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Which booking platform actually costs less?
Compare the real price of every UK salon platform. Enter your numbers once — see what you’d actually pay on Fresha, Booksy, Vagaro, Treatwell, and more.
8 platforms · Verified pricing · Updated March 2026
Your salon profile
Solo: 60–100 · Busy salon: 200+
Only platforms that process payments charge fees on deposits
Fresha, Booksy & Treatwell have marketplaces that charge commission on new clients
Platforms that need add-ons for these features will show the extra cost
Booksy & Fresha quote ex-VAT — real cost is 20% higher
Monthly cost comparison
How we calculated this
▼Fresha (verified March 2026)
Individual: £14.95/mo (solo). Team: £9.95/staff/mo. All + VAT. Fresha provides a card terminal and processes every card payment — 1.40% + 25p online, 1.19% + 20p in-person. Commission: 20% of first booking from new marketplace clients (min £4). SMS: 5p/msg after 20 free/month. WhatsApp: Fresha-branded (not your salon), 5–10p/msg. Birthday: included via Auto Campaigns (email free, SMS from free allowance). Google Rating Boost: £12.95/mo add-on (smart filter — only prompts clients who leave high internal ratings). Loyalty: £49.95/mo add-on (points, tiers, referrals).
Booksy (verified March 2026)
£40/mo + VAT (£48). Extra staff: £5/mo + VAT. Booksy terminal (Adyen) processes every card payment: 1.29% + 20p. Boost (optional): 30% first marketplace booking (min £5 + VAT). SMS reminders: free, unlimited. SMS marketing: 500 free/mo, then 5p. No WhatsApp. Birthday: included via Message Blast (uses SMS credits). Reviews: Booksy marketplace only — does NOT send Google review requests. Loyalty: included (digital stamp cards).
Vagaro (verified March 2026)
£20/mo (solo). ~£5–10/mo per extra calendar. Zero commission. Vagaro terminal processes every card payment: 1.15% + 20p in-person, 1.40% + 25p online. SMS reminders: NOT included — £15/mo add-on. Website: £15/mo. No WhatsApp. Birthday: email free (within 1000/mo limit). Reviews: Vagaro marketplace only — does NOT send Google review requests. Loyalty: included free (points + referrals system).
Treatwell (verified March 2026)
~£16/mo subscription. Commission: 35% on new marketplace clients (0% on repeat within 365 days). Treatwell processes all card payments: 2.5% online prepay, 1.1% + 20p in-person. SMS included free (Treatwell-branded). No WhatsApp. Dormant 365+ days = “new” client again. Annual contract. Birthday: included. Reviews: Treatwell-booked appointments only — does NOT send Google review requests. Loyalty: Treatwell Rewards is marketplace-managed — clients earn points for Treatwell vouchers, not for your salon directly.
Timely (verified March 2026)
Build: £21/staff/mo. Elevate: £32/staff/mo. Innovate: £37/staff/mo. Zero commission. TimelyPay processes every card payment: 1.95% + 20p. SMS: 100–300 free/month by plan, then ~6p. No WhatsApp. Birthday: manual only — no automation on any plan. Reviews: requires Elevate (£32/staff/mo) or Innovate (£37/staff/mo) — direct Google review link in follow-up. Loyalty: requires Elevate+ — Timely Rewards (points per appointment).
BookinBeautiful (verified March 2026)
Free plan: £0/mo but client pays £1.50/booking surcharge. Subscription: ~£35/mo. Zero commission. No terminal — Stripe processing on deposits only (~1.5% + 20p). If no deposits, processing = £0. SMS & website included. No real WhatsApp. Marketing (includes birthday): £5.17/mo add-on. Google review requests: £7.50/mo add-on (only prompts 5-star internal reviews). Loyalty: £10/mo add-on (digital loyalty cards).
Square Appointments (verified March 2026)
Free (solo). Plus: £29/mo. Premium: £69/mo. Zero commission. Square terminal processes all card payments: 1.6–1.75% in-person, 1.4% + 25p online. No WhatsApp. Square Marketing: ~£12/mo add-on (SMS, birthday, review requests — reviews only prompted for “regulars” with 3+ visits). Square Loyalty: £25/mo separate add-on (points + VIP tiers, up to 500 visits/mo).
Tavix Pro
£29/mo (£23/mo annual). Zero commission. No terminal — you keep your own card reader. Processing only on deposits/online payments via Stripe (1.4% + 20p). If you don’t take deposits, processing = £0. WhatsApp reminders included free, salon-branded. Deposits & no-show protection included. Birthday messages, Google review requests, and loyalty programme are not yet available but planned.
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The only UK platform with zero commission and free WhatsApp.
Tavix Base: £9/month + add what you need. No commission. No SMS fees. Salon-branded WhatsApp reminders that actually get opened.
Common questions about salon software pricing
It depends on your size and needs. Square Appointments has a free solo plan but no WhatsApp. Fresha starts at £14.95/month but commissions and fees push real costs to £80–£150+. For a solo stylist who wants zero commission and WhatsApp reminders, Tavix Base at £9/month + WhatsApp add-on (£5/mo) is the best total value.
Yes. Fresha charges 20% on the first booking from new marketplace clients (minimum £4). Repeat bookings and direct-link bookings are commission-free. Fresha also has WhatsApp reminders, but messages are branded as “Fresha” not your salon, and cost 5–10p per message after a small free allowance.
Booksy costs £40/month + VAT (£48) base, plus £5 + VAT per extra staff. SMS reminders are included free and unlimited — a genuine advantage. The optional Boost marketplace charges 30% (min £5) on the first booking from new clients. No WhatsApp reminders.
Tavix is the only UK platform with salon-branded WhatsApp reminders — available as a £5/month add-on to the £9/month Base plan. Fresha has WhatsApp but messages show as “Fresha” (not your brand) and cost 5–10p each. No other UK platform — Booksy, Vagaro, Treatwell, Timely, BookinBeautiful, or Square — offers WhatsApp reminders at any price.
Treatwell’s marketplace listing costs ~£16/month. But the real cost is the 35% commission on every new marketplace client. A salon getting 10 new clients/month at £50 average pays ~£175 in commission alone. Worse: clients who haven’t booked in 365 days are reclassified as “new” — triggering 35% again on your own existing clients.
Booksy and Vagaro include basic loyalty (digital stamps / points) in their base plans. Fresha charges £49.95/month for loyalty and £12.95/month for Google Rating Boost. Square charges £25/month for loyalty and £12/month for marketing (which covers review requests). Important: Booksy, Vagaro, and Treatwell only collect reviews on their own marketplace — they do NOT send actual Google review requests. Only Fresha (via paid add-on), Timely (Elevate plan), BookinBeautiful (£7.50/mo), and Square (via Marketing) support real Google reviews.