Boulevard results: 175% more membership sales and 30% more revenue

Boulevard vs. Podium: Choose the Right Platform for Your Business

Boulevard is built for all beauty and wellness businesses, including medspas, salons, and spas, with deep scheduling, integrated marketing, payments, and reporting designed for operators managing complex teams and services. Podium’s AI Operating System is purpose-built for aesthetic practices, combining an AI-powered EMR with AI-driven communications and lead conversion.

This guide compares Boulevard and Podium across scheduling, client communication, marketing, clinical documentation, and multi-location growth. It’s written for operators deciding between a platform narrowly focused on aesthetics and one that supports the full range of beauty and wellness services. Whether you run a single medspa or a multi-service, multi-location business, this comparison will help you decide which platform fits where you’re headed.

Before you decide, see everything included in your Boulevard subscription.

Boulevard vs. Podium at a Glance

Here’s a quick view of how the two platforms compare before we get into the details.

Overview

Boulevard

Podium

Best for

IncludedMedspas, salons, spas, and multi-service beauty and wellness businesses
Partially includedAesthetic practices focused on lead conversion and AI-powered EMR

Scheduling

IncludedPrecision Scheduling™ optimizes provider time and resources
Partially includedAI employee “Avery” books and adjusts appointments

Client communication

IncludedTwo-way texting and AI-enabled reception tied to booking workflows
Partially includedAI phone system and automated messaging across channels

Growth support

IncludedMulti-location reporting and dedicated onboarding
Partially includedCentralized communications and guided migration

Boulevard vs. Podium: Key Takeaways and Differences

Choosing between Boulevard and Podium comes down to the scope of your business. Podium is built specifically for aesthetic practices, with an AI operating system that centers on EMR, lead conversion, and automated communications. Boulevard is built for the full beauty and wellness spectrum, with scheduling, marketing, and reporting that work the same way whether you’re running a medspa, a salon, a spa, or all three. Here’s how they compare.

Feature

Boulevard

Podium

Business fit

IncludedBuilt for medspas, salons, spas, and other beauty & wellness businesses
Partially includedBuilt specifically for aesthetics practices with strong EMR needs

Appointment scheduling and calendar optimization

IncludedPrecision Scheduling™ optimizes appointment times to reduce gaps and protect provider time
Partially includedAvery, the platform’s AI employee, books and adjusts appointments around provider and resource availability

Messaging and client communication

IncludedTwo-way texting and AI-enabled reception integrated with client and booking workflows
Partially includedAI phone system to capture lost calls

Marketing tools and automation

IncludedAI-assisted email, SMS, and marketing campaigns tied directly to client and booking data
Partially includedAI-driven reengagement and automated messaging

Reporting and analytics

IncludedCustom reports with drilldowns and multi-location roll-up views
Partially includedExportable EMR financial and performance reports in real-time operational dashboards

Clinical documentation and EMR

IncludedIntegrated forms, charting, image markups, and ePrescribe available within centralized client profiles.
Partially includedAI EMR with intake, charting, and ePrescribe

Multi-location growth and scalability

IncludedCentralized operations and reporting across one or multiple locations
Partially includedCentralized patient communication across multiple sites

Support model

IncludedDedicated onboarding and responsive ongoing support
Partially includedGuided migration and personalized support

Considering other platforms? See how Boulevard compares with Meevo and Vagaro management software.

3 Ways Boulevard Stands Out

01

Built for the full beauty and wellness business

Podium is purpose-built for aesthetic practices. If you also offer salon services, spa treatments, or want to expand into new categories, you’ll need software that can grow with you. Boulevard supports medspas, salons, and spas in one system, with the same scheduling, marketing, payments, and reporting across every service type. As your business grows, your platform grows with you, not around you.
Boulevard calendar showing a full day of color-coded appointments across multiple providers

02

Scheduling depth, not just AI booking

Podium’s AI employee books appointments based on provider and resource availability. Boulevard’s Precision Scheduling™ goes further, optimizing appointment times to protect provider time, prevent gaps, and maximize revenue. For businesses with complex multi-provider calendars and resource constraints, scheduling depth is what keeps revenue growing without burning out your team.
Boulevard calendar using Precision Scheduling to fill gaps between appointments

03

Operational control, not just automation

Automation helps, but running a growing business means setting the rules yourself. Boulevard gives operators control over scheduling, marketing campaigns, memberships, and reporting, with AI support where it helps. You decide how your business runs, and Boulevard supports every part of it.
Boulevard membership settings configured by an operator

The Impact of Switching to Boulevard

Many medspas and medical aesthetics practices that adopt Boulevard see measurable gains during their first year:

increase in revenue
30%1
boost in membership sales
175%1
increase in service sales
24%1
higher retail sales
31%1
increase in package sales
36%1
bump in online booking
28%1

1 Average impact 12 months after switching to Boulevard

Want to see what switching could mean for your business? Use Boulevard’s ROI Calculator to estimate your potential return. The latest industry trends and statistics can give you relevant context to understand what you might gain.

