A Mindbody Alternative Built Specifically for Hair and Beauty
Skip the fitness-first platform and the enterprise price tag. Simple Salon is purpose-built for salons, with transparent pricing and no marketplace commission.
Why Salon Owners Are Switching From Mindbody
Simple Salon is a Mindbody alternative built specifically for hair and beauty businesses, not adapted from software made for gyms and fitness studios. Founded in 2005, it runs salons, spas and clinics across Australia and New Zealand with online bookings, POS, rostering and marketing built around how a salon actually works. Mindbody is a well-known platform in the wellness industry, but it was architected primarily for fitness studios, yoga classes, and wellness centres, not hair salons and beauty businesses. Salon owners who evaluate it often find that the features most relevant to their business are secondary to the platform’s core use case, and the pricing starts at USD $129/month before you get much value out of it. For a salon that wants software built around its actual workflow, not adapted from a gym management system, a purpose-built Mindbody alternative is the more direct fit.
The Real Cost: Mindbody vs Simple Salon
| Feature / Cost (USD) | Mindbody | Simple Salon ★ The Smart Choice |
|---|---|---|
| Starting price | USD $99/mo (Starter) | USD $20/mo (Starter) |
| Primary audience | Fitness, yoga & wellness studios | Hair salons, beauty & nail businesses |
| Marketplace commission | Yes, commission on new clients | No marketplace, no commission |
| Transparent public pricing | Partial | Yes, all plans published |
| Salon-specific reports | Limited | 40+ reports incl. rebooking, KPI dashboard, benchmarking |
| Marketing automation | Available | Smart Send included: rebook, win-back, birthday, follow-up |
| Memberships & packages | Available (class-focused) | Included (service-focused) |
| Loyalty points | Available | Included |
| BYO payment processor | Limited | Yes (Tyro, Stripe, Worldline, PIN, Mercury, KPay) |
| BNPL (Afterpay, ZipPay) | Not standard | Supported |
| SMS reminders | Available (pricing varies) | 200 SMS/operator/mo included on Pro |
| Staff rostering | Available | Included |
| Stock/inventory management | Limited | Included |
| Free trial | 30-day | Yes |
| Mobile app | Yes | Yes (iOS & Android) |
Built for Salons, Not Adapted From a Fitness Platform
Mindbody grew up solving the specific challenges of fitness studios: class capacity management, membership tiers for recurring sessions, instructor scheduling, and consumer marketplace discovery for workout classes. Those are real problems, but they’re not the problems a hair salon owner faces. Simple Salon is built around the salon workflow from the ground up: appointment books by stylist, POS with product retail and service charges, rebooking rate tracking, client consultation history, staff commissions, and resource/room booking. You’re not using a tool that was designed for something else.
A Fraction of the Starting Price
Mindbody’s entry-level plan starts at USD $129/month, which, at current exchange rates, is over AUD $200/month before you’ve added any meaningful features. Simple Salon’s Starter plan begins at AUD $20/month, Pro at AUD $34 per operator per month. For a 4-operator salon on Pro, that’s approximately AUD $136/month with 40+ reports, Smart Send marketing, memberships, loyalty, and SMS included. The cost comparison for a growing salon is significant.
Your data is yours, always
Some providers make it hard to leave, locking your client list and history behind a paywall, charging you to export your own data, or tying you into long contracts and other strange rules. We don’t play those games. With Simple Salon your clients, bookings and reports are always yours: export everything anytime, at no cost, with no lock-in. If you ever move on, you take it all with you.
No Marketplace Commission on Your Own Clients
Mindbody operates a consumer marketplace where clients can discover your business, but acquiring new clients through that marketplace comes with a commission. Simple Salon doesn’t operate a marketplace and doesn’t take a cut of your revenue. Clients you attract through your own website, social media, Google listing, or word of mouth are entirely yours, at no additional cost.
40+ Reports Designed Around How Salons Measure Success
Mindbody’s reporting is functional but not salon-specific. Simple Salon includes 40+ reports built for hair and beauty business metrics: rebooking rates, revenue per service, staff performance, KPI dashboards, benchmarking, retail vs. service splits, loyalty points activity, and more. These are the numbers that help you understand whether your salon is growing, not generic class attendance metrics repurposed for a different context.
Built for Salons, Not Adapted From a Fitness Platform
Mindbody grew up solving the specific challenges of fitness studios: class capacity management, membership tiers for recurring sessions, instructor scheduling, and consumer marketplace discovery for workout classes. Those are real problems, but they’re not the problems a hair salon owner faces. Simple Salon is built around the salon workflow from the ground up: appointment books by stylist, POS with product retail and service charges, rebooking rate tracking, client consultation history, staff commissions, and resource/room booking. You’re not using a tool that was designed for something else.
A Fraction of the Starting Price
Mindbody’s entry-level plan starts at USD $129/month, which, at current exchange rates, is over AUD $200/month before you’ve added any meaningful features. Simple Salon’s Starter plan begins at AUD $20/month, Pro at AUD $34 per operator per month. For a 4-operator salon on Pro, that’s approximately AUD $136/month with 40+ reports, Smart Send marketing, memberships, loyalty, and SMS included. The cost comparison for a growing salon is significant.
Your data is yours, always
Some providers make it hard to leave, locking your client list and history behind a paywall, charging you to export your own data, or tying you into long contracts and other strange rules. We don’t play those games. With Simple Salon your clients, bookings and reports are always yours: export everything anytime, at no cost, with no lock-in. If you ever move on, you take it all with you.
No Marketplace Commission on Your Own Clients
Mindbody operates a consumer marketplace where clients can discover your business, but acquiring new clients through that marketplace comes with a commission. Simple Salon doesn’t operate a marketplace and doesn’t take a cut of your revenue. Clients you attract through your own website, social media, Google listing, or word of mouth are entirely yours, at no additional cost.
40+ Reports Designed Around How Salons Measure Success
Mindbody’s reporting is functional but not salon-specific. Simple Salon includes 40+ reports built for hair and beauty business metrics: rebooking rates, revenue per service, staff performance, KPI dashboards, benchmarking, retail vs. service splits, loyalty points activity, and more. These are the numbers that help you understand whether your salon is growing, not generic class attendance metrics repurposed for a different context.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the main difference between Mindbody and Simple Salon?
Does Mindbody charge commission on bookings?
Is Simple Salon suitable for a multi-location salon group?
What salon-specific reports does Simple Salon offer that Mindbody doesn't?
Can I use my existing payment terminals with Simple Salon?
Does Simple Salon have a free trial?
Yes. Simple Salon offers a free trial, no credit card required to get started. Mindbody offers a 30-day free trial on some plans.
Does Mindbody lock me into a long-term contract?
Salon Software That’s Actually Built for Salons
Start a free trial and discover why salon owners switch from Mindbody to salon software built around their business.