Comparison

Drybar vs Vagaro

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

Head to head
About

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.

Highlights
  • Book blowout appointments
  • Manage appointments
  • Exclusive app promotions
  • Barfly Membership management
  • Find salon locations
  • Style inspiration
Features
Read full description

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.

About

Vagaro

Discover and book local beauty salon, spa, and fitness appointments instantly. Explore services, read reviews, find daily deals, and manage your bookings with ease. Earn and redeem loyalty points for future services.

Highlights
  • Discover local salons, spas, and gyms
  • Read reviews and find daily deals
  • Book appointments instantly
  • Manage bookings (reschedule/cancel)
  • Email and text reminders
  • Earn and redeem loyalty points
  • Bookmark favorite businesses
Features
Currently charting
Read full description

Having a bad day and just need a quick pamper session? Use Vagaro to discover, explore, reserve, and manage beauty salon, spa, and fitness appointments – free and instantly – anytime, anywhere. You will read reviews and get the best daily deals and promotions on a variety of services, whether it’s your daily yoga session or your weekly mani pedi nail spa appointment. Find a salon or spa near you! If you have a busy schedule you will love our email and text reminders. Collect points when you book appointments with your favorite hair stylists or personal trainers and redeem those points towards even more services. Bookmark your favorites for easy access. Reschedule or cancel your appointments right from the app. Imagine being able to search late Thursday night for a massage in San Francisco the next day at 3pm. Vagaro spa booker and salon booker will find the best matching massage therapists for you in your area, show you the prices and reviews for the listed businesses and allow you to book the appointment right away - without making a phone call and then waiting on the professional to call you back the next day. You don’t pay until the service is performed and all monetary transactions are between you and the business that you are booking with. This app is a great salon and spa finder. You will find services for: *haircuts *shampooing *styling *weaves *blowouts *hair coloring *nail care (manicures and pedicures) *massages *makeup *lash extensions *waxing *yoga classes *CrossFit sessions *Pilates *shaving, beard trimming and many more services! Salon booking and spa booking available with Vagaro. And don’t forget that you can also complete your salon search and spa search online at https://www.vagaro.com where all of your favorite businesses are bookmarked and available as well.

Screenshots

Drybar4 screens
Vagaro4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is review sentiment: Vagaro at 50% against Drybar's 7%. Vagaro also leads on rating (4.6 vs 2.5) and ratings volume (9.1K vs 34). On price, ads, in-app purchases and monetization model 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

Vagaro holds the better App Store score, 4.6 against 2.5. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Vagaro has 9.1K 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 50% of Vagaro's.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

Drybar ships an update monthly, Vagaro every 2 weeks. The most recent releases landed on October 23, 2026 and October 24, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard6 real differences · 5 level
Drybar versus Vagaro: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterDrybarVagaro
PriceFreeFree
Rating2.5 (34 ratings)4.6 (9.1K ratings) — better
Positive reviews7.5% of reviews50.1% of reviews — better
Number of ratings349.1K — better
Update frequencyMonthlyEvery 2 weeks — better
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
Best chart rank—#15 — better
DevicesiPhone, iPodiPhone, iPad, iPod, Apple Watch — better
Requires iOS14.413.0 — better
Further details — not scored
Size47 MB152 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperDrybarVagaro Inc

Customer experience

Drybar

All ratings33 ratings
Positive36.4%
Neutral3.0%
Negative60.6%
Written reviews107 reviews
Positive7.5%
Neutral5.6%
Negative86.9%

Vagaro

All ratings9,079 ratings
Positive90.0%
Neutral1.6%
Negative8.5%
Written reviews449 reviews
Positive50.1%
Neutral4.9%
Negative45.0%

User reviews

Drybar

From 34 App Store ratings

What 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

Vagaro

From 9.1K App Store ratings

What we love

  • 👍 Easy to use
  • 🚀 Convenient booking
  • 📆 Helpful reminders
  • 💻 Seamless integration with calendar
  • 🔍 Ability to discover new services

Room to improve

  • 🐛 Glitchy app performance
  • 🔍 Poor search functionality
  • 🤔 Confusing user interface
  • 🔒 Difficult to cancel subscriptions
  • 📍 Inaccurate location-based results

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
Show 15 more
  • 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 more
  • 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

Vagaro

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes when syncing to calendar
  • Login issues with invalid email/password
  • Inconsistent display of appointment details

Requested features

5 requests
  • Add ability to reschedule appointments directly in the app
  • Improve search filters and sorting options
  • Implement a more intuitive user interface
  • Streamline the process for cancelling subscriptions
  • Enhance location-based services and customization

In-app purchases

None

Drybar

No in-app purchases

None

Vagaro

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is Drybar free?
Drybar is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Vagaro free?
Vagaro is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, Drybar or Vagaro?
Vagaro is rated higher. Drybar averages 2.5 out of 5 from 34 ratings, while Vagaro averages 4.6 from 9.1K ratings.
Do Drybar or Vagaro have ads?
Neither Drybar nor Vagaro shows ads.
Which is updated more often, Drybar or Vagaro?
Drybar ships an update monthly, and Vagaro every 2 weeks. Most recently, Drybar was updated on October 23, 2026 and Vagaro on October 24, 2026.

Other comparisons