What is the best booking software for spray tan artists?

It depends on how you work. Primzy charges a flat $40 a month with 0% commission on bookings from your shared link, plus deposits, a waitlist, and a formula library for solution records. Sunsette is built only for tanning and lists travel zones and group checkout, at a US$59 starting price on its Capterra listing (2026), which shows no user ratings yet.

What prep instructions should clients get before a spray tan?

A June 16, 2026 prep guide from tanning brand SUGARED + BRONZED says to exfoliate the night before, shave at least 24 hours ahead, skip lotion, oils, deodorant, perfume, and makeup, and wear loose dark clothing. It is a brand's guidance, so match it to your own solution's instructions and show it at booking.

How often do spray tan clients rebook?

SUGARED + BRONZED (June 16, 2026) says most tans last about 10 to 14 days, which sets a natural rebooking rhythm for regulars. That is a brand's estimate and varies by solution and skin, so track real intervals in client notes before you design packages.

Do online deposits cost extra in processing fees?

On some platforms they do. Vagaro's own pricing article (October 5, 2026) lists keyed-in payments at 3.5% plus $0.19 per transaction, while Koalendar's June 26, 2026 review lists $0.30. Ask every platform what rate applies to online deposits, not only to in-person payments. On Primzy, the client pays card processing at checkout, so it is $0 to you.

What do spray tan artists complain about with booking platforms?

One Trustpilot reviewer wrote on January 12, 2026 that Booksy kept charging after a subscription was cancelled, and a September 13, 2026 Trustpilot review says GlossGenius held over $18,000 of a business's funds for nearly a month. Each is one customer's account, and the sources are linked in the post.

Best Booking Software for Spray Tan Artists (2026 Guide)

Q: Is there an FDA notice spray tan artists should show clients?

The FDA's sunless tanners page (content current as of October 15, 2024) says consumers should request measures to protect their eyes and mucous membranes and prevent inhalation. Listing your protection measures in a booking-page notice gives clients that information before they confirm.

Quick answer: If you bring your own spray tan clients, Primzy is our pick: a flat $40 a month, 0% commission on your own link, deposits, a waitlist, and solution records. Sunsette is built only for tanning, GlossGenius suits prepaid packages, Square offers a free start, and Fresha, Booksy, or StyleSeat suit pros who need new clients.

Updated October 2026. Prices change often, so confirm every figure on each vendor's site before you commit.

A wedding tan cannot be rebooked after the wedding. A prom tan has a date, a pageant tan has a call time, and a client who skips the prep instructions can wreck the result. Add equipment in the trunk and a drive across town, and you can see why a generic salon calendar falls short.

We make Primzy, so we rank ourselves first and show our reasoning. We also say where we are not the right fit, quote customers' own complaints with sources and dates, and flag numbers that conflict across sources.

What Spray Tan Artists Actually Need

Prep instructions that arrive before the appointment. A SUGARED + BRONZED prep guide (June 16, 2026, from a tanning brand) tells clients to exfoliate the night before, shave at least 24 hours ahead, arrive with no lotion, oils, deodorant, perfume, or makeup, and wear loose dark clothing. Your software has to put those rules in front of the client at booking, and again before the visit.

Solution, shade, and timing records. The same guide says DHA starts working one to eight hours after the appointment and the final shade arrives 12 to 24 hours later, with a rinse time set by the artist. So the record that matters is what you sprayed, at what strength, with what rinse time, and how it looked. That is a formula library, notes, and photos, not just a name and a number.

Safety notices clients see before they confirm. The FDA's page on sunless tanners and bronzers (content current as of October 15, 2024) advises consumers:

"request measures to protect their eyes and mucous membranes and prevent inhalation." U.S. Food and Drug Administration, Sunless Tanners & Bronzers

State your protection measures in a notice on the booking page, so the answer is on record.

Mobile or studio sessions, travel, and groups. Sunsette, a spray tan specialist, lists travel zones with routing and travel buffers, plus group booking with split or grouped checkout (Capterra listing, vendor-sourced). A bridal party of six is one booking to the bride and six to your calendar.

Last-minute event bookings and deposits. Event clients book late and cancel late. You need a deposit to hold the date, a waitlist to refill it, and a booking flow with no account to create.

Packages and memberships. SUGARED + BRONZED says most tans last about 10 to 14 days. That rhythm is why regulars buy bundles, so ask any platform how it sells and tracks them.

Where the Big Platforms Let Spray Tan Artists Down

Event seasons concentrate your income into short bursts, so surprise charges and held payouts hurt more. Each complaint below is documented and attributed, and each is one customer's account, one side of the story.

