StyleSeat is a popular beauty and wellness business management platform that connects business owners to clients and allows them to manage their bookings accordingly. StyleSeat monthly subscription fees range from $0 to $35 a month, and their payment processing fees are between 2.75% and 3% depending on the plan you’ve selected.

The following article will dive into StyleSeat’s pricing, hardware fees, customer reviews, and more to help you decide if it’s the best option for your beauty or wellness business needs. 

Whether you’re a massage therapist, salon/spa owner, nail artist, esthetician, personal trainer, or other professional who uses appointment scheduling software, let’s drill down on whether StyleSeat is the right software for your business management needs!

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StyleSeat Pricing: Key Takeaways

StyleSeat’s free plan and modern presentation may make it worthwhile for you to try if you’re a new business with low appointment volume. There are a lot of hidden fees that you’ll find as you go, so make sure you get all the pricing details before you start. Something really important to know about StyleSeat is that they charge your clients booking fees, something almost no software in the space does. 

StyleSeat also lacks features like text marketing, stylish custom card readers, and expense management. So if you’re looking for any of these features, Styleseat probably isn’t right for you.

To gain a broader understanding of the beauty and wellness software market, including an analysis of offerings that may be more cost-effective, check out our resource center and see how GlossGenius compares to StyleSeat.

Want to quickly calculate how much StyleSeat will cost you? See our StyleSeat pricing calculator down below.

StyleSeat Subscription Plans

StyleSeat has two subscription tiers – the Basic plan for $0 per month and the Premium plan for $35 per month. The Premium tier comes with email marketing, forms, lower processing fees, and more.

StyleSeat does not offer the following:

• Expense management
• POS hardware
• Client booking bans
• Text marketing

StyleSeat Payment Processing Fees

If you want to use StyleSeat for payment processing too, their fees range from 2.75% to 3% depending on the plan you’ve selected. This is a relatively high rate when compared to competitors:

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StyleSeat Add-On Fees

Even though StyleSeat has a free plan, there are a lot of additional fees that can rack up a bill quickly. For example, StyleSeat requires your clients to pay a booking fee of $2.35 whenever they book an appointment with your business. StyleSeat customers have reported complaints from their clients related to booking fees (see more below). If you go with StyleSeat, make sure this is abundantly clear to your clients before booking, or it could sour your client relationship before you even meet!

StyleSeat does offer a number of marketing features that can help connect your business with clients. It’s important to know that when you sign up, you are automatically opted in to these features, and must contact customer support if you want to opt out. That means for every new client that you get using StyleSeat, you could face a 30% fees on their appointment if you haven’t opted out of marketing.

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The New Client Connection and Smart Pricing features are also mandatory under the Basic plan. That means you must pay $35 a month for the option to opt out. Here’s more info on the marketing features and prices:

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StyleSeat Pricing Calculator

If you want to understand how much StyleSeat is compared to GlossGenius, try out our calculator:

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Is StyleSeat Worth the Cost for Beauty and Wellness Businesses?

Where StyleSeat Pricing Makes Sense

StyleSeat’s closest competitor is Booksy – and it makes sense. Both platforms share the same justifications for why they might be worth the cost. If you’re a small business looking for simple features, a free plan, and you’re not looking for payroll, loans, or expense management – StyleSeat might make sense for you.

Even if you are looking for a solution that’s free, if you want POS features included, a platform like Square Appointments might be more up your alley since it has lower payment processing rates. 

If you do have a budget and aren’t looking for a free plan, we encourage you to look into platforms like GlossGenius or Booksy – for the simple fact that they offer more marketing features and don’t make clients take on a booking fee. 

Where StyleSeat May Be Less Cost-Effective for Beauty and Wellness Businesses

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Potentially the biggest reason StyleSeat might not be the right option for your beauty or wellness business lies in its booking fee system. Competitors in the space, like GlossGenius, Square Appointments, Vagaro, and Booksy don’t charge your clients non-refundable booking fees. That booking fee might be a hard sell for clients or leave a bad taste in their mouths. Customers who want to book an appointment must download the StyleSeat app to do so, which may also hurt your bookings.

Although StyleSeat comes with a free plan, the features within that tier are rather limited. Even on paid plans, you’re missing core features like text marketing, POS devices, expense management, and more. StyleSeat also does not have a custom website builder.

StyleSeat’s model of not offering payroll or expense reports, and charging quite a hefty amount for additional members means it may not be the ideal solution if you’re looking to grow your beauty and wellness business. 

Solutions like GlossGenius offer specialized features for the beauty and wellness industry, like stylish credit card readers, modern and customizable booking site templates, easy-to-use waitlists, a forms and waivers builder, and marketing tools, at more affordable subscription prices. Plus GlossGenius offers transparent pricing and an industry-best 2.6% flat payment processing fee with no add costs.

StyleSeat Customer Reviews

Customer reviews on StyleSeat’s pricing are fairly negative. Customers mention that the platform is generally simple to use, but that new, surprise charges have bubbled up, and that clients take issue with booking fees and sometimes have trouble finding individual appointments.

Check out these reviews from small business owners that can serve as a temperature check:

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Why GlossGenius Is a Cost-Effective Alternative to StyleSeat

Client-Friendly

No one wants to deal with angry clients, especially before they even enter the door! StyleSeat might be simple for your own business to use, but its client-side experience seems to be a different story.

GlossGenius will not charge your clients booking fees, nor will they be asked to download an app or sign in to schedule an appointment with you. How your clients use your software is equally, if not more important than how your business uses it. A good client experience can be the difference between a loyal and a one-time customer.

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No Hidden Features and Fees

GlossGenius offers more features features (including marketing) compared to StyleSeat. We also don’t charge add-on fees for certain features. Here is a side-by-side comparison:

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Beyond features, GlossGenius doesn’t make you opt out or be charged for certain features. StyleSeat’s client growth features charge fees that don’t have a straightforward opt out processes. 

For customers transitioning from other software like StyleSeat, GlossGenius offers free data transfers for new users to make the process seamless for you. We’ll transfer all appointments, client lists, services, and products from your current booking system, no matter what it is, over to GlossGenius for free. 

GlossGenius also offers a 14-day free trial so you can see how GlossGenius can work for your business without any upfront commitment.

Lower, Fixed Payment Processing Fees

If you’re looking for a POS system, GlossGenius features a flat processing fee of 2.6% with no add-on fees, no matter the payment type or subscription tier. This makes our payment processing rates some of the lowest in the biz. Note that StyleSeat only processes payments through its app too!

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A flat 2.6% processing rate on all transaction types can help save beauty and wellness businesses thousands per year.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does StyleSeat cost money?

StyleSeat has two plans, one of which is free, but comes with higher processing fees. The Premium tier with lower fees is $35 a month.

Why is StyleSeat charging me?

You might have opted-in to StyleSeat’s “New Client Connection” or “Smart Pricing” programs without knowing. To opt out, you must be a paying customer on the Premium plan and contact customer service.

How much does StyleSeat charge per transaction?

StyleSeat’s payment processing fees range from 2.75% to 3% depending on the plan you’ve selected.

Disclaimer:

NOTE: All prices and feature comparisons are as of July 20, 2024. GlossGenius has no affiliation, sponsorship or endorsement with StyleSeat, Inc. or its affiliates. All trademarks, logos and brand names are used for identification purposes only and remain the property of their respective owners.

The Capterra logo is a service mark of Gartner Inc. and/or its affiliates and is used herein with permission. All rights reserved.

Gartner Digital Markets reviews are shared across its different brands sites and constitute the subjective opinions of individual end-users based on their own experiences and do not represent the views of Gartner or its affiliates.