Bella Booking
Bella Booking
vs
S
Setmore

Purpose-built for beauty businesses.

An honest comparison to help you choose the right salon software for your business.

Last updated: January 2026
Try Bella Booking free

Quick facts at a glance

A side-by-side overview of key differences

Prices shown in AUD (inc. GST)

Feature
Bella Booking
Setmore
Founded
2024
2011
Headquarters
Sydney, Australia
Portland, USA
Best for
Small to medium beauty businesses (up to 20 team members per location)
Service businesses across all industries
Monthly Pricing
Starter/Professional
Per their pricing model
Solo (1 team member)
A$25
A$0
6 team members
A$79You save
A$270+A$191/mo
12 team members
A$79You save
A$540+A$461/mo
Commission
0% (never)
0%

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...

  • Much more affordable for teams of 6+ (flat $79 vs $174+/month)
  • Purpose-built for salons (not generic)
  • Unlimited appointments (vs 200/month free limit)
  • SMS reminders included (vs paid add-on)
  • Staff pricing tiers (Junior/Senior/Master)
  • Product inventory and supplier management
  • Waitlist management
  • Sydney-based company with global support
  • Easy personal onboarding
  • Free data migration assistance
  • Better reporting and analytics (20+ reports)
  • Family/dependent booking (not available on Setmore)
  • Client reviews included (Professional plan)
  • Loyalty programme included (Professional plan)
  • AI Assistant for business insights (Beta)
  • Service bundles
  • Cancellation policies with auto-refunds
  • Client confirmation system with one-click links
  • Service-level deposit and policy overrides
  • Client document storage

Consider Setmore if...

  • You need a FREE solution for a small team (up to 4 users only)
  • Video conferencing is important for virtual consultations
  • You need CRM integrations (Salesforce, Zoho)
  • You don't need salon-specific features
  • Calendar sync with Google/Outlook is essential
  • WordPress integration is needed

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

Available
Partial / Limited
Not available

Scheduling & Booking

Feature
Bella Booking
Setmore
Online booking (24/7)
24/7 self-service
Appointment scheduling
Drag-and-drop, Find a Time, gap-fill scoring
Multi-service booking
Multi-staff parallel appointments
Multi-team-member simultaneous services
Waitlist management
Incomplete booking recoverySetmore has no abandoned booking recovery feature. Bella captures drafts and enables SMS/email follow-up with a resume link.
Auto-capture + SMS/email reminder + Follow-ups panel with "Book for client" action
Walk-in management
Basic
Recurring appointments
Pro plan only
Appointment limitSetmore free plan limited to 200 appointments/month
Unlimited
200/month on free
Processing time (bookable gap)
Bookable gap — client stays, team member free for other appointments
Buffer time before/after
Before & after — blocks team member and resource for setup/cleanup
Location-level timing defaultsNo competitor offers location-level default timings with per-service inheritance
Location-level defaults with per-service overrides and inheritance
Schedule optimisation
3 modes: Show All, Reduce Gaps, Eliminate Gaps — per location
Find a Time wizard
Availability-first wizard with cross-day browsing and gap-fill scoring (Best fit / Great fit / Good fit)
Incomplete booking recovery
Auto-capture + SMS/email reminder + Follow-ups panel with "Book for client" action

Client Management

Feature
Bella Booking
Setmore
Client CRM
Profiles, history, notes, documents
Basic
Client history & notes
Basic

Team Management

Feature
Bella Booking
Setmore
Team scheduling
1 for solo, up to 3 for starter, unlimited for professional
4 users free
Role permissions
4 customisable roles, 30+ granular permissions across 15 modules
Staff pricing tiers
Customisable pricing tiers (e.g. Junior/Senior/Master)

Payments & POS

Feature
Bella Booking
Setmore
Online payments
All plans, via Stripe. Optional fee passing to clients
Via Stripe/Square
Deposit collection
Fixed amount or percentage
POS hardware
Software-based checkout — cash, card, or Card on File (charge saved cards via Stripe); no integrated card reader
Gift cards
Digital gift cards with both amount-based and service-based, with Stripe payment
Afterpay / Buy Now Pay Later
Afterpay / Clearpay BNPL for deposits, gift cards, and packages (AU, NZ, US, CA, UK)
BNPL via Stripe: Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm
Discount reasons at checkout
Discount reasons at checkout with Discount Summary report
Discounts at checkout — no reason selection or dedicated reporting

Communication

Feature
Bella Booking
Setmore
SMS remindersBella includes SMS; Setmore requires paid plan
50-500/month included
Pro plan only
Email reminders
Custom message templates
With variables ({{FirstName}}, etc.)
Limited
Video conferencing
Pro plan only (Teleport, Zoom integration)
Two-way SMS messagingSMS reminders are one-way only
Dedicated number, threaded inbox, auto-handling replies (Messages Plus add-on)
Dedicated business phone number
Own local business number — clients see your number, not a platform number (Messages Plus add-on)
Auto-reply handling
Keyword-based: YES/Y auto-confirms, STOP unsubscribes, NO flags for follow-up
Bulk SMS campaigns
Bulk SMS campaigns with audience filtering (Messages Plus add-on)

Business Management

Feature
Bella Booking
Setmore
Sales tracking
Basic
Product inventory
Reporting & analytics
8 basic reports all plans; 21 total with advanced reports on Professional; custom reports upon request (Professional)
Basic reports
Supplier management

