GlowPilot vs Phorest for aesthetic clinics
Phorest is strong salon software: booking, SMS, deposits, and a staff app. GlowPilot is clinic work for aesthetics — photos on the chart, machines on the board, WhatsApp plus SMS. We do not claim HIPAA certification. We are not a salon till.
Who Phorest is for — and who we are for
Phorest fits salons and mixed beauty businesses that want a polished public book, SMS reminders, deposits, and a full till. GlowPilot is for aesthetic and medspa teams that photograph every visit, book lasers as well as people, and need WhatsApp plus SMS on the same appointment.
Honest comparison
Phorest wins several rows. We list our own gaps on the same table.
| Capability | Phorest | GlowPilot |
|---|---|---|
| Public / online booking | Yes A mature public book. This is a Phorest strength. | Yes Hosted page and embed on your site. Same conflict checks as the front desk. Not a marketplace. Professional and Enterprise. |
| Reminders (SMS / WhatsApp / email) | Yes SMS reminders are a known Phorest strength. | Yes WhatsApp Business Platform plus SMS and email, tied to the visit. |
| Clinical photos | Partial Client photos exist; not an aesthetic before/after chart. | Yes Capture, annotate, and compare before/after on the patient file. |
| Rooms and machines | Partial Staff and chair booking. Device occupancy is not the product story. | Yes Treatments demand the right laser or room. The board shows occupancy. |
| Session packs | Yes Courses and prepaid treatments are part of the salon toolkit. | Yes Pack products on Treatments. Completing the visit uses one session. |
| Deposits | Yes Deposits and no-show protection are a Phorest strength. | Yes A deposit, the full session, or a card on file on the clinic’s Stripe or bank TPV. GlowPilot is not the merchant. |
| Staff app | Yes A strong staff app. This is a Phorest strength. | Yes Staff staff app: calendar, patients, photos, inventory. |
| Compliance posture | Yes Phorest sells into regulated salon and spa markets with a mature compliance story. | Partial Partial. We do not claim HIPAA certification. Ask in the demo for hosting and subprocessors. |
| Getting your data out | Partial Export exists; a full export is still work. | Partial CSV export of patients, appointments, invoices, and treatments. Guided inbound import is what Setup sells. |
| Price shape | Partial Salon SaaS plus hardware and payment extras. Ask them for a quote. | Partial Paid GlowPilot plans plus optional one-time Setup (490 € Essential / 990 € Complete). WhatsApp reminders are a paid extra on Starter and included on Professional and Enterprise. |
The objection is the move, not the software
Phorest already runs the book. We do not pretend a CSV is a switch. Mapping call, 50-file proof, parallel week. Keep using Phorest until the GlowPilot book matches.
See the switch planBefore and after live on the patient record, not in a camera roll.
RelatedTwo practitioners, one device. A people calendar is not a machine calendar.
RelatedReminders on the visit, on the channel patients actually read.
Related