We compare booking software for gyms and fitness studios, barbershops, tanning salons, spas, massage and padel clubs, and say who each app suits and who should skip it.
The best booking software for each kind of business: one page with the best fit, the price and the catch.
Every page is based on public documentation: vendor pricing pages, help docs and clearly labelled third-party reviews, each checked and dated.
We read each vendor's own pages and link them, with the date we read them.
Every price shows when we checked it. If a price is hidden behind "contact sales", we say so.
Each app comes with its real limitations, including our pick, and a line on who should choose something else.
Best for
The best booking software for barbershops, salons, spas, massage, tanning, fitness studios, padel clubs and other small businesses, with prices, card fees and catches from each vendor's pages, checked November 4 to 6, 2026. Plus our pick, MeetScarlet.
Updated November 6, 2026 · Prices checked November 4, 2026
Reviews
Acuity Scheduling's prices, plan limits, card fees and refund rules for barbershops, salons, spas, massage and fitness, from its own pages (checked November 5, 2026), compared with our pick, MeetScarlet.
Updated November 5, 2026 · Prices checked November 5, 2026
Reviews
Arketa's prices, fees and terms for fitness studios and massage, from its own pages (checked November 5, 2026), and how it compares with our pick, MeetScarlet.
Updated November 5, 2026 · Prices checked November 5, 2026
Compare
Arketa vs Mindbody on price, card fees, contracts, reminders, spot booking, branded apps, marketplaces, support and switching, for small fitness studios, plus how our pick, MeetScarlet, compares. Checked November 5, 2026.
Updated November 5, 2026 · Prices checked November 5, 2026
Best for
Booking apps for barbers compared on price per chair, no-show protection, marketplace fees, card rates and contracts. Plus where our pick, MeetScarlet, fits. From each vendor's pages, checked November 3, 2026.
Updated November 5, 2026 · Prices checked November 3, 2026
Best for
Six booking systems for small fitness class studios, ranked on capacity and waitlists, spot booking, memberships and class packs, text reminders, published prices, card rates and contracts, with Square Appointments also considered. Plus where our pick, MeetScarlet, fits. Checked November 4, 2026.
Updated November 5, 2026 · Prices checked November 4, 2026
Booking Shortlist compares booking software for barbershops, salons, spas, massage practices, tanning salons, fitness studios and padel clubs. Every price, fee and contract term comes from the vendor's own pages, with the date we checked it. Our #1 pick is MeetScarlet, and we are affiliated with them.
A one-person, reader-supported research site. Our disclosure page explains how we make money. We also cover competing tools and where they shine.