Sephora vs Ulta Beauty, Inc.
Updated onCompare Sephora and Ulta Beauty, Inc. side-by-side. See how they stack up on features, pricing, and target market.
Sephora is a global prestige beauty retailer offering a curated assortment of makeup, skincare, fragrance, tools and services through its ecommerce site and a large network of physical stores; it is owned by LVMH.
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Ulta Beauty, Inc. is a U.S.-based omni-channel beauty retailer operating over 1,450 stores across all 50 states and the e-commerce site ulta.com, offering tens of thousands of cosmetics, skincare, haircare, fragrance products and in-store salon services.
Which should you choose?
Sephora
You prioritize prestige and luxury brands, a highly curated assortment, and a global footprint (including Sephora at Kohl’s and rapid delivery via partners like Uber Eats) over a mixed mass-and-prestige selection.
Ulta Beauty, Inc.
You want a one-stop U.S. beauty destination that combines drugstore and prestige brands in the same store, with full-service salons and a highly flexible, cash-like rewards program.
Key differences
| Category | Sephora | Ulta Beauty, Inc. | Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Positioning & Assortment | Sephora focuses on prestige beauty with a curated selection of hundreds of higher-end brands, while Ulta mixes over 25,000 products across mass and prestige tiers, so Sephora is stronger for luxury-focused shopping and Ulta for breadth across price points. | ||
| In-Store Services & Experience | Both retailers offer experiential beauty shopping and in-store consultations, but Ulta includes full salons with hair, brow, and skin services in its stores, giving it a broader service menu than Sephora’s Beauty Studio–focused makeup and skincare experiences. | ||
| Loyalty & Rewards | Sephora’s three-tier Beauty Insider program emphasizes prestige perks and status (Insider, VIB, Rouge) with points that can be turned into curated rewards or limited cash discounts, while Ulta’s Ultamate Rewards drives over 95% of its sales and lets members convert points directly into discounts on almost any product or service, making Ulta’s program generally more flexible and financially driven. | ||
| Pricing & Value | Because Ulta carries both drugstore and prestige lines in one place, shoppers have more lower-priced options and can earn points redeemable as discounts on any product or service, whereas Sephora’s range is predominantly prestige with rewards that are somewhat more structured and tier-based. | ||
| Store Footprint & Geography | Sephora operates more than 3,000 stores across 30+ markets worldwide, including over 500 in the Americas plus extensive shop-in-shops at Kohl’s, whereas Ulta runs roughly 1,400+ standalone stores primarily within the United States, making Sephora the better choice for international consistency. |
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