Zylu vs Phorest: Which Salon Software Will Fuel Your Growth?

Zylu vs. Phorest: Which Salon Software Is Best for Your Business?

Choosing the right salon software can make or break your business growth in 2025. Both Zylu and Phorest are powerful platforms designed to help salons streamline bookings, manage clients, automate reminders, and grow repeat customers. But the real question is—which one delivers better value, more features, and faster revenue growth for modern salons?

Zylu focuses on simplicity, automation, and affordability, offering powerful tools like online booking, CRM, POS, inventory control, staff management, and digital marketing—all in one intuitive platform made for salons, spas, and beauty professionals.

Phorest, on the other hand, is known for its marketing suite and loyalty system, offering a wide range of premium features but often at a higher price point, making it better suited for established salons with bigger budgets.

In this comparison, we break down key features, pros & cons, pricing, usability, and overall performance, so you can confidently choose the right solution for your salon.

Zylu

Introduction

Zylu is an all-in-one salon, spa and clinic management platform built to help owners book more clients, automate marketing and run point-of-sale operations from a single dashboard. Zylu positions itself as a growth-focused platform that combines CRM, POS, loyalty and reporting to increase retention and per-client revenue.

growth-focused platform that combines CRM, POS, loyalty and reporting to increase retention and per-client revenue.

What Zylu focuses on

• Client retention & growth: Zylu emphasizes CRM, targeted campaigns and loyalty tools that help salons re-engage lapsed clients. Zylu

• Simplicity for small & multi-location salons: From solopreneurs to multi-branch businesses, Zylu’s dashboard aims to centralize operations and standardize menus, prices and stock transfers across branches. Zylu

• Value & transparent pricing: Zylu publishes starter plans and promotional trial offers, making pricing easier to evaluate for smaller salons. Zylu

Key features (Zylu)

• Online booking widget & website integration. Zylu

• Smart CRM with client history, segmentation and campaign tools. Zylu

• POS, payments and inventory/stock management with multi-location support. Zylu+1

• Loyalty & membership programs, referral campaigns and promotional widgets. Zylu+1

• Reporting, business intelligence and growth dashboards.

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Phorest

Introduction

Phorest is a mature salon management platform used by thousands of salons worldwide. It’s known for robust marketing automation, digital loyalty, reputation tools and hands-on onboarding for larger teams. Phorest markets itself to salons and clinics that want advanced client re-engagement and advisor-led growth.

What Phorest focuses on

• Marketing automation & client re-engagement: Phorest offers powerful segmented campaigns, automated reconnect messages and review generation to drive repeat visits.

• Enterprise features for multi-staff shops: Unlimited staff, unlimited devices and a dedicated business advisor make Phorest attractive to salons with 3+ employees. 

• Reputation & loyalty management: Built-in loyalty programs, review management and branded apps help bigger salons retain customers. Phorest

Key features (Phorest)

• Online booking and 24/7 appointment capture. 

• PhorestGo mobile app for salon management on the go. 

• Advanced marketing suite: reconnect SMS, email templates, targeted promotions.

• Loyalty program, smart POS and staff rostering. 

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Deep feature comparison — Zylu vs Phorest

Conclusion 

Zylu and Phorest are both strong salon platforms. Choose Zylu if you want transparent pricing, easy onboarding for small teams, and an all-in-one solution built to scale with quick growth features. Choose Phorest if you manage a larger salon or chain and want enterprise marketing automation, unlimited users and a dedicated business advisor. If budget and time-to-value matter, Zylu is often the faster path to start using loyalty and CRM tools that drive repeat business.

FAQs

1. What is the main difference between Zylu and Phorest?
   Zylu focuses on transparent pricing, fast onboarding and growth tools suited to small-to-mid salons; Phorest focuses on enterprise marketing automation and advisor-led onboarding for larger teams. Zylu+1

2. Which software is cheaper — Zylu or Phorest?
   Zylu publishes starter plans and promotional trials (making initial cost predictable). Phorest typically provides quotes, so costs vary by region and salon size. Zylu+1

3. Can I migrate my client and booking data to Zylu or Phorest?
   Yes — both vendors offer migration and onboarding services; contact each vendor to arrange data transfer. 

4. Do both platforms support multi-location salons?
   Yes. Zylu offers multi-location dashboards and stock transfers; Phorest supports multi-location setups and is often used by salon groups. Zylu+1

5. Which platform is better for marketing and client re-engagement?
   Phorest is highly rated for advanced marketing automation and reconnect features. Zylu also offers CRM, campaigns and loyalty tools geared to help smaller salons get quick wins. Choose based on desired depth of automation.

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