Platform & Support

Feature
Bella Booking
Setmore
Mobile apps
PWA — installable on mobile
iOS and Android
Multi-location support
Per-location databases, copy services between locations
API access
Professional plan
Calendar sync
Calendar feed (one-way export)
Two-way sync, Pro plan only
Australian support team
Sydney-based, global support
Easy onboarding
1-on-1 setup and data migration assistance
Free data migration

Integrations

Feature
Bella Booking
Setmore
Salesforce
Zoho CRM
Mailchimp
WordPress plugin

Salon-Specific Features

Feature
Bella Booking
Setmore
Family/dependent booking
Book for children, partners, parents, pets, and more
AI Assistant
All plans
Automatic waitlist slot matching
Automatic matching with team notifications
Activity logging (audit trail)
Full appointment audit trail
Multi-service appointment grouping
Grouped on scheduler with full-details tooltip
Attendance tracking (time clock)
Time clock with PIN, Professional plan
Client reviews
Verified appointments, AI moderation, Professional plan
Client reviews on booking page
Salon industry focus
Purpose-built
Generic scheduling
Service bundles
Service add-ons
Optional or required, per service
Cancellation policies
Configurable with auto-refunds
Basic
Digital tipping
Clients tip team members after appointments via Stripe
Digital forms (intake, consent)
Form builder with 8 field types including signatures, auto-send before appointments
Command palette (global search)
Cmd+K global search and navigation
Service variants with client eligibility
Named variations with per-variant pricing, duration, timing, and client eligibility (first-time/returning)
Dark mode
Full dark theme with one-click toggle
Real-time dashboard updates
Instant push via SignalR — no page refresh
Real-time sync across devices with Activity Stream
Client bulk actions
Multi-select for bulk announcements and email copy, persists across pages
AI business digest
Weekly AI-generated performance summary with actionable insights

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 member)A$25
6 team membersA$79
12 team membersA$79
Commission on bookings0%
Payment processing (when used)
2.7% + A$0.301.7% + A$0.30 (Stripe) + 1% (Bella Booking)
SMS reminders50-500/mo included

Solo (1 team): A$25/month AUD • Starter (1-3 team): A$47/month AUD • Professional (4+): A$79/month AUD

Setmore

Solo (1 team member)A$0
6 team membersA$270
12 team membersA$540
Pricing modelFree (4 users) or Pro $29/user/mo (monthly)
Commission0%
Payment processing (when used)2.9% + $0.30 (via Stripe/Square)

Additional costs to consider

  • SMS reminders require paid plan
  • Recurring appointments require paid plan
  • Video conferencing require paid plan
  • 200 appointment limit on free plan

Pricing information based on publicly available data as of January 2026. Visit each provider's website for current pricing.

Cost comparison by team size

Team Size Pricing Comparison

Monthly cost for different numbers of bookable team members

Note: "Team members" means bookable staff

Team member limits apply to staff who can be booked for appointments. Non-bookable users (receptionists, managers who don't take appointments) don't count toward limits.

Team SizeBella BookingSetmoreSavings with Bella
1 person
$25/mo(Solo)
$0/mo

$0 (solo)

$25/mo more
3 people
$47/mo(Starter)
$87/mo

3 × $29 = $87.00

Save $40/mo
6 people
$79/mo(Professional)
$174/mo

6 × $29 = $174.00

Save $95/mo
12 people
$79/mo(Professional)
$348/mo

12 × $29 = $348.00

Save $269/mo

Annual savings with Bella Booking

For a team of 6-12 bookable members

Up to $3228

per year

Sources:

Bella Booking: Official pricing (Starter $47/mo, Professional $79/mo)

Setmore: Official pricing page • Last verified: January 2026

Pricing may change. Please verify current prices on official websites before making decisions.

What Setmore does well

We believe in honest comparisons. Here's what Setmore excels at:

  • 1Free tier for small teams (up to 4 users)
  • 2Native mobile apps (iOS & Android)
  • 3Video conferencing built-in (Teleport)
  • 4Integration ecosystem (Salesforce, Zoho, etc.)
  • 5Calendar sync with Google, Outlook
  • 6Good for multi-industry use
  • 7WordPress plugin available

Setmore 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:

  • 1Free tier for up to 4 users (great for solopreneurs)
  • 2Native mobile apps
  • 3Video conferencing built-in
  • 4Two-way calendar sync (Google, Outlook)
  • 5CRM integrations (Salesforce, Zoho)

Still not sure? - we'll give you an honest assessment of whether Bella Booking is right for your business.

Switching from Setmore?

We make it easy. Free data migration and 1-on-1 onboarding included with every plan.

Free data migration
1-on-1 onboarding included
No credit card required
Start your free trial

See full switching guide from Setmore

How to switch from Setmore

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.

Estimated time: 1–2 hours
  1. 1

    Export your customer list

    Go to Customers > click Options (beneath the blue + button) > Export Customers > confirm in the popup. The CSV is emailed to the account owner's email address (not an immediate download).

  2. 2

    Export appointment history

    Go to Settings > Booking Page > Reports > select date range and filters (service, class, staff) > click Generate > click "Export as .XLS". For best results, limit the date range to no more than 3 months at a time.

  3. 3

    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

Customer export is emailed as a CSV (not downloaded directly). Reports are only available in the web app, not the mobile app. For large appointment histories, export in 3-month chunks.

Official export documentation: Setmore 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.setmore.com. Last verified: January 2026.

Found an error? and we'll correct it promptly.

Important Notice

The information about Setmore on this page is based on publicly available data as of January 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 Setmore before making any business decisions. This comparison reflects our understanding and may not capture all nuances of their offerings.