ago

Thank you for being a longtime Vagaro user and for sharing such thoughtful feedback! We're thrilled that you find our booking tool easy to use across devices and appreciate its quick response time. We focus on delivering the essentials reliably, but we're also always open to hearing about additional features our users would find valuable on feedback.vagaro.com. It’s wonderful to know the app continues to meet your needs!

Alisa
Suicide Prevention Coordinator in US
Individual & Family Services, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source

Vagaro Review

4.0 last month New

Comments: I would say I have had mixed experiences with Vagaro. The last time I used the app, it seemed to have been a bit more streamlined and easier to navigate but I did not make an appointment that time.

Pros:

The app is fairly easy to navigate. Being able to sign in via other platforms is a major bonus.

Cons:

Finding providers and services near me can be challenging. The app will show providers and services in other locations which are no where near me.

Vagaro Response

4 weeks ago

Thank you for your feedback! To get results for providers and services in your area, please make sure location services are enabled for the app. If you’re still seeing providers from other locations, our support team is here 24/7 to help resolve this. We’re committed to making your experience as smooth as possible!

Michael
Sr. Director Professional Services in US
Human Resources, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Vagao - Easy to use, schedule and manage Appointments

5.0 3 weeks ago New

Comments: My overall experience has been excellent as I use this to book personal related self care appointments - haircuts,

Pros:

Ease of booking and finding services around or near me geographically.

Cons:

Hard to use on browser internet as opposed to the app

Vagaro Response

2 weeks ago

Thank you for sharing your experience! We're thrilled to hear that you find the app convenient for booking self-care appointments like haircuts and enjoy the ease of finding services nearby. We appreciate your feedback about using the browser version and will share this with our team to explore ways to enhance the experience across all platforms. Your input helps us continue improving Vagaro for everyone. If you have additional suggestions or need assistance, don’t hesitate to reach out. We're here to help!

Stephanie
Sr. Manager in US
Fund-Raising, 11–50 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great Scheduling Option

5.0 3 weeks ago New

Pros:

Easy to use for scheduling and keeping track of appointments

Cons:

I think the user interface is a little outdated, but overall effective.

Vagaro Response

3 weeks ago

Thank you for your review! We're glad you find our platform easy to use for scheduling and tracking appointments. We’re always working to improve the user experience and appreciate your input on the interface. If you have specific suggestions, we’d love to hear them on feedback.vagaro.com—your feedback helps us continue enhancing the platform!

Anonymous reviewer
Nonprofit Organization Management, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Great for making bookings

5.0 4 weeks ago New

Pros:

So easy to make bookings and appointments online

Cons:

Nothing, it is easy to use and keeps track of your bookings

Vagaro Response

3 weeks ago

Thank you so much for the wonderful feedback! We're thrilled to hear that you're enjoying the convenience of online booking and tracking.

Ayishatu
Supervising Agent in US
Financial Services, 51–200 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

like to see better

5.0 2 months ago New

Comments: I liked it but it needs alot of improvements

Pros:

it VERY user friendly and great for employees

Cons:

Hard to navigate finding employees in the system

Vagaro Response

last month

Thank you for sharing your feedback with us! Our 24/7 support team is always here to help with any questions or account needs, and you can reach us anytime via phone, chat, or email at vagaro.com/pro/contact. We’re continually looking for ways to enhance our software, so if you have any great ideas, please feel free to share them with us at feedback.vagaro.com

Molly
Salon Owner/Esthetician in US
Consumer Services, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

Is Varago is good for your company?

4.0 2 years ago

Comments: With Vagaro the purpose was always selling time. FIlling up the white space on the calendar with clients and making sure you did that as efficiently and productively each day as possible in order to create growth and profit for the company. Vagaro is a tool in which you are able to do that. But for bigger salons that need more details, reports, numbers, it does fall bit a short.

Pros:

I liked that this system was super simple and straight forward. It is very easy to switch over to Vagaro from another company which is what we did. The ease of use is definitely a plus but it also was a reason why we left. It was not very detailed on other aspects that we needed more options and attention on.

