Most people searching "Lumè vs. Acuity" are really asking one question: do I need a scheduler, or a system that carries the clinical side of an injectable practice too? Acuity is a well-known scheduling tool, and its help center describes a HIPAA setting with a BAA on some plans. Beyond that, ask Acuity directly about its terms and what changes when that setting is on. It's the same advice we'd give about any vendor on your shortlist, us included.
What we can tell you is what Lumè is built around: scheduling, clinical charting, e-signed consent, payments, memberships, marketing and an AI SMS agent, all on one client record. Current prices are on the pricing page.
When is a scheduler the right size?
If you're a solo esthetician doing facials and waxing, or a single-provider studio with no injectables and no clinical documentation to keep, a straightforward booking calendar can be the right size. You don't need lot numbers or versioned consent. You need a calendar that takes appointments and a card on file.
Don't let anyone talk you into more system than your practice does. Buying a size up that you don't need is one of the most common, and most expensive, mistakes in choosing software.
What should you ask any scheduler about its BAA?
A business associate agreement isn't a yes-or-no checkbox, even though most comparison pages treat it as one. Before you take anyone's word for "we're HIPAA compliant," ask:
- Is the BAA included on every plan, or only some?
- Does it cover data inside the platform only, or the tools connected to it too, like a payment processor or a calendar sync?
- What do you give up when the HIPAA setting is on?
Our own answer: Lumè signs a BAA with every customer, on every plan. If compliance is a paid upgrade, the base product doesn't really cover you.
What does an injectable practice need beyond a calendar?
A calendar tells you who's coming in. It doesn't tell you what you injected, how much, or which lot it came from.
In Lumè, the client record carries treatment history, provider notes, treatment records with units, areas, product and lot number, and before-and-after photos, on the same record the appointment lives on. The right consent forms go out with the booking, and each signed form is kept exactly as the client saw it, with the timestamp, IP address, device and signature, so when a form changes six months from now you can still show which version a client agreed to. Memberships bill automatically, bank credits and apply member pricing, redeemed at checkout.
Compare total cost, not the sticker: price a scheduler next to whatever consent and charting tools you'd run beside it.
Can a texting agent actually book?
Lumè's AI SMS agent reads live availability, staff schedules, which providers do the service, and the client's packages, memberships and balances through logged tool calls, and books when the client replies. It never sees chart notes, treatment records or payment details. Every message it writes is scanned for Social Security, birth-date and card numbers before it goes out, and a match blocks the send and alerts your team. Staff can pause it on any conversation, there's a daily send cap, and clinical questions and payment disputes go to a person instead of getting an AI answer.
It's included on Pro, at $349 a month, and Enterprise. If a texting agent that books against the real schedule matters to how your front desk runs, ask any vendor, Acuity included, exactly what their texting does and doesn't do.
Who is each tool for?
A scheduler like Acuity fits a provider or studio without injectables and without clinical charting to keep.
Lumè fits an injectable-driven practice, where dosages, lot numbers, before-and-after photos and versioned consent need to live on the same record as the appointment, and where the BAA should come standard rather than as something you upgrade into. One honest caveat: Lumè isn't built for large enterprise chains.
What does switching involve?
Contact details and appointment history move onto the new client record, and Lumè's migration is free on every plan and done for you. The bigger change is consent: moving to e-signed, versioned consent means clients sign your current forms as they come in, not that old PDFs are re-labelled.
The front desk learns the provider-column calendar, drag to reschedule, and deposits on online bookings if you take them. Providers learn charting fields (treatment notes, dosages, lot numbers, before-and-after photos) that a scheduler never had. Rebooking reminders and win-back campaigns start earning their keep once the client record behind them is complete.