Best booking software for makeup artists

A makeup artist's calendar is not a list of appointments. It is a route, a materials list, and a countdown to somebody's wedding.

Some links here are affiliate links. If you sign up through them we may earn a commission at no extra cost to you. Pricing changes — confirm on the provider's site.

What mobile artists actually need

Address on the booking — with a map link the client can confirm, not a text message you have to chase.
Travel buffer between clients — 30-60 minutes depending on the city, and it has to be automatic.
Trial appointments as a separate service type — 90 minutes, paid, bookable weeks ahead.
Deposits on wedding dates — a Saturday in June is not a maybe.
Per-client notes — skin type, products used, photos. The second booking should not start from zero.

How the usual options behave

	Fresha	Booksy	Square Appointments
Free tier	Full core	No	One calendar
Travel buffers	Manual blocking	Yes	Manual
Deposits	Yes	Yes	Yes (prepay)
Marketplace traffic	Yes	Strongest	No
Best for	Solo, first year	Weddings, events	Card payments

None of them understands "I am in Brooklyn at 9 and Long Island at 13:00." You will still block travel time by hand. What matters is whether the tool makes that fast — drag-to-block beats a settings screen you never open.

The deposit policy that actually holds

Wedding dates need different rules from a Friday night dinner booking. A policy that works for mobile artists:

Trials: full payment at booking, reschedule free up to 48 hours.
Wedding day: 30-50% non-refundable deposit, balance due 7 days before.
Regular clients: card on file, charged only on no-show.

The point is not the percentage. The point is that the rule is visible before the client books, so enforcing it later is a system action rather than an awkward conversation.

Travel time is the hidden cost

Most artists underprice because they count the 45 minutes on site and forget the 40 minutes of driving, parking and setup. Two practical fixes: charge a travel fee above a distance threshold, and offer "morning" / "afternoon" windows instead of exact times for mobile work. Clients accept windows far more readily than they accept a 25% price increase.

What I would do

First year, solo, mostly local: Fresha for the free calendar and deposits, manual travel blocks, trials as their own service.

Wedding-heavy calendar with discovery needs: Booksy and treat the fee as marketing.

Already taking card payments in person: Square Appointments, paid tier the week you hire an assistant.

Whatever you pick, set the deposit rule before your first wedding enquiry. Changing it afterwards is a negotiation; setting it upfront is just your policy.