Compare · for braiders

HAUSBRAID vs Beside

Beside is an AI phone line and receptionist for any local business, from plumbers to salons; it answers calls and texts, and books into a Google or Outlook calendar. HAUSBRAID is built for braiders: your clients call, text and DM as they always have, and each one is written up for your tap.

15 days free, no card to start
Never a cut of your bookings
Bring your clients from a list or your contacts

Credit where due

What Beside does well.

A capable AI receptionist: answers around the clock, screens spam, transfers live with context, speaks two languages.
Transcripts, summaries and a daily recap of every call, searchable afterwards.
One business number with lines for the team, calls and texts unlimited in the US and Canada.
No processing, no marketplace, no commission: a phone product, priced as one.

Where it differs

Where a braider feels the difference.

A phone line, or your whole week
Beside: Beside answers the phone and writes the booking into a Google or Outlook calendar. Clients, services, deposits, the shelf and Instagram stay in whatever else you use.
HAUSBRAID: The call becomes a booking in the same place as your clients, your menu, your deposits and your stock, with a reply written for your tap.
Who gets the call
Beside: One business number; the AI picks up after a set number of rings, for everyone.
HAUSBRAID: Each braider has a line that rings their own phone. Press 1 to take it; when the braider can’t, the assistant does, and knows the regulars by name.
What it costs to be answered
Beside: $29 a month covers 30 AI-answered calls; unlimited calls are $99 a month, and the booking app is extra.
HAUSBRAID: $20 a month, the voice assistant included with no calls to count, and the booking app is the same $20.

Side by side

HAUSBRAID and Beside, row by row.

Beside’s column is what its public pages said on October 22, 2026; plans change, so check its pricing page before you decide.

For a braider	HAUSBRAID	Beside
Calls answered while you braid	Yes.A line for each braider; the voice assistant picks up when the braider can’t, and the call is written up for the braider’s tap.	Yes.The AI answers after a set number of rings, books into a Google or Outlook calendar; 30 calls a month on Baseline, unlimited on the $99 plan.
Instagram DMs written up	Yes.Every conversation, voice notes too, becomes a booking or a reply you approve.	No.Phone and text only.
Nothing booked or sent without you	Yes.Every call, DM and request waits in To do for your tap.	No.The receptionist books straight into the calendar.
Your own booking page with deposits	Yes.A menu page built from one sentence; clients pay the deposit to hold the time.	No.No booking page of its own; it can text clients the link to your booking tool.
Where the money goes	Yes.Your own Stripe or Square account, then your bank. Never a cut of your bookings.	No.Takes no payments.
Marketplace or new-client fees	Yes.None. Your clients are yours.	Yes.None.
Run it by text	Yes.Text HAUSBRAID like a receptionist, day or night.	Partly.The AI texts your clients back and emails you summaries; it doesn’t run a salon.
Hair and products on the shelf	Yes.Stock, with what runs out when and what to order.	No.No inventory.
Bring your clients across	Yes.From Booksy, Square, StyleSeat, a spreadsheet, your notes or your contacts.	No.No client list to bring: Beside keeps call contacts, not a client book.
Price for one braider	Yes.$20 a month; $5 a month for each braider after. 15 days free, no card.	Partly.$29 a month for 30 answered calls, $99 unlimited; plus your booking app.

What each costs

One plan, and your money stays yours.

HAUSBRAID is $20 a month for your first braider and $5 a month for each braider after; pay yearly and get a month free. Payments go to your own Stripe or Square account at that processor’s rate. There is no marketplace, no commission and no fee for a new client.

Beside, as published

One braider: Baseline: $29 a month for one line and 30 AI-answered calls. Unlimited calls: $99 a month.
A team: Up to 20 seats on one business; each extra phone line $4.99 a month.
Free: No trial on Baseline, billing starts at checkout; 7 days free on Unlimited with a card on file.
Card fees: None: Beside takes no payments.
Other fees: None. The booking app, deposits and no-show fees stay with whatever else you use.

Seen October 22, 2026 at www.beside.com. Prices in US dollars; promotions and regional prices vary.

The move

Leaving Beside? You don’t start from zero.

When you set up, bring your clients from a spreadsheet, your notes or your phone’s contacts, and put your styles and prices on the menu. Your 15 free days start once your salon is set up.

And every call that comes in is written up like this, waiting for your tap.

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Questions

Switching from Beside.

Is Beside a booking app?

No. Beside is an AI phone line and receptionist for any local business. It answers and books into a Google or Outlook calendar; your clients, menu, deposits and stock live somewhere else. HAUSBRAID is the booking app for braiders with the receptionist built in.

Can I use Beside with HAUSBRAID?

You won’t need to. Each braider’s HAUSBRAID line rings their own phone, and the voice assistant picks up when they can’t, in the plan, with no calls to count.

Does HAUSBRAID count answered calls?

No. The voice assistant answers every call a braider doesn’t take, on every line, for $20 a month for your first braider and $5 for each after.

Does the HAUSBRAID assistant book on its own?

It gathers the booking and writes it up in To do; the braider taps to book it, and the client gets the confirmation and the deposit link. Nothing is booked without that tap.

Try now

Your chair, your clients. We’ll pick up the phone.

15 days free, no card to start. Then $20 a month for your first braider.