Tool comparison for nail stylists
How is Nailfolio different from Booksy, Fresha and Instagram?
The short answer: they're tools for different jobs. Booksy and Fresha book appointments. Instagram builds reach. Nailfolio is where you prep for every visit: your client picks designs from your own gallery and adds a note, so before she sits down you already know why she's coming and what you did last time. No more digging through Instagram DMs and texts for the details.
Not a calendar. It's how you prep and remember every client.
Bookings stay in Booksy. Nailfolio connects your gallery to how you prep for each visit: the designs she picked, your notes together, and her recent history all in one place.
Notes, messages, inspiration sessions and visit history
Three tools, three different jobs
| Booksy / Fresha | Instagram / Pinterest | Nailfolio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| What it's for | Bookings and the appointment calendar | Reach and online presence | Visit prep and client history |
| What your client sees | Time slots and services with a price list | Posts and reels picked by the algorithm | Your gallery with color, style and length filters |
| Cost for you | A subscription, and with some tools a commission on every new client acquired through their platform | Free, but you buy reach with ads | A flat subscription from 0 PLN, zero commission |
| Client memory | Appointment history | None | Notes, messages, inspiration sessions and visit history |
- Nailfolio
- What it's for
- Visit prep and client history
- What your client sees
- Your gallery with color, style and length filters
- Cost for you
- A flat subscription from 0 PLN, zero commission
- Client memory
- Notes, messages, inspiration sessions and visit history
- Booksy / Fresha
- What it's for
- Bookings and the appointment calendar
- What your client sees
- Time slots and services with a price list
- Cost for you
- A subscription, and with some tools a commission on every new client acquired through their platform
- Client memory
- Appointment history
- Instagram / Pinterest
- What it's for
- Reach and online presence
- What your client sees
- Posts and reels picked by the algorithm
- Cost for you
- Free, but you buy reach with ads
- Client memory
- None
Booksy keeps the dates, Instagram builds your presence, and in Nailfolio you and your client settle exactly what you'll do at the visit, with her recent history right at hand. Use all three, or start with the one closest to the chair.
Alongside Booksy, not instead of it
Booksy is great at guarding the calendar and reminding clients about appointments. Nailfolio has no bookings and no plans to add them. But no booking tool will show your client which designs you really do.
In practice it looks like this: your client books through Booksy, and before the visit they browse your gallery in Nailfolio and send you an inspiration session. You know what they're coming for before they sit down. And when they have a question, they write to you in Messages instead of digging up your number or Instagram.
0% commission on visits. Nailfolio doesn't broker bookings, so it never takes a cent from any client who comes to you.
Instagram builds your reach, and your gallery helps the client choose a specific design.
On Instagram your work competes with ads and reels, and the algorithm decides the order. A post from a month ago practically doesn't exist.
In Nailfolio your client filters your work by color, style and length. A design from a year ago is just as visible as yesterday's, because it's a gallery, not a feed.
Keep running your Instagram. Just give clients a place where they don't have to search for anything.
Pinterest serves up inspiration that sometimes cannot be recreated.
A client comes in with a Pinterest photo and asks for a design that was created on glued-on tips, in different lighting and on someone else's nail plate. Explaining why it can't be done spoils the start of the visit.
When your client picks from your gallery, every design is doable, because you've already done it. The conversation starts with "I want this", not "why not?".
The most common questions about Nailfolio next to other tools
No. Booksy books appointments, Nailfolio shows your work and gathers arrangements before the visit. Many stylists use both: you can pin your booking link to your public profile.
No. Instagram keeps doing its job: reach and contact with your followers. Nailfolio is for the moment a client picks a specific design for a specific visit.
Pinterest shows work from all over the world, often not doable at your station. In Nailfolio the client sees only your own work, so every inspiration can be done.
You start for free: 5 photos, 2 connected clients and no card. Pro is a flat monthly fee with no commission, you'll find the current price on the pricing page. Booking apps usually require a subscription, and some also take a commission on every new client acquired through their platform.
Nailfolio takes one specific thing off your plate: you walk into the appointment prepared, because she picked her looks beforehand and you know why she's coming. If chasing details across Instagram and phone doesn't wear you down, you may not need it. If it does, 5 minutes of setup is enough to find out.
Yes, write to us before migrating. We'll help move your photos without losing color, style or length tags, and after the import everything is ready in 5 minutes.
See how it works for you
Try full Pro free for 30 days, add a few works and show the QR code to your client. If you prefer, the Free plan stays available with no time limit.
30 days of Pro free · Free account, no card · 0% commission
The tool built for nail stylists