Cicini vs Vagaro: lighter, cheaper booking for salons and spas
Vagaro is a feature-packed all-in-one for beauty and wellness. Cicini is the leaner Vagaro alternative for salons and spas that want online booking, scheduling, and payments — without a heavy ERP, per-staff fees, or marketplace commissions.
No credit card required • 30-day free trial • Cancel anytime
Choosing the right salon booking software
Vagaro is a genuinely capable platform. It bundles scheduling, point of sale, payroll, inventory, email marketing, a website builder, and a consumer marketplace into one system — which is why it's popular with salons, spas, barbershops, and fitness studios that want everything under one roof.
The trade-off is weight and cost. Most of that breadth is sold as separate add-on modules, staff are billed individually, and the marketplace that brings new clients also shows them nearby competitors. If you mainly need clean online booking, staff scheduling, and payments, you can end up paying for an ERP to do a booking job.
Cicini covers the booking and payments work most salons do every day — at a fair, transparent price, with no per-staff surcharge and no marketplace fee on the clients you earn.
How Cicini and Vagaro differ
Vagaro is built as an all-in-one operating system for a salon or spa. Booking is one part of a much larger suite that includes payroll, commissions, booth-rental management, retail inventory, and its own marketplace where consumers discover businesses.
Cicini is built booking-first. Clients book your services online, pay deposits or prepay through Stripe, get automated email and SMS reminders, and rebook — all from your own branded booking page. Your staff see their schedules, you keep your client list, and your pricing stays predictable as you add people.
The difference isn't quality — it's scope and cost. Cicini trades breadth you may not need for a lighter tool and a simpler bill.
Feature-by-feature comparison
| Capability | Cicini | Vagaro |
|---|---|---|
| Online booking page | ||
| Multi-staff scheduling | Yes — individual availability, no per-staff fee | Yes — billed per additional staff member |
| Calendar sync (Google / Outlook / Apple) | Yes | |
| Deposits & payments at booking | Yes — Stripe deposits, prepay, packages | Yes — Vagaro Pay processing fees apply |
| Automated SMS + email reminders | Yes — email all plans, SMS on paid | Email included; SMS as paid add-on |
| Intake forms & client notes | Yes — included | Forms sold as add-on |
| Branded / embeddable booking pages | Website builder is a paid add-on | |
| Multi-location support | ||
| Transparent flat pricing | Yes — Free / $19 / $49 / custom | Per-staff + modular add-ons |
| No marketplace commission on your clients | Marketplace shows nearby competitors | |
| Native payroll & commissions | ||
| Retail / inventory management | ||
| Consumer discovery marketplace | ||
| HIPAA support (BAA) | Enterprise plan | Available on higher tiers |
Vagaro plans and add-ons change over time — check their current pricing for the latest details. Both tools are strong; the right one depends on whether you need a full ERP or a focused booking system.
When salons choose Cicini over Vagaro
When salons choose Cicini over Vagaro
- You want online booking, staff scheduling, and payments — not payroll, inventory, and a marketplace
- You prefer flat, published pricing over per-staff fees and stacked add-on modules
- You don't want your booking platform promoting nearby competitors to your clients
- You want deposits and packages through your own Stripe account with predictable processing fees
- You run a salon, spa, barbershop, or wellness studio and value a clean, modern booking experience
- You want to start free and add payments and SMS reminders only when you need them
Explore the full appointment scheduling software feature set, or see how it fits salon booking software for beauty businesses.
Switching from Vagaro
Switching from Vagaro
Transparent pricing
Transparent pricing, no per-staff surprises
Cicini vs Vagaro: frequently asked questions
Got questions? We've got answers.
We've compiled the most important information to help you get the most out of your experience. Can't find what you're looking for? Contact us.
Still have questions?
A specialist is online — usually replies in a few minutes.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Cicini is a lighter, more affordable Vagaro alternative for salons and spas that want online booking, staff scheduling, and payments without a heavy all-in-one ERP. You get the core tools most beauty and wellness businesses actually use every day, on transparent plans starting free, instead of paying for payroll, inventory, and marketplace modules you may never touch.
Cicini uses flat, published plans: Free at $0, Starter at $19/mo, Professional at $49/mo, and Enterprise custom — no per-staff surcharge to use the calendar. Vagaro starts low but is priced per additional staff member with many features sold as separate add-on modules, so most salons end up combining several bundles. With Cicini you can see your total cost up front and start on a 30-day free trial with no credit card required.
No. Cicini is your own branded booking system, not a consumer marketplace. Vagaro can list your business in its marketplace alongside nearby competitors, which drives discovery but also exposes your clients to other salons. With Cicini, the clients you bring in stay yours — there is no marketplace fee or commission on new bookings, and you own your client list and data.
Yes. Cicini collects deposits, full prepayments, packages, and memberships through Stripe on the Starter plan and above. You connect your own Stripe account and pay Stripe’s standard processing fees — Cicini does not add its own per-transaction surcharge on top of your subscription. That keeps the cost of taking card payments predictable as you grow.
Most salons move over in stages. You recreate your services and staff, connect Google or Outlook calendars, set up your branded booking page, and import your client list — then point your booking links at Cicini. You can run the 30-day free trial alongside your current setup before fully cutting over, and our support team helps with migration. See the migration guide on our support page.
For day-to-day booking and payments, yes. Cicini covers online booking, multi-staff scheduling, calendar sync, Stripe deposits and packages, automated email and SMS reminders, intake forms, client notes, and branded booking pages. If you specifically need native payroll, retail inventory, or a built-in consumer marketplace, a heavier platform like Vagaro may suit you — Cicini focuses on doing booking and payments well at a fair price.
For a solo stylist or small team that mainly wants clean online booking, reminders, and deposits, Cicini is usually simpler and cheaper. You can start free, add payments on Starter at $19/mo, and avoid per-staff fees and add-on modules. Vagaro offers more breadth for businesses that want payroll and a marketplace, but that breadth comes with more cost and complexity than many small salons need.
See the difference for your salon
Start a free trial or book a demo to see how a lighter, more affordable Vagaro alternative handles your real booking and payment needs.
No credit card required • 30-day free trial • Cancel anytime