Bella Booking
Bella Booking
vs
V
Vagaro

Bella Booking vs Vagaro

Simple pricing, no add-on confusion.

An honest comparison to help you choose the right salon, spa or clinic software for your business - whatever its size.

Last updated: September 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
Vagaro
Founded
2021
2009
Headquarters
Sydney, Australia
California, USA
Best for
Beauty, Wellness & Health Practices - solo practitioners to multi-location groups
Salons, spas, fitness and wellness businesses
Monthly Pricing
Starter/Professional
Per their pricing model
Solo (1 team member)
A$25You save
A$45+A$20/mo
6 team members
A$99You save
A$120+A$21/mo
12 team members
A$99You save
A$210+A$111/mo
Commission
0% (never)
0%

Bella Booking: Starter plan for 1-3 team members, Professional for 4+ (unlimited). Competitor pricing from official sources, verified September 2026.

Which is right for you?

An honest look at when each platform makes sense

Consider Bella Booking if...

  • Simple, transparent pricing (no confusing add-ons)
  • Sydney-based company with responsive support across multiple timezones
  • Easy personal onboarding
  • Easier to learn and use
  • Family/dependent booking (not available on Vagaro)
  • A weekly and monthly AI business digest by email, plus an AI Assistant on every plan
  • Less overwhelming for small teams
  • More affordable for basic needs
  • Client confirmation system with one-click links
  • Service-level deposit and cancellation policy overrides
  • 30 reports with charts and comparison mode
  • Accessibility & personalisation: dark mode, dyslexia-friendly fonts, colour themes, density modes
  • Prepaid packages for selling session bundles upfront
  • Digital forms with e-signatures and auto-send, included on Professional (forms are a paid add-on on Vagaro)
  • Resource management with capacity controls and auto-assignment
  • Two-way SMS with dedicated business number (Messages Plus add-on)

Consider Vagaro if...

  • You need an extremely feature-rich platform
  • You want commission and payroll tracking
  • Accounting software integration (Xero/QuickBooks) is essential
  • You need a fitness class timetable
  • You want a free marketplace listing without commission
  • You don't mind paying for add-ons as needed
  • You need a website builder

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
Vagaro
Online booking (24/7)
Available in Bella Booking. 24/7 self-service.
Available in Vagaro.
Appointment scheduling
Available in Bella Booking. Drag-and-drop, pick-on-calendar moves with suggested times, Find a time, gap-fill scoring.
Available in Vagaro.
Multi-service booking
Available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro.
Multi-staff parallel appointments
Available in Bella Booking. Multi-team-member simultaneous services.
Available in Vagaro. Configurable per bundle (No/Optional/Required parallel toggle).
Waitlist management
Available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro.
Incomplete booking recoveryVagaro has no mid-funnel capture. Their "Reclaim Lost Customers" campaign targets clients who haven't visited in a while, not active booking abandonment.
Available in Bella Booking. Auto-capture + SMS/email reminder + Waitlist panel with "Book for client" action.
Not available in Vagaro. "Reclaim Lost Customers" targets lapsed clients, not mid-funnel drop-offs.
Walk-in management
Available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro.
Class/group bookingVagaro runs timetabled fitness classes. Bella books groups into an appointment, but has no class timetable that clients sign up to one by one.
Partly available in Bella Booking. Group bookings with a team member per guest, shared-space services with a headcount, family bookings and private hire. No drop-in class timetable.
Available in Vagaro.
Processing time (bookable gap)
Available in Bella Booking. Bookable gap - client stays, team member free for other appointments.
Partly available in Vagaro. Basic processing time.
Buffer time before/after
Available in Bella Booking. Before & after - blocks team member and resource for setup/cleanup.
Partly available in Vagaro. Basic buffer settings.
Location-level timing defaultsNo competitor offers location-level default timings with per-service inheritance
Available in Bella Booking. Location-level defaults with per-service overrides and inheritance.
Not available in Vagaro.
Schedule optimisation
Available in Bella Booking. 3 modes: Show All, Reduce Gaps, Eliminate Gaps - per location.
Available in Vagaro. Minimize Gaps setting groups bookings together.
Find a time wizard
Available in Bella Booking. Availability-first wizard with cross-day browsing and gap-fill scoring (Best fit / Great fit / Good fit).
Not available in Vagaro.

Client Management

Feature
Bella Booking
Vagaro
Client CRM
Available in Bella Booking. Profiles, history, notes, documents.
Available in Vagaro.
Client history & notes
Available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro.
Custom formsBella includes forms; Vagaro charges extra
Available in Bella Booking. Form builder with ten field types including signatures and file upload, auto-send before appointments.
Available in Vagaro. A$15/month (AU) or $10/month (US) add-on.

