Drybar vs Hand and Stone
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Drybar
Book and manage professional blowout appointments at your favorite salon. Discover exclusive app-only promotions, join membership programs, and find style inspiration for your next visit. Rebook services and locations with ease.
- Book blowout appointments
- Manage appointments
- Exclusive app promotions
- Barfly Membership management
- Find salon locations
- Style inspiration
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At Drybar® shops, our philosophy is simple. Focus on one thing and be the best at it. For us, that’s blowouts. With that purpose in mind, we are focused on giving each and every client the premier blowout experience while providing professional quality products and tools to better help clients achieve and maintain the perfect blowout at home. Easily book a blowout appointment for you and all your friends. View, edit, or cancel your upcoming appointments on your personal home screen and seamlessly rebook your favorite service & location with just a few taps. You can find a Drybar location while on the go and become a Barfly with our Signature or Premium Memberships to ensure your hair is perfect on your most important dates throughout the month. 4 Reasons you'll love our new Mobile Booking App. 1. Get access to promotions and offers sent only to App users. 2. Book all your blowout appointments easily & frequently. 3. Join & manage your monthly Barfly Membership. 4. Find style inspiration for your next appointment.
Hand and Stone
Easily book and customize spa appointments at over 500 locations. Manage your membership, purchase gift cards, and enjoy quick rebooking for your favorite services. Members can also utilize self check-in for a seamless experience.
- Find spa locations
- Book and customize appointments
- Purchase gift cards
- View membership credits
- Quick rebooking
- Self check-in for members
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With the Hand & Stone Mobile App, relaxation and comfort are at your fingertips. You can book an appointment at any of our 500+ locations, and customize your spa experience with our selection of available services and upgrades. You can also purchase a gift card for friends and relatives, or view your available membership credits and loyalty points. The app also features a Quick Booking option for faster booking of repeat services, and a self check-in feature for members. FEATURES 1. Find a location near you, or search from our list of 500+ spa locations throughout the US. 2. Book an appointment, and customize your spa experience with our full selection of massage and facial services. 3. View upcoming and past appointments. 4. Purchase gift cards for friends and relatives. 5. Quickly rebook repeat services from your past appointment history. 6. Create and manage your account, or login using your existing Hand and Stone account login credentials. 7. View membership information, including available service credits and loyalty points.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is rating: Hand and Stone at 3.3 against Drybar's 2.5. Hand and Stone also leads on review sentiment (29% vs 7%) and ratings volume (383 vs 34). Drybar's advantage is monetization model (free vs ad-supported). On price, update cadence, 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
Hand and Stone holds the better App Store score, 3.3 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Hand and Stone has 383 ratings behind it against 34, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 7% of Drybar's written reviews are positive against 29% of Hand and Stone's.
Drybar ships an update monthly, Hand and Stone every 5 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 22, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Drybar | Hand and Stone |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 2.5 (34 ratings) | 3.3 (383 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 7.5% of reviews | 29.4% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 34 | 383 — better |
| Update frequency | Monthly — better | Every 5 weeks |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free — better | Ad-supported |
| Devices | iPhone, iPod | iPhone, iPod |
| Requires iOS | 14.4 | 13.0 — better |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 47 MB | 78 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Drybar | Hand and Stone Franchise Corp. |
Customer experience
Drybar
Hand and Stone
User reviews
Drybar
From 34 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 👍 Easy to book appointments
- 💡 Ability to rebook with same stylist
- 🎯 Single platform for all booking needs
- ✨ Modern and sleek interface design
- 🔄 Remembers previous appointments
Room to improve
- 🐛 Constant login issues and forced re-authentication
- 📱 Unreliable location detection
- 🔄 Doesn't save user preferences despite checkboxes
- ⚠️ Excessive font size and UI scaling problems
- 🔐 Frequent password reset requirements
Hand and Stone
From 383 App Store ratingsWhat we love
- 🙌 Excellent customer service
- 💆♀️ Skilled and experienced massage therapists
- 🧘♀️ Relaxing and rejuvenating experiences
- 🏆 Consistent high-quality services
Room to improve
- 🤖 Buggy and unreliable app
- 🔍 Lack of transparency in membership details
- 🕰️ Difficult to schedule appointments
- 🤷♀️ Poor customer support
- 📵 Inability to link membership to app
Bugs and requests
Drybar
Reported bugs
20 issues- Login credentials not recognized despite being correct
- App logs out user every time it's opened
- Password reset emails not being sent
- Server error messages during booking process
- Scrolling issues on date selection screens
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- Font rendering too large making content unreadable
- Location search returns incorrect/distant locations
- App crashes when entering zip code search
- Payment processing fails with server errors
- Appointment confirmation not syncing to salon systems
- Membership credits showing as zero when they exist
- Add-on requests not appearing at salon
- Appointments not displaying in user schedule
- App freezes on confirmation screen
- Unable to add payment methods despite limit errors
- Location detection fails on cellular networks
- Password validation inconsistent between app and website
- Account profile phone number validation errors
- Customer not found errors for existing accounts
- Automatic next screen progression inconsistent
Requested features
17 requests- Face ID or biometric authentication support
- Remember login credentials between sessions
- Show available times across multiple locations simultaneously
- Search appointments by date instead of location
- Save user preferences and settings permanently
Show 12 moreShow fewer
- Ability to select specific stylists
- Display location phone numbers in app
- Cancel and modify appointments within app
- Show membership credits and benefits clearly
- Integration with calendar apps
- Keyboard shortcut support for login fields
- Better error messaging and explanations
- View appointment history with stylist names
- Search by date range across nearby locations
- Saved favorite add-ons and services
- Automatic location detection accuracy improvement
- Show availability before answering all questions
Hand and Stone
Reported bugs
4 issues- Login and password reset issues
- Appointment booking errors
- Inconsistent app functionality across locations
- Outdated app version issues
Requested features
4 requests- Ability to book different massage types through the app
- Option to select preferred massage therapist
- Display of membership details and package information in the app
- Improved app navigation and user experience
In-app purchases
Drybar
No in-app purchases
Hand and Stone
No in-app purchases








