Booksui vs Vagaro · checked 2026-10-26
The Vagaro alternative built for hair and makeup artists
Vagaro runs salons and spas: appointments, the POS and a marketplace that brings walk-in customers. Booksui is a wedding business CRM that speaks hair and makeup: the proposal, the trial, the bridal party and a chair schedule worked back from the time everyone must be ready.
Vagaro is known for booking, payments and marketing for salons, spas and fitness: online booking, a POS, client profiles and the Vagaro Marketplace where customers find businesses. The table below sets Booksui’s own features next to that, in plain terms.
| Topic | Booksui | Vagaro |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Wedding and event vendors, each with its own pipeline. Hair and makeup runs inquiry → proposal → booked → hair and makeup trial → chair schedule → wedding morning. | Salons, spas, barbers and fitness studios. |
| Booking | Weddings as events with a proposal and contract; not weekly appointments. | Round-the-clock online booking for appointments, with reminders. |
| The wedding morning | A chair schedule worked back from the ready-by time on the day’s timeline, with the start put on the timeline and the invoice drafted by head. | Appointment calendars by staff member. |
| Contracts | A bridal hair and makeup agreement with bridal party terms, signed on the client’s phone. | Digital intake forms. |
| Getting paid | Invoices with a dated payment schedule and a reminder for each payment. Clients pay the way you accept (bank transfer, Venmo, Zelle, cash) and tell you on the pay page when they have; you confirm it. | An integrated POS and card payments. |
| Price | Starter is $12/mo with no card (2 photo and video galleries, 1 booking page, 10 active inquiries). Pro $24/mo, Studio $49/mo, Agency $99/mo. 30-day refund on your first paid month. | Set by Vagaro and changed by Vagaro; their current pricing page is the only honest source, so this page does not quote it. |
Who switches, and why
- Bridal hair and makeup artists whose income is weddings, not salon appointments.
- Artists who work beside photographers and planners and want the wedding timeline shared.
What you keep
- Your clients: the contact list comes across by CSV.
- Your prices per face and early-start fee, on the price sheet.
What changes
- Booksui does not run walk-in or weekly appointments, a POS or a consumer marketplace.
- Each wedding moves through hair and makeup phases with the chair schedule on the booking.
How the move happens
- 1Export your client contacts from Vagaro as a CSV. If your account has no export, a spreadsheet of names and emails imports the same way.
- 2In Booksui, Import → Upload CSV; check the column matching and confirm. Orders, appointments and invoices stay in Vagaro.
- 3Pick hair and makeup during onboarding so the pipeline, proposals, agreement and questionnaires are installed.
- 4Point your website inquiry form at Booksui.
When Vagaro is the better choice
If most of your income is salon appointments, retail and walk-ins, Vagaro is built for that and Booksui is not. Booksui suits an artist whose business is weddings and events, where the proposal, the trial and the chair schedule matter more than a weekly calendar.
Questions
- Can clients book a salon appointment in Booksui?
- Booksui has a booking page for set services, but it is built for events, not a salon’s weekly calendar.
- Can I import from Vagaro?
- There is no dedicated import. Client contacts come across by CSV.
- Is there a trial?
- Yes: 14 days on any plan with a card on file, nothing charged until it ends; limits are on the pricing page.
Vagaro’s pricing and feature set are set by Vagaro, change over time, and are worth checking on their own site — this page reflects Booksui’s own features accurately and describes Vagaro in general, well-known terms rather than a line-by-line audit of their current product.