Luminate and Phorest compared

How Phorest prices it

You won't find a price list on the Phorest website. They split their software into four tiers called Starter, Grow, Ultimate, and Elite, but every single option requires you to request a custom quote. To get any real numbers for your salon, you'll need to submit your details and speak to their sales team directly.

Every plan does at least include unlimited devices and unlimited staff accounts, so you don't have to worry about your bill increasing when you hire a new stylist. The features you get depend entirely on which tier you choose, with online booking and basic scheduling starting on the Starter plan, while tools like consultation forms and online vouchers require the Grow plan. If you want a branded booking app you'll have to step up to the Ultimate plan, and two-way text messaging is reserved for the Elite tier.

While support, data migration, and training are included across all plans, you'll need to budget extra for text messages. Phorest states they charge affordable rates for SMS, but they don't publish an included monthly allowance, so your texting costs will vary based on how many reminders and marketing campaigns you send. Because details and packages can change, it's always a good idea to check Phorest's own pricing page to see their current plan structures before you make a decision.

How Luminate prices it

Luminate keeps pricing straightforward. You pay £69 per month, and that flat rate includes every feature. There's no contract, no minimum term, and no exit fee, so you can cancel at any time.

Your £69 monthly payment includes unlimited staff accounts and unlimited tills and terminals, so you don't face extra charges as your team grows or when you run multiple front-desk screens. Every account comes with 300 SMS credits each month, and you won't pay extra for email and WhatsApp messaging.

There are no gateway fees or setup costs for online payments. You'll only pay a card processing fee of 2% plus 20p when a client makes an online payment, such as a deposit. For example, a £20 online payment costs 60p, and a £50 online payment costs £1.20.

With Luminate, you pay a flat £69 a month, and that price doesn't change as your team grows. You can add as many stylists, chairs, and assistants as you need without your bill going up. The flat rate covers everything, so you know exactly what your software costs every single month.

Where Phorest is the better choice

Phorest is built for complex businesses. If you're running a multi-location brand with dozens of chairs and a head office, Phorest provides the tools to control everything from one place. Its reporting and management systems are built for large-scale salon groups.

The system also suits salons wanting highly sophisticated marketing campaigns. Phorest features a deep suite of marketing tools to track client behaviour, automate follow-ups, and run detailed loyalty programmes. If your business strategy relies on automated, segmented marketing messages to bring quiet clients back, Phorest has the built-in power to manage that process.

Where Luminate fits better

Luminate is built for hair salons, focusing on your daily service details. When a client books a multi-service appointment like highlights and a cut, the drag-and-drop calendar and multi-service bookings schedule these combinations without leaving gaps in your day.

Your staff management's tailored to salon structures too. You can set staff levels and track performance using staff performance reporting. At pay day, the commission automation feature calculates what stylists earned based on their targets, so you don't do manual calculations.

For colour work, the colour formulas feature logs mixes and tracks extra product with overage billing. When a client books colour, the skin test compliance feature tracks and flags skin test records so your team knows who needs an update before mixing.

What moving involves

Luminate does migrate your salon from other systems. The support team runs the migration, so you don't copy records by hand. Contact hello@luminate.salon with details of your system to start. The team helps you prepare your data as a ZIP of JSON files.

Before writing anything, a validation pass checks every record in a dry run. The import runs inside a single database transaction that either completes or rolls back entirely, so you'll never get partial data. Because you need a fresh salon account with no data entered yet except your owner account, you should plan the migration before typing anything by hand.

Your imported data includes staff profiles and levels with commission bands, targets, and roster settings. It brings across customer records with preferences, badges, account credit, tags, services with deposit rules and online booking settings, products, your colour catalogue, appointments, transactions with items and payments, shifts, roster data, time blocks, colour test records with signed consent signatures, and gift vouchers.

Once the import finishes, check two defaults. Your services arrive bookable online and deposit-free, and staff members arrive on the roster. You can use the 30-day free trial with no credit card to run both systems in parallel while you check your imported data.

Questions to ask before you decide

Before you commit, ask the sales team some direct questions about how their service works.

The right software should fit your daily work without adding unexpected costs or keeping you locked into terms that don't suit your business. If you want to see how Luminate handles your diary and colour records, you can sign up for the 30-day free trial on app.luminate.salon. You'll get access to every feature with no credit card required.

• Does the pricing change as my team grows? If software charges per user, your cost rises when you hire a stylist. Ask if there's a flat rate covering your team.
• Are there extra fees for additional screens? Running multiple tills or checking appointments on tablets can add to your bill. Ask if every terminal requires a separate license.
• What's the notice period if I want to leave? Annual contracts protect the supplier's revenue, leaving the risk with you. Find out if you're locked in or can cancel monthly.
• Will my colour formulas and customer badges migrate? Some imports only bring across basic numbers. Check which records transfer so you don't have to re-enter colour notes by hand.