Cons:

I love a software company that has a well developed app for it's salon users. This is important for the team because they use this every hour to see and check their schedules. I think also the reports should have been more detailed and intricate but they may have improved that at this time. I don't think anything was difficult to use but because of it's ease of use, it meant that the software didn't really allow for as much information and details as we needed at the time to run a salon aiming towards growth. Things were hard to find or figure out because it wasn't provided in the reports or we had to add other features from outside companies to make up for lacking features.

Vagaro Response

2 years ago

Thank you for the feedback, we love to hear that our software is easy to use. We recently released updates to our reports section based on the feedback that businesses were looking for more intricate data. You can check what other features we are currently working on here: https://feedback.vagaro.com/forums/915991-feature-requests

Anita
Owner in Canada
Alternative Medicine, Self Employed
Used the Software for: Free Trial
Reviewer Source

Alternatives Considered:

On the fence, but TRIAL IS SO USEFUL IN UNDERSTANDING THE SOFTWARE!

3.0 3 months ago

Pros:

Not sure how I feel about it. I have completely mixed views. I signed up for a trial period, when I thought my business would be opening in May, It is now September and I am about to open. The trial period, did not let me obviously try the debit card or payment options. Then from my understanding if you didn't click to continue the trial period, you were no longer getting the service. Yet I am being asked to pay $40.00, $35.00 plus a late fee, for service used in June. But my trial period was end of May to June, so this put me off. THEN they locked me out of my account and are asking me to pay a past due balance of $40.00 but what will happen then, that's just to unlock my account and then are they going to charge me for what more months of NON -USAGE. I sent emails but they bounced back with literally, we've detected key words in your email that this filter system won't allow anyone to respond to. Now imagine if I were up and running and this happened? When I was using the trail period, here is what I somewhat liked: The landing page The reminders although I felt like the customer emails were lacking in personal touch and were standard, and seemed very automated to me and "cold." I couldn't figure out how to personalize it. Then the location was neat, but again. The email reminders were a little one liner, reminder but something about them felt off putting. Not sure, I did find the landing page creation challenging but nonetheless they give you a landing page. The add ons are expensive so for a software all of a sudden you can come up to over $200 I get it, but why is there nothing for a start up, entrepreneur? The $50.00 program seemed ideal and overall it seems like a good software but this $40.00 is absolutely offputting to me, so if I pay them and still can't access my account, they would have gained $40.00 for me for after a trial period where I was not using the program? So I don't know. BUT i do suggest doing the trial period. I 've done several with some others and so far, nothing seems to be wowing me or they're way to expensive for my start up.

Cons:

Their capacity to shut your account down if there is a missed payment. Imagine running a business and that happens.

Vagaro Response

3 months ago

Thank you for sharing your experience with us. When signing up for a 30-day free trial, the system indicates when the trial period ends and when billing for the monthly subscription will begin. You have the option to cancel your account at any time within the software. However, it appears that the account remained active beyond the trial period. Please note, that the system provides a warning before suspending the account and closing it. If you need assistance, our 24/7 support team is available via phone, chat, or email at vagaro.com/pro/contact. We’d be happy to help you reactivate your account or with any other concerns. Feel free to reach out to us at your convenience.

Penny
Owner/Cosmetologist in US
Consumer Services, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Alternatives Considered:

Vagaro Fan

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: I have no complaints. Vagaro has done exactly what they claim to do and has proven to be very user friendly.

Pros:

Cost affordable All the features that are available Easy to use Clients love the reminders that they can get

Cons:

I haven't found anything yet. Using the marketing tools can be challenging for a new comer, but for the most part I don't have anything to complain about.

Christine
owner/operator Esthetician in Canada
Health, Wellness & Fitness, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Alternatives Considered:

Made my aesthetic career easy and increased revenue

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: Excellent! I can be anywhere there is wifi if a client wants to change their appt or has questions about booking or cancelling their appt. This site has saved me so much time, paper with online receipts, and is so efficient with the automatic appt confirmation. It has helped me be very efficient with organizing time, appts and has helped to increase revenues.Very up to date and easy to use from my iPhone or laptop!

