Acuity vs StyleSeat: Acuity keeps your calendar, StyleSeat fills it.
Acuity Scheduling costs $20, $34 or $61 a month, and it has no client marketplace. StyleSeat is $19 a month after a 21-day free trial, with $0 card fees during the trial and 1.9% + 30¢ for six months.
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Two very different paths
You get a solid calendar, but clients are on you
You grow the business you want
Acuity pricing vs StyleSeat, feature by feature
Acuity has no marketplace, loyalty program or built-in marketing campaigns, and its text reminders and waitlist start on the $34 Standard plan. Figures come from Acuity's own pricing page and help center.
| FEATURE | Acuity | StyleSeat |
|---|---|---|
| THE BASICS | ||
| Online booking & calendar | ✓ | ✓ |
| Integrated payments | ✓ | ✓ |
| Client profiles & history | ✓ | ✓ |
| No-show & late-cancel protection | ✓ | ✓ |
| ACUITY'S PLAN TIERS, PRICED BY CALENDAR COUNT | ||
| Text/SMS reminders | Standard plan ($34/mo) and up: 1 per appointment, no marketing texts | Included* |
| Marketing emails | Through connected email apps only | Included |
| Client Loyalty program | ✗ Not offered | Included |
| AI Booking Assistant | $61/mo (Premium plan) only | Ask us |
| Google review requests | ✗ Not offered | Available |
| Remove "Powered by Acuity" branding | $61/mo (Premium plan) only | Not applicable: no branding fee |
| New-client marketplace fee | None: no marketplace | 30% of first visit · $50 cap · $0 during trial |
| POS & inventory | Tap to Pay and card readers via Stripe | Product in salon check out included |
| Number of calendars / staff | 1 (Starter) → 6 (Standard) → 36 (Premium) | No salon plan or seat fees. Each pro has their own account and plan. |
| GROWTH TOOLS AND AI | ||
| New Client Connection | ✗ | 30% of first visit, $50 cap |
| Smart Pricing | ✗ | Included (5.5% per smart-priced appointment) |
| Smart Waitlist | Waitlist on Standard ($34/mo) | Available |
| Marketplace discovery | ✗ | ✓ |
| Automated marketing | Follow-up emails only | Included |
| Premium ranking boost | ✗ | Available |
| AI marketing tools | ✗ | Available |
| AI social post builder | ✗ | Available |
| PRICING & FEES | ||
| Card-present processing | Set by your processor (Square: 2.6% + 15¢) | 1.9% + 30¢ for 6 months, then 2.5% + 30¢ |
| Online processing | Set by your processor (Square: 2.9% + 30¢) | 1.9% + 30¢ for 6 months, then 2.6% + 30¢ |
| Monthly pricing | $20–$61 depending on plan tier | $19/mo after trial |
*StyleSeat text marketing starts with 500 free one-time credits, then packs from $5 for 750 credits. Acuity adds no transaction fee of its own: card fees are set by Stripe, Square or PayPal. A documented booking API, custom CSS and HIPAA compliance on Acuity's $61/mo Premium plan are genuine strengths StyleSeat doesn't offer. Prices checked on each company's website in September 2026 (acuityscheduling.com/pricing and the Acuity help center).
Is StyleSeat cheaper than Acuity?
At list price, a solo pro's StyleSeat subscription costs $12 to $504 less a year than Acuity ($228 vs $240 to $732), and the six months after your trial run at 1.9% + 30¢.
No marketplace, no Smart Pricing and no AI marketing, even on the $61/mo Premium plan. Card fees come on top, set by your processor.
Marketing, loyalty and a marketplace listing included. New clients cost 30% of the first visit, up to $50.
Year one: solo pro, $6,000 a month in card sales, $120 average ticket, all in person
21 days at $0, six months at 1.9% + 30¢, then 2.5% + 30¢, plus $228 (12 monthly payments after the trial). Excludes New Client Connection fees.
$240 (12 monthly payments after Acuity's 7-day trial) plus Square's 2.6% + 15¢ per in-person payment. Acuity adds no card fee of its own and sends no new clients.
350,000 people agree: StyleSeat works
What pros say about StyleSeat
"I love the fact that stylist will promote you and help you get new clients. I was a new braider when I signed up and it help bring a lot of NEW people."
"StyleSeat is literally like my personal / online assistant. Clients can find me easily, StyleSeat does the marketing part while I just sit back and see my schedule fill up. Thank you for helping me grow my business."
"I love waking up to new bookings overnight and when my gaps get filled without me having to do a thing. It's kept my books full even in this difficult economy. Highly recommend."
