Online Booking and Calendar
Clients book 24/7 from your website, Instagram or Google profile. Salonist adds a room calendar, a waitlist and package booking for spas. Acuity books appointments well and handles time zones neatly.
Acuity Scheduling alternative
Salonist vs Acuity Scheduling: A Salon Runs on More Than a Calendar
Acuity Scheduling fills a calendar, takes a deposit and sends reminders. For a solo consultant that is often enough.
A salon also rings up retail, tracks stock, splits commission and wins clients back. Salonist keeps all of that in one login with unlimited staff.
- ✓Unlimited staff. No staff limits.
- ✓Get more features for less.
- ✓One system, not five
What a salon bolts on around Acuity
4 tools
Salonist replaces the stack one plan, one login
Add on figures are typical market rates for separate tools, not quotes. Commission splits usually end up in a spreadsheet.
Short on time?
Salonist vs Acuity Scheduling at a Glance
Pick Salonist if
You run a salon, not a calendar
- You sell retail and need stock and barcodes
- You split commission and tips across a team
- You want memberships, loyalty and gift cards in one place
- You are paying for a scheduler plus three other tools
- You want your own branding on every plan
What to check on Acuity Scheduling
What sits outside Acuity
- !No retail point of sale or barcodes
- !No commission splits, tips reports or timesheets
- !Plans are capped at 1, 6 or 36 calendars
- !Reminders only, campaigns live elsewhere
- !Removing Acuity branding needs the top plan
- !No free plan, only a 7 day trial
Side by side
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | Salonist | Acuity Scheduling |
|---|
Acuity Scheduling pricing vs Salonist pricing
Acuity Scheduling Cost vs Salonist Cost
Acuity prices the calendar. Salonist prices the whole salon, which is why the comparison only makes sense once the missing tools are added up.
Acuity Scheduling Pricing
Plans are set by how many calendars you need.
| Plan or fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Starter, 1 calendar | $20 a month |
| Standard, up to 6 calendars | $34 a month |
| Premium, up to 36 calendars | $61 a month |
| Paid yearly | About 20% less |
| Free plan | None, 7 day trial |
| Text reminders | Standard plan and above |
| Remove Acuity branding | Premium plan only |
Card payments run through Stripe, Square, PayPal or Venmo at their own rates.
Salonist Pricing
One flat plan price with unlimited staff. Printed on the pricing page, no quote needed.
| Plan or fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Free marketplace listing | $0 |
| Essential | $59 a month |
| Advance | $109 a month |
| Expert | $179 a month |
| Extra staff | $0, unlimited |
| Extra location | Included on paid plans |
| Free trial | 7 days, no card |
| New marketplace client | 15% of the first visit, once |
Every paid plan includes unlimited staff, every location and free data import. See the full Salonist pricing page.
Feature comparison
Salonist vs Acuity Scheduling Feature by Feature
Acuity is built for appointments. Salonist is built for the whole salon day, from the first booking to the closing till.
Point of Sale and Retail
Ring up services and products on one ticket, take tips and print or email the receipt at the till, and sell online through the built in store. Acuity takes payment for an appointment but is not a retail till.
Staff, Commission and Tips
Commission splits, tips, timesheets and login permissions all sit in one staff screen, with no charge for extra people. Acuity prices by calendar and has no commission or tips tools.
Stock and Inventory
Inventory management covers barcodes, purchase orders, warehouse stock and low stock alerts, so retail stops leaking margin. Acuity does not track stock or barcodes.
Marketing and Client Win Back
Run SMS, email and WhatsApp campaigns from the same place as your calendar including birthday offers and rebooking reminders. Acuity sends reminders rather than campaigns.
Memberships, Loyalty and Gift Cards
Memberships, reward points and gift cards work at the till and online, which keeps regulars coming back. Acuity sells packages and gift certificates from its middle plan.
Built for Multiple Locations
Salonist is a multi location system. Run every branch from one account, switch between them in a click and compare them in one report, with every location included on paid plans. Acuity puts multi location features in its top plan.
Forms and Client Records
Consent forms, before and after photos and client documents sit with the visit history on the client record. Acuity has strong intake forms on every plan.
The difference that shows
WhatsApp Marketing and 13 Languages, Built In
Salonist runs in 60+ countries with 13 languages, right to left Arabic and local payment gateways. WhatsApp campaigns sit on the Advance plan, so reminders and offers reach clients on the app they actually open.
- Booking confirmations and reminders on WhatsApp
- Birthday and win back offers
- Rebooking nudges after a visit
- Your team sees the software in their own language
Why salons switch
What You Get With Salonist
In every plan
- ✓Unlimited staff on every plan
- ✓Every location included on paid plans
- ✓POS, retail and inventory built in
- ✓WhatsApp, SMS and email campaigns
- ✓Commissions, tips and timesheets
- ✓60+ countries and 13 languages
Best fit for
- ✓Salons and spas selling retail alongside services
- ✓Teams where the calendar count keeps rising
- ✓Owners paying for a scheduler plus other tools
- ✓Clinics that want forms beside client records
- ✓Salons outside the United States
Taken from the Acuity Scheduling pricing and feature pages.
Best fit
Who Should Choose Salonist?
- Salons and spas selling retail alongside services
- Teams where the calendar count keeps rising
- Owners paying for a scheduler plus other tools
- Clinics that want forms beside client records
- Salons outside the United States
See Salonist for hair salons, nail salons, spas, barber shops.
Keep comparing
Other Comparisons
Looking at more than one tool? See Salonist vs Square, plus Salonist vs Vagaro and Salonist vs GlossGenius on the compare hub.
Book a 20 minute demo and we will walk through your own numbers.
Moving is easy
Switching from Acuity Scheduling to Salonist
Book a demo
A product expert walks through Salonist with you in 20 minutes.
Send your data
We import your clients, services and appointment history for free.
Add the whole team
Every staff member is included, so nobody is left off the calendar.
Go live
Share your booking link and start taking appointments the same week.
FAQ
Frequently Asked Questions
Still deciding? These are the questions salon owners ask us most.
7 day free trial · no card needed
Try the Best Acuity Scheduling Alternative for Salons
One system for bookings, the till, the stock room and your marketing.
