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. Phorest covers salon booking with a long track record.
Phorest alternative
Salonist vs Phorest: Four Plans With No Prices Against Three With Prices
Phorest lists four plans, Starter, Grow, Complete Advantage and Elite, but publishes no monthly prices. You book a call to find out what yours costs.
Salonist publishes $59, $109 and $179 a month with the full feature list beside each plan, so you can compare before you speak to anyone.
- ✓Unlimited staff. No staff limits.
- ✓Get more features for less.
- ✓Every plan price published
What each plan costs you
Published
Salonist Phorest lists plans without prices
Phorest publishes its plan names, SMS rates and feature lists but not the monthly price. Salonist publishes the price for every plan.
Short on time?
Salonist vs Phorest at a Glance
Pick Salonist if
You want to compare before a sales call
- You want the monthly price published
- You want campaigns without per message rates
- You want WhatsApp as well as SMS
- You run more than one location
- You want to start on a free trial today
What to check on Phorest
Points to weigh before a quote
- !No monthly prices published on the pricing page
- !SMS is charged per message on the lower plans
- !Free SMS bundles sit on the higher plans
- !Ask what onboarding and training cost
- !Ask for the contract length in writing
- !Ask which features sit on which plan
Side by side
Quick Comparison Table
| Feature | Salonist | Phorest |
|---|
Phorest pricing vs Salonist pricing
Phorest Cost vs Salonist Cost
Phorest publishes its plan names, feature lists and SMS rates. The monthly price comes from a call, so compare the parts you can see.
Phorest Pricing
What the Phorest pricing page does publish.
| Plan or fee | Amount |
|---|---|
| Starter | Price on request, for salons with 3 or more staff |
| Grow | Price on request |
| Complete Advantage | Price on request, most popular |
| Elite | Price on request, all add ons included |
| Starter SMS | About 5 cents per message |
| Grow SMS | About 4 cents per message plus 1,000 free |
| Complete Advantage SMS | 5,000 free messages a month |
| Elite SMS | Large free bundle |
| Staff limit | Unlimited staff on all plans |
Ask for the plan price, the setup or training fee and the contract length in one written quote.
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 Phorest Feature by Feature
Phorest is a mature salon platform with a strong reputation. The difference here is transparency and what campaigns cost once you send them.
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. Phorest runs a full till for services and retail.
Staff, Commission and Tips
Commission splits, tips, timesheets and login permissions all sit in one staff screen, with no charge for extra people. Phorest includes unlimited staff on its plans.
Stock and Inventory
Inventory management covers barcodes, purchase orders, warehouse stock and low stock alerts, so retail stops leaking margin. Phorest tracks stock well.
Marketing and Client Win Back
Run SMS, email and WhatsApp campaigns from the same place as your calendar including birthday offers and rebooking reminders. Phorest charges 4 to 5 cents per SMS on its lower plans, with free bundles higher up.
Memberships, Loyalty and Gift Cards
Memberships, reward points and gift cards work at the till and online, which keeps regulars coming back. Phorest covers memberships, packages and loyalty.
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. Phorest prices multi location through its quote.
Forms and Client Records
Consent forms, before and after photos and client documents sit with the visit history on the client record. Phorest includes forms.
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 that want a published price
- ✓Teams that send a lot of reminders and offers
- ✓Owners with two or more locations
- ✓Salons that want WhatsApp as well as SMS
- ✓Salons outside the United States and Europe
Taken from the Phorest pricing page, which lists plans, SMS rates and features but not prices.
Best fit
Who Should Choose Salonist?
- Salons that want a published price
- Teams that send a lot of reminders and offers
- Owners with two or more locations
- Salons that want WhatsApp as well as SMS
- Salons outside the United States and Europe
See Salonist for hair salons, nail salons, spas, barber shops.
Keep comparing
Other Comparisons
Looking at more than one tool? See Salonist vs Zenoti, plus Salonist vs Mindbody and Salonist vs Booksy on the compare hub.
Book a 20 minute demo and we will walk through your own numbers.
Moving is easy
Switching from Phorest 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 Phorest Alternative for Salons
Published prices, campaigns in the plan and a free trial you can start today.