Pros:

for the client: accessible through an app, sign up with facebook as well, automatic emails and or texts to confirm appts, client may cancel appt, online forms easy to fill out for myself: accessible through the app, very easy to schedule and reschedule and cancel appts, a complete custom menu with limitless editing, email and text marketing, inventory easy to do using smartphone and barcodes, check out very efficient online, always choices, no need for a receptionist and very few telephone calls. Automatic confirmation of appts go to the client's email or text for them to add to their calendar

Cons:

In Canada clients can't purchase on the website, although I do use Anycard online e-giftcards with the Stripe availability and clients can etransfer me directly or phone in their credit card for an online gift certificate. Must purchase an extra website feature if wanting more space for pictures, etc, so I end up posting on Instagram with examples, before and after. No feature to post videos, but I understand the site is looking in to this feature

Vagaro Response

5 years ago

Hi Christine, we just wanted to say thank you so much for your feedback. We love that you are enjoying our software and are happy to help any time you have questions. Thank you!

Cristene A
owner in US
Health, Wellness & Fitness, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Alternatives Considered:

Best fit for a diverse business with an unbeatable price.

5.0 5 years ago

Comments: Overall my experience has been Wonderful. I seem to find more ways to expand, streamilne and save time every time I log in.

Pros:

Vagaro has such wonderful functionality, its very user friendly, and the updates and offerings that were implemented to serve users during the pandemic have been absolutely outstanding. The multi use calendar has been a very valuable asset to myself and staff and the combined inventory tracking, checkout features, and marketing tools have streamlined my business. Using Vagaro has saved me time, frustration and has increased our professional presence in our community. One of the the best features is the unbeatable price. I haven't found any platform that has satisfied our needs as diverse Holistic Wellness Center with room to grow.

Cons:

I wish I could print my address list to a label so I can send old fashioned b-day cards. When I create my marketing blasts the finger scroll jumps very quickly leaving the user to have to manually us the scroll to the right. Very minimal issues to even speak about.

Vagaro Response

4 years ago

Hi Cristene, we just wanted to thank you for your kind feedback. We are so glad that you love the software, and thankful to have you as one of our Vagaro Businesses!

Benjamin
Digital Marketing Manager in US
Health, Wellness & Fitness, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Alternatives Considered:

Exactly what I was looking for

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Before Vagaro, we had one system for point of sale, one system for booking and a third for customer information management. We wanted a system that would do all of that and move our business to the next level. Vagaro was the answer to that, bar none.
To have everything in one software package eliminates errors we were making when entering in things in multiple places previously. The reporting is top notch and the ability to access everything remotely from our phones and see appointments and transactions in real-time is a great benefit.

Pros:

We were looking for one single system that could do everything for our business. Point of sale, booking, inventory, online booking, excellent reporting, custom forms, email/text marketing, etc. Vagaro has it all. It's one complete package that we can access remotely and via our phones at any time.

Cons:

While this software was made mostly for Salons with numerous Stylists (Service Providers), it took a big of tweaking and being creative when setting it up for us. With us being a Sauna Studio, clients don't book people, they book actual rooms. There was a little bit of a learning curve on how to set that up properly but it works brilliantly now. I wish there was a little more customization on some deep settings, but all in all, I can't complain at all.

Vagaro Response

4 years ago

Hi Benjamin, thank you so much for your feedback! We greatly appreciate that you took the time to share your experience with our Software. Thanks for being a Vagaro Business!

Tatiyana
Owner in US
Retail, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Alternatives Considered:

Everything you need to know about Vagaro

4.0 4 years ago

Comments: Overall I am getting used to it. Vagaro is like driving a stock car. I think they can use some improvements that will make the world of difference. Everytime I call customer service I learn of a secret "work around" that seems like it should just be included in the feature. I do not dislike the software I just know there are some major improvements that can be made to make this software so much better.

