Appointment App for a Beauty Salon: What Exists, What It Costs, What Fits
There are four kinds of "appointment app for a beauty centre" and they cost differently. Marketplace apps — Booksy at €34.99/month +IVA plus €8 per extra professional — put you in a consumer app where clients already search, and that marketplace is real demand; the trade-off is a per-professional fee that grows with your team. Agenda-plus-add-ons platforms — Fresha's new euro pricing lists Individual at €19.95/month and Team at €12.95 per bookable member, with the AI virtual receptionist as a €94.95/centre/month add-on — keep the base lean and charge for the conversational piece. A generic WhatsApp chatbot (ManyChat from $29/month with WhatsApp only on Pro, Wati €59-279) answers text but does not write into your diary. A booking-native AI receptionist like Salonbot starts at €39/month (€80 with the WhatsApp receptionist included) and writes the appointment into the diary in the same chat. For a 1-owner + 2-professional salon, labelled arithmetic on official prices: €466/year on Fresha Team, €740 on Booksy with IVA, €720-960 on Salonbot — and Fresha's receptionist add-on alone adds €1,139/year if you want the conversational piece there.
The four kinds of "appointment app"
Search "app de citas para centro de estética" and four different products answer, wearing the same word. They solve different problems and price differently:
- Consumer marketplace apps — the client installs a beauty app, browses, and books; you pay a base fee per professional
- Agenda-plus-add-ons platforms — a lean scheduling core whose conversational features are priced as extras
- Generic WhatsApp chatbots — DIY builders you wire to a calendar with Zapier-style glue
- Booking-native AI receptionists — an agent that books inside WhatsApp or voice and writes into the diary itself
The right question is not "which app is best" but "where should the booking write itself, and who answers when the client replies at 22:47."
Option 1 — Booksy: the marketplace is the product
We verified Booksy's official pricing page in September 2026: €34.99/month +IVA all-inclusive, plus €8/month +IVA per additional team member — no lock-in, cancel anytime. The card terminal is billed separately (mobile payments 2% + €0.15; Tap to Pay 0.99% + €0.10; instant payouts 1.5%). The marketplace is real demand — clients discover your salon inside a consumer app with reviews and rebooking — and credit where due: no other route hands you new clients as part of the fee. The cost is linear forever: every professional you add is another €8/month, and the client relationship lives in Booksy's app.
Option 2 — Fresha: lean core, conversation as an add-on
Fresha's Spanish pricing page now publishes euros: Individual €19.95/month and Team €12.95 per bookable team member, 7-day trial. The core is a solid agenda — but the conversational piece is an add-on, and it is the telling one: the AI virtual receptionist costs €94.95 per centre/month with 200 minutes included, then €0.57/minute; 500 messages included, then €0.04/message. Loyalty is €39.95/month, Google reviews €10.95/month, team chat €2.79 per member, a booking website €13.95/month. Two more notes from the same table: the marketplace fee for new clients now reads "Free" on the Spanish page (third-party sources still report a one-time commission for marketplace clients — read your contract before counting on either), and payments run 1.29% online / 0.99% in person, plus €0.10 on Tap to Pay. A category leader charging €94.95/month for an AI receptionist is the market validating the category; that price is Salonbot's whole Premium plan — and Fresha's voice overage at €0.57/minute reaches €171/month at 300 minutes.
Option 3 — Generic WhatsApp chatbots: they answer, they don't book
ManyChat, Wati, Kommo, Crisp and Chatbase are builders, not receptionists (official pricing verified September 2026): ManyChat's WhatsApp channel only opens on Pro from $29/month; Wati runs €59-279/month plus Meta's per-conversation fees; Kommo $25-45 per user; Crisp's AI plan reaches $295/month; Chatbase $40-500/month by credits. They reply to text — but none of them checks real availability, writes the appointment into the diary, or handles the deposit. What you build is an answering layer in front of a human who still does the booking. As an experiment channel, fine; as the front desk, no.
Option 4 — Booking-native AI receptionist: what Salonbot includes
Salonbot starts at €39/month for the full management base — diary, clients, automatic reminders, online booking widget, card payments, inventory — and the WhatsApp AI receptionist is +€21/month on top of Básico or included at €80/month Premium with unlimited users, 3-month commitment saving €5/month (75/60). Booking happens in the chat, the appointment lands in the diary in the same conversation, deposits and reminders ride along, no booking commissions, 14-day trial without a card. For a solo professional who does not need the receptionist, €39 is the same league as Fresha Individual — and the 14-day trial is free either way.
