TidyCal for salons and barbers
A free booking app for salons and barbers
A setup for a stylist who does cuts and color: cuts paid when they are booked, a free color consultation before the long appointment, and a cut pack for regulars. Add a chair, add a stylist to the team page.
Free plan with no time limit. No card needed.
Example booking page (fictional)
Fade and Foil Studio (demo)
TidyCal is the best scheduling app for salons and barbers who charge for their time. Clients pay when they book, with packages and subscriptions on the Free plan, and Individual Lifetime is $29 once. Pick Square Appointments if you work from a storefront and already take payments with Square, and Acuity Scheduling if you sell gift certificates or run a waitlist.
Four services
Here is how a small salon might set it up. Fade and Foil is made up; the prices are typical for a city shop. Use yours.
| Booking type | Length | Price | Type | What it is for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Haircut | 45 min | $40 | Paid | Paid at booking, so a no-show still pays. |
| Free color consultation | 15 min | Free | Free | Required before a first color appointment. |
| Full color | 180 min | $190 | Paid | Three hours of your chair, paid up front. |
| 6-cut pack | 45 min | $35 per session | Package | 6 × $35 = $210. A cut every month for half a year. |
Example prices. Charge what you charge.
The 4 best scheduling apps for salons and barbers
I make TidyCal, so it's listed first. Each tool below says what it does better than us.
| # | Tool | Best for | Starts at |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | TidyCal Best value | Solo pros who charge for their time | $29 once |
| 2 | Square Appointments | In-person services already on Square | Free for solo pros |
| 3 | Acuity Scheduling | Appointment businesses with intake forms | $20/mo |
| 4 | Calendly | Sales teams on Salesforce or HubSpot | $10/seat/mo |
01
Best value
Best for: solo pros who charge for their time
- Price
- Free plan. Individual Lifetime is $29 once. Pro is $12 a month or $99 a year.
Free plan with paid bookings, packages and subscriptions. $29 once if you want more.
02
Square Appointments
Best for: in-person services already on Square
- Price
- A free plan for solo professionals. Paid plans on Square's pricing page.
Built for in-person services with Square at the counter. Less suited to online calls.
03
Best for: appointment businesses with intake forms
- Price
- No free plan, a 7-day trial. Starter is $20 a month ($16 billed yearly).
Strong intake forms, gift certificates and a waitlist. No free plan, from $20 a month.
04
Best for: sales teams on Salesforce or HubSpot
- Price
- $10 per seat a month on Standard, billed yearly ($12 monthly). The free plan is one event type.
Familiar to clients. The free plan is one event type and payments need Standard at $10 per seat a month.
Ask before the color, not at the chair
Three questions, on the color consultation only. Haircuts get no form at all.
- Hair length (Short / Shoulder length / Long / Very long) On: Free color consultation
- When did you last color your hair? (Never / In the last 3 months / 3 to 12 months ago / Over a year ago) On: Free color consultation
- Paste a link to a photo of the look you want On: Free color consultation
There is no photo upload on the booking form, so ask for a link. Most clients already have the look saved on Instagram or Pinterest.
Make color clients book a consultation first. A three-hour slot booked by someone who needs a color correction you did not plan for wrecks the rest of your day.
A Saturday, start to finish
- Friday night
- A client books a 9am haircut and pays $40. You get the booking on your phone.
- 8am
- The 1-hour reminder goes out. Nobody calls to ask what time it was.
- 10am
- Full color, booked last week after a consultation. Three hours plus the 15-minute buffer, so nothing books before 1:15.
- Afternoon
- Cuts back to back. Five-minute buffers keep them on time.
- Closing
- A regular buys the 6-cut pack and books the next six visits before they leave.
Settings for a salon
| Setting | What to set | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Buffer | 5 minutes after cuts, 15 after color | Sweep up, clean the bowl. |
| Minimum notice | 24 hours on color, 2 hours on cuts (default) | Time to order the right product. |
| Cancellation fee | Half the price inside 24 hours (Lifetime and Pro) | Three hours of chair time is a lot to lose. |
| Team | A team page and round robin (Agency Lifetime and Pro) | Agency Lifetime covers up to 4 people; Pro has no seat fees. |
Also useful
Ratings and reviews
Clients rate the visit, and the reviews show on your booking page.
Free planDiscount codes
A code for first visits or a slow weekday.
Free planText reminders (US and Canada)
Text reminders for US and Canadian numbers on Agency Lifetime and Pro.
Agency Lifetime and ProEmbed on your website
Put the booking page on your salon's website.
Free planWhat TidyCal costs
Free, $0
Most of the setup above, and group classes too. Approvals, cancellation fees, booking limits and automatic video links need a paid plan. Not a trial.
Individual Lifetime, $29 once
Pay one time through AppSumo. Adds custom reminders, automatic Zoom and Google Meet links, and 10 calendars.
Pro, $12/mo or $99/yr
All of it, with no TidyCal branding, unlimited calendars and team scheduling with no seat fees.
Stripe and PayPal charge their usual processing fees on paid bookings. On the Free plan, Stripe bookings also carry a 1% TidyCal platform fee. See payment fee details. Compare every plan.
How we checked
Every competitor price comes from that company's own pricing page, read on September 30, 2026, at the billing period shown next to it. Tools with no published price we could verify carry no dollar figure. The ranking is for salons and barbers who take bookings and charge for some of them. Nobody paid to be on this list. TidyCal's prices come straight from the plans we sell, so they match what you will pay, and the 1% platform fee on Stripe bookings is the live rate.
Questions salons and barbers ask us
What is the best free booking app for salons and barbers?
For a solo stylist or barber, TidyCal's Free plan has a booking page, unlimited services, payment at booking through Stripe or PayPal, packages, email reminders and reviews. A shop with several chairs needs Agency Lifetime ($79 once, up to 4 people) or Pro for a team page and round robin. If you run the counter on Square, Square Appointments fits better.
Can clients pay when they book?
Yes. Connect Stripe or PayPal and set a price on each service. Clients pay at booking. Paid bookings are on every plan, including Free.
Can several stylists share one booking page?
Yes. Agency Lifetime (up to 4 people) and Pro include a team booking page and round robin. Pro does not charge per seat.
Is TidyCal a point-of-sale system?
No. TidyCal handles booking, payment at booking and reminders. Ring up retail products and walk-ins in your point-of-sale system.
Can I charge a no-show fee?
Yes, on the Lifetime and Pro plans. You can charge a fee for late cancellations and no-shows.
Keep reading
Copy this setup in about 10 minutes
Make the booking types above, paste your questions in, share the link. Free to start.
Create your free booking pageNo credit card. Upgrade only if you need to.