Who Boulevard Is Built For

  • Medspas adding salon or spa services

    Manage every service type in one system without stitching platforms together.

  • Multi-service beauty and wellness businesses

    Run hair, aesthetics, and spa together on one platform with consistent workflows and reporting.

  • Operators who want control, not just automation

    Set the rules for scheduling, marketing, and payments while still getting AI support where it helps.

  • Multi-location groups

    Compare and manage every location from one place with unified reporting.

The Results Businesses See
With Boulevard

$60K

system-wide revenue in the first month

FACE FOUNDRIÉ generated $60,000 in system-wide revenue in its first month using Boulevard's Marketing Suite while saving 15 hours per month with automated campaigns.

Cheyanne Thurston

VP of Marketing, Face Foundrié

Face Foundrié
Nova Arts Salon increased prebooking by 40%, eliminated no-shows, and gained more repeat visits after switching to Boulevard’s salon scheduling software.

Nova Arts Salon

40%

increase in prebooking

What Customers Are Saying

Businesses that switch to Boulevard thrive. Hear the success stories for yourself:

  • Our manager told me that she LOVES Boulevard this morning! There is always some resistance to change, but it is wonderful to see people loving the software. This is a great product and we are so excited about the future with it!

    Ben Stevens, Owner,
    Journey Salon and Day Spa

  • We have been loving Boulevard at RUMA! Scheduling has been much more efficient and organized since we made the switch… patient communication through Boulevard is extremely easy and has truly alleviated a lot of stress on my team!

    Shelby Miller, DNP, FNP-C,
    Owner, RUMA Aesthetics

Everything You Need in One Connected Platform

  • Apple Calendar

  • Facebook

  • Google Calendar

  • Green Circle Salon

  • Instagram Book Now

  • Okta SSO

  • OPERA PMS

  • QuickBooks Online

  • Reserve with Google

  • Shopify

  • Vish

  • Zapier

How to Switch From Podium to Boulevard

  1. Book a demo

    See how Boulevard fits your business and team structure.

  2. Plan your migration

    Work with a dedicated onboarding team to map out your move.

  3. Transfer your data

    Bring over your clients, services, and staff details.

  4. Train your team

    Get everyone ready with Boulevard Academy.

  5. Go live with support

    Launch with live agents and Live Chat ready to help.

FAQ

Boulevard is a client experience platform built for the broader beauty and wellness industry, including salons, spas, and medspas. Its wide-reaching, purpose-built features unite clinical workflows and high-level client experiences.

Podium is designed specifically for aesthetics practices, with an AI-driven EMR at the center of its offering, although newer features expand into AI scheduling, marketing, and reputation management.

Podium Aesthetics is designed specially for medical aesthetics practices. Podium’s medspa software heavily centers around its EMR clinical workflows. Boulevard supports salons and medical spas as core verticals, with management software built around the day-to-day workflows of appointment-based self-care businesses, including branded marketing, payment processing, and client communications.

Boulevard and Podium both support multi-location practices, but Boulevard offers dedicated enterprise infrastructure. Boulevard’s salon management software supports location-level controls, granular permissions, and centralized operations.

Yes, Podium Aesthetics includes an AI-assisted EMR with scheduling, intake, and ePrescribe tools. Most medical spas don’t require a dedicated EMR system, however. Boulevard provides Forms and Charts for intake forms, digital consent documents, and charting within a HIPAA-aware environment. Medical spas that require heavy clinical documentation should evaluate each platform’s capabilities.

Yes, Boulevard provides guided onboarding and data migration with a dedicated specialist to set up and support the transition. Boulevard is capable of migrating memberships, scheduling, and client records, among other data.

Ready for a Platform Built for Your Whole Business?

Move from a tool built for aesthetics alone to a platform designed for every corner of beauty and wellness, with dedicated onboarding to make the switch easy.

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