Independent testing · Salon & spa software
We book, no-show, and pay at our own fake salon — so you don't have to.
Every booking platform we review runs the same scripted week of appointments — the double-booking, the no-show against the fee policy, the card fees the pricing page forgot to mention. Then we do the math on what it really costs.
- Stack guide Oct 8, 2026
The best salon software, tested: five tools ranked by one fake salon
Five tools, one fictional salon, six traps each. The scores run from 20 to 15 out of 32, and four of the five tied on the only section that measures whether your policy gets enforced.
- Head-to-head Oct 8, 2026
Square Appointments vs Acuity: the free desk that cannot charge anyone
One desk publishes every price and enforces nothing. The other can describe your policy to the decimal and will not save it. Four tools have now tied on enforcement; Square is the first to lose the tie.
- Head-to-head Oct 8, 2026
Fresha vs GlossGenius: what "free" actually costs
One tool charges a subscription and tells you so. The other charges a commission, five gates, and a card you cannot take back. Neither can enforce the policy it shows your clients.
The test salon
Meet Willow & Main, the salon that doesn't exist.
Five providers, a scripted week of appointments, and six planted problems — the chronic no-show, the deliberate double-booking, the deposit that should come back. Every tool we review runs her book, from the desk side and the client side, so every verdict compares like for like. We rang the bell at every front desk in the business.
Providers on the book 5
Appointments in the scripted week 34
Planted traps 6
Vendor money accepted $0, ever