Per-seat fees in Canadian salon software, and where ours stop rising
Let us start with the plain answer, because the question deserves one: in Canada, Slotora does charge per seat. Each person a client can book adds to the monthly price, until a ceiling — and past the ceiling, every extra stylist costs nothing. Below is how the other systems Canadian salons use count their seats, from their own pages, and exactly who counts as a seat with us.
See your price in a 14-day trialWhy almost everyone charges by the person
A booking system's work grows with the number of diaries in it: more columns to fill, more reminders, more people logging in at the front desk. Charging per bookable person ties the price to that, and it is why most of the systems on this page do it in some form.
The differences are in the details. One system counts every team member, another counts calendars, a third counts practitioners by the hours they book, and one counts only your locations. Some keep rising for as long as you keep hiring; others stop at a number. For a two-person studio none of that matters much. For a salon of nine it decides the bill.
How the Canadian options count a seat
From each company's own page, read on 10 November 2026. Where a page prints a dollar sign without saying which dollar, we say so rather than guess.
| System | What is counted | Does the count stop? |
|---|---|---|
| Fresha | Each team member on its Team plan; a separate plan for a single calendar. Its page served us pounds, and we found no Canadian-dollar list on Fresha's own site. (1) | Above 20 team members the page sends you to a custom Enterprise rate. (1) |
| Booksy | $29.99 a month plus $20.00 for each additional staff member, plus tax; the Canadian page names no currency. (2) | Yes: extra cost only for the first 14 staff members. (2) |
| Vagaro | $35 a month with one bookable calendar; each added licence is $10 (US), as its own Canadian page puts it. (3) | Yes: from seven licences, more employees cost nothing. (3) |
| Square Appointments | Locations, not people: a free single-location plan, then Plus and Premium per location per month. (4) | There is nothing to stop: the page says there is no employee limit. (4) |
| Jane | Practitioner profiles, at a full-time rate for 24 or more booked hours a week and a part-time rate below that. (5) | Its pricing page did not show a limit to us. (5) |
Numbers in brackets lead to the sources at the foot of the page. Every figure is before tax and leaves out card processing and marketplace fees.
Slotora's price by team size
The same plan for everyone in Canada; only the number of bookable people changes it.
| One bookable person | C$19 a month |
|---|---|
| Each further bookable person | C$10 a month more |
| A team of three | C$39 a month |
| 6 bookable people or more | C$69 a month, however many you add |
| Paid yearly, one person | C$190 a year |
Prices in Canadian dollars. No GST/HST is added at present. The price stops rising at 6 people. A change in your team is billed from the next period, never part-way through one.
Who counts as a seat with us
One rule, taken from the diary itself: a seat is a column a client can book.
Counted: anyone with a diary column
An active team member that clients can book, employed or renting a chair. The owner is the first, so the count is never below one.
Not counted: front-desk logins
A receptionist or manager who signs in but takes no appointments has no column, and adds nothing to the price.
Not counted: someone you switched off
Deactivate a stylist who has left or is on a long leave, and she drops out of the next period's count; her past appointments stay in the books.
Recounted at renewal
Each period starts from the team as it stands on renewal. Hiring in the middle of a month does not produce a surprise part-charge.
Putting the numbers side by side
Take your own team, not an example. Count the people clients can book, then read each line of the table above for that number. Two things change the picture most: whether a system stops counting, and whether the plan you would really need is its cheapest one. Square's free plan, for instance, has no staff scheduling; the staff tools are on its Premium plan.
Add what sits outside the subscription. Card processing goes through your own Stripe account at Stripe's Canadian rates, and Slotora takes no commission on any booking. Some of the others include text reminders in their plan, which Slotora cannot match in Canada yet, because texts are not sent to Canadian numbers; confirmations and reminders go by email.
Where per-person pricing works against you
Plainly, so you can decide:
- A large team under one roof
- A system priced per location never grows with your headcount. Below our ceiling, Slotora does.
- Part-timers
- We count a person, not her hours. A system with a part-time rate can cost less if most of your team works two days.
- Chair renters
- A renter with her own column is a seat on your plan. Agree with her whether her rent covers it.
Questions about paying per seat
Does Slotora charge per staff member in Canada?
Yes, per bookable person, and only up to a ceiling. Past it you can add as many stylists as you like for the same monthly price. Outside Canada, Slotora is not sold this way.
Does my receptionist count?
Not if she only signs in to run the desk. Only people with a column clients can book are counted.
What happens when I hire someone mid-month?
She can take bookings straight away. The price for the new team size starts with your next period; nothing is charged part-way through the current one.
Is there a cheaper plan for one person?
There is no separate plan: one bookable person is simply the lowest point of the same price. The figures are in the table on this page.
Does a stylist renting a chair count as a seat?
Yes, if clients book her in your diary. Her card payments can go to her own Stripe account, but her column is part of your salon's plan.
Is GST/HST added to the price?
Not at present: Belavin Limited is not registered for GST/HST in Canada, so nothing is added. That can change, and the plan page would say so first.
Sources
Each rival's structure is from its own pricing page, read on the day shown. Our figures come from Slotora's Canadian plan.
- Fresha — Pricing — https://www.fresha.com/pricing · Read on Served to us in pounds sterling.
- Booksy — Pricing (Canada) — https://booksy.com/biz/en-ca/pricing · Read on No currency code on the page.
- Vagaro — Pricing (Canada) — https://www.vagaro.com/en-ca/pro/pricing · Read on
- Square Appointments — Pricing (Canada) — https://squareup.com/ca/en/appointments/pricing · Read on
- Jane — Pricing (Canadian prices) — https://jane.app/pricing?locale=en-CA · Read on
Find out what your team would pay
Add your team in the trial and the plan page shows the monthly price for that number of bookable people. No card is needed until you choose to subscribe.