Charges you did not expect

A Booksy reviewer on Trustpilot wrote:

"I cancel my subscription but they keep charging me be very careful" Trustpilot review, Booksy listing, January 12, 2026

Booksy's pricing page lists $29.99 a month, $20 for each added user, and 30% of a Boost client's first visit, capped at $100.

Money held back during your busiest weeks

A GlossGenius reviewer reported a hold on payouts:

"They have held over $18,000 of our business funds for nearly a month" Trustpilot review, GlossGenius listing, September 13, 2026

That listing held only 10 reviews and a 2.2 TrustScore when we last checked (Trustpilot blocks automated re-checks, so confirm it there), too small a sample to judge the company, and the reviewer ties the hold to processing over $10,000 in a week, far above our example below. We include it because event-season cash flow is real. GlossGenius's pricing page lists Standard at $28 a month ($24 billed annually) with packages and memberships included, Gold at $56 ($48 annually) for forms and the waitlist, a flat 2.6% on cards, and 1.8% more for instant payouts.

Commission on clients you did not need them to find

"Too expensive and they don't send you clients like they advertise." Trustpilot review, StyleSeat listing, September 24, 2026

StyleSeat's pricing page (accessed October 12, 2026) lists $19 a month as a limited-time new-pro rate and $199 a year, while its August 2026 blog post says $35 a month and a 30% fee on a new client's first appointment, capped at $50. Fresha's pricing page lists 20% on new marketplace clients with a $6 minimum, and says direct booking links are free.

Taking payment on site

Mobile artists collect at a venue, where a stalled app is a real problem:

"Vagaro will log me out in the middle of taking a clients payment." Trustpilot review, Vagaro listing, February 25, 2026

Vagaro's pricing page shows $23.99 a month "exclusive" for six months, down from $30. Its price list (updated October 5, 2026) adds $10 for Forms, the add-on a consent or prep form would use, and 3.5% plus $0.19 on keyed-in payments.

What This Looks Like in Real Numbers

Assumptions (ours, for illustration): a solo artist with one calendar takes 40 sessions a month at a $60 average, so $2,400 in services. Each booking takes a 30% online deposit, $18 each, so $720 in online deposits. We use the online card rates each vendor publishes. In one scenario, 8 of the 40 sessions are first visits from a platform's marketplace. On Primzy the client pays card processing at checkout, so that line is $0 to the artist.

Platform	Month, own link only	Month, with 8 marketplace first visits	Processing on $720 of online deposits
Primzy	$40	$112 ($40 + 8 x 15% x $60 = $72, if all eight are found in the Primzy marketplace)	$0 to you (the client pays it)
GlossGenius Standard	$28 monthly, $24 annual	Same	$18.72
Vagaro (Forms add-on)	$40	$40 on the free listing; 20% of a first booking only on opt-in Fill My Books	$32.80
Fresha	$19.95	$115.95	$28.09
Booksy	$29.99	$173.99	$31.37
StyleSeat	$19 to $35	$163 to $179	$30.72
Square Appointments	Free $0, or Plus $49	Same	$35.76 on Free, $32.88 on Plus
Sunsette	From $59	Not stated	Not stated

The arithmetic, checked: $60 × 30% = $18 per deposit, and 40 × $18 = $720. Eight first visits cost StyleSeat or Booksy 8 × (30% × $60 = $18) = $144 and Fresha 8 × (20% × $60 = $12, above the $6 minimum) = $96, which gives Fresha $19.95 + $96 = $115.95, Booksy $29.99 + $144 = $173.99, and StyleSeat $19 + $144 = $163 or $35 + $144 = $179. Primzy takes a one-time 15% on a brand-new client's first booking found in its marketplace, so 8 × (15% × $60 = $9) = $72 and $40 + $72 = $112. Vagaro is $30 + $10 = $40, with processing of $720 × 3.5% = $25.20 plus 40 × $0.19 = $7.60, so $32.80. GlossGenius is $720 × 2.6% = $18.72. Fresha's 2.79% + $0.20 is $20.09 + $8.00 = $28.09. Booksy's 2.69% + $0.30 is $19.37 + $12.00 = $31.37. StyleSeat's 2.6% + $0.30 is $18.72 + $12.00 = $30.72. Square Free's 3.3% + $0.30 is $23.76 + $12.00 = $35.76, and Plus at 2.9% + $0.30 is $20.88 + $12.00 = $32.88.