Team Management

Feature
Bella Booking
Vagaro
Team scheduling
Available in Bella Booking. 1 for solo, up to 3 for starter, unlimited for professional.
Available in Vagaro.
Role permissions
Available in Bella Booking. 4 built-in roles (3 customisable), 50+ granular permissions across 19+ modules.
Available in Vagaro.
Staff pricing tiers
Available in Bella Booking. Customisable pricing tiers (e.g. Junior/Senior/Master).
Available in Vagaro.
Commission tracking
Partly available in Bella Booking. Team member sales report (Professional plan): each team member's sales after discounts and refunds, to pay commission from. No commission rates or payouts.
Available in Vagaro.
Payroll
Not available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro. $34/month + $5/employee (US only).

Payments & POS

Feature
Bella Booking
Vagaro
Online payments
Available in Bella Booking. All plans, via Stripe.
Available in Vagaro.
Deposit collection
Available in Bella Booking. Fixed amount or percentage; part and full payments before the appointment.
Available in Vagaro.
POS hardware
Partly available in Bella Booking. Software-based checkout - cash, card, or card on file (charge saved cards); no integrated card reader.
Available in Vagaro.
Gift cards
Available in Bella Booking. Digital gift cards, both amount-based and service-based, with Stripe payment (Professional plan).
Available in Vagaro.
Packages & memberships
Available in Bella Booking. Recurring plans with Stripe billing, 9 billing cycles, benefits with session tracking, online purchase, pause/resume.
Available in Vagaro. 9 billing frequencies, but no T&C attachment.
Service add-ons
Available in Bella Booking. Optional or required per service, single/multi-select, price and duration.
Available in Vagaro. Add-ons per service with categories.
Afterpay / Buy Now Pay LaterVagaro uses Affirm, not Afterpay. Both provide BNPL
Available in Bella Booking. Afterpay / Clearpay BNPL for deposits, gift cards, and packages (AU, NZ, US, CA, UK).
Available in Vagaro. Vagaro Pay Later via Affirm: 4 payments or up to 36 months.
Discount reasons at checkout
Available in Bella Booking. Discount reasons at checkout with Discount summary report.
Partly available in Vagaro. Discounts and promo codes, no selectable reason field or dedicated report.
Gift card online redemption
Available in Bella Booking. Clients apply gift cards at online booking payment step.
Available in Vagaro. Gift cards redeemable at online checkout.

Communication

Feature
Bella Booking
Vagaro
SMS reminders
Available in Bella Booking. 50-500/month included.
Available in Vagaro.
Email reminders
Available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro. 1,000 free/month.
Text marketing
Available in Bella Booking. SMS and email campaigns with audience filtering (incl. birthdays this month/week) and scheduling (Messages Plus add-on).
Available in Vagaro. A$15/month (AU) or $20/month (US) add-on.
Email marketing
Available in Bella Booking. Email campaigns with audience filters, branded composer or your own HTML (paste a Canva Email design), open/click tracking - unlimited within Messages Plus (fair use).
Available in Vagaro. Free to start.
Two-way SMS messaging
Available in Bella Booking. Dedicated number, threaded inbox, auto-handling replies (Messages Plus add-on).
Available in Vagaro. Connect by Vagaro: dedicated toll-free number via Twilio, threaded inbox. Paid add-on.
Dedicated business phone number
Available in Bella Booking. Your own business number - clients see your number, not a platform number (Messages Plus add-on).
Available in Vagaro. Toll-free number via Connect add-on (Twilio-based).
AI phone receptionistNeither answers the phone with AI. Bella has no phone answering of any kind, and Vagaro's Vera Receptionist works by chat and text.
Not available in Bella Booking.
Not available in Vagaro. Vera Receptionist answers chats on your Vagaro listing page and texts, not calls. It answers questions, checks availability and sends a link to book, reschedule or cancel. From A$15/month (AU) or $10/month (US), and it needs a Text Marketing plan.
Auto-reply handling
Available in Bella Booking. Keyword-based: YES/Y confirms (your own Confirmed message replies), NO flags for follow-up or cancels per your setting, STOP unsubscribes.
Partly available in Vagaro. Confirmation requests with auto-status update. The Vera Receptionist add-on answers chats and texts with AI. Notification replies go to a different number.
Bulk SMS campaigns
Available in Bella Booking. SMS and email campaigns with audience filtering (incl. birthdays this month/week) and scheduling (Messages Plus add-on).
Available in Vagaro. Text Blast with gender, employee, age filtering. Automated lost customer campaigns.

