SpaSphere · the Vagaro alternative
Your Practice Deserves More Than a Marketplace Profile
On Vagaro, your business starts as a marketplace profile, and your website, custom forms, and text marketing are paid add-ons. SpaSphere is built for estheticians: one plan, your own website, zero marketplace.
Thirty days for $1, then SpaSphere Pro is $139 a month with four team members included.
SpaSphere vs Vagaro: the short answer
SpaSphere vs Vagaro: Vagaro fits you if you run a multi-service salon with a shared front desk. SpaSphere fits you if you run a skin practice, solo or with a team, built on long-term relationships.
SpaSphere Pro is the esthetician-first spa platform with treatment plans, retention flags, SOAP notes, and a branded website on your own domain, included at $139/mo, one plan. Vagaro is a marketplace-and-booking platform with a low base price ($30/mo for one calendar plus $10 for each added calendar) and a website (MySite, $20/mo), custom forms ($10/mo), and text marketing (from $20/mo) as paid add-ons. Clients who find you through its marketplace search see competing providers in the same results.
Switch to SpaSphere if
- You want to own your domain and your client list
- You would rather have your website and forms included than added one at a time
- You want clients booking on your own site, not browsing a marketplace
Side by side
SpaSphere vs Vagaro: features and pricing compared
What starts at $30 grows with every add-on.
| Feature | SpaSphere | Vagaro |
|---|---|---|
| Multi-session treatment plans | Ordered steps with an enforced minimum wait between sessions, bundle pricing, deposit booking, automatic step-ready emails, progress in the client portal | Packages and memberships, which prepay a quantity but neither sequence the steps nor hold the gap between them |
| Treatment protocols | Your method documented: per-step products and duration, suitability by skin type and Fitzpatrick range, explicit contraindications, published to your team | Not offered |
| Memberships | Monthly, quarterly or annual plans with nine benefit types: included sessions, service credit, retail credit, member percentage discount, member fixed price, free add-on, skip deposit, extended booking window, instant confirmation. Staff apply the benefits of a member at checkout in one click; in the portal shop, member discounts and credit apply on their own | Memberships with recurring billing and member discounts |
| Local market pricing data | Pricing for your zip by service category in basic, premium and luxury tiers, with your own menu scored above, below or at market. Refreshed monthly | Not offered |
| Skin SOAP notes | Skin-specific SOAP and concerns library, included in the plan | Basic SOAP notes included; custom SOAP templates need the $10/mo Forms add-on; no skin-specific structure |
| Retention against each client rhythm | Clients flagged against their own visit rhythm with the reasons listed, and a win-back Sophie drafts in your voice and you approve before it sends | Automated reminders and marketing-copy tools, with nothing that flags a client drifting off her own rhythm |
| Client marketplace | None: clients see only you | Public Vagaro marketplace surfaces competing providers in the same search |
| Branded website on your own domain | A full site on your own domain with SEO, service pages, a blog, and a client portal, included | MySite, a $20/mo add-on that can use your own domain |
| Card on file processing | 2.9% + 30¢, the standard Stripe rate with no SpaSphere markup: $4.65 on a $150 charge (3.4% + 30¢ for a card typed in by hand) | 3.5% + 19¢ for every saved-card, online and recurring payment, plus monthly card-network fees: $5.44 on a $150 charge |
| Pricing model | SpaSphere Pro: $139/mo, one plan, up to 4 team members and 86 capabilities included, optional extras | $30/mo ($23.99 for the first 6 months) + $10 per added bookable calendar, up to seven; paid add-ons on top |
Competitor pricing, plan names and feature availability checked against the public pricing page and help center of each platform as of October 2026. Vendors change plans and pricing without notice, so confirm current details on the vendor site before you decide.
Who should choose Vagaro, and who should choose SpaSphere
When Vagaro can still be a good fit
- You run a multi-service salon with a shared front desk.
- You rely on marketplace discovery for new walk-in traffic.
- You need payroll run inside your booking software.
When SpaSphere is a better fit
- You run a skin practice, solo or with a team, built on long-term relationships.
- You want a branded website on your own domain, not a marketplace profile.
- You want one price that covers up to four team members, your website, and your forms.
Card processing
What every $150 charge costs you
Vagaro bills every saved card, online booking and recurring membership as a keyed-in payment, at 3.5% + 19¢. That covers deposits, no-show fees and memberships, the charges a skin practice runs most.
