Comb Works vs BackBar Pro
Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.
Comb Works
This app helps beauty professionals manage their business with easy scheduling, personalized marketing tools, and inventory tracking. It automates reminders and client communication, offering insights to foster business growth. Access your business information securely from any device.
- Easy appointment scheduling
- Personalized client marketing
- Real-time inventory tracking
- Automatic text reminders
- Secure client information storage
- AI-powered business tools
- Business analytics and reports
Read full descriptionHide full description
Comb is built for beauty professionals who want to simplify their day, connect with clients, and grow their business—without the overwhelm. Easy Scheduling That Just Works Stay on top of your appointments with Comb’s simple calendar. Manage bookings, avoid double-ups, and keep your day running smoothly. Personalized Marketing Made Simple Fill your schedule with easy-to-use tools that help you send custom messages, promotions, and last-minute offers—without spending hours on marketing. Stay on Top of Inventory Comb tracks your products in real time, sending low-stock alerts so you’re never caught without your go-to supplies. Text Reminders That Keep You Booked Reduce no-shows with automatic text reminders. Comb keeps your clients informed, so they never miss an appointment. Client Info, Always at Your Fingertips Securely store client notes, service history, and preferences. Deliver a personal touch that keeps them coming back. AI That Works for You Comb’s AI tools help streamline your business—from smart scheduling suggestions to automated marketing prompts—making it easier to fill your calendar and stay organized. Let Worker Bees Handle the Busywork Our powerful automations take care of appointment reminders, follow-ups, and rebooking messages, so you have more time to focus on your clients. Insights That Make a Difference Understand your business with easy-to-read reports and analytics. Comb helps you make informed decisions that support your growth. Access Anytime, Anywhere Comb syncs across your phone, tablet, and computer, keeping you connected to your business no matter where you are. Simple. Smart. Made for You. Comb is easy to use, even if you’re not tech-savvy. We’re here to make every part of running your business simpler, so you can focus on what you do best.
BackBar Pro
Manage client information, hair formulas, and appointments for your salon business. Streamline booking, payments, and track expenses and income to understand your business's financial health.
- Unlimited client profiles with history
- Digital intake forms and waivers
- Formula vault for color mixing
- Online booking page
- Integrated payment processing
- Expense and income tracking
- Appointment reminders
Read full descriptionHide full description
Your chair, your clients, your color, your money. One app that remembers all of it. BackBar Pro is built for the stylist who is also the front desk, the bookkeeper, and the only person who remembers that Sarah went brassy last July. Everything about a client lives in one place, and it is still there a year later. CLIENTS YOU ACTUALLY REMEMBER Unlimited client profiles with hair history, allergies and sensitivities, before and after photos, and notes from every visit. Digital intake forms and waivers you send by text or email and they fill out on their phone. Moving from another app? Import your whole book from a CSV. A FORMULA VAULT, NOT A NOTEBOOK Build a formula the way you actually mix it: color, lightener, developer, timing, and weights. Attach the finish photo. Save it to your vault, search it, and pull it back up at the next appointment. Every visit keeps its own exact formula, so you can see what you changed and why. BOOKING THAT PROTECTS YOUR TIME Your own online booking page with your services, your hours, and your rules. Take deposits at booking. Let clients reschedule or cancel from a link, inside the window you set. Keep a waitlist and fill a cancellation with one tap. Charge no-show and late-cancel fees when you need to. GET PAID, HOWEVER THEY PAY Card payments and card on file through Stripe. Payment QR codes for Venmo, Zelle, and Cash App. Cash. Gift cards you sell and redeem right in the app. Receipts sent by text or email the moment you close out. KNOW WHAT COLOR COSTS YOU The Color Bar turns your back bar shelf into real numbers. Scan a bottle or an invoice to add products, watch the cost of the bowl while you mix, and push that cost onto the appointment. Get a nudge when something is running low, before you are standing there without it. The Color Bar is part of Premium. MONEY AND TAXES, HANDLED Track expenses by deduction category and see income, expenses, and profit by month. Every plan helps you set money aside for taxes. Premium adds receipt scanning from a photo, a full federal and state estimate, reminders before quarterly deadlines, and a year-end package your accountant can drop straight onto a Schedule C. REMINDERS THAT CUT NO-SHOWS Automatic appointment reminders by email on every plan, and by text message on Premium. Booking confirmations, reschedule notices, and alerts on your phone when something changes on your day. REPORTS WORTH READING Revenue, average ticket, and rebook rate on every plan. Premium adds profit, chair utilization, top services, and top clients. Set a monthly goal and watch the pace against it. BUILT FOR HOW YOU WORK iPhone and iPad, plus a full web app at backbarhq.com, all on the same account. Start a note on your phone between clients and finish it on a big screen at the end of the night. WHO IT IS FOR Independent hairstylists, colorists, booth renters, and small studio owners who want one calm system instead of five apps, a group text, and a notes file. Privacy policy: https://backbarhq.com/privacy Terms of service: https://backbarhq.com/terms Questions: support@backbarhq.com BackBar Pro is made by Backbar HQ LLC.
Screenshots
Verdict
The clearest difference is update cadence: BackBar Pro at every 6 days against Comb Works's monthly. BackBar Pro also leads on rating (5.0 vs 4.7) and review sentiment (100% vs 87%). Comb Works's advantage is ratings volume (41 vs 5) and iOS requirement (13.0 vs 16.4). 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
Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.
BackBar Pro holds the better App Store score, 5.0 against 4.7. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Comb Works has 41 ratings behind it against 5, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews point the same way: 87% of Comb Works's written reviews are positive against 100% of BackBar Pro's.
Comb Works ships an update monthly, BackBar Pro every 6 days. The most recent releases landed on September 8, 2026 and September 19, 2026 respectively.
| Parameter | Comb Works | BackBar Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Free | Free |
| Rating | 4.7 (41 ratings) | 5.0 (5 ratings) — better |
| Positive reviews | 86.8% of reviews | 100.0% of reviews — better |
| Number of ratings | 41 — better | 5 |
| Update frequency | Monthly | Every 6 days — better |
| Ads | No | No |
| In-app purchases | No | No |
| Monetization | Free | Free |
| Devices | iPhone, iPad, iPod — better | iPhone, iPad |
| Requires iOS | 13.0 — better | 16.4 |
| Further details — not scored | ||
| Size | 59 MB | 115 MB |
| Age rating | 4+ | 4+ |
| Developer | Comb Works, LLC | Backbar HQ LLC |
Customer experience
Comb Works
BackBar Pro
In-app purchases
Comb Works
No in-app purchases
BackBar Pro
No in-app purchases








