Comparison

SalonUltimate vs ThinkWare

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

SalonUltimate

This comprehensive business management app streamlines salon and spa operations. It handles bookings, payments, client management, staff scheduling, and marketing campaigns. Designed for businesses of all sizes, it offers robust features for efficiency and customer experience.

Highlights
  • Enterprise controls
  • Online booking portal
  • Drag-and-drop appointments
  • Self check-in/out
  • Email & SMS marketing
  • Employee scheduling
  • Branded app customization
Features
Read full description

SalonUltimate, Powered by BookedBy, is the most comprehensive salon and spa management point-of-sale (POS) app, offering solutions for bookings, payments, marketing, and the management of clients, staff and inventory. We've been at the forefront of the salon and spa management software category since 2012, serving independent businesses and entire franchise systems, such as Sport Clips®, Sharkey's Cuts for Kids®, Diesel Barbershops®, and various other brands at thousands of stores across North America. Today, our customers process more than 60 million annual bookings and check-ins, providing a gold-standard experience for both their customers and employees. "SalonUltimate revolutionized the way we manage our appointments, streamlining our workflow, and enhancing our overall customer experience." – Scott Sharkey, CEO & Co-Founder of Sharkey's Cuts for Kids. SALONULTIMATE FEATURES - Enterprise Controls – Control branding, role permissions, and location access. - Bookings – Get your own branded online portal for bookings. - Appointments – Easily book and modify appointments with simple drag and drop capabilities. - Self-Check-In & Check-Out – Increase tips and re-bookings without lifting a finger. - Wait Times – Real-time wait times. - Area Availability – Multi-unit operators can view service availability at any location, 24/7. - Email & SMS Campaigns – Drive revenue through marketing. - Automated Notifications – Email and SMS. - Customer Surveys – Understand what motivates your customer base. - Employee Scheduling – Create staff schedules from anywhere. - Branded App – Customize our app with your brand. - Integrations – Compatible with Tippy, QuickBooks, Google Reserve, Sage, Facebook Reviews, Yelp Reviews, SSO Apple & Google for Online booking, Apple Calendar, Google Calendar, and more. WHY SALONULTIMATE - Booking: SalonUltimate is the industry's most sophisticated software for managing walk-in and online booking appointments, relieving employees of logistical challenges and ensuring your clients have a seamless experience with their service providers. - Industry-Leading Uptime: A POS system is the backbone of your business, and when the system goes down, your business goes down. With SalonUltimate, customers can rest easy, as we maintain a 99.99% uptime. - Flexibility: Our app is designed for complete flexibility, allowing you to tailor it to the unique needs of your business during the onboarding process. - Ongoing Support: We provide unlimited phone, email, and text support. - Unlimited Users & Devices: Avoid the multi-unit pricing trap – all SalonUltimate subscription pricing is per location, per month, with unlimited users and devices. - Works For All Salons and Spas: SalonUltimate is robust enough for multi-unit and enterprise operations yet simple enough for independent salon owners. It is accessible on all iOS devices, personal computers, and we are the preferred POS software partner for salon and spa businesses using Clover hardware. APP LOGIN SalonUltimate is exclusively available to current monthly subscribers. Please log in using your SalonUltimate URL, username, and password. PURCHASING A SUBSCRIPTION TO SALONULTIMATE If you're ready to discover what SalonUltimate can do for your salon or spa, contact us at sales@salonultimate.com or schedule a demo at salonultimate.com. TECHNICAL SUPPORT For technical questions or assistance, please contact us at support@salonultimate.com or call +1 (855) 466-9332.

About

ThinkWare

Access essential payroll and HR data from your service provider. Employees can log time, view pay history, manage personal information, and request time off.

Highlights
  • Enter time clock information
  • View past time punch data
  • Access pay history and details
  • View personal HR information
  • Request personal time off
  • Track PTO and vacation requests
Features
Read full description

ThinkWare keeps you connected to your vital payroll and HR information from your service provider. Employees can - Enter time clock information with optional GEO location - View past time punch information - View all Pay History and all associated details - View personal payroll and HR information - Request Personal Time Off and Vacation - View all pending and past PTO and Vacation requests

Screenshots

SalonUltimate4 screens
ThinkWare4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: ThinkWare at 100% against SalonUltimate's 33%. ThinkWare also leads on rating (3.6 vs 2.3) and update cadence (weekly vs monthly). On price, ratings volume, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

ThinkWare holds the better App Store score, 3.6 against 2.3. Both are backed by a comparable volume of ratings — 7 and 5 respectively. Written reviews point the same way: 33% of SalonUltimate's written reviews are positive against 100% of ThinkWare's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

SalonUltimate ships an update monthly, ThinkWare weekly. Both last shipped on June 4, 2026.

Scorecard4 real differences · 6 level
SalonUltimate versus ThinkWare: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterSalonUltimateThinkWare
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.3 (7 ratings)3.6 (5 ratings) — better
Positive reviews33.3% of reviews100.0% of reviews — better
Number of ratings7 — better5
Update frequencyMonthlyWeekly — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPhone, iPad, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod
Requires iOS13.411.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size99 MB18 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperOpenSpend Inc.ThinkWare, Inc.

Customer experience

SalonUltimate

All ratings7 ratings
Positive28.6%
Neutral0.0%
Negative71.4%
Written reviews12 reviews
Positive33.3%
Neutral0.0%
Negative66.7%

ThinkWare

All ratings5 ratings
Positive60.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative40.0%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive100.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative0.0%

In-app purchases

None

SalonUltimate

No in-app purchases

None

ThinkWare

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is SalonUltimate free?
SalonUltimate is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is ThinkWare free?
ThinkWare is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, SalonUltimate or ThinkWare?
ThinkWare is rated higher. SalonUltimate averages 2.3 out of 5 from 7 ratings, while ThinkWare averages 3.6 from 5 ratings.
Do SalonUltimate or ThinkWare have ads?
Neither SalonUltimate nor ThinkWare shows ads.
Which is updated more often, SalonUltimate or ThinkWare?
SalonUltimate ships an update monthly, and ThinkWare weekly. Most recently, SalonUltimate was updated on June 4, 2026 and ThinkWare on June 4, 2026.

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