The same salon, four ways
Labelled arithmetic on the official prices above, for a salon with 1 owner + 2 professionals:
| Route | What the salon pays per year | What the fee includes |
|---|---|---|
| Fresha Team | €466 (3 × €12.95 × 12; +IVA) — receptionist add-on would add €1,139 | Lean agenda; reminders; conversation and loyalty are paid extras |
| Booksy | ~€740 with IVA (€50.99/month + 21% IVA) | Consumer marketplace + full toolkit; relationship lives in Booksy's app |
| Salonbot Básico + WhatsApp | €720 (60 €/month) — Premium €960 (80 €/month) | Management base + AI receptionist in the chat; diary writes itself |
| Chatbot DIY (ManyChat Pro + glue) | ~€348 + Wati-class platforms €708-3,348 + Meta fees + your build hours | A text layer only; the booking still needs a human |
Under one professional and low volume, Fresha Individual at €19.95 or a free tier is the honest answer — start there. Once the book is full and messages arrive mid-service, the decision stops being about the app and becomes about who answers: the platform that charges €94.95 for an add-on receptionist, or the one built around it.
Decision in one table
| Your salon | Start with |
|---|---|
| Solo professional, simple book, walk-ins heavy | Fresha Individual €19.95 — or Booksy if you want the marketplace's new clients |
| 2+ professionals, want the consumer marketplace | Booksy — and price the €8/professional ladder before you grow |
| 2+ professionals, WhatsApp is where your clients live | Salonbot Básico + recepcionista (€60/month) or Premium (€80/month) |
| Already on Fresha and only need WhatsApp answers | Fresha's receptionist add-on (€94.95/centre) — or Salonbot in front of the diary you keep |
Before you commit to any app
- Run the ladder math with your real team — per-professional fees (Booksy €8) look trivial at two staff and double your bill at eight
- Ask what happens when the client replies — a notification is not a conversation; one-way reminders leave the 22:47 reply to you
- Test the add-on invoice — Fresha's base is lean but receptionist + loyalty + website add-ons reach Salonbot-Premium money without the booking-native flow
Bottom line
For a small salon the four words hide four products: a marketplace you join, an agenda you extend, a bot you assemble, or a receptionist that books by itself. The 3-professional salon in the table pays €466-960 a year on the honest routes — the difference is whether the conversation books the appointment or just answers it. If the answer should be "the chat books it", Salonbot does it from €39/month, and the tactics in how to reduce no-shows in your salon stack on top — with the best salon booking software guide covering the whole market. For the restaurant twin of this same decision, see how not to miss calls in your restaurant.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best appointment app for a beauty salon?+
It depends on what you want the app to do. Booksy (€34.99/month + €8 per professional) wins if you want new clients from a consumer marketplace; Fresha (Individual €19.95, Team €12.95/member) wins on a lean core with paid extras; a booking-native AI receptionist like Salonbot (€39 base, €80 with WhatsApp receptionist) wins when the booking should write itself inside the chat. A 1-owner + 2-professional salon lands between €466 and €960 a year on the honest routes.
How much does an appointment app cost per month for a salon?+
Verified from official pricing pages (September 2026): Booksy €34.99 +IVA plus €8 per extra professional; Fresha Individual €19.95 and Team €12.95 per bookable member, with the AI virtual receptionist as a €94.95/centre/month add-on (200 minutes included, then €0.57/minute); Salonbot €39/month base and €80 with the WhatsApp receptionist included; DIY WhatsApp bots run $29 (ManyChat Pro) to €279 (Wati) plus per-conversation fees. Totals are arithmetic on those prices, labelled as such.
Is Booksy or Fresha better for a small salon?+
Different products. Booksy is a consumer marketplace: discovery, reviews and rebooking inside its app, real new-client demand, at €34.99/month + €8 per professional. Fresha is a lean agenda whose Spanish pricing page now lists euros — Individual €19.95, Team €12.95 per member — and whose marketplace fee for new clients reads "Free" on the Spanish table (third parties still report a one-time commission — check your contract). Solo and price-first, Fresha is cheaper; discovery-hungry, Booksy brings clients the others cannot.
What should an appointment app include beyond the calendar?+
Three things decide whether it survives the season: the reminder chain that asks the client to confirm (one-way SMS is table stakes, a reply-able WhatsApp thread is the real bar), deposits on high-value services, and a receptionist that answers when the client replies at any hour. Fresha prices that last piece at €94.95/centre/month as an add-on; Salonbot includes it in Premium (€80/month) because the product is built around the chat.