Pros:

What I like the most about Vagaro is the user friendly mobile app. I like how easy it is for clients to receive text confirmations and book on the mobile app within a few clicks. I also like the fact that I trust the email system sending emails out successfully. Other email marketing softwares I have used seem less successful in reaching the customers inbox.

Cons:

The overall navigation of the site on the business end. Its alot of clicking around. The windows are hard to find. The search menu is annoying. If you are working in one window then have to edit something else you cannot continue or modify the edit within the same window you must leave that window enter another page then come back. Its too much back and forth for no reason. I do not like the reporting I think that could use alot of improvement. I do not like how I feel lost within Vagaro alot of times I find myself staring at the screen thinking "where do I go?" "How can I find this info?" These are not huge changes but I think with a few adjustment Vagaro's business user side can be more user friendly. Con: Marketing tool difficult to use. Con: when booking with multiple employees does not show all screens must click the name every time. Con: IOU feature, autopayments, editing packages and memberships for past and future sessions and costs.

Vagaro Response

4 years ago

Hello, we just wanted to say thank you so much for your feedback. We hope that you are enjoying our software and are happy to help any time you have questions. You can also reference our help site at support.vagaro.com which has many articles with step by step instructions. Thank you!

JENNIFER
OWNER/OPERATOR in US
Recreational Facilities & Services, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 6-12 months
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Alternatives Considered:

Fantastic for this one-woman show

4.0 3 years ago

Comments: Very affordable booking/confirmation system, credit card processing, inventory management and reports included, these are my baseline needs and Vagaro fulfills them 90% well. They were very helpful when signing up and helped me import most of my needed info, not perfectly, but pretty well. That is the end of actual human interaction though and sometimes an actual HUMAN customer service conversation by phone would be appreciated.

Pros:

Very easy to use on both desktop and mobile; great price for what you get, especially for a small or individual practice--calendar, email/sms confirmations, online booking (if you choose to use that); reports (though either I haven't found some yet or they could be improved, i.e. I accept checks and it gives me a total for check deposit, but not the # of checks); integrated payment system takes clear and fair CC fees out as they occur, COVID clean checkout can send signature/gratuity page to clients mobile; a la carte pricing, i.e. I needed "forms" for sending COVID forms, but can cancel that portion anytime and save $10/mo if not needed; Inventory management--could be improved, but for around $30/mo, can't be beat from what I've found.

Cons:

Deposit reports: how many checks are in the total that I need to deposit for a period of time? Would save me from adding all checks manually to see if amounts match; Inventory: To adjust current inventory items, it seems I need to do it item by item... they have a "mass edit", but I have never figured out how to get it to work for me and I HAVE contacted support about this issue, the back and forth chat is exhausting and sometimes you need to step away from the computer for a reason and the chat ends. Pricing on Service items: There should be a button to allow the pricing to show in the Appt and/or confirmation emails, if I want the price to show, I have to make it part of the Service title, thus when my prices change, I have to change each of those titles manually. I have clients who like to prewrite checks and they need to easily know the price ahead of time.

Elise
Esthetician in US
Cosmetics, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Alternatives Considered:

Vagaro is a key component to my small business.

5.0 last year

Comments: Overall Vagaro is a great system that helps my small business run smoothly. And I love how easy customer service is to get a hold of.

Pros:

I have been using Vagaro for almost 6 years and still love it! As a small business owner is it challenging to juggle all roles of a business; owner, service provider, secretary ,customer service, book keeper, etc. Vagaro really helps in taking a lot of the day to day operations off my shoulders. The online booking and appointment reminders are amazing and save me so much valuable time! And having access to my business data at just the click of a button is amazing.

Cons:

One of my least favorite features is having to pay a swipe fee for each credit card transaction on top of my monthly fee. And paying extra to utilize other features such as online gift card purchasing. It would be nice if everything was one flat fee each month.