Read this honestly. Before processing, Square Free at $0 and the entry prices at Fresha and StyleSeat are lower than $40 a month. Add processing on the $720 of deposits and the own-link totals are Square Free $35.76, Primzy $40 (the client pays the card fee), GlossGenius $46.72, Fresha $48.04, Booksy $61.36, StyleSeat $49.72 to $65.72, and Vagaro $72.80, so Square Free is the only one below Primzy. With eight marketplace first visits, Primzy's one-time 15% brings it to $112 before processing, close to Fresha's $115.95 and below Booksy and StyleSeat, while GlossGenius, Vagaro, and Square list no new-client fee. Primzy's case is a flat published price with no commission on your own link, plus the records and tools below. Rates come from vendor pages, and Vagaro's keyed-in fee conflicts across sources: $0.19 on Vagaro's own article, $0.30 in Koalendar's June 26, 2026 review. We used Vagaro's own figure.

Quick Comparison

Platform	Starting price	Fee on new clients	Spray tan strengths we verified	Online processing
Primzy	$40/month flat	0% on shared-link bookings; one-time 15% on a marketplace first booking	30% deposit, disclaimers, formula library, waitlist	$0 to you (the client pays it)
GlossGenius	$28 monthly, $24 annual	None found	Packages and memberships on Standard	2.6% flat
Sunsette	From $59	Not stated	Rinse reminders, travel zones, group checkout	Not stated
Square Appointments	Free; Plus $49	None found	Free plan	3.3% + $0.30 on Free
Vagaro	$30 ($23.99 intro)	None on the free listing; 20% on opt-in Fill My Books	Forms add-on, $10	3.5% + $0.19 keyed-in
Fresha	$19.95	20%, $6 minimum, marketplace only	100 free text reminders a month	2.79% + $0.20
Booksy	$29.99 + $20 per added user	30% of Boost first visit, $100 cap	Reminders free; 2,000 marketing texts	2.69% + $0.30 keyed-in
StyleSeat	$19 intro (blog says $35)	30% of first visit, $50 cap	Deposits, card on file, intake forms listed	2.6% + $0.30 online after intro

#1: Primzy

Best for: Mobile and studio spray tan artists who bring their own clients and want a flat price, deposits, and solution records.

What makes Primzy work for spray tan artists

Deposits at booking, plus a waitlist. Our current live policy requires a 30% deposit, so a prom or wedding date is held before you turn anyone else away. When a client cancels a confirmed booking, the cancellation waitlist offers the slot to the clients waiting on it, and the first to accept gets it.

Event bookings with no friction. Clients need no account to book, which matters when a bride's cousin books the night before. Google Calendar sync is included, and reminders go out by SMS, email, and in-app notification. Booking confirmations and day-before reminders are not metered, and 500 texts a month are included for mass texts and automations, with extra texts at $5 per 250, valid for the current month, handy for a prom-season push.

Your prep rules and safety notice at booking. Custom service disclaimers show each client what to read before they confirm: prep steps, your protection measures, and your cancellation terms. You can follow up with the prep reminder through direct messaging.

Solution and shade records. The Client CRM keeps private notes, a formula library linked to each client for solution, strength, and rinse time, client photos for how the tan developed. Booking history and reports export to CSV, but there is no client-list export.

On-site payments and a second tanner. Tap to Pay on iPhone is available for contactless cards at the venue, and Android is in testing. Salon Workspace, part of Salon mode at $60 a month plus $5 a month per employee seat, adds multi-staff calendars with per-employee conflict detection, plus inventory with usage logging and low-stock alerts for solution.

A flat, published price. $40 a month for one pro, 0% commission on bookings through your own shared link, and a 30-day free trial with no card needed. A team uses Salon mode: $60 a month plus $5 a month per employee seat. Card processing fees are paid by your clients at checkout, so they cost you $0.

Where we take a share. Primzy runs a local client discovery marketplace. A one-time 15% commission applies to a brand-new client's first booking found there, and bookings through your own shared link and every repeat booking are 0%. If you teach a live class, such as a spray tan technique workshop, Primzy keeps 20% of class sales.

The honest trade

We do not claim travel zones, mileage pricing, group split checkout, or automated rinse reminders. Sunsette lists those. We are not going to claim packages or memberships billing here, and GlossGenius lists both on Standard, so if prepaid bundles drive your revenue, start there. Our intake forms are e-signed and attached per service, but the client completes them after the booking is confirmed, and we make no legal-compliance claim about them. The 30% deposit is required today, and we do not charge no-show fees to a stored card. If another marketplace sends you clients, keep it while you move your regulars to your own link.

