Transparent pricing. Built for teams of any size.
An honest comparison to help you choose the right salon software for your business.
Quick facts at a glance
A side-by-side overview of key differences
Prices shown in AUD (inc. GST)
Bella Booking: Starter plan for 1-3 team members, Professional for 4+ (unlimited). Competitor pricing from official sources, verified January 2026. Bella Booking features updated April 2026.
Which is right for you?
An honest look at when each platform makes sense
Consider Bella Booking if...
- Transparent pricing published on website — no sales calls needed
- Suitable for solo practitioners and small teams (Phorest targets 3+ staff)
- SMS reminders included in the plan (50-500/month) — no per-message charges
- Free trial available with no credit card required (Phorest offers no trial)
- Simpler, focused interface — less overwhelming for smaller teams
- Sydney-based company with Australian support
- Family/dependent booking (not available on Phorest)
- AI Assistant for business insights
- No contract lock-in
- Client confirmation system with one-click links
- Service-level deposit and cancellation policy overrides
- Predictable monthly cost — no add-on surprises
- Accessibility & personalisation — dark mode, dyslexia-friendly fonts, colour themes, density modes
- Prepaid packages for selling session bundles upfront
- Memberships included on Professional plan with 9 billing cycles and client self-service portal (Phorest: paid add-on, requires PhorestPay)
- Loyalty programme included on Professional plan (Phorest: Treatcard on all plans, but cross-brand only)
- Digital tipping included (not available on Phorest)
- Saved cards and Card on File — charge saved cards at checkout
- Resource management with capacity controls and auto-assignment
- 20+ reports with charts and comparison mode
Consider Phorest if...
- You want a built-in marketing suite with campaign ROI tracking
- A mature loyalty programme with cross-brand partnerships matters to you
- You need automated Google/Facebook review collection
- Commission tracking for staff is essential
- You want a branded booking app for your clients
- Visual consultations with face-mapping are important (medspa/aesthetics)
- You want a dedicated business advisor included
- Your team has 3+ staff members
We believe in helping you find the right fit, even if it's not us.
Detailed feature comparison
A comprehensive look at what each platform offers
Scheduling & Booking
Client Management
Team Management
Payments & POS
Communication & Marketing
Business Management
Platform & Support
Unique Features
Pricing breakdown
What you'll actually pay
Prices shown are starting prices and include GST. Bella Booking Starter includes up to 3 team members; Professional includes unlimited team members. Competitor pricing may vary based on team size.
Bella Booking
Solo (1 team): A$25/month AUD • Starter (1-3 team): A$47/month AUD • Professional (4+): A$79/month AUD
Phorest
Additional costs to consider
- • SMS charged per message (12c or 8.5c depending on plan)
- • Two-Way SMS add-on (additional cost)
- • Memberships add-on (additional cost)
- • Premium Consultations add-on (additional cost)
- • Branded booking app add-on (additional cost)
Pricing information based on publicly available data as of February 2026. Visit each provider's website for current pricing.
What Phorest does well
We believe in honest comparisons. Here's what Phorest excels at:
- 1Feature-rich all-in-one platform with marketing suite included
- 2Treatcard loyalty programme included on all plans
- 3Automated online reputation management (Google/Facebook reviews)
- 4Unlimited staff and devices on all plans
- 5PhorestGo staff app with performance goals and tracking
- 6Free data migration and unlimited free training for life
- 7Dedicated business advisor on all plans
- 8Visual consultations with face-mapping (Premium add-on)
- 9Online product store and gift vouchers
- 10Commission tracking with tiered/flat structures
Phorest might be better if...
We believe in helping you find the right solution, even if it's not us. Here are some scenarios where other options might serve you better:
- 1Built-in marketing suite with email campaigns and ROI tracking
- 2Treatcard loyalty programme on all plans
- 3Automated Google/Facebook review collection
- 4Commission tracking (tiered or flat)
- 5PhorestGo staff mobile app with goal tracking
Still not sure? - we'll give you an honest assessment of whether Bella Booking is right for your business.
Rated 5.0 on Capterra
“Best Day Spa System Ever”
“So easy to use and the customer support is absolutely amazing”
“Reliable, professional, and supportive”
Switching from Phorest?
We make it easy. Free data migration and 1-on-1 onboarding included with every plan.
How to switch from Phorest
Step-by-step guide to export your data and move to Bella Booking. We offer free data migration and 1-on-1 onboarding with every plan.
- 1
Export client email addresses
Go to Marketing > Client Export > Emails. This downloads a CSV of client email addresses.
- 2
Export client postal addresses
Go to Marketing > Client Export > Address. This downloads a CSV of client home addresses.
- 3
Export sales and financial data
Go to Manager > Business > CSV Export > + New Export > set your date range > select format > OK. Note: large date ranges may take up to 1 hour to process.
- 4
Export services list
Go to Manager > Services > Export all services. This includes service names and price levels.
- 5
Export future appointments
Go to Reports > Staff Appointments report to view and export upcoming bookings.
- 6
Send your exports to Bella Booking
Email your exported files to our onboarding team. We will import your clients, validate the data, and help set up your services and team schedules.
A note on appointment history
We generally recommend not importing old appointment history. Importing past appointments can trigger unintended automated messages (reminders, follow-ups) and cause data inconsistencies. Your clients and services are the essential data for a clean start. If you do want some history carried over, we recommend a tight recent range (e.g. the last 3 months) — our migration team will ensure no notifications are sent accidentally.
Good to know
Individual staff service durations are not included in the services export. Multi-location businesses must export data separately per location. Self-service exports are free, but data exports requested directly from Phorest support may involve a charge.
Official export documentation: Phorest help centre
Can't export your data?
No problem — we can work with anything. Screenshots of your service list, a link to your public booking page, a photo of your price board, or even a typed-up list. Send us whatever you have and we will build your account from it.
Need help with the migration?
Our team will handle the data import, set up your services, and walk you through everything — included free with every plan. We accept data in any format — CSV, Excel, screenshots, photos, links, or anything else you can send.
Sources: Information gathered from www.phorest.com. Last verified: February 2026.
Found an error? and we'll correct it promptly.
Important Notice
The information about Phorest on this page is based on publicly available data as of February 2026 and is provided for general comparison purposes only. Pricing, features, and policies may change at any time without notice. We make reasonable efforts to keep this information accurate, but we cannot guarantee its completeness or current accuracy.
Always verify directly with Phorest before making any business decisions. This comparison reflects our understanding and may not capture all nuances of their offerings.