Acuity: start with an appointment-led workflow
Evaluate how an appointment is configured, how clients supply booking information and how it fits your existing website. Acuity documents paid subscription plans. Test a short and long service, time-zone behaviour, cancellation and staff availability in the plan you would buy. A scheduling tool should be compared with your existing website costs as well as its own subscription.
Mindbody: distinguish appointments from classes
Mindbody documents scheduling for classes and appointments. This distinction matters for a business combining personal sessions with a recurring timetable. Ask for a demonstration of capacity, staff, locations and the client journey that matches your operation. A salon with individual colour appointments and a studio selling group classes should not use the same feature checklist.
Fresha: evaluate operations and acquisition separately
Fresha combines beauty and wellness scheduling with marketplace discovery. Its published pricing now includes subscriptions and optional add-ons; a blanket description of it as subscription-free is inaccurate. The new-client marketplace charge is conditional, while returning clients and direct booking links have different treatment. Compare the value of acquired clients with your own direct-booking channel.
SalonDigi: website plus staff appointments
SalonDigi Solo provides a website and bookings for one staff member, one branch, one language and 80 appointments per month. Custom domains and automated reminders require an eligible paid plan. The Google Calendar integration mirrors SalonDigi appointments outward; it is not a promise of importing external busy times. Verify specialist requirements such as classes, resources, POS and inventory separately.
Use one acceptance test for every shortlist
Prepare the same scenario: one 30-minute service, one 90-minute service, a staff day off and a cancelled appointment. Check which slots can be booked, whether the confirmation is clear and when a cancelled slot becomes available. Then add a group class or shared room only if your business needs it. These durations are illustrative test inputs, not provider defaults.
Compare a complete monthly cost
List subscription, staff or location charges, messages, payment processing, marketplace acquisition and website extras separately. Use local currency and the same expected activity for every provider. Record quote date and plan name. A fee for attracting a new client is different from a fee on every repeat booking; neither should be mixed with payment processing when comparing costs.
Related setup and comparison guides
Questions before choosing a booking platform
Which is better: Acuity, Mindbody or Fresha?
Choose by workflow. Start with appointment scheduling for Acuity, combined classes and appointments for Mindbody, and beauty or wellness operations plus marketplace discovery for Fresha. Validate your required features in a demonstration.
Is Fresha still subscription-free?
Its current published pricing lists subscriptions. Charges vary by country and optional services, so check your local pricing page instead of relying on an older comparison.
Should a salon and a fitness class business compare the same features?
No. A salon needs service durations and staff availability; a class business additionally needs scheduled sessions and participant capacity. Verify the latter explicitly.
Does SalonDigi replace every feature of these platforms?
This page does not establish full feature parity. SalonDigi provides a booking website and staff appointments; verify requirements such as POS, inventory, classes and resource allocation separately.
Can I compare prices from different countries?
Use the same country, currency and workload. Subscription tax, message charges and payment availability can differ, making a mixed-country headline-price comparison misleading.
Scheduling shortlist: compare the workflow
| Decision factor | SalonDigi | Acuity | Mindbody | Fresha |
|---|
| Starting workflow | Booking website and staff appointments | Appointment scheduling | Classes and appointments | Beauty and wellness scheduling |
| Requirement to demonstrate | Plan limits and specialist requirements | Your services and availability rules | Class and appointment operations | Direct bookings and discovery attribution |
| Cost categories to check locally | Plan, domain and notifications | Subscription and connected website | Plan, locations and required services | Subscription, processing and acquisition |
Sources and review scope
Provider documentation reviewed on 8 October 2026. This is a workflow comparison, not a hands-on benchmark or an endorsement of untested feature parity. Check current local plans.
