A Kitomba alternative with a price you do not need to ask for
The short answer
Kitomba does not publish a price. Its pricing page asks a few questions and quotes afterwards, and its own footnote says the price per user "is based on 3 staff". Gaplessly publishes A$59 a month for 3 staff on Growth and A$149 for 10 on Pro (ex GST), and a solo operator can start free with no card. Kitomba has twenty years in Australian salons and a local phone line. We have the price on the page.
Kitomba pricing, side by side with ours
Kitomba's figures were read off their own pricing page on 2 November 2026. Check them at the source before deciding, and tell us if anything here has gone out of date.
Kitomba
Sales-led. Four tiers, Lite, Grow, Pro and Enterprise (Lite PLUS, Grow PLUS and Pro PLUS with Kitomba Pay), each unpriced; a quote follows a short questionnaire or a demo, worked out per staff member.
- Published price
- None
- Their own line, verbatim: "Answer a few quick questions and get instant pricing tailored to your salon." A quote follows a form, not a price sheet.
- Plan tiers
- Lite, Grow, Pro, Enterprise
- Four named tiers, none carrying a published figure. The comparison table names the Kitomba Pay bundles Lite PLUS, Grow PLUS and Pro PLUS.
- Pricing basis
- Per staff member
- Their own footnote: "Price per user is based on 3 staff."
- Kitomba Pay discount
- 20% off software fees
- Only for businesses that also process card payments through Kitomba's own terminal, Kitomba Pay.
- Kitomba Pay rates
- In person 1.7%; online 2.5% + 30c; terminal from A$32.95/mo
- From kitomba.com/kitomba-pay, read 2026-11-02. International cards 2.9%. Their page does not say whether Australian rates include GST.
- Free trial
- Not found
- No trial or self-serve signup found on the pages read on 2026-11-02; the calls to action are a free demo and a quote request.
- Support
- Unlimited phone, email and chat, on every plan
- Stated as included regardless of tier, alongside automatic backups and updates. Their homepage says phone support runs six days a week.
Gaplessly
Published monthly plans. No commission and no fee per cover, on any plan.
- Appointments, from
- A$0/mo
- Solo, one person: free up to 50 bookings a month, A$19 in a busier one.
- Appointments, team
- A$59/mo
- Growth. 3 bookable team members, then A$12/mo each.
- Table reservations, from
- A$0/mo
- Venue Starter: free up to 35 bookings a month, A$49 in a busier one.
- Booking limit
- None on appointment plans
- Fair use is 1,000 a month per team member. Venue plans cover 100, 350 or 1,500 bookings a month.
- Commission on a booking
- None, ever
- Fee per cover
- None, ever
- Customer record limit
- None
- Email confirmations and reminders
- Included, unmetered, every plan
- Text messages
- A$0.09 per text
- On the Growth and Pro plans, because the carrier charges us per text. No activation fee.
- Add-ons
- A$14.99 or A$29/mo each
- All included on the Pro plans.
- Prices shown
- Excluding GST
Source: kitomba.com/pricing. Figures shown in Australian dollars.
Where we compare, feature by feature
Gaplessly is ahead on 2 of 7, 2 about the same, 3 where Kitomba genuinely has the edge.
Price you can read
- Gaplessly
- A$59 Growth, A$149 Pro, ex GST, on the pricing page
- Kitomba
- Answer a few questions, a quote follows. No figure published
Trying it first
- Gaplessly
- Every feature free for 30 days with no card, then a free plan for one person
- Kitomba
- A free demo. We found no trial or self-serve sign-up on kitomba.com on 2 November 2026
Payment processing
- Gaplessly
- Optional, and we take no commission. Deposits and no-show fees go through your own Stripe account at Stripe’s published online rate
- Kitomba
- Kitomba Pay, their own terminal and processing, cuts 20% off the software fee if you also process through it
Phone support
- Gaplessly
- Email support and in-app help
- Kitomba
- Phone, email and chat on every plan, with phone six days a week
Category-specific tooling
- Gaplessly
- Products, stock and point of sale on every plan; consent forms A$14.99 a month on Solo and Growth, included on Pro
- Kitomba
- Stock and retail tracking, staff targets, digital consultation forms, built for hair, beauty, medispa and barber
Local track record
- Gaplessly
- New, built in Australia
- Kitomba
- Over 20 years across Australia and New Zealand
Beyond the salon
- Gaplessly
- One login runs appointments and table reservations for one business
- Kitomba
- Built specifically for hair, beauty, medispa, wellness and barber scheduling
The strength worth naming before anything else
Kitomba's own site does not undersell this: "Trusted by salons across Australia for over 20 years," and the same line again for New Zealand. Two decades serving this exact market is a real credential, backed by local toll-free numbers for both countries and phone support six days a week.
This page will not pretend that is not real.
The number they will not give you until you ask
Their pricing page names four plans, Lite, Grow, Pro and Enterprise, and says: "Answer a few quick questions and get instant pricing tailored to your salon." That is still a form, not a price. A footnote adds that the price per user "is based on 3 staff", so the figure you are quoted moves with your headcount.
