The grid is the product

Nail salon scheduling software is who works, which services they can do, and which times are still open. Mai’s acrylic column, a pedicure tech who does not do gel-X, a booth renter on a short Saturday, a Monday that is dark for one person. If the software charges a monthly seat to create that column, the schedule gets expensive as the floor grows. Clients do not care about the seat. They care that their tech is on the book.

Calendar puts those columns on one plan: $20/month, unlimited staff, unlimited customers, booking website, and Google Reserve. It does not answer the phone. It does not clock people in. The parent category is nail salon software.

What a nail schedule has to respect

  • Skill. Not every column can take every service. A fill request has to land on someone who does fills.
  • Length. Overlapping the wrong way turns a 90-minute set into a lobby argument. The open time has to be a real hole.
  • Request. Regulars book the person, not the shop. The column has to be visible.
  • The odd shift. One tech, three evenings. You should not buy a new plan tier to show those evenings.

The client-facing side of this grid is booking software and online booking. Once a hole becomes a visit, the record is appointment software.

Per-user scheduling versus unlimited staff

Mangomint’s pricing page, fetched September 22, 2026, bills $120/month base + $10 per user, and their FAQ counts every staff profile. Scheduling eight techs on that model is a users bill, and you also get their broader platform. Calendar’s scheduling offer is the columns and the public book, not that platform. Eight columns do not change the $20.

GlossGenius, fetched the same day, does not use a $10 seat on the beauty cards we saw. Gold is described for businesses up to 9 staff, at $56/month or $48/month billed annually, and includes Google Booking on that card. Platinum is the larger-team plan. Their time tracking and payroll add-on ($40/month + $6 per seat) are back-office tools. Calendar does not include a time clock, so do not buy it as one. Numbers and the “best for which job” cut: best nail salon software.

Sources: mangomint.com/pricing and glossgenius.com/pricing, September 22, 2026. Bukkii has no free trial. Their trials are their policy.

Scheduling is not payroll and not the phone

Management software is where payroll and inventory live in the market. Keep those on a system built for them. Keep the POS you have: nail salon POS.

The schedule also does not pick up the handset. When the tech on the column is mid-set, AIVA answers: $200 one-time, no monthly plan fee, no free trial. A solo schedule is the extreme case — one column, no one free to reach the phone — on AI phone and Calendar for a solo salon.

Get Calendar — $20/mo to put the staff on the book. Get AIVA — $200 when the schedule is full and the phone is the leak. We do not claim a sync that writes this grid into Vagaro, Booksy, or Mangomint. If that is already the grid the floor trusts, read keep Vagaro or Booksy and add the phone instead of rebuilding the week.

Two offers: AIVA on the phone, Calendar on the book

Bukkii sells two layers. They are separate products. Neither one is a free trial.

AIVA — the phone layer — $200 one-time

AIVA is the AI receptionist for inbound calls. She answers the shop number, books the service, and texts the appointment. $200 one-time. No monthly plan fee. No free trial. Get AIVA — $200. Hear her at (215) 791-6766.

Calendar — the booking layer — $20/month

Calendar is the booking website plus Google Reserve — the Book Online button on Google Maps. $20/month. Unlimited staff. Unlimited customers. It does not answer the phone. Get Calendar — $20/mo. Both cards are on pricing.

FAQ

What is nail salon scheduling software?

It is the staff grid for a nail shop: which tech works which hours, which services they perform, and which chairs can be booked at the same time. Clients see the open holes. The owner sees the day.

Does scheduling software charge per nail tech?

Some platforms do. Mangomint's pricing page, fetched September 22, 2026, is $120/month base plus $10 per user, and a user includes staff profiles. Bukkii Calendar is $20/month with unlimited staff. Calendar still does not include their POS or payroll.

Does Calendar build a payroll schedule or a time clock?

No. It schedules bookable staff for appointments. Clock-in, commissions, and payroll are not part of the Calendar plan. GlossGenius lists time tracking and a payroll add-on on its own pricing page. We are not that product.

Can clients book a specific tech?

Yes. That is the point of a nail schedule. Regulars ask for the person who did the last set. The column has to exist without a new monthly seat.

Who answers when the scheduled tech is mid-service and the phone rings?

Not Calendar. AIVA is the phone layer at $200 one-time. She can book against the staff calendar. The $20 plan does not pick up.