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 flat fee, your own website, zero marketplace.
Thirty days for $1, then $139 a month with four team members included.
The short version
SpaSphere 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 flat. 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 from Vagaro to SpaSphere if:
- You want to own your domain and your client list
- You'd 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
Why estheticians leave Vagaro
Vagaro is built around marketplace discovery. For an independent 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
Each bookable staff calendar adds $10/mo, up to seven
Marketplace by default
Clients searching Vagaro's marketplace see competing providers in the same results
Add-on everything
Website, custom forms, and text marketing are paid add-ons on top of the base
What starts at $30 grows with every add-on.
Quick side-by-side comparison
Multi-session treatment plans
SpaSphere
Ordered steps with an enforced minimum wait between sessions, bundle pricing, deposit booking, automatic step-ready emails, progress in the client portal
Vagaro
Packages and memberships, which prepay a quantity but neither sequence the steps nor hold the gap between them
Treatment protocols
SpaSphere
Your method documented: per-step products and duration, suitability by skin type and Fitzpatrick range, explicit contraindications, published to your team
Vagaro
Not offered
Memberships
SpaSphere
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 a member's benefits at checkout in one click; in the portal shop, member discounts and credit apply on their own
Vagaro
Memberships with recurring billing and member discounts
Local market pricing data
SpaSphere
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
Vagaro
Not offered
Skin SOAP notes
SpaSphere
Skin-specific SOAP and concerns library, included on every plan
Vagaro
Basic SOAP notes included; custom SOAP templates need the $10/mo Forms add-on; no skin-specific structure
Retention against each client's own rhythm
SpaSphere
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
Vagaro
Automated reminders and marketing-copy tools, with nothing that flags a client drifting off her own rhythm
Client marketplace
SpaSphere
None - clients see only you
Vagaro
Public Vagaro marketplace surfaces competing providers in the same search
Branded website on your own domain
SpaSphere
A full site on your own domain with SEO, service pages, a blog, and a client portal, included
Vagaro
MySite, a $20/mo add-on that can use your own domain
Pricing model
SpaSphere
$139/mo flat, up to 4 team members and 86 capabilities included, two optional $29/mo add-ons
Vagaro
$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 verified against each platform's public pricing page and help center as of September 2026. Vendors update plans and pricing without notice - confirm current details on the competitor's site before making a buying decision.
Your clients came for you.
Not a marketplace. Not a price comparison.
The difference every esthetician should see
Vagaro sells a website as an add-on. SpaSphere includes one built for skin.
Vagaro's MySite 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.
When Vagaro can still be a good fit
- Good fit: You run a multi-room salon with shared front desk and staff.
- Good fit: You rely on marketplace discovery for new walk-in traffic.
- Good fit: You need payroll, tips, and multi-staff scheduling across a team.
When SpaSphere is a better fit
- Better fit: You are an esthetician (or small boutique) building long-term relationships.
- Better fit: You want a branded website on your own domain, not a marketplace profile.
- Better fit: You want one price that covers up to four team members, your website, and your forms.
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.
Also see simple pricing for clear plan details, or compare prices and fees in best booking websites for estheticians.
If you remember one line from this page:
Vagaro puts your clients in a marketplace. SpaSphere puts them on your website.
FAQ
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 flat fee 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 (Vagaro's MySite is ~$20/mo), custom forms (Vagaro's Forms add-on is $10/mo), structured treatment plans built around skin progress, skin-specific SOAP notes (Vagaro's included SOAP notes are generic), and retention flags with a win-back Sophie drafts for your approval - all in the flat fee.
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're comfortable.
Moving from Vagaro?
Here’s how to export your client list, step by step — what the file includes, what it doesn’t, and how to bring it across.
Export your clients from Vagaro