Business Management

Feature
Bella Booking
Vagaro
Sales tracking
Available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro.
Product inventory
Available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro.
Reporting & analytics
Available in Bella Booking. core reports all plans; 30 total with advanced reports on Professional; custom reports upon request (Professional).
Available in Vagaro. Reporting included.
Online booking analytics
Available in Bella Booking. Native: traffic sources, drop-off funnel & visit-to-booking conversion - all plans, no Google Analytics.
Partly available in Vagaro. Native traffic-source breakdown, but no booking funnel or visit-to-booking conversion rate..
Xero integration
Not available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro. A$30/month (AU) or $30/month (US) add-on.
QuickBooks integration
Not available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro. A$40/month (AU) or $10/month (US) add-on.

Platform & Support

Feature
Bella Booking
Vagaro
Mobile apps
Partly available in Bella Booking. Installs on your phone from the browser: home-screen icon, full screen, push notifications. Not listed in the app stores.
Available in Vagaro. iOS and Android.
Branded app
Not available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro. A$280/month (AU) or $100/month (US) add-on.
Multi-location support
Available in Bella Booking. Per-location databases, copy services between locations.
Available in Vagaro.
Marketplace listing
Not available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro. Free, no commission.
Australian support team
Available in Bella Booking. Sydney-based team, with responsive support across multiple timezones.
Not available in Vagaro. US-based, 24/7 support.
Easy onboarding
Available in Bella Booking. Free setup help on every plan; data migration on Starter and Professional.
Not available in Vagaro.
Free data migration
Available in Bella Booking. Starter and Professional.
Available in Vagaro.

Additional Features

Feature
Bella Booking
Vagaro
Family/dependent booking
Available in Bella Booking. Book for children, partners, parents, pets, and more.
Not available in Vagaro.
AI Assistant
Available in Bella Booking. All plans.
Available in Vagaro. Vera answers questions about your business data, such as last month's revenue or your top-selling service, and writes descriptions and campaign copy.
Loyalty program
Available in Bella Booking. Professional plan.
Available in Vagaro.
Automatic waitlist slot matching
Available in Bella Booking. Automatic matching with team notifications.
Not available in Vagaro.
Activity logging (audit trail)
Available in Bella Booking. Full appointment audit trail.
Not available in Vagaro.
Multi-service appointment grouping
Available in Bella Booking. Grouped on scheduler with full-details tooltip.
Not available in Vagaro.
Attendance tracking (time clock)
Available in Bella Booking. Time clock with PIN, Professional plan.
Not available in Vagaro.
Client reviews
Available in Bella Booking. Verified appointments, AI moderation, Professional plan.
Available in Vagaro. Built-in reviews and ratings.
Live streaming
Not available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro. A$15/month (AU) or $10/month (US) add-on.
Website builder
Not available in Bella Booking.
Available in Vagaro. Vagaro MySite A$30/month (AU) or $20/month (US).
Digital tipping
Available in Bella Booking. Clients tip team members after appointments via Stripe (Professional plan, via the review-and-tip flow).
Available in Vagaro. Customers choose a tip at card checkout, and online when they pay an invoice or prepay with the Online Shopping Cart.
Command palette (global search)
Available in Bella Booking. Cmd+K global search and navigation.
Not available in Vagaro.
Service variants with client eligibility
Available in Bella Booking. Named variations with per-variant pricing, duration, timing, available times, and client eligibility (first-time/returning).
Partly available in Vagaro. Add-ons as variant workaround.
Prerequisite services (consultation first)
Available in Bella Booking. Require a consult (or any service) before a treatment books online - Completed or Booked mode, Any/All, same-cart unlock in Booked mode; the team can override on the dashboard.
Not available in Vagaro.
Real-time dashboard updates
Available in Bella Booking. Live updates via SignalR - no page refresh.
Available in Vagaro. Push notifications for bookings and confirmations.
Client bulk actions
Available in Bella Booking. Multi-select for bulk announcements and email copy, persists across pages.
Partly available in Vagaro. Campaign audience filtering, no multi-select from client list.
AI business digest
Available in Bella Booking. Weekly and monthly AI-generated performance summaries with actionable insights.
Not available in Vagaro. No summary email. Vera flags clients who are overdue to rebook and suggests promotions for quiet days inside Vagaro.
Prepaid packages
Available in Bella Booking. Session bundles with online purchase, online redemption, auto-apply at checkout.
Not available in Vagaro.
Saved cards / card on file
Available in Bella Booking. Clients save cards; the team charges via card on file at checkout.
Available in Vagaro. Saves a client's card to charge at checkout or for a no-show or late cancellation.
Accessibility & personalisation (themes, fonts, density)
Available in Bella Booking. Dark mode, dyslexia-friendly reading fonts, colour themes, density modes, reduced-motion, focus mode.
Not available in Vagaro.

