Honest comparison

A more complete Book in Beautiful alternative for growing salons

If you are comparing Book in Beautiful with other UK salon booking systems, Orbis Salon gives you more than a booking page. It helps you manage bookings, clients, staff, forms, payments, your salon website, customer portal, apps, marketing, loyalty and growth tools from one connected platform.

Orbis Salon is not affiliated with Book in Beautiful. This page is for salons comparing booking and management software options.

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Choosing UK salon booking software

Simple, low-friction booking tools do one job well: they take bookings. For many independent beauty businesses that is enough. But if you are searching for a Book in Beautiful alternative or comparing Book in Beautiful competitors, it is usually because you want more from your salon software — a salon booking website under your own brand, deeper client records, apps for you and your customers, or tools that actively help you grow.

Orbis Salon is UK salon management software with a salon booking system and no Orbis commission on your bookings. Depending on your plan it adds a branded salon website on your own domain, a customer portal, Client and Manager app experiences, a Windows app for front of house, advanced forms and consent, payments and POS, marketing and review tools, loyalty and memberships, and the Salon SEO Centre.

It works for beauty salons, hair salons, barbers and aesthetics clinics — whether you need a straightforward beauty salon booking system today or aesthetics clinic booking software with clinical records as you grow.

Feature comparison

How Orbis Salon compares with a typical basic booking system. Some Orbis Salon features are available on selected plans.

Feature	Orbis Salon	Typical basic booking system	Notes
Direct online booking			Both approaches cover core 24/7 direct online booking.
No marketplace commission			Many UK booking systems avoid marketplace-style percentage commission. Orbis Salon Standard plans have no Orbis online booking service fee.
Branded website			Orbis Salon includes a full branded website on Website Included plans; basic systems often provide a booking page only.
Customer portal			Clients manage bookings, details, forms and history in a self-service portal.
Manager app			Run the diary, clients and business actions from your phone.
Client app			A client app experience under your salon's branding (native app package with Signature where suitable).
Windows app			A dedicated Windows desktop experience for front of house.
Forms and consent			Advanced forms, consent capture and client preferences on the client record.
Aesthetics records			Clinical-style records for aesthetics clinics — available on selected plans.
Body mapping			Mark treatment areas on visual body maps — available on selected plans.
Treatment plans			Staged treatment plans, courses and memberships — available on selected plans.
Payments and deposits			Deposits, prepayments and card payments where enabled.
POS			Checkout services and products with POS-connected stock — available on selected plans.
Marketing and reviews			Campaigns, review booster and retention tools built in.
Loyalty and memberships			Memberships, packages, courses and retention tools — available on selected plans.
Academy and training tools			Orbis Salon Academy training and team learning tools — available on selected plans.
Premium growth tools			Reports, attribution, waitlist, growth features and more on Growth and Signature.
Switching support			Guided setup support, the Import Centre and a free switch audit for every move.

"Typical basic booking system" describes booking-first tools in general, not any specific provider. Platform features change — always verify current details directly with each provider.

Simple is useful. Complete is better when you are ready to grow.

A simple booking page can be a good starting point. Orbis Salon is built for salons that want to grow into a more complete setup with their own website, customer portal, apps, records, payments, loyalty, marketing and reporting.

Start simple with Orbis Salon Lite View Growth and Signature plans

Limited switcher offer

Switching from another platform?

Eligible salons switching from another platform may qualify for standard app setup included at no extra setup cost. First 25 approved switchers only. Terms apply.

Claim switcher offer View terms

FAQs

Book in Beautiful alternative — your questions

Is Orbis Salon a Book in Beautiful alternative? ▾

Yes. Orbis Salon is a UK salon platform that many salons consider when comparing Book in Beautiful and other UK salon booking software. It covers direct online booking, and depending on your plan adds a branded website, customer portal, apps, forms, payments, marketing tools and premium growth features.

Is Orbis Salon affiliated with Book in Beautiful? ▾

No. Orbis Salon is not affiliated with Book in Beautiful. This page is for salons comparing booking and management software options.

Does Orbis Salon charge booking commission? ▾

Orbis Salon is not a marketplace taking a percentage commission from every booking. Standard plans have no Orbis online booking service fee; Lite and Flex plans have lower monthly pricing and include a small online booking service fee on online bookings. The only other usage costs are optional SMS bundles and any third-party card processing fees.

Can I move from another booking system? ▾

Yes. Every switch starts with a free audit, and guided setup support helps move your services, staff, booking links, client details and website setup across.

Can I import my clients? ▾

In most cases, yes. If your current system lets you export clients as a CSV or spreadsheet, the Orbis Salon Import Centre can bring across names, contact details and notes where available. The exact data we can import depends on what your previous system allows you to export.

Can I use my own domain? ▾

Yes. On Website Included plans your branded salon website runs on your own domain, or we can help you register one.

Does Orbis Salon include apps? ▾

Yes. Orbis Salon includes a Manager app experience for running your salon, a client app experience for your customers, and a Windows app experience for front of house. The native branded app package is included with Signature where suitable.

Does Orbis Salon support loyalty and memberships? ▾

Yes. Memberships, packages, courses and client retention tools are available on selected plans, alongside review requests and rebooking reminders.

Can I use Orbis Salon for aesthetics? ▾

Yes. Selected plans include aesthetics records, body mapping, treatment plans, consent forms and clinical-style client records designed for aesthetics clinics.

Do I get help setting up? ▾

Yes. Orbis Salon includes guided UK-based setup support — from moving your services and clients across to website setup, booking links, forms and app guidance. See the switching support page for the full picture.

Already decided to move? Read the switching from Book in Beautiful guide, see switching support or browse the full comparison hub.

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