9 Great Vagaro Alternatives and How to Choose the Right One

By Nabeela Hashimi

Vagaro is an online platform that medical spas, salons, gyms, and other wellness companies can use to manage almost every aspect of their small business—from appointments to products.

But Vagaro lacks some important features for MediSpas in particular. And their modular, calendar-based pricing can really add up.

In this guide to Vagaro alternatives, we present the top reasons to seek out a competitor plus the best options to consider instead.

Top reasons to look for Vagaro alternatives

Before we dive into the list of Vagaro competitors, let’s take a look at why you might seek out Vagaro alternatives in the first place.

Determining your motivation will make it much easier to choose the right platform in the end.

• Straightforward pricing – At first glance, Vagaro’s pricing looks reasonable. But when you add in all of your clinicians and the features you need, it’s not so affordable. Compared to other options, Vagaro tends to consider fundamental features as optional add-ons charged at an additional price.
• Lower pricing for a branded app – In particular, if you want to create a custom branded mobile app for your medical spa, Vagaro is one of the most expensive platforms you could choose.
• Video library – Vagaro doesn’t allow you to create a video library with pre- and post-care instructions, which is a wise strategy for medical spas.
• Events management – You also can’t create events with Vagaro. Look for an alternative that lets you set up free and paid events and promote your event landing pages.
• Better client management and targeting – Vagaro offers client contact management and activity tracking, but because they don’t offer a video library or events management, you’ll lack the full picture of client activity, making it harder to target clients with the right offers and promotions.
• A more advanced website – With Vagaro, you can create a website for your business, but this is a new feature and it’s not fully fledged out. You can’t add a blog or events to your site, both of which are very important marketing strategies.
• Automated review requests – Putting your review requests on autopilot is one of the best medical spa marketing ideas because it impacts your reputation and rankings. Vagaro lacks this feature.

9 best Vagaro alternatives to consider

Check out our list of the best Vagaro alternatives.

1. WellnessLiving

With WellnessLiving, you get one easy-to-use platform for managing client forms, HIPAA and PIPEDA compliance, online booking system, online and in-person payments, marketing features, rewards programs, and inventory management. You can also upload client photos to track before-and-after transformations and take notes after each service.

Compared to Vagaro, WellnessLiving offers more affordable custom mobile apps, more advanced websites (complete with SEO optimization and blogging), and more detailed client activity tracking. You also get key features that Vagaro doesn’t have, including events management, automated review requests, and the ability to create your own video library with care instructions.

2. GlossGenius

GlossGenius is a Vagaro alternative that is more affordable, but not as fully featured. You get inventory management, appointment booking, notifications, point-of-sale, financial reports, client review requests, and staff management features.

However, you won’t find rewards programs, events management, custom mobile apps, video libraries, blogging, or online consultations inside GlossGenius.

3. Booker by Mindbody

Booker by Mindbody is a popular Vagaro alternative because it covers everything that Vagaro offers and then some. Like WellnessLiving, Mindbody allows you to manage events, client review requests, blog posts, and video libraries.

In terms of price, Booker by Mindbody costs significantly more than both Vagaro and WellnessLiving, so you might want to look elsewhere before you get locked into a high monthly subscription.

4. Boulevard

With Boulevard, you can manage online bookings, client information, contact forms, payments, loyalty program rewards, and SMS and email marketing. The platform is HIPAA compliant.

Boulevard offers a special medical spa subscription that is two to four times the cost of Vagaro’s monthly subscriptions. It offers advanced charting, photo markup, and medical director sign off, making it a good fit for plastic surgery centers that offer medical spa services.

5. Cliniko

Cliniko is a practice management platform for medical spas and health practitioners. You get appointment booking, client notifications, HIPAA compliant forms, health records and charting, and invoice management.

Unlike most Vagaro alternatives, Cliniko offers a fully featured accounting system. If you’re doing your own accounting, this might be of use to you. However, if you outsource your booking and accounting to a professional, this feature won’t be necessary, and you’ll struggle to justify the higher cost compared to Vagaro.

6. Schedulicty

Schedulicity is an affordable Vagaro alternative that offers appointment scheduling, booking notifications, email marketing, payment processing, and inventory management. You’ll save on your monthly subscription if you’re just starting out or plan to keep your business small and simple.

However, if you want to be able to create a custom mobile app, sell products online, and integrate your website with the backend of your business, you’re better off with another platform, like WellnessLiving. Plus, you’ll be able to manage events, create a blog, offer online consultations, and create a video library with care instructions.

7. Zenoti

Zenoti can be used by medical spas, salons, fitness centers, and other wellness businesses. The platform offers essential client and business management features like appointments, payments, notifications, and rewards. You can create a custom mobile app to help clients easily book services and engage with your loyalty program. Zenoti is HIPAA compliant and makes it easy to take notes after each service.

Compared to Vagaro, Zenoti offers a more fully-featured website solution so you can automatically synch your services and products. You can also manage events (Zenoti calls them workshops).

8. Pabau

As a practice management platform, Pabau gives you features for managing your clinic, staff, clients, appointments, and marketing campaigns. With a focus on medical practices, Pabau offers more advanced charting and medical forms than Vagaro.

On the marketing side of things, it has almost everything you need—SMS, email, rewards, reviews, and referral management. However, it lacks events management, website creation, and blogging, all of which are essential marketing tactics for medical spas.

9. Jane App

With Jane App, you’ll get an EMR (electronic medical record) platform with charting and clinical notes, telehealth software, appointment booking and payments. Unlike Vagaro, Jane App offers medical insurance billing features, making it a fit for medical spas, dermatology offices, and plastic surgery centers that often provide services covered by insurance.

However, it doesn’t offer much in the way of marketing. You can create a website that synchs with your services and appointment booking, but you can’t manage email campaigns, referrals, loyalty program rewards, or events.

Looking for a platform that helps you not only manage your business but grow your sales? Book a demo of WellnessLiving.

 

* Vagaro is a trademark of Vagaro, Inc., and is not affiliated with WellnessLiving.