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$99
12 team membersA$99
Commission on bookings0%
Payment processing (when used)
2.65% + A$0.301.65% + A$0.30 (Stripe) + 1% (Bella Booking)
SMS reminders50-500/mo included

Solo (1 team): A$25/month AUD โ€ข Starter (1-3 team): A$67/month AUD โ€ข Professional (4+): A$99/month AUD

Vagaro

Solo (1 team member)A$45
6 team membersA$120
12 team membersA$210
Pricing modelTiered pricing calculator
Commission0%
Payment processing (when used)2.75%

Additional costs to consider

  • โ€ข Forms: A$15/month
  • โ€ข Text marketing: A$30/month
  • โ€ข Vagaro Drive: A$15/month
  • โ€ข Text Marketing: A$15/month
  • โ€ข Live Stream: A$15/month

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

Cost comparison by team size

Team Size Pricing Comparison

Monthly cost for different team sizes

Note: how team member limits work

Plan limits count the team members on your Bella roster who are on the scheduler or bookable online: front desk, managers and bookkeepers don't count. The comparisons in this table assume everyone listed takes appointments.

Team SizeBella BookingVagaroSavings with Bella
1 person
A$25/mo(Solo)
A$45/mo

A$45/month (1 calendar)

Save A$20/mo
3 people
A$67/mo(Starter)
A$75/mo

A$75/month (3 calendars)

Save A$8/mo
6 people
A$99/mo(Professional)
A$120/mo

A$120/month (6 calendars)

Save A$21/mo
12 people
A$99/mo(Professional)
A$210/mo

A$210/month (12 calendars)

Save A$111/mo

Annual savings with Bella Booking

For a team of 6-12 members

Up to A$1332

per year

Sources:

Bella Booking: Official pricing (Starter A$67/mo, Professional A$99/mo)

Vagaro: Official pricing page โ€ข Last verified: September 2026

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

What Vagaro does well

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

  • 1Feature-rich platform
  • 2Native mobile apps (iOS and Android)
  • 3Free marketplace listing with no commission
  • 4Commission and payroll tracking
  • 5Accounting integrations (Xero, QuickBooks)
  • 6Loyalty programs built-in
  • 7Email marketing included
  • 8Free data migration
  • 924/7 support
  • 10Website builder available

Vagaro 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:

  • 1More features overall
  • 2Native mobile apps
  • 3Free marketplace with no commission
  • 4Commission and payroll tracking
  • 5Xero/QuickBooks integrations

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

Rated 5.0 on Capterra

Switched from Vagaro

โ€œBest Day Spa System Everโ€
Oreion M., Day Spa ยท Capterra review
โ€œTry Bella, You Won't Regret It!โ€
Emma W., Owner Operator ยท Capterra review
โ€œGreat support for small businessโ€
Jalpa P., Owner ยท Capterra review

Switching from Vagaro?

We make it easy. Free onboarding on every plan, with free data migration on Starter and Professional.

Free data migration on Starter and Professional
Personal onboarding help
No credit card required
Start free trial

See the full guide to switching from Vagaro

Still comparing? More Vagaro alternatives

How to switch from Vagaro

Step-by-step guide to export your data and move to Bella Booking. We offer free onboarding on every plan, and free data migration on Starter and Professional.

Estimated time: 1-2 hours
  1. 1

    Export your customer list

    Go to Reports > Customers > Customers > (optionally apply filters) > click the Action menu > choose "Export as Excel". Only the business owner can perform this export.

  2. 2

    Export financial and appointment reports

    Go to Reports > select the relevant report (e.g., Transaction List, Sales Summary, Appointments Summary) > set date range > export as Excel or PDF.

  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.

  4. 4

    Update your booking links

    Replace your Vagaro booking page links on your website, social media, and Google Business Profile with your new Bella Booking link.

A note on appointment history

We generally recommend not importing old appointment history. Importing past appointments can trigger unintended automated messages (reminders, review requests, reminders to rebook, follow-up messages) 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), and our migration team will ensure no notifications are sent accidentally.

Good to know

Only the business owner can export the customer list: staff members do not have export permissions. Excel format is recommended over PDF when you need to import data elsewhere.

Official export documentation: Vagaro 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. Onboarding help is free on every plan, and data migration is free on Starter and Professional. We accept data in any format: CSV, Excel, screenshots, photos, links, or anything else you can send.

Sources: Information gathered from www.vagaro.com, support.vagaro.com. Last verified: September 2026.

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

Important Notice

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