Vagaro starts at $23.99/month and includes scheduling, POS, marketing tools, and a built-in client marketplace at no extra cost, while Acuity starts at $20/month but charges more for essential features like memberships, text reminders, and HIPAA compliance. When you factor in total cost of ownership, Vagaro delivers more functionality per dollar. 

Acuity is a general-purpose booking tool designed for solo providers who need simple scheduling, while Vagaro is a complete business management platform built specifically for the beauty, wellness, and fitness industries. Vagaro goes well beyond booking with a consumer marketplace, built-in POS, payroll, inventory, and marketing automation all under one roof. Businesses that start with Acuity often find themselves outgrowing it and switching to Vagaro as their needs expand. 

Vagaro was built from the ground up for salons, spas, barbershops, nail studios, gyms, and fitness studios, with features like service menus, staff commissions, SOAP notes/face mapping, resource booking, and membership management ready to go. Acuity lacks the industry-specific depth beauty and wellness businesses depend on to run day-to-day operations. 

No, Acuity does not have a marketplace, meaning businesses must rely entirely on their own marketing efforts to attract new bookings. Vagaro operates its own marketplace at Vagaro.com, where millions of customers actively search for and book local salons, spas, and fitness businesses, giving listed businesses a free source of new client discovery.  

Acuity does not include a true point-of-sale system and is primarily focused on booking and payment collection at the time of scheduling. Vagaro includes a full-featured POS with product sales, inventory tracking, barcode scanning, and checkout workflows built right into the platform. For businesses that sell retail products or need a real checkout experience, Vagaro has you covered. 

Acuity does not have its own payment processing and requires businesses to connect a third-party processor like Stripe, Square, or PayPal, adding setup complexity and potential extra fees. Vagaro offers in-house payment processing with transparent, competitive rates so businesses can manage bookings and payments in one place.  

Vagaro includes built-in email marketing, SMS campaigns, and automated workflows that let businesses re-engage clients, promote services, and drive repeat bookings without paying for a separate tool. Acuity offers basic confirmation and reminder emails, but falls short of the marketing depth that growing businesses need to stay competitive.

Switching from Acuity to Vagaro is easier than most businesses expect, with client list importing, guided setup, and a dedicated onboarding team to help you get up and running quickly. Your clients can start booking through your new Vagaro page or discover you on the Vagaro marketplace right away. Most businesses find the transition straightforward and immediately notice the difference in what Vagaro can do for them. 

Acuity integrates natively with Squarespace since Squarespace acquired them in 2019. Vagaro offers its own website builder, MySite, that allows you to create a stunning, more-personalized site that automatically syncs with your business’s information. You can craft a website at your own pace or work with Vagaro’s in-house design team, Studio 180.  

For salons, spas, barbershops, nail studios, gyms, and wellness studios, Vagaro provides everything needed to run and grow a business including scheduling, POS, marketing, payroll, and a marketplace to attract new clients. Acuity works for solo providers who need lightweight scheduling and nothing more, but quickly shows its limitations as a business scales. If you are serious about building your business, Vagaro is the platform built to grow with you.