If you run a salon, spa, or fitness studio, there's a good chance Vagaro has come up in your software search. With over 240,000 professionals on the platform and a low entry price, it's one of the most popular booking tools in the beauty and wellness space.
But popular doesn't always mean right for your business — especially as you grow. Vagaro's per-calendar pricing, add-on costs, and limited financial tools can become real friction points for studios scaling past a handful of team members.
Mako takes a different approach: flat-rate pricing by team size, built-in AI tools, and CFO-level financial analytics designed for the businesses that big software forgot.
This comparison breaks down how the two platforms stack up across every category that matters — so you can make the right choice for where your business is headed, not just where it is today.
Pricing below was checked on 24 August 2026 against each vendor's own pricing page.
FeatureMakoVagaroStarting PriceFree (Pulse), then $139/moPer bookable calendarPricing ModelFlat by team-size tier — no per-seat feesScales with number of bookable calendarsOnline BookingIncluded (no-code page, widget, custom domain)IncludedWebsite BuilderBooking page included in all plansMySite — separate add-onCustomer PortalFull self-serve portal with white-label optionBasic client profilesFinancial AnalyticsJob profitability, cash flow forecasting, unit economicsBasic revenue reportsAI ReceptionistBuilt-in (calls + SMS)Not availableCommission TrackingBuilt-in with pay rate historyBasic commission reportsPayrollBuilt-inNot availableRetention BenchmarkingFree Pulse tier, benchmarked against your marketNot availableChurn DetectionSmart tags flag at-risk clients automaticallyNot availableKiosk ModeBuilt-in for walk-in check-insAvailableConsumer MarketplaceNoYes (Vagaro marketplace)IntegrationsQuickBooks, Google CalendarQuickBooks, Google Calendar, Yelp, Instagram
Both platforms handle the basics well. You can manage appointments, set staff availability, offer online booking, and send automated reminders.
Vagaro provides a solid booking experience with a consumer-facing marketplace where potential clients discover and book services. The platform handles class scheduling, group bookings, and recurring appointments. Vagaro's marketplace acts as a built-in lead generation tool, particularly useful for new businesses building a client base.
Mako approaches booking as part of a larger workflow. The Estimate → Booking → Invoice pipeline means a single transaction flows from initial quote through scheduling to final payment without re-entering data. For studios offering both classes and one-on-one services (or hybrid businesses that also do service work), the modular system adapts to your business type rather than forcing you into one category. The no-code booking page comes included in every plan — no separate website add-on required.
Edge: Vagaro for marketplace-driven client discovery. Mako for operational efficiency and businesses that need more than basic booking.
This is where the two platforms diverge most sharply, and it matters more than most studio owners realize at signup.
Vagaro prices per bookable calendar — the entry price covers one calendar, and cost scales with how many you run. Its pricing page geo-detects and shows different currencies by region, so check the figure for your own market rather than trusting a number quoted in a blog post. The MySite website builder and some other capabilities are charged as separate add-ons on top.
Mako uses flat pricing by team size, with no per-seat or per-calendar fees at any level:
Roughly 20% off annually, no contract. Features like the customer portal, booking page, and financial analytics are included rather than sold as add-ons.
The structural difference is what to plan around. Vagaro's bill rises with every bookable calendar you add. Mako's rises only when you cross a team-size threshold — three, then fifteen, then unlimited. A salon adding its fourth and fifth stylist moves up on Vagaro and stays put on Mako Team. A solo operator pays far less on Vagaro.
Work out which number is actually growing in your business, then run both models at the headcount you expect in twelve months — not the one you have today.
Edge: Vagaro for solo operators and very small teams. Mako once you have several providers and want the bill to stop tracking your hiring.
Vagaro provides standard client profiles with appointment history, notes, and basic contact management. The platform supports email and text message marketing, though some features require additional fees. Client data is organized well for day-to-day salon operations.
Mako builds client management around intelligence, not just records. Smart customer tags are auto-computed from behavior — the system automatically categorizes clients as new, loyal, at-risk, or lapsed based on their booking patterns. Churn risk detection flags clients who are slipping away before they actually leave, giving you a chance to re-engage them with a targeted offer or personal outreach.
The Customer Portal is where Mako pulls ahead significantly. Clients can self-serve: book appointments, view and pay invoices, check class schedules, manage memberships, sign waivers, and message the business — all from a branded portal that supports custom domains for white-labeling. This isn't just a booking widget; it's a full client-facing application that reduces front-desk workload dramatically.
Edge: Mako. The combination of smart tags, churn detection, and a full-featured customer portal goes well beyond what Vagaro offers in client management.
This category reveals the biggest gap between the two platforms.
Vagaro provides basic business reports: revenue summaries, appointment counts, product sales, and staff performance. It covers what most salon owners check on a weekly basis, but the reporting stops at surface-level metrics. You'll see how much money came in, but not how much you actually kept after labor, materials, and overhead.
Mako was built with financial intelligence as a core feature, not an afterthought. The platform offers job profitability analysis that calculates true margins by factoring in labor costs (using each team member's actual pay rate at the time of the booking), materials, and overhead. Unit economics show you which services are genuinely profitable and which ones lose money. Cash flow forecasting projects your financial position forward. Budget tracking and income statements give you the kind of visibility that typically requires a separate accounting tool or a bookkeeper.
