Atelier Booking vs the alternatives

The short version

We read every competitor's own pricing page, help centre and terms to build these — and looked at what their live booking pages actually publish. Five things came out of it.

1. Most platforms don't give you a website — and the ones that do don't help you rank. The marketplaces publish your services and reviews on their domain, where your profile sits beside your competitors'. The big salon platforms don't build a website at all and assume you bought one somewhere else. Atelier hosts a real site on your own domain, and the search data behind it is generated from your live booking catalog.
2. "Free" and "cheap" usually means a commission. Marketplace platforms charge 20–30% of a new client's first visit — one charges the client a booking fee too, and one bills you even for regulars who found you there. We charge $0 per booking and take no cut, ever.
3. A textable number of your own is rare, and normally premium. Several platforms text from a shared number your clients can't reply to. Where a real two-way number exists, it's a $70/month phone line, a top-tier plan, or an add-on. It comes with every paid Atelier plan.
4. AI that answers your texts costs about $99 elsewhere. One competitor sells human receptionists for the same money. Ours is $39/month, answers your own number, and hands off to your staff by text.
5. Booth renters getting paid directly is a premium feature almost everywhere. The platforms that do it well start around $120–176/month, and one charges an extra 1% per transaction. It's included here, with no extra percentage.

Where we won't overclaim: Vagaro also supports your own domain. Phorest, Mangomint and Boulevard also route booth-renter payments — Phorest with no surcharge. GlossGenius, Mangomint, Boulevard, Acuity, Setmore and Phorest run no marketplace, so your client list is genuinely yours on those too. Every page below says so plainly, and links its sources. Prices change often — check theirs before you decide.