Our number is not tailored and it is not behind a form. Growth is A$59 a month for 3 staff and Pro is A$149 for 10, both ex GST, on the pricing page, in Australian dollars, before you have spoken to anyone.
This is not a claim about which one is cheaper. Nobody outside a signed quote knows that, including us. It is a claim about which one you can read today.
Starting free
You cannot try Kitomba without booking a demo. You can try Gaplessly in your own business: every feature is open for 30 days with no card. After that a one-person business stays on a free plan, and Solo is free in any month up to 50 bookings.
The free plan is for one calendar. A salon with several chairs is on Growth, and Kitomba may still quote you less. Ask them for the number and compare it with ours.
The Kitomba Pay trade-off, stated plainly
Kitomba's own site offers a real discount, 20% off your software fee, if you also process card payments through their own terminal, Kitomba Pay. They publish its rates: in person 1.7% a transaction, online 2.5% plus 30c, and a terminal from A$32.95 a month. For a salon that wants one vendor for the book, the till and the terminal, that is a genuine saving.
We do it differently. Card payments are optional here, and we take no commission on a deposit or a no-show fee. They go through your own Stripe account, and Stripe publishes its own rate for Australian cards: 1.65% + A$0.30 for domestic cards. On online deposits and fees that is lower than Kitomba Pay's online rate, though their international card rate (2.9%) is lower than Stripe's 3.5% + A$0.30. We do not provide an in-person card terminal. Stripe’s rates include GST; Kitomba’s page does not say either way for its Australian rates.
Neither model is simply better. A bundled discount tied to one processor and a terminal, against no discount but no requirement either.
What you get here that you do not get there
- No staff-count quote. Growth includes 3 staff at a flat A$59, and hiring past that is a flat A$12 a seat, not a new quote.
- A price you can read and budget against before you have spoken to anyone, in Australian dollars, on the page itself.
- A trial you start yourself, with no card and no demo.
- The same platform runs table reservations too, if you ever add a venue alongside the salon.
When Kitomba is the right choice
You are an established Australian or New Zealand salon that wants a vendor built specifically for this market for over two decades, with a bundled payment terminal, Kitomba Pay, that discounts the software bill by 20% if you use it, and you are comfortable trading a published price for a quote matched to your staff count and feature needs.
The contract, in plain terms
- Cancel any time
- Paid plans renew until you cancel. You can cancel at any time from the dashboard, with no exit fee, and your plan keeps working to the end of the period you paid for. Terms of Service.
- Price rises
- We email you at least 30 days before a price change applies to you, and a change never applies to a period you have already paid for. On a yearly plan you can cancel first and we refund the unused months. Billing Schedule.
- No commission
- We take no commission on bookings, deposits or no-show fees. Stripe charges its own card fees to your own Stripe account, and the Payments Terms say we would give 30 days’ notice before that ever changed. Payments Terms.
Common questions
How much does Kitomba cost?
Kitomba does not publish it. Its pricing page names four plans, Lite, Grow, Pro and Enterprise, and asks a few questions before quoting; a footnote says the price per user "is based on 3 staff". We can only state our own: A$59 a month for Growth with 3 staff and A$149 for Pro with 10, ex GST, both published outright. Read from kitomba.com/pricing on 2 November 2026.
Does Gaplessly offer a discount for using its own payment processor?
No, and card processing is never required to use the booking software at all. Kitomba offers a genuine 20% software discount for salons that also process payments through Kitomba Pay, its own terminal; we keep the two decisions separate so the processor is always your choice.
Is Kitomba actually built for the Australian market?
Yes, genuinely. Its own site states it has been trusted by salons across Australia for over 20 years, with a separate claim for New Zealand, local toll-free numbers for both and phone support six days a week. That is a real local track record, and this page does not pretend otherwise.
Can you move our client list and services across from Kitomba?
Yes, as a file. Export your clients and services from Kitomba and import them here. The importer reads CSV, TSV, XLSX and JSON files up to 10MB and is open on every plan. There is no ready-made Kitomba mapping, so check the column preview before you confirm. If an import fails, the app offers help.
Can I try Gaplessly before paying?
Yes. Every feature is open for 30 days with no card. After that a business with no card on file moves to a free plan, and Solo is free in any month up to 50 bookings. Both are for one calendar; a team of 3 or more is on Growth.
Can I cancel Gaplessly any time?
Paid plans renew until you cancel. You can cancel at any time from the dashboard, with no exit fee, and your plan keeps working to the end of the period you paid for.
How much notice do I get of a price rise?
We email you at least 30 days before a price change applies to you, and a change never applies to a period you have already paid for. On a yearly plan you can cancel first and we refund the unused months.
Does Gaplessly take a commission?
We take no commission on bookings, deposits or no-show fees. Stripe charges its own card fees to your own Stripe account, and the Payments Terms say we would give 30 days’ notice before that ever changed.
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