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PandaCue vs Pabau at a Glance
PandaCue is the premium operating system for salons, spas, and med-spas that want to book fuller books and keep clients coming back. See how it compares to Pabau on retention, booking, and day-to-day operations.
PandaCue vs Pabau
Great for
PandaCue
Teams and multi-location salons that want booking, payments, marketing and messaging in one place.
Pabau
Clinics and med-spas that want booking, EMR, payments, forms and marketing in one platform.
Pricing and Value
PandaCue
Free $0, Studio $197, Empire $397 monthly. Up to 3 locations, unlimited staff, no commission.
Pabau
Solo $104 monthly for 1 user. Team, Medium and Group prices on demo, Enterprise by quote.
Top Features
PandaCue
Online booking, calendar, payments, CRM, unified inbox, forms, automations, marketing, gift cards, memberships and website builder.
Pabau
Online booking, calendar, POS, EMR, memberships, packages, gift cards, forms and automations.
Client Experience
PandaCue
Booking, payments, CRM, forms, memberships and every client conversation in one inbox, all in one place.
Pabau
Full client card with treatment history, photos, notes, communications and browser patient portal.
Marketing and Automation
PandaCue
Marketing campaigns, automations and forms included on Studio, with 1,500 booking texts a month included.
Pabau
Email and SMS marketing, automated workflows, reactivation, pre-care and post-care messages included.
Payments and Sales
PandaCue
Payments with 0% markup stated, gift cards and memberships, with no commission on any booking.
Pabau
Built-in POS, deposits, invoices and payment links, with no processing rate published.
Communication
PandaCue
One unified inbox for SMS, email, Instagram DM, Facebook Messenger, WhatsApp and live chat.
Pabau
Shared inbox for email and SMS on every plan. WhatsApp, phone and AI agents with Engage Plus.
Integrations and Growth
PandaCue
Website builder, forms, automations and free data migration on Studio. Studio $197 a month, up to 3 locations.
Pabau
30 plus integrations, including Stripe, Xero and Google Calendar, at no extra cost.
Bottom Line
PandaCue
Choose PandaCue for 2 or 3 locations, one inbox and no commission on any booking.
Pabau
Choose Pabau for clinics and med-spas, EMR, forms and multi-location reporting in one system.
Before PandaCue, we were jumping between different tools just to keep up with clients. Now our appointments, messages, payments, and follow-ups are all in one place. It’s made the day-to-day work much easier for our team.
Maya Thompson · Owner, Multi-Service Beauty Studio
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Pabau cheaper than PandaCue?
Pabau Solo is $104 a month for 1 user, verified live on its official pricing page. Team, Medium and Group prices are Pabau's own September 2026 list rates, $187, $271 and $386 a month, but the live pricing page now quotes larger teams on a demo call, and Enterprise is by quote. PandaCue Studio is $197 a month, and the difference is what is included. Studio covers up to 3 locations, unlimited staff, a unified inbox, website builder, forms and automations in one flat price, with no commission on any booking.
Does Pabau charge per staff member or per location?
Pabau is priced per user, per location, except Enterprise which covers multiple sites, and extra locations are the same plan at 10% off, per Pabau's own blog. PandaCue Studio and Empire include unlimited staff, and Studio covers up to 3 locations for $197 a month flat, so the price does not rise when you add staff or a second or third location.
Does Pabau take a commission on bookings?
Pabau states no marketplace commission, and it has no consumer marketplace. PandaCue also charges no commission on any booking, because it has no marketplace, and it states 0% payment markup on Studio.
Does Pabau have a free trial?
No, Pabau has no self-serve free trial on the official pages read. The route is a 20 to 30 minute demo call, with no obligation, and its Care Plus add-on is 30 days free. PandaCue shows no trial on its live pricing page, but its Free plan is $0 a month, so you can start with online booking, calendar, payments, CRM, unified inbox, forms, automations, marketing campaigns, gift cards, memberships and a website builder without paying anything.
Which one is better for multiple locations?
PandaCue Studio covers up to 3 locations for $197 a month flat, and Empire covers unlimited locations for $397 a month. That flat price is the plus point, the price does not rise when you add a second or third location. Pabau supports multi-location, with schedules, staff, rooms and reporting across locations from one system, priced per user, per location.
Does Pabau have a free plan?
No, Pabau has no free plan. PandaCue Free is $0 a month with 1 location, 1 staff, 50 bookings a month and 200 clients.
Which software is better for marketing?
PandaCue includes marketing campaigns and automations on Studio. Pabau includes email and SMS marketing, automated workflows and reactivation messages on every plan, with 1 email broadcast a month without Marketing Plus, and Marketing Plus is priced by practice size with no published price.
What add-ons does Pabau offer?
Pabau add-ons are Marketing Plus, Care Plus, Insights Plus and Engage Plus. Care Plus was shown as $183 a month on the Care Plus calculator, with the tier unspecified in the page text, and the other three add-ons have no published price. PandaCue Studio has only two stackable extras, an extra phone number at $5 a month each and message credit top-ups.
Can I switch from Pabau to PandaCue?
No free data migration offer from Pabau was stated on the official pages read. PandaCue Studio includes free data migration.
Is Pabau built for clinics?
Yes, Pabau is built for clinics and med-spas, with a full EMR client card, treatment history, photos, notes and digital consent forms. PandaCue is built for salons, spas and med-spas, with a unified inbox, website builder and marketing in one flat price.
Your entire salon, perfectly managed in one place
From online booking to payments and staff scheduling, get everything you need to run and grow your business with complete ease