Use Primzy if:

You want deposits and a waitlist without a percentage on your regulars
You want solution, strength, and rinse notes on every client
You are adding a second tanner and want a small per-seat price
You want a platform that invests in your career, such as through the Professional Freedom Grant

#2: GlossGenius

Best for: Artists who sell prepaid packages and memberships and want a polished page.

Packages and memberships are included on Standard at $28 monthly ($24 annual), per GlossGenius's pricing page, and its April 13, 2026 article matches. The catch: forms and the waitlist sit on Gold at $56 monthly, card payments carry 2.6%, and the page shows only a 2025 copyright with no pricing date.

#3: Sunsette

Best for: Mobile and group-heavy tanners who want a tool built only for tanning.

Capterra's listing shows a US$59 starting flat rate for 2 to 10 users. It lists rinse reminders based on solution type, solution inventory, travel zones, studio, mobile, and hybrid scheduling, group booking, and deposits. The catch: the listing shows zero user ratings or reviews and covers the United States only, so there is no independent track record yet. All features are vendor-sourced.

#4: Square Appointments

Best for: Artists who want to start at $0.

Free, Plus at $49, and Premium at $149 per location, per Square's pricing page (accessed October 12, 2026). The catch: Koalendar (June 26, 2026) says Free is solo only with no SMS reminders, but Square's own page lists unlimited staff calendars and reminders on Free. Cancellation policies and no-show fees start on Plus, and it is not built for beauty.

#5: Vagaro

Best for: Studios with a team that want a long add-on menu.

The catch: forms and text marketing are priced separately, and online deposits run at 3.5% plus $0.19.

#6: Fresha

Best for: Artists who want a low subscription and a marketplace.

$19.95 with 100 free text and WhatsApp reminders a month, then $0.02 per text. The catch: 20% on new marketplace clients, $0.08 per marketing text, and 2.79% plus $0.20 online.

#7: Booksy

Best for: Artists who want marketplace discovery and a per-user plan.

$29.99 for one user, reminders free, 2,000 marketing texts included. The catch: 30% of a Boost client's first visit and $20 a month per added user.

#8: StyleSeat

Best for: Artists who want a marketplace and a low intro price.

$19 a month, with deposits, card on file, and intake forms listed. The catch: 30% of a first visit, and a $19 limited-time rate against $35 on its own blog.

One more specialty tool

Vev's spray tan page lists prep and cleanup time, deposits, Tap to Pay on iPhone, and QR payments (vendor-sourced). Its prices conflict across its own pages: the spray tan page says the core tool is free, the pricing page says from $9.99 with no free-forever plan, and a help article says $8.99. Confirm with Vev.

Free Booking Software for Spray Tan Artists

Square Appointments has a $0 plan, with online payments at 3.3% plus $0.30. Vev advertises a free basic version, though its pricing page disagrees. Primzy has a 30-day free trial, no card needed, and beauty school students use Primzy free until they graduate (enrollment is self-reported), with every pro tool except text messaging, in any specialty, so students who spray tan can build a bookable link before they are licensed.

When Primzy Is Not the Best Fit

You run a mobile route. We do not claim travel zones or mileage pricing, so Sunsette's design may suit a multi-stop day better.
Bridal parties pay as a group. We do not claim split group checkout.
Packages and memberships are your core revenue. GlossGenius lists them on Standard.
You rely on a marketplace for new clients. Ours is a local discovery marketplace with a one-time 15% on a brand-new client's first booking found there. Fresha, Booksy, and StyleSeat also run marketplaces.
Signed consent must happen before the booking is confirmed. Our e-signed intake forms are completed after the booking is confirmed.
You want the lowest possible solo cost. Square Free at $0 wins on price.

How to Choose

If your biggest issue is last-minute event bookings: Use a deposit to hold the date, a waitlist to refill it, and a booking flow with no account to create.

If your biggest issue is clients skipping prep: Put prep steps in a notice at booking, then message the client before the visit.

If your biggest issue is travel and group sessions: Look at Sunsette for travel zones and group checkout, and weigh its short track record.

If your biggest issue is packages and memberships: Start with GlossGenius, and check how any platform bills them.

If your biggest issue is solution and shade records: Choose a platform that links formulas, notes, and photos to the client, and confirm export.

If your biggest issue is surprise charges or held payouts: Read the linked complaints, compare payout terms in writing, and keep your client list exportable.

Primzy is a beauty booking platform, CRM, and career investment community built exclusively for independent beauty professionals. Learn more at primzybeauty.com.

Best Booking Software for Spray Tan Artists in 2026

What Spray Tan Artists Actually Need