This page is written by Youzse, so it is not neutral. What it is, is accurate: every figure below came from that company's own UK pricing page on the date shown at the bottom, and where a company publishes no price we say so rather than estimating. We have left in the parts where Fresha, and two of its competitors, are the better choice.
The short answer
If you are leaving Fresha over the 20% new client fee, the honest shortlist is Youzse, Booksy with Boost switched off, Setora or Slick. All four charge nothing to introduce you to a client, and all four publish a price.
If you are leaving over cost generally rather than commission specifically, look at Booksy or Slick first. Both are cheaper than Youzse on card processing and neither will bill you for a new face.
If what you actually want is a bigger marketplace than Fresha rather than a smaller one, the only realistic answer is Treatwell, and it charges 35% on first bookings plus VAT, which is more than Fresha, not less. Nothing on this page beats Fresha on reach, and we are not going to pretend otherwise.
The realistic alternatives to Fresha
| Platform | Published price signal | New client fee signal | Best known for | Best fit |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Youzse | From £19 a month | 0% commission on new clients | Fresh UK tool set with flat business pricing, deposits, quotes, invoicing, memberships, gift cards, loyalty and data import included, plus a UK consumer marketplace listing at 0% commission | Growing salons, barbers, clinics and trades that want to own the client relationship |
| Booksy | £40 a month, plus £5 a month per additional team member. Booksy states that all services are subject to VAT, which will be added to the final price | No marketplace commission when Boost is off. Boost is 30% one time with a £5 minimum | Strong barber adoption, quick rebooking and a well known client app | Established barbers and salons with a full book |
| Vagaro | £20 a month in the UK, then the bill rises with bookable calendars | 20% one time fee on marketplace new clients | Deep configuration across salon, spa, wellness, fitness, retail, classes and memberships | Mixed service businesses that want a configurable system |
| Treatwell | Monthly fee not published on its pricing page. Treatwell publishes 35% on first bookings from new marketplace clients and card processing at 2.5% plus VAT | 35% new client commission via the marketplace plus VAT | High marketplace visibility and a familiar consumer booking brand in Europe | Salons that want marketplace demand more than software ownership |
| Setora | £39 a month per location with unlimited staff. Setora states that prices shown exclude VAT where applicable | No new client commission published | UK salon booking with flat pricing, deposits, reminders, walk ins, exports and no per staff fee | Salons that want predictable direct booking software without a marketplace |
| Slick | From £20 a month for one column. Slick states that prices are exclusive of VAT which is applied at the standard rates | No new client commission published | UK salon and barber software with reminders, deposits, imports and support | Salons that want a UK salon first system without marketplace dependency |
| Square Appointments | Free for a single location, then Plus and Premium plans per location | No marketplace new client commission | Booking, POS and payments from one payments company | Businesses already using Square at the till |
| Phorest | No plan price published, quote only, so there is no published figure for a VAT basis to apply to | No public marketplace commission schedule found | Deep salon growth, marketing, reviews and reporting, with strong salon specific onboarding | Established salons that want a mature salon platform |
Every figure is the provider's own published number, read from its own site. Where a provider publishes no price, the row says so rather than carrying an estimate. Watch the VAT treatment: Booksy states that VAT is added, Slick and Setora state that prices exclude it, and Fresha states nothing either way.
Sources: Booksy, Vagaro, Treatwell, Setora, Slick, Square Appointments, Phorest
Which one suits which shop
Booksy is the strongest choice if your book is already full. With Boost switched off there is no marketplace commission at all, and at £40 a month plus VAT with £5 per extra team member it will usually cost an established salon less than Youzse does. If you are not trying to grow, this is probably your answer.
Setora and Slick both sit in the same place: UK salon software, flat published pricing, no marketplace and no commission. Setora is £39 a month per location with unlimited staff, Slick is from £20 a month for one column. If you have a large team on one site, Setora's unlimited staff pricing is the one to model.
Vagaro is worth a look only if you run more than hair and beauty. Its depth across fitness, classes, retail and memberships is real, but it also charges 20% on marketplace new clients, so it does not solve the problem that brought you here.
Square Appointments makes sense if you are already on Square at the till, since booking and payments then come from one company with no marketplace commission. It is thinner on salon specific workflow than anything else in this table.
Phorest is the mature option for an established salon that wants depth in marketing and reporting, but it quotes rather than publishing a price, so you cannot compare it on this page without a call.
Youzse is the fit when the thing you object to is paying to be introduced to your own clients, and when you want quotes, invoicing, memberships, gift cards and marketing in the same subscription rather than as add-ons.
Why people search this comparison
Most people do not search for a Fresha alternative when everything is calm. They search because they are checking pricing, commission, cancellation, reviews, complaints, support, data export or whether the platform still fits the way they work.
That is the right moment to compare Youzse honestly: not as the cheapest card processor, but as a newer UK platform with published pricing, 0% commission on new clients, direct client ownership, imports and a wider operating tool set.
What Fresha genuinely does well
Fresha is the largