Relay CRM Pricing: What Does It Actually Cost?

If you're evaluating Relay CRM for your salon, barbershop, med spa or studio, you need to know exactly what the platform costs and what you get at each tier. Relay CRM pricing ranges from a free plan for one user with basic contact and pipeline management to paid plans at $29, $79, and $199 per month that unlock texting, appointment booking, automations, and team collaboration. An optional AI Front Desk add-on is available on any paid plan for $149 per month, plus usage beyond an included talk-minute block at $0.45 per minute. There are no per-seat charges on most plans, and you can add extra businesses at half the plan price.

The published pricing structure is straightforward: Free ($0) for one user with contacts, pipelines, basic forms and email support but no texting capability; Starter ($29/month) where texting begins along with a limited number of automations; Pro ($79/month) which removes the cap on automations; and Business ($199/month) that adds unlimited users. Every paid plan allows you to add your own logo and colors from Starter, and white-label the entire interface from Pro upward.

Key Takeaways

• Relay offers four main plans: Free at $0 for one user with no texting, Starter at $29/month where texting and booking begin, Pro at $79/month with unlimited automations, and Business at $199/month with unlimited users.
• The AI Front Desk add-on costs $149/month on any paid plan, includes a block of talk minutes, then charges $0.45 per minute after that block.
• You can manage multiple businesses on one subscription by adding each extra location at half the plan price (up to five businesses), with no hidden per-seat fees.
• Text-based appointment reminders and follow-up playbooks require a paid plan because the Free plan does not include texting.
• White-label branding that removes Relay's name from client-facing pages is available from the Pro plan upward.

What Each Relay CRM Plan Includes

Understanding the feature gates between plans helps you pick the right tier without paying for capabilities you won't use or missing tools you need daily.

Free Plan: $0 for One User

The Free plan gives a solo practitioner or business owner the core CRM foundation: contact management, pipeline tracking to move leads through your sales process, basic intake forms to collect client information, and email support. You can import contacts from a CSV spreadsheet to migrate your existing client list. The Free plan supports a small number of automations, but because it does not include texting, you cannot run the text-based follow-up playbooks like missed-call text-back or review requests. There is no team collaboration on the Free plan—it accommodates one user only—and no text or text-based appointment reminders.

This tier works if you're testing the platform's contact and pipeline tools before committing, or if your operation genuinely needs only email-based workflows and manual appointment tracking.

Starter Plan: $29 per Month

Starter unlocks texting, which means you can send and receive SMS messages in the shared inbox, dispatch appointment reminders by text or email on a schedule you configure, and run a limited number of the ready-made follow-up playbooks (editable automations). Examples include a missed-call text-back that replies to incoming calls you couldn't answer, a new-lead follow-up sequence, a review request sent two hours after an appointment, and a one-time win-back text 60 days after a client's last visit.

Starter also enables public booking pages—one shareable link per service, each with its own duration, price, and optional deposit requirement. Clients book directly against your calendar, which respects the days off and buffer time you've set. You can configure appointment reminders to go out by text or email on whatever schedule fits your workflow. The plan includes intake forms so clients can provide information before their visit, plus invoicing and review-request tools.

Branding starts here: you can add your own logo and colors to client-facing pages. The Starter plan includes a team allowance, so you're not limited to one user, though the number of included seats is capped (only the Business plan offers unlimited users).

Pro Plan: $79 per Month

Pro removes the automation cap that Starter imposes. If your business relies on multiple follow-up sequences running in parallel—welcome series for new clients, re-engagement campaigns for dormant contacts, post-visit review requests, and birthday or anniversary messages—Pro lets you deploy as many as you need without hitting a ceiling.

Every other feature from Starter remains: texting in the shared inbox, public booking pages with per-service links, appointment reminders by text or email, intake forms, pipelines, invoices, and review requests. Pro also upgrades your branding capability to full white-label, meaning Relay's name and branding disappear entirely from client-facing pages and communications. Your clients see only your business identity.

The Pro plan includes Relay's REST API and signed outbound webhooks on paid plans, so you can connect Relay to internal systems or third-party tools.

Pro still has a team-size limit; unlimited users arrive only at the Business tier.

Business Plan: $199 per Month

Business is built for larger teams or multi-location practices. The marquee feature is unlimited users—no per-seat fees, no surprise charges as you add stylists, front-desk staff, or managers. Everyone works in the same shared inbox for texts, email, calls, and web chat, with full access to contacts, booking pages, automations, invoicing, and review tools.

All the white-label branding, unlimited automations, and API access from Pro carry forward. The Business plan also includes the same team allowance structure but removes the cap, so whether you have five team members or fifty, the monthly cost stays at $199 (for a single business location).

AI Front Desk Add-On: $149 per Month

The AI Front Desk is an optional layer you can add to any paid plan (Starter, Pro, or Business). It answers your business phone line, responds to common questions based on what you've taught it, books appointments directly against your calendar, and captures every caller as a lead in your CRM. After each call, it emails a summary to your team.

When a caller asks a question the AI cannot handle or explicitly requests a person, the AI Front Desk alerts your team by email or text. A team member can then take over the call from within the Relay app. It does not transfer the call to a phone number or to voicemail—the handoff happens inside the platform.

The add-on costs $149 per month and includes a block of talk minutes. Once you exceed that block, additional minutes are billed at $0.45 each. This structure lets high-volume practices budget predictably while still accommodating occasional surges in call traffic.

Managing Multiple Businesses on One Subscription

Service businesses that operate multiple locations, brands, or sister companies can manage up to five extra businesses on a single Relay subscription. Each additional business costs half the plan price per month: Starter +$15, Pro +$40, Business +$100. Each business gets its own inbox, booking pages, calendar, contacts, and automations, isolated from the others but billed under one account.

If you manage more than five businesses—common for agencies or franchises—Relay offers an agency suite at $997 per month that removes the five-business limit. This keeps billing consolidated while giving each location the tools it needs to operate independently.

What You Pay For (and What You Don't)

Relay's pricing structure avoids the surprise charges that often appear in service-business software. There are no per-seat fees on any plan except as defined by the team allowance on Free, Starter, and Pro (Business includes unlimited users outright). The published plan prices cover the feature set and user count described, with no hidden line items for texts sent, appointments booked, or contacts stored.

The AI Front Desk is the only usage-based charge, and it's predictable: $149 per month includes a talk-minute block, then $0.45 per minute beyond that. If call volume varies seasonally, you can add or remove the AI Front Desk as needed.

White-label branding—where your logo, colors, and business name replace Relay's across booking pages, reminders, and forms—is included from the Pro plan upward, not sold as a separate add-on.

How Relay Compares to Other CRM and Booking Platforms

Service businesses evaluating Relay often compare it to CRM and booking platforms designed for salons, med spas, or multi-location teams. Platforms in this category typically offer online booking, appointment reminders, and client communication by text or email. Some include workflow automation and AI-powered voice or chat agents. Many bundle CRM, booking, and payment processing under one roof.

Relay focuses on communication workflows and booking without bundling payment processing or payroll. The shared inbox consolidates texts, email, calls, and web chat in one place, and the ready-made follow-up playbooks (missed-call text-back, new-lead follow-up, review request, win-back sequence) are editable automations you can deploy as soon as you sign up. Each service gets its own public booking link with its own price, duration, and optional deposit; there is no single page where a client picks from a menu of services.

The AI Front Desk handles inbound calls, answers questions, books appointments, and hands off to a human inside the app when needed. It does not transfer calls to a phone number or voicemail. For teams that want branded client touchpoints, the white-label capability on Pro and Business removes Relay's name entirely.

Other platforms in this space may charge per location, per user, or per feature module. Some require annual contracts or custom quotes after a demo. Relay publishes its pricing openly and bills month-to-month.

What Texting and Automations Actually Cost

Because text messaging is a paid carrier service, most CRM and booking platforms either bundle a text allowance or charge per message. Relay includes texting starting at the Starter plan ($29/month), with no separate per-message fee visible in the published pricing tiers. The plan price covers access to the texting channel in the shared inbox, outbound appointment reminders by text, and the text-based follow-up playbooks.

The automation ceiling matters if you plan to run multiple concurrent sequences. Starter allows a limited number of automations, which is enough for a single-chair salon or solo med spa practitioner running the core playbooks (missed-call text-back, new-lead follow-up, post-visit review request, 60-day win-back). Pro removes that cap, so a multi-stylist salon or a studio with separate service lines can deploy as many automations as the business needs—seasonal promotions, birthday messages, re-engagement campaigns—without hitting a limit.

Every plan above Free includes some automation capacity; the difference is the ceiling. Free can run a small number of automations but cannot send texts, so the text-based playbooks require at least Starter. Pro does not hold exclusive rights to automations—it simply removes the cap that Starter imposes.

When to Upgrade Between Plans

Choosing the right plan depends on your team size, communication channels, and automation needs rather than client volume alone.

Start with Free if you're a solo operator testing the CRM and pipeline tools, comfortable managing appointments manually, and willing to forgo text messaging and team collaboration.

Move to Starter when you need texting for appointment reminders and follow-ups, want public booking pages for each service, and have a small team (within the plan's user allowance) that can share the inbox. Starter's automation limit accommodates the core playbooks most single-location businesses run daily.

Upgrade to Pro when you hit the automation cap on Starter—typically once you're running multiple follow-up sequences in parallel—or when client-facing branding matters enough that you want to white-label booking pages, reminders, and forms. Pro also makes sense if you need API or webhook access to connect Relay to internal systems.

Jump to Business when your team exceeds the user allowance on Pro, or when you're planning headcount growth and want to avoid per-seat charges. Unlimited users at a flat $199 per month means onboarding new hires, seasonal staff, or managers costs nothing extra.

Add the AI Front Desk ($149/month) when inbound call volume justifies automation—calls asking about hours, services, prices, and availability that the AI can field, book, and log as leads, freeing your team to focus on in-person service. The per-minute overage at $0.45 keeps costs proportional to talk time.

A Worked Example: Three-Chair Salon

Consider a hypothetical three-chair salon with two stylists and a part-time front-desk manager. Typical communication needs include appointment confirmations and reminders by text, a missed-call text-back for callers who reach voicemail, a review request two hours after each appointment, and a win-back message 60 days after a client's last visit. Each stylist offers cuts, color, and styling as separate services, each with its own booking link, duration, and price.

Starter ($29/month) covers texting, the core playbooks, public booking pages for every service, and the three-person team. If the salon wants to remove Relay branding from booking pages and client texts, Pro ($79/month) adds white-label capability. If call volume is high enough that missed calls eat into service time, adding the AI Front Desk ($149/month) lets the AI answer, book, and capture leads, with the team taking over only when a caller needs personal advice.

What Relay Does Not Include

Relay is a CRM and communication platform, not a full-stack business-management suite. There is no native Zapier or Make connector (the API and webhooks require a code step for HMAC authentication), no integration with third-party booking systems, and no direct link to Google Reviews for posting or monitoring.

Contacts import via CSV spreadsheet, so you can migrate from another platform manually, but there is no one-click migration tool. Relay does not include drag-and-drop rescheduling on the calendar, client self-reschedule links, a single page where clients pick among all your services, or text-to-confirm workflows.

The AI Front Desk does not transfer calls to an external phone number or voicemail; it hands off to a team member inside the app or sends an alert when a caller needs a person.

These are design choices, not gaps. Relay focuses on communication workflows, booking, and automation rather than trying to replace every tool a service business uses.

Frequently Asked Questions

Does the Free plan include texting or appointment reminders?

No. The Free plan provides contact management, pipelines, basic forms, and email support for one user, but it does not include texting. Because text-based appointment reminders and follow-up playbooks require the texting channel, those features begin at the Starter plan ($29/month).

Can I add team members without paying per seat?

Every Relay plan includes a team allowance. Free supports one user; Starter and Pro each include a set number of users; and Business ($199/month) offers unlimited users with no per-seat charges. Only the Business plan guarantees you can add as many team members as you need at no additional cost.

What does the AI Front Desk actually do?

The AI Front Desk answers your business phone line, responds to common questions based on what you teach it, books appointments against your calendar, and captures every caller as a lead. It emails a summary of each call to your team. When a caller needs to speak with a person, it alerts your team by email or text, and a team member can take over the call from within the Relay app—it does not transfer to a phone number or voicemail. The add-on costs $149/month on any paid plan, includes a block of talk minutes, then charges $0.45 per minute beyond that block.

Are automations only available on the Pro plan?

No. Every plan includes automations, but the Free plan can run only a small number and cannot send texts, so text-based playbooks require a paid plan. Starter includes texting and a limited number of automations—enough for the core follow-up playbooks like missed-call text-back, new-lead follow-up, review requests, and win-back sequences. Pro removes the automation cap entirely, letting you run as many concurrent sequences as your business needs.

Can I white-label Relay so my clients never see the Relay brand?

Yes. You can add your own logo and colors starting at the Starter plan ($29/month). Full white-label capability—removing Relay's name and branding from all client-facing pages, booking links, reminders, and forms—is included from the Pro plan ($79/month) upward.

How much does it cost to manage multiple locations?

You can add up to five extra businesses on a single subscription, each at half the plan price: Starter +$15/month, Pro +$40/month, Business +$100/month. Each business gets its own inbox, booking pages, calendar, contacts, and automations. If you manage more than five businesses, Relay offers an agency suite at $997/month.

Making the Plan Decision

Relay CRM's pricing structure rewards clarity: you pay a flat monthly rate for a defined feature set and team size, with no surprise per-seat, per-message, or per-booking fees. The Free plan lets you test contact and pipeline management, Starter unlocks texting and booking for small teams, Pro removes automation limits and adds white-label branding, and Business scales to unlimited users at a predictable cost.

The AI Front Desk is the only usage-based add-on, and its structure is transparent—$149 per month with a talk-minute block included, then $0.45 per minute after that. Multi-location businesses pay half the plan price per extra business, capping at five before moving to the agency suite.

If text-based appointment reminders, follow-up automations, and a shared inbox for your team matter to your service business, Starter delivers those tools at $29 per month. If you need unlimited automations and white-label branding, Pro provides both at $79 per month. If your team is growing and per-seat fees would compound quickly, Business locks in unlimited users at $199 per month. You can explore the full feature breakdown and start a free account at gorelaycrm.com.

The right plan is the one that matches your communication volume, team size, and branding needs today—without forcing you to pay for capacity you won't use or locking you into a tier that can't scale when you do.