For context: most competitors in this space, including Vagaro, show you "revenue this month." Mako shows you "profit per service after all costs."
Edge: Mako, by a wide margin. If financial visibility matters to your business decisions, this is the single biggest differentiator.
Vagaro offers MySite, a website builder that automatically syncs your services, staff, prices, and availability from your Vagaro account. It includes blogging, portfolio pages, e-commerce, and SEO settings. MySite is charged as an add-on on top of your base Vagaro subscription — check the current rate.
Mako includes a no-code booking page with every plan. You get a shareable link, an embeddable widget for your existing website, and custom domain support — all at no additional cost. It's not a full website builder like MySite, but for most studios, a professional booking page that integrates with your existing site is more practical than maintaining a separate platform-hosted website.
Edge: Vagaro if you need a complete website built for you. Mako if you already have a website (or plan to build one) and just need seamless booking integration without a separate add-on.
Vagaro handles staff scheduling, basic commission tracking, and appointment assignment. Permissions control what staff can see and do. It's functional for standard salon operations but lacks depth for businesses with complex compensation structures.
Mako treats team management as a serious business function. Pay rate history tracks changes with effective dates — critically, labor cost calculations use the pay rate that was active at the time of each booking, not the current rate. This means your profitability reports are historically accurate, not distorted by rate changes. Timesheets, commission tracking, performance metrics, shift scheduling, and payroll are all built in. Role-based permissions let you give your receptionist access to bookings while keeping financials locked to owners and managers.
Edge: Mako. The pay rate history and integrated payroll features are unique in this market.
Vagaro offers automated appointment reminders, marketing emails, and AI content generation within MySite. These are standard automation features focused on client communication and marketing.
Mako includes a built-in AI Receptionist that answers phone calls, routes inquiries, and handles SMS communication. This isn't a third-party integration — it's native to the platform. For studios that miss calls during busy hours (which is most of them), this feature alone can pay for the software by converting inquiries that would otherwise go to voicemail.
Edge: Mako. A built-in AI receptionist that handles live calls is a fundamentally different capability than automated email reminders.
This is Vagaro's clear advantage. The Vagaro marketplace lets consumers discover and book local businesses directly through the Vagaro app and website. With the Schedulicity acquisition adding significant appointment volume across thousands of cities, Vagaro's marketplace is a genuine client acquisition channel.
Mako does not operate a consumer marketplace. If you depend on marketplace-driven discovery for new client acquisition, this is a meaningful gap.
That said, many established studios find that marketplace bookings bring discount-seeking clients who don't convert to loyal regulars. If your growth strategy is built on referrals, local SEO, and your own marketing — rather than marketplace discovery — this may matter less than it seems.
Edge: Vagaro. The marketplace is a real advantage for new businesses building a client base.
Mako is the stronger choice if you're a growing team that doesn't want per-calendar pricing eating into margins, a studio that needs real financial intelligence beyond basic revenue reports, a business that wants to reduce front-desk overhead with a customer portal and AI receptionist, a salon or studio with several providers where Vagaro's per-calendar and add-on costs start to compound, or a hybrid business that offers both services and classes and needs one platform for both.
Vagaro makes more sense if you're a solo provider looking for the lowest possible starting price, a new business that needs marketplace exposure to build a client base from scratch, a salon that wants a built-in website builder without maintaining a separate site, or a business that prioritizes a large consumer-facing app for client discovery.
Yes. You can export your client list, appointment history, and financial records from Vagaro. Mako supports data import during onboarding. A cheaper first step: Pulse is free and imports from other platforms, so you can measure your client retention against your market before committing to any migration.
For solo operators, Vagaro's single-calendar price is lower — clearly. But Vagaro's cost rises with each bookable calendar plus add-ons like MySite, while Mako Basic covers three team members at $139 and Team covers fifteen at $249 with nothing added per person. Run the math for your specific team size against Mako's published pricing and Vagaro's current rate in your region.
Absolutely. Mako supports 49 business types out of the box, including hair salons, nail salons, barbershops, spas, and medspas. The module system lets you toggle features on and off so you see only the tools relevant to your business type.
Vagaro offers built-in gift cards and a loyalty program. Mako's smart customer tags and churn risk detection take a different approach — instead of points-based loyalty, Mako automatically identifies at-risk clients and helps you intervene before they leave. Both approaches drive retention, but through different mechanisms.
Vagaro and Mako serve overlapping markets but reflect different philosophies about what business software should do. Vagaro is an affordable, beauty-first booking platform with a consumer marketplace for discovery. Mako is an all-in-one business platform that treats financial intelligence, team management, and client retention as core features rather than premium add-ons.
If you're weighing the two, the deciding factors are usually team size (per-calendar vs. flat tier pricing), financial needs (basic reports vs. profitability analysis), and growth model (marketplace-driven vs. organic).
The best way to decide is to try both. Try the Mako demo instantly and see which platform actually fits the way you run your business.