Joi
US
, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

Many pros, but and equal amount of cons

3.0 8 years ago

Comments: I have used Vagaro for about three years. Initially the bells and whistles are enticing. You begin with the $25 fee, but the functionalities you need to get the most of the site come at additional fees. If you do not add these "monthly" fees the site is very bland.
If you want to use the features such as: credit card capture, requiring a credit card to be enter by clients to book and other options such as these, you must add their chosen processing company along with authorize.net; of course with other added monthly fees.
The customer service agent are limit in their knowledge and frequently tell you they will add your issue "in the que" for the technical department. They have a forum where you can discuss and suggest issues and request features, but it seems to be just for show for the past few years.
When you use their credit card processing you are automatically batched out at "4PM". Whatever income you make after 4pm will be added to the next day. Any income made after 4pm Thursday will not be added to your bank account until "MONDAY MORNING". Meaning anything after 4pm Thursday, all of Friday's income and Saturday's income will not be added to your account (including tips) will not be added until MONDAY.
The credit card processing company is very hard to contact.
The mobile credit card device has not been updated to read card chips , but we have been told for almost a year it will be available "in about a month".
The system is very slow. Make sure you have a mobile device AND your computer just is case it is on the fritz.
They did what they initially called emergency maintenance on the Friday before the 4th of July without any notice. We could not use the site at all. No new appointments, could not check anyone out and if you did not have a hard copy our product prices you could not sell ANYTHING for about 4 HOURS in the middle of the day. They system was visibly on the verge of malfunctioning for days, but they did not send out any emails preparing us for the system being shut down, but they did send one early that day to alert us about a new feature .....
To sum it up, while there are many features they come at a price, with mediocre customer service, many restrictions on receiving your funds and you advertise their service every single time you send out a email, text or any other notice, but you are added to their very saturated search engine and your clients can be enticed by other salons in your area.

Pros:

A lot of features

Cons:

Mediocre customer service You advertise for them whenever you reach out to clients Runs slow Credit card processing is not the best; your money is held hostage for days at the end of the week and batches out to early Your clients can be enticed by other salons in your area that also uses the site if they add their location

Samantha
Partner/Manager in US
Consumer Services, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source

My salon has used this software since we opened almost 4 years ago, absolutely love it.

5.0 7 years ago

Comments: The salon benefits tremendously from using this software. First being, salon operations. The overall smooth running of the salon. With the booking block scheduling, color coordinated services, customized services, and application/processing time being adjustable, it just makes the salon run so much smoother. The service providers never struggle with their time management thanks to vagaro. Each service booked in their book is booked appropriately by time, which makes a smooth transition from one client to the next. Also, when checking customers out, it is super easy. Being a booth rental salon, who still functions as a team and uses one system, one receptionist, one merchant, one credit card machine, it makes it easy. It breaks down each providers day, total services, total money taken, etc. So, when it's time to closeout, there are no mishaps, you know exactly what happened with each client, by name, by service, by provider. You can truly check anything you need to. Also, when clients move their appointments around, as clients always do, vagaro has it set up very smoothly. It's very easy to move a clients appointment from one day to the other. Also, having the business website attached to the actual software is a major bonus! A lot of new clients find us using vagaro. The new customers can see customer reviews, they can see our service menu and prices, our hours, everything they need to know, and they can book online right then and there! Our clients truly love booking online, without that feature, a lot of our clients would have a hard time booking appointments because their schedule changes from day to day. With this option, the night before they know they are going to be free for a service, they can open up their phone and book for the appointment they need with the service provider of their choice! Vagaro, with the few faults it may have, is hands down the BEST salon software you can get today! It's a one size fits all type of system that has worked while we were an hourly salon, then to a commission salon, and now a booth rental salon. Vagaro is so great that we REQUIRE all of our service providers to use this system! The providers that have been with us since the beginning wanted to stay with vagaro. The new providers were amazed by the system and were happy they made the switch! Anyone who has ever used this system would be a customer, no matter the size or type of salon you have! It's the best! Almost 4 years with vagaro, and many more to come!

