How much does salon software cost in New Zealand?

"How much does it cost?" is the right first question — but the honest answer is "it depends on what's included." Salon software pricing in New Zealand ranges from a few dollars a month for a bare calendar to well over a hundred for a full platform with payments, marketing and AI. This guide breaks down what you're actually paying for so you can compare like with like.

What you're really paying for

Most salon platforms price per month, often with tiers based on features or the number of staff. The real differences between tiers usually come down to:

• Bookings — a basic calendar versus true online booking that respects deposits, lead times and per-stylist availability.
• Client records — a contact list versus a living client memory with formulas, photos and history.
• Getting paid — whether deposits and payments are built in or bolted on via a separate tool with its own fee.
• Automation — reminders only, versus an AI receptionist that actually answers the phone and fills cancellations.

A cheaper plan that makes you stitch together three other tools often costs more in total — and more of your time — than a single platform that does it all.

The hidden costs to watch for

When you compare quotes, look past the headline number for:

• Payment processing fees — charged per transaction, on top of the subscription. These are normal (card networks charge them), but make sure you know the rate.
• SMS costs — texting clients in New Zealand has a real per-message cost. Ask whether it's included or billed separately.
• Setup and migration — moving your client list and history across can be a one-off fee, or it can be done with you as part of onboarding.
• Per-staff pricing — some tools charge per stylist, so a growing team quietly gets more expensive.

How to work out if it pays for itself

The honest way to think about cost isn't the monthly fee in isolation — it's the fee against what the software saves or recovers. The usual culprits are missed calls that become bookings elsewhere, and no-shows in slots you turned other clients away to hold.

Rather than quote you someone else's results, we built a cost-of-empty-chairs calculator so you can run your own numbers with your own assumptions. If recovering even one or two no-shows a month covers the subscription, the maths gets simple quickly.

What RunChair costs

We publish current plan pricing openly on our pricing page — no "contact us for a quote", no setup fees, and no long-term lock-in. Founding-cohort salons lock in founding pricing for life.

If you're weighing it up, the most useful next step is to try Iris live and see what the AI layer actually does — then check the pricing page for the current numbers.