Card on file, online and recurring
Vagaro
$5.44
3.5% + 19¢
SpaSphere
$4.65
2.9% + 30¢
$0.79 more to Vagaro on every $150 charge. At 100 charges a month, that is $948 a year.
Vagaro: its published U.S. keyed-in rate for Small and Large Merchants, as of October 2026. Vagaro also charges monthly card-network fees on top, which are not included here. SpaSphere: standard Stripe U.S. rates, 2.7% + 5¢ in person, 2.9% + 30¢ online and card on file, and 3.4% + 30¢ for a card typed in by hand. We do not add a SpaSphere markup to the standard Stripe processing rates.
Why estheticians switch from Vagaro
Vagaro puts your clients in a marketplace. SpaSphere puts them on your own website.
Vagaro is built around marketplace discovery. For an esthetician, the base price is low, but the website, custom forms, and text marketing are add-ons, and clients who find you through the marketplace see other providers in the same search.
Per-calendar pricing
On Vagaro: Each bookable staff calendar adds $10/mo, up to seven
On SpaSphere: Four team members included in $139 a month.
Marketplace by default
On Vagaro: Clients searching the Vagaro marketplace see competing providers in the same results
On SpaSphere: No marketplace. Clients who book with you see only you.
Add-on everything
On Vagaro: Website, custom forms, and text marketing are paid add-ons on top of the base
On SpaSphere: Your website, custom forms and text marketing are in the plan, not add-ons.
Inside SpaSphere
See it for yourself.
Your website
Your design on your own domain, with SSL included and a Book Now button on every page.
Online booking
Clients choose a service, a provider and a time, and pay a deposit or the full price, right on your site.
Her own client portal
Clients sign in on your site to see their plan, book the next visit, pay and keep track of what they bought.
The difference every esthetician should see
What is included with SpaSphere
Vagaro sells a website as an add-on. SpaSphere includes one built for skin.
MySite on Vagaro is a $20/mo add-on on top of your plan. SpaSphere includes a full website on your own domain (service pages, a blog, and a client portal) with no marketplace between you and your client. Clients book with you on your own site, with no competitor beside you.
- Your own domain, included, not a $20/mo add-on.
- SEO-ready service pages built for your city and treatments.
- A blog with live booking, and a client portal where clients follow their treatment plans.
- No marketplace. Clients who book with you see only you.
Before you decide
SpaSphere vs Vagaro pricing: what to compare before you switch
- Add up the real monthly cost: base plan plus every add-on and per-calendar fee.
- Check whether your booking page builds your brand or the marketplace.
- See if follow-up, notes, treatment plans, and a real website are included or sold separately.
See SpaSphere pricing for plan details, or compare prices and fees in best booking websites for estheticians, or see how the top tools stack up in the best esthetician booking software roundup.
Questions
SpaSphere vs Vagaro: questions and answers
Will I pay more as I grow on Vagaro?
As your team grows, yes, up to a point. Vagaro adds $10/mo for each bookable calendar up to seven, and the website, custom forms, and text marketing are add-ons you pay for separately. SpaSphere is one plan for up to four team members, with the website and forms included.
What happens to my clients on the Vagaro marketplace if I leave?
On SpaSphere, your clients book on your own branded website, not a marketplace. You own the relationship. No marketplace search results and no other providers in the place they go to book with you.
Does SpaSphere include features Vagaro charges extra for?
Yes. SpaSphere includes a branded website on your own domain (MySite on Vagaro is about $20/mo), custom forms (the Vagaro Forms add-on is $10/mo), structured treatment plans built around skin progress, skin-specific SOAP notes (the SOAP notes included on Vagaro are generic), and retention flags with a win-back Sophie drafts for your approval, all in the plan.
Can I move my client data from Vagaro?
Yes. We move everything for you within 48 hours: client records, services, and appointment history, plus your client notes, SOAP notes, and treatment photos: the history your next appointment depends on.
How fast can I switch?
We move everything for you within 48 hours, or import a client CSV yourself under Settings > Import & Export. Start with the 30-day $1 trial and keep Vagaro active until you are comfortable.
Switching from Vagaro
Switch from Vagaro to SpaSphere
Vagaro puts your clients in a marketplace. SpaSphere puts them on your website.
Thirty days for $1. Then SpaSphere Pro is $139 a month, with four team members included.
Switching from Vagaro? We move your clients, services and history for you, within 48 hours of receiving your export.
Rather see the steps first? How to export your clients from Vagaro: what the file includes, what it leaves out, and how to bring it across.