"You guys have built my barber clientele tremendously by bringing me new clients! I can't thank you enough! I greatly appreciate you!"
"Before I started using StyleSeat, I spent a lot of time texting back and forth to confirm appointments… Once I got on StyleSeat, clients could see my availability in real time and book themselves. It's helped me raise my prices confidently over time because clients see the value clearly."
"I have been using StyleSeat for over 10 years and I can honestly say it has truly 100% grew my business!"
"Been using StyleSeat for three years. My clientele has expanded far beyond my expectations. Not to mention the innovative tools to help my business become what it is today. Highly recommend."
"Being a Top Pro on Styleseat has been extremely beneficial to my business. I've been connected to over 40 new clients since the beginning of the year."
"I recently had a situation with a client who complained to StyleSeat about a deposit, which is non refundable. I like how StyleSeat supported me and made me feel confident about my business policies. I have gotten 38 new clients from January to July 1st."
"I love that I can require deposit, it is super easy for my clients to book… I absolutely love that I can link it to my Instagram or any social media."
"Client history and reminders are fantastic."
Acuity vs. StyleSeat, answered
How much does Acuity Scheduling cost per month?
Acuity Scheduling has three plans: Starter at $20 a month (1 calendar, no text reminders), Standard at $34 (up to 6 calendars, adds text reminders and a waitlist) and Premium at $61 (up to 36 calendars, adds the AI Booking Assistant and HIPAA compliance). Yearly billing lowers them to $16, $27 and $49 a month. StyleSeat is $19 a month after a 21-day free trial, with marketing tools, loyalty and a marketplace listing included.
Does Acuity have a client marketplace?
No. Acuity is scheduling software, with no marketplace to help you find new clients. On StyleSeat, your profile shows in our marketplace and you pay only when it brings you a new client: 30% of the first visit, capped at $50. Their return visits have no new-client fee.
Does Acuity offer marketing texts or emails?
Acuity sends one automated text reminder per appointment, on its Standard plan ($34 a month) and up, and it has no promotional texting. For marketing emails it connects to email apps such as Squarespace Email Campaigns. StyleSeat includes email and text marketing, with 500 free one-time text credits, then packs from $5 for 750 credits.
Does Acuity have surge or peak-hour pricing?
No. Acuity's service prices are static on every plan. StyleSeat's Smart Pricing raises your price automatically when demand peaks, and StyleSeat's fee is 5.5% of the full price of each smart-priced appointment, and $0 during your trial.
Is StyleSeat cheaper than Acuity?
For a solo pro in the first year, yes. Acuity's price does not include card processing, which your processor charges, for example Square's 2.6% + 15¢ in person. StyleSeat charges $0 card fees for 21 days, then 1.9% + 30¢ for six months, then 2.5% + 30¢ in person and 2.6% + 30¢ online. In our comparison of a solo pro doing $6,000 a month at a $120 average ticket, all in person, StyleSeat costs about $1,878 in year one and Acuity Starter with Square about $2,202, before new-client fees. After your first six months it is close.
What does Acuity do better?
Acuity's Premium plan ($61 a month) offers a booking API, custom CSS and HIPAA compliance for medical and wellness businesses, and one Acuity account runs up to 36 staff calendars. Those are real strengths StyleSeat doesn't offer. StyleSeat has no salon plan or seat fees. Each pro has their own account and plan. If you're a beauty pro who wants new clients from a marketplace, $0 fees for your 21-day trial and 1.9% + 30¢ for six months after it, StyleSeat is likely the better fit.
What Acuity users are actually saying
Excerpts from reviews on Trustpilot, the App Store, Google Play, G2 and Capterra, dated and sourced.
“AVOID, AVOID, AVOID. We've lost so much business since moving to Acuity. There are so many glitches with the client accounts and no effort by Acuity to fix them.”
“I love acuity. I've been using it for almost two years now and I appreciate the updates made every now and then. However, there are some things I think should be added to make it more convenient for both business owners and customers.”
“It has been constantly logging me out for weeks and support has been useless. I close the app and open it again and I'm logged out. UPDATE: After a week of back and forth and making me do all the work to troubleshoot, nothing is fixed and they closed the ticket. So I have to start all over again. Garbage. It has now been almost two months and still no resolution. We will be looking for alternatives with customer support that actually responds and fixes the problem.”
“I accidentally signed up and you took my money every month even though I never once used the service.”
“If a client makes a booking with the same name as an existing client, Acuity will treat them as one client and merge their records.”
“Integration with Squarespace [is] restrictive. The scheduler options [are] confusing initially, then limited.”
“Scheduling features seem to constantly have issues staying scheduled and/or notifying of appointments.”