Pros:

The online booking feature is a MUST with our clients, they absolutely love it. Also, the fact that you can have your website attached, a beautiful website at that. The ease of entering in all of our services into the service menu, our prices, and individual time intervals per service and per provider. But, the BEST thing about vagaro, is the ease of paper work. We do our daily tally and weekly tally sheets, and vagaro makes that absolutely a breeze. I am part owner, salon manager, and reception and I do all of the employees paperwork and money handling, and vagaro is absolutely amazing and makes the process so much easier than other software I've used over the years. The transaction list, to be able to go through all checkouts for the day, to be able to refund, charges, cash, and checks all separated into categories. It's just amazing. The checkout through vagaro is nice as well, you can put in the tip amount, check, cash, or charge, without using their merchant services, which is a benefit because you have an actual layout of each customer, each transaction, whereas on the credit card machine, which is completely separate, you can only see customer, and how much paid, including tip. Since, we opened this salon, we have only had vagaro, and we will continue to only have vagaro. It's the best salon and spa software that is available. No matter the size of salon, or services offered. This system works for everyone. Also, the text message updates they send out when theyre down.

Cons:

There are really only a few things that I like the least about Vagaro. One would be, the system issues, especially with the credit card processing. When we first opened we were using vagaro as our merchant as well for our credit cards, and we had nothing but issues. Even now, I get the texts whenever there is a software malfunction, and it seems most of the malfunction is with credit card processing. So, we ended up having to buy an actual credit card machine and go with a different merchant provider, and now all of that is resolved. The next thing I like the least is, you can't separate your business at all. We have both tanning and a hair/nail salon. So, our tanning hours are slightly different from our hair/nail hours, and there is no way on vagaro, or our website, to separate and add additional hours. The last thing I like the least, is that Vagaro really only allows you to add services, there's no where for us to list our prices for tanning on our website, unless we take a picture of the menu and post it in our pictures, which would be out of place.

Sarry
Owner in US
Retail, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 1+ year
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Give it a go

3.0 4 years ago

Comments: I just wish there was a little more to Vagaro when it comes to business essentials. It is really important for owners to track their numbers without having to do extra work and I just wish there was more there. I also wish that texting was a part of the program seeing as how contactless is the way to go but to charge an arm and a leg is a bit much. I get that new ideas are coming up and the actual subscription isn't expensive, but don't up-charge us because technology changes and you see it as a way to get money from us. I also wish there was an option for split payments of more than one credit card. I wish that they did NOT charge a fee for us to accept credit card tips. A few ideas and ways to help.

Pros:

This software is pretty easy to use and it allows us to check our schedules anytime

Cons:

There are always pros and cons, for me sometimes it's the reliability that bothers me. Sometimes appointments will not show and clients get a confirmation which is frustrating. I also don't like the way the company handles its credit card processing especially during covid, it would be nice not to have to pay an extra free when it comes to storing cards in the system. I also didn’t like how little resources there are for reports or how little the software offers you a boost when you pay for a service to "get noticed" otherewise everything is pretty standard.

Vagaro Response

4 years ago

Thank you for your review, if you have any ideas about how we can improve the software you can share them at feedback.vagaro.com

Joanne
Massage Therapist in US
Health, Wellness & Fitness, Self Employed
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Evaluated by a massage therapist with 25 years experience.

5.0 4 years ago

Comments: Very positive. The company upgrades their product when needed adding user friendly comprehensive features that enhance the users experience.

Pros:

It's very easy to use Vagaro for online and mobile booking for both the owner and client. COLOR CODING: I like the use of color bands to show confirmed, show, no show etc. it helps me keep track at a glance. CHECK OUT: The check out is also very easy with all options for payment available. If you like keeping track of customers paying with MasterCard, Visa etc this option is available. This was not my experience with other programs, although it's not something I used it would be helpful for tracking clients paying with Medical Flex Plans. NOTES: I like this section it's comprehensive to different professions. The medical note section is helpful for massage therapists and other medically oriented professions. I especially like the POP UP notes. Very helpful when you have special needs clients. Also helpful for an aging (post menopausal) memory (LOL, some may not understand this importance). PERSONAL TASK: This is a great option that allows you to block off chunks of time. It also allows you to choose reasons for the block, sick, personal time etc. Especially nice when tracking you personal down time. All in all it's a well thought out program. Whenever I've needed help the CHAT feature and the customer service representatives have been very helpful in solving my issues. Generally you don't have to wait long for help. That's especially helpful as every self-employed persons time is valuable.

