Timely is a capable salon and spa platform with a clean interface and a good reputation among owners who value simplicity over feature sprawl. Mako is the business platform underneath a salon or spa — booking, payments, staff pay, retail, and the reporting that turns activity into profit. Where they part company is what happens after the appointment is booked and paid for.
Timely: No pricing is published that we could verify. Plans are quoted after contact. Rather than print a number we cannot stand behind, here is what to ask for: monthly cost, whether it is charged per staff member or per location, SMS and marketing credits, payment processing rates, setup fees, contract length, and the renewal rate.
Mako: Pulse is free. Basic at $139/month — the complete operational platform with three team members. Team at $249/month — fifteen team members, extra locations at $75/month each, advanced reporting, QuickBooks sync. Enterprise at $999/month — unlimited clients across three locations. Roughly 20% off annually, no contract.
Watch for per-staff pricing specifically. In salon software it is the single most common way a quote that sounded reasonable at three stylists becomes uncomfortable at eight.
Clean, uncluttered, and quick for a front desk to learn. Not every salon wants a platform with a hundred settings, and Timely respects that.
Straightforward online booking that clients complete without help — which is most of what online booking has to do.
Service structures, staff rosters, and consultation handling match how a salon or spa actually operates.
You can budget in thirty seconds. No demo required, no negotiation, same number for every salon.
Profit per service after staff pay and product cost, cash-flow forecasting, unit economics, LTV. Most salon software tells you the day took $2,400. Mako tells you what was left after you paid for it.
Tiered rules by service and staff member, tips, timesheets and payouts — native, and historically accurate against the rate in force on the day.
Stock levels, low-stock alerts, consumables tied to services, and margin per product.
Pulse imports from other platforms and compares your rebooking against market averages, naming the clients who have gone quiet. It costs nothing and you can run it alongside Timely today.
Pick Timely if:
Pick Mako if:
Your salon is a business. Not a hobby, not a side project, not a calendar with a cash register. It deserves software that treats it accordingly. If your platform cannot tell you whether you are financially healthy, it is not doing its job. And in 2026, you have better options.
See Mako in action — no sales call required
Mako is built for independent salon and spa owners who would rather spend their time with clients than on demo calls. Open the live demo, poke around, and see exactly how booking, payments, and financial intelligence come together in one place.
Try the demo: https://app.makocrm.so/demo
Self-serve. Instant access. No forms, no calendars, no "talk to sales."
