Buying Guide
A barber booking app that handles walk-ins too
Most barber booking apps assume every client has an appointment. Real shops do not. Here is what a booking app needs so booked clients and walk-ins stop fighting over the same chair.
The short answer
Pick a barber booking app that puts booked times and the walk-in line on one schedule. If the two live in separate apps, a barber double-books, a booked client waits, or a walk-in loses a chair they could have had.
On the Pro plan, the NextUp app runs appointments and the walk-in line together. Clients book from a link in your Instagram or Google profile, or walk in and join the line.
What a barber booking app should do
- A booking link per barber for your bio, so regulars book the barber they want.
- Walk-ins fit around booked times, and the wait reflects who is booked next.
- Deposits and no-show fees, so an empty chair is not free.
- Reminders, so fewer clients forget.
- Fill a cancelled time from the line instead of leaving the chair empty.
What goes wrong when booking and walk-ins are separate
| A barber is double-booked | A walk-in is taken for a time already booked | The walk-in wait reflects who is booked next |
|---|---|---|
| A booked client waits behind a walk-in | The line does not know about the book | Booked times and the line share one list of barbers |
| A walk-in loses a chair they could have had | A booked client cancels and nobody is told | The cancelled time is filled from the line |
| An empty chair costs nothing to the client | A booked client does not show | Deposits and no-show fees make an empty chair cost something |
The conflicts a shop sees when the book and the line live in two apps, and what a single schedule does about each.
Booked and walk-in, together
A cancelled booking should become a short wait for the next person in line, not a hole in the day. See our guide to filling cancelled appointment times and how to add a walk-in line to a booking app if you want to keep what you use now.
See online booking, pricing. Pro is $59 a month for the first location and $39 for each extra, with 3 barbers included per location. There is also a Free plan: 1 location, 1 team member and 50 check-ins a month, and no card needed.
What the plans come to for your shop
Enter your locations and everyone who works the line or the chairs. The sum uses the published plan prices and the team-member charge after the included ones.
- Walk-in, per month
- $49
- Pro, per month
- $79
- Paid team seats
- 2 3 included across 1 location
- Walk-in, billed yearly
- $490 a year
- Walk-in
- Pro
Hover or tab to a column for the numbers.
| Walk-in | Pro | |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | $29 | $59 |
| 2 | $29 | $59 |
| 3 | $29 | $59 |
| 4 | $39 | $69 |
| 5 | $49 | $79 |
| 6 | $59 | $89 |
| 7 | $69 | $99 |
| 8 | $79 | $109 |
| 9 | $89 | $119 |
| 10 | $99 | $129 |
| 11 | $109 | $139 |
| 12 | $119 | $149 |
Example: the chart repeats the sum for a team of 1 to 12 people at each location.
Uses the plan prices on the pricing page: $29 (Walk-in) or $59 (Pro) for the first location, $19 or $39 for each extra, 3 team members included per location, then $10 a month each. Card fees and Stripe's processing fee are not included.
A worked example: what booking costs a growing shop
Four barbers on Pro is $69 a month: $59 for the plan, with 3 barbers included, plus $10 for the fourth. Six barbers is $89, and a second location adds $39.
Price every booking app the same way: the plan, each barber after the first few, the card fee on top of the processor, and what the deposit and reminder features cost. The calculator above runs the sum for your own shop.
Questions
What is the best booking app for barbers?
For a shop that takes both appointments and walk-ins, the NextUp app on the Pro plan: booked times and the walk-in line share one schedule, with deposits, reminders and a booking link per barber.
Can clients book without downloading an app?
Yes. Clients book from a link and walk-ins join the line from a QR code or link, with no download.
Do I need Pro to take bookings?
Yes. Appointments and online booking are on the Pro plan at $59 a month for the first location. The Walk-in plan at $29 runs the walk-in line.