Cons:

If you need to shut off the online feature (which I've needed to do during Covid) you can't last I checked. Plus, I'm in the process of downsizing toward retirement. I'm no longer looking to take new clients but I want to continue using the program to book my existing clients. I just wanted to prevent clients from being able to book on line so I can control my schedule. The only way to do this was to block out all my time slots with the Personal Task feature. Clients eventually end up calling me, which is what I want. I sent notifications, but you know how that goes. The other option I think would be helpful that isn't available is the option to choose different colors for the PERSONAL TASK blocks. I'm a visual, color oriented person, right now the only option for Personal Task is brown. I like to be able to assign or have assigned colors associated with the different block options, like green for "sick time", blue for "meeting" etc. Lastly I believe this program leads the on line booker to believe it's more of a salon oriented environment. I know for a fact some more medically oriented massage therapists have shied away from using it for that reason, because I've recommended it and received this feedback. I think the developers maybe doing themselves a disservice in this regard. The program is very comprehensive for medically oriented massage therapists, chiropractors, craniosacral therapists, reiki masters and like professions.

Vagaro Response

4 years ago

Hi Joanne! Thank you so much for your feedback! We do offer an ability to turn off the online booking feature. This setting is available on the Employee Profiles page. We appreciate your review and are thankful to have you as a business on Vagaro!

Julie
Manager in US
Performing Arts, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 1-5 months
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Alternatives Considered:

Do Not Use

2.0 2 years ago

Pros:

Cost of the service compared to others on the market, such as MindBody.

Cons:

Vagaro Support is the worst I've ever worked with. We have been working on getting our small business on Vagaro's platform since April. It is now Aug, & we are still not up and running. Everything we are doing is Out-of-the-Box. No customization. However, support has not been able to complete our import, so we've been paying a monthly fee since April for a service we cannot use. They are horrible at responding to requests for status updates. I'll email support multiple times and they don't respond for weeks, if at all. The only time I can make any headway on our import is if I work on it myself, or when I start calling them daily (sometimes 2x/day). Then we make a little progress only to begin the cycle again a few days later with me being ghosted. If you're looking to use Vagaro for your business, don't. We are at the point where we are willing to take the sunk cost on the money & significant amount of time we have put into this and start over with one of Vagaro's competitors, such as MindBody.

Vagaro Response

2 years ago

We apologize for your experience; we take matters like this very seriously and want to let you know we are committed to providing excellent customer service. The import process exists to quickly onboard customers coming from other software, in this case the files you sent were custom, so it did not work with any of our (out of the box) automated processes. We provided a Sample File to show the required format, but we never received the data in the correct format. Despite this, our team began making adjustments on your behalf, in an effort to get the data in the proper format. While typical responses occurred next business day, a change of management occurred on your end which did cause some additional delays. Delays could have been avoided entirely had we been provided data in the supplied format; management changes had not occurred, and updates to your terminology were not regularly changed between responses from your business.

Amber
Owner cosmetologist in US
Consumer Services, 2–10 Employees
Used the Software for: 2+ years
Reviewer Source
Source: SoftwareAdvice

Alternatives Considered:

Salon Owner

5.0 2 years ago

Comments: I am happy using this for our salon booking system and calendar.

Pros:

I love the price and simplicity of booking salon services with the appointment reminder texts it sends on my behalf there are little to no no shows. It also allows double booking and online booking if you choose to use that feature.

Cons:

I struggle to get the register and printer/credit card reader to sync and have called customer service a few times over the years. For some reason it doesn’t work like it should. I’m always using my square credit card reader as a backup and the key to open the register for change.