Fresha vs Treatwell vs Booksy: which booking app costs a UK salon least?
Fresha, Treatwell and Booksy compared for UK salons, barbers and therapists: monthly fees, new client commission, what a month really costs, who owns the client, and how to stop paying commission on people who already know you.
For most UK salons, barbers and therapists, Fresha costs the least: a small monthly fee and 20 per cent on a new client's first marketplace booking. Treatwell takes 35 per cent plus VAT on that first booking but brings strong London and city demand. Booksy sits between them at 30 per cent. All three charge nothing on repeat clients.
That is the short version. The longer version matters more, because the headline percentage is not what decides your bill. How many strangers each app sends you, what you charge, and whether your regulars book through your own link decide it. Below are the real numbers, a worked month for a typical chair, and what we tell salon owners who ask us which one to pick.
We set up booking systems for every site we build, mostly Fresha, and we have no deal with any of these companies. Fees change, so check each one's own pricing page before you sign anything. The figures here were checked against the providers' pages and recent UK comparisons in October and November 2026.
What does each app charge in 2026?
Each one charges two kinds of fee: a monthly subscription for the software, and a one off commission when its marketplace sends you a brand new client. Card processing on payments sits on top.
| Fresha | Treatwell | Booksy | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Monthly subscription | Reported at £14.95 a month for a solo professional, or £9.95 per team member on team plans | Not published for the UK; quoted when you sign up (comparison sites list plans from about £9.99) | Not published on Booksy's UK pages we checked; the US price is $29.99 a month plus $20 per extra staff member |
| New client commission | 20 per cent of the first marketplace booking, with a minimum fee | 35 per cent plus VAT on a new client's first marketplace booking | 30 per cent of the first visit through Boost, minimum £5, plus VAT |
| Repeat bookings from that client | No commission | No commission, unless they have not booked with you for 365 days, when they count as new again | No commission from the second visit |
| Card fees | Processing fee on each card payment | 2.5 per cent plus VAT on online prepayments | Processing fee on card payments |
Three things stand out. Fresha is the cheapest per new client by a distance. Treatwell's 35 per cent becomes 42 per cent of the ticket if you are not VAT registered, because you cannot reclaim the VAT. And Booksy only charges commission on clients its Boost promotion brings you, so if you switch Boost off you pay the subscription and card fees only.
Is Fresha still free?
No. Fresha dropped its free plan and now charges a monthly subscription, reported at £14.95 a month for one person working alone and £9.95 per bookable team member for teams.
That change caught a lot of people out, because "Fresha is free" was the main reason many salons joined. It is still the cheapest of the three for most chairs. The subscription is less than one cut, and the 20 per cent new client fee is the lowest marketplace commission of the big three. If you joined because it was free, it is still worth staying on for most people; it is just no longer free.
How much does Treatwell cost per month?
Treatwell does not publish a single UK monthly price. You get a quote based on your business, and comparison sites currently suggest budgeting roughly £30 to £50 a month, with entry plans listed from about £9.99.
The bigger cost is the commission. 35 per cent plus VAT on a new client's first booking is a lot of money on a colour or a facial. On a £60 first appointment, Treatwell takes £21, plus £4.20 VAT. If you are not VAT registered, that is £25.20 gone from a £60 booking, before your products, your time or your rent.
Treatwell also has a cancellation rule worth knowing. Since April 2025, if you cancel a new marketplace client's appointment after midnight before the visit, the commission still applies. Rescheduling avoids it.
Why is Treatwell so popular if it costs more?
Because its marketplace brings people. Treatwell has been around longer than the other two in the UK, it is strong in London and the big cities, and plenty of clients search it first when they want a treatment near them.
That is the honest trade. You pay more per new client, but you may get more new clients. For a new salon in a city centre with empty chairs, 35 per cent of a booking you would not otherwise have had is still money you would not otherwise have had. For an established salon in St Neots or Huntingdon with a book full of regulars, it makes much less sense.
What does Booksy cost, and who is it for?
Booksy charges a monthly subscription plus a per staff fee, and its marketplace promotion, Boost, takes 30 per cent of a new client's first visit, with a £5 minimum and VAT added. From the second visit, Boost charges nothing.
Booksy is strongest with barbers. Its app and its client base lean that way, and plenty of barbers we speak to are on it because their customers already have it on their phones. Boost is optional, which is the useful part: you can run Booksy purely as your diary and switch Boost on only when you have gaps to fill.
What does a month actually cost on each one?
It depends on how many new clients the marketplace sends you. Here is a worked month for a solo stylist who gets eight new clients a month through the app, each spending £50 on their first visit.
| Cost in the month | Fresha | Treatwell | Booksy (Boost on) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Commission on 8 first visits at £50 | £80 | £140 | £120 |
| VAT on that commission | Check Fresha's terms | £28 | £24 |
| Subscription | £14.95 | Quoted, budget £30 to £50 | Quoted, budget similar to the US price |
| Rough total | about £95 | about £200 to £220 | about £170 to £190 |
Card fees are left out because they depend on how you take payment, and they are similar across the three. Repeat clients cost nothing in commission on any of them.
So across a year, the same eight new clients a month cost roughly £1,100 on Fresha and well over £2,000 on Treatwell. That gap is the main reason we set most single chair salons and therapists up on Fresha. The difference will be smaller if Treatwell sends you noticeably more new clients, so judge it on your own numbers after three months, not on ours.
Which is best for a hairdresser, a barber or a therapist?
For most UK hairdressers, beauty and massage therapists working alone or in a small team: Fresha. For barbers whose customers already use it: Booksy. For a city salon that needs volume more than margin: Treatwell, at least to start.
There are exceptions. If your clients already book you on one of them, stay there. Moving costs you more in lost regulars than you save in fees. If you run classes or group sessions, none of the three is great at it and something like Wix Bookings usually fits better; we explain that in our guide to the best booking system for a small business.
When we rebuilt Nida Thai Massage, she had fifteen years of practice and loyal clients, but no way for anyone to book her online. We set her up on Fresha and built a site that sends people straight into it. She went from no online booking to ten or more bookings a week through Fresha. We picked Fresha for her because the fees were lowest and her clients would recognise the app.
Who owns the client, the app or me?
You own your client relationship, but on a marketplace the app controls where clients find you and how you appear next to everyone else. That is the real cost of all three, and it does not show on the invoice.
A client who found you on Treatwell sees your listing next to a dozen others in your town the next time they open the app. Your prices, your reviews and your photos sit in someone else's layout, sorted by their rules. If the app raises its fees or changes its ranking, you take it.
Before you sign with any of them, ask in writing how you export your client list and booking history if you leave. All three let you take bookings and reminders off your hands well. Make sure leaving is as easy as joining.
How do I stop paying commission on clients who already know me?
Send people who already know your name to your own booking link, not to the marketplace. On Fresha, bookings that come through your own link or your own website do not carry the new client marketplace fee.
This is where a website earns its money. Someone who got your card at a wedding, saw your work on Instagram or was sent by a friend will search your name on Google. If the first thing they find is your marketplace listing, they book through the marketplace and you may pay a finder's fee on someone nobody found. If the first thing they find is your own site with a Book button into the same diary, they book directly, and the booking costs you nothing extra.
That is how we set up HairBiba. She used to take bookings in a paper diary. Now her site sends people straight into her online booking, and she took ten perm bookings through the site in a single month, over £1,000 of work. The app still does the diary. The site makes sure the people who already want her book her directly.
Treatwell and Booksy also give you a booking link or widget for your own site. Ask each one how bookings through it are charged before you rely on it.
Do I need a website as well as a booking app?
Not on day one. If you are new and the app is filling your diary, put your money into your skills and your Google Business Profile first.
Once you have regulars, a site starts paying for itself because it stops the leak described above, and because it can rank on Google for your town and your services in a way a marketplace listing mostly cannot. We wrote a full, honest answer to this in do I need a website if I use Fresha?, including the four situations where we tell people to wait.
If you do build one, it does not need to be big. Our salon websites put every service and price on the page, show your own work and Google reviews, and put a Book button into your existing Fresha, Treatwell or Booksy diary on every screen. Nothing about your booking app changes.
What does a website cost with Get You Booked?
Our prices are fixed and on the pricing page: Starter is £395, Business is £995 and Full Launch is £1,495, all one off. Most single chair salons and therapists want Business.
We keep your existing booking account, with its clients and history, and connect it to the new site, so no bookings move and no regulars are lost. Builds take two weeks at most and are usually done sooner. Care plans start at £50 a month if you want us to keep it updated, and you do not have to take one. We work in person around St Neots, Huntingdon and Cambridge, and remotely anywhere in the UK.
What would we do if it were our salon?
Start on Fresha unless your clients already use something else. Keep the marketplace switched on while you build a client list, then push every regular and every referral to your own link or your own site so you stop paying for people who already know you.
If you are on Treatwell and paying commission every month, add up the last three months of new client fees. If the number is bigger than a year of Fresha, the switch is worth a conversation. If you want a second opinion on your numbers, ring Curtis on 07940 022854, Monday to Saturday, 8 to 6. If the honest answer is "stay where you are", that is what we will tell you.