Phorest
Depends
Confidence: Medium
Phorest fits established salons, med spas, and multi-location groups that want booking, marketing, and payments in one system.
New check
Comparison
Phorest vs Vagaro
Phorest lands on Depends, and Vagaro lands on Worth it.
Vagaro
Worth it
Confidence: Medium
Buy if you run a salon, spa, massage, or fitness business and want booking, payments, reviews, and marketing in one place from $23.99/month.
| Compare | ||
|---|---|---|
| Verdict | Depends | Worth it |
| Best for | Growth-focused salons | Independent stylists and estheticians |
| Who it's not for | Solo stylists and independent professionals | Anyone outside the salon/spa/fitness vertical . it's a niche tool |
| Privacy | Security page and GDPR documentation published; one disclosed bug bounty issue reported patched.⁹ | No known public vulnerabilities found in the sources reviewed. |
| Support quality | No evidence in reviewed sources | 3.6 Trustpilot; Reddit complaints |
| Public sentiment | Users praise the feature depth but frequently flag a steep learning curve and questions about payment fees.¹ | G2 reviewers praise the breadth and value, while Trustpilot and Reddit show recurring complaints about pricing, waiting, and account access.15 |
| Biggest gotcha | Payment processing fees unclear . business owners publicly compare costs³ | $23.99 is a promo off the $30 list price . expect the full rate later. |
Pick Phorest when
- Growth-focused salons
- Med spas & aesthetic clinics
- Multi-location salon groups
- Owners wanting built-in marketing automation
When Phorest is not a fit
- Solo stylists and independent professionals
- Budget hunters wanting transparent monthly pricing
- Teams with no time for training and onboarding
- Anyone needing just a simple booking calendar
Pick Vagaro when
- Independent stylists and estheticians
- Massage therapists and day spas
- Fitness studios, trainers, yoga/Pilates
- Multi-location chains via Enterprise tier
When Vagaro is not a fit
- Anyone outside the salon/spa/fitness vertical . it's a niche tool
- Solo pros wanting a free or near-free booking link
- Teams needing self-hosted or deeply customized setups
- Buyers averse to constant upsells (Capital lending, MySite, BNPL)
Sources
review
- Phorest Salon Software : r/Estheticiansreddit.comreview
review
review
- Phorest Salon Software Reviews 2026 . SpotSaaSspotsaas.comreview
- The Best Alternative to Phorest Software . Mangomintmangomint.comreview
review
- Studioloop vs Phorest (2026)studioloop.appreview
- All Vulnerabilities for phorest.com Patched . Open Bug Bountyopenbugbounty.orgsecurity
- Product security page . Phorestphorest.comsecurity
- Salon software maker Phorest eyes IPO . Business Postbusinesspost.ienews
- Phorest AI client experiences . Salon Todaysalontoday.comnews
official
- Vagaro Reviews . G2g2.comreview
- Trustpilot reviews of vagaro.comtrustpilot.comreview