Starting July 15, 2026, you'll pay a booking fee when Vagaro helps you acquire a new customer. A one-time 20% fee applies when a brand-new customer books your business through the Vagaro Marketplace and Partner Network.
What's changing?
- Only pay when a new customer books through the Vagaro Marketplace.
- Existing client bookings remain fee-free.*
- Branded App, Booking Widget, and MySite bookings remain fee-free.*
- No upfront advertising costs; you only pay when you acquire a new client.
*Unless an eligible Daily Deal or Vera Fill My Books promotion applies.
| Booking Type | Booking Fee? |
|---|---|
| New Customers via Vagaro Marketplace or Partner Network (Instagram, Facebook, Yelp, Google, Apple Maps) | Yes (20% one-time fee) |
| Existing customer | No* |
| Booking Widget | No* |
| MySite | No* |
| Branded App | No* |
*Unless an eligible Daily Deal or Vera Fill My Books promotion applies.
An online booking incurs a 20% fee only when the customer has never visited your business before. Existing customers aren't charged this fee, with two exceptions: when they book a Daily Deal you created for your customer base, or when they use a Fill Last-Minute Calendar Openings deal.
- If a customer's account isn't in your customer list, they're considered a new customer.
- If their account is already in your customer list, they're considered an existing customer.
Sometimes a customer books using a different email or account, which causes them to be treated as a new customer. To prevent this, Vagaro asks whether they've visited your business before. If they confirm they have, the 20% fee won't be charged.
Note
When a customer fills out a form before booking or messages your business on Connect by Vagaro, a profile is created for them. But because they haven't actually visited your business yet, they're still treated as new customers when they book, and the 20% fee applies.
Fill My Books is available to every business, including those that don't use Vagaro Credit Card Processing. Vagaro collects the fee as a deposit when the customer books online.
Here's how it works:
-
When a customer books online, Vagaro collects a deposit equal to 20% of the customer's cart total.
Note
The deposit owed is based on the price the customer pays after any discounts. Taxes and tips are not included in the calculation either.
- That deposit covers the booking fee.
- You collect the remaining balance when you check out the customer.
If you already require a deposit, Vagaro works with the deposit you've set rather than adding a separate one:
| Your current deposit | What happens |
|---|---|
| None, or lower than the fee | Vagaro collects a deposit equal to 20% of the cart and uses it to cover the fee. |
| Higher than the fee (for example, 50%) | Your deposit applies. The customer pays the amount you set, and Vagaro takes its fee from it. |
Additional Information:
- Customers can't use gift cards or points to cover the booking fee deposit.
- Once a deal is used, Vagaro calculates the booking fee from all items in the cart, even if the customer adds other items that aren't included or books with employees who aren't included in the deal. For example, if a new customer uses your deal for a haircut but also adds a package and another service, the fee is calculated from all three items.
Whether the booking fee is refunded depends on how far in advance the appointment is cancelled. Vagaro refunds the fee to the customer only if the appointment is cancelled at least 24 hours before it starts. If your cancellation policy requires more notice than that, for example 36 hours, the longer window applies instead.
You will be responsible for refunding the 20% deposit to the customer if you refund them after the appointment is checked out.
You can opt out by removing your business listing from the Vagaro Marketplace.
Note
Opting out means your business will no longer appear on the Vagaro Marketplace, so new customers won't be able to discover it there. Your Branded App, Booking Widget, and MySite continue to work as normal, and those bookings are never charged the fee.
To remove your business from the Vagaro Marketplace:
-
Go to your Business Profile:
- Phone: Select → → .
- Computer, Tablet, Pay Desk, or PayPro: Select → .
- Turn off List Business on Vagaro.com.
-
Select Save.
Yes. To opt out as an employee or booth renter, turn off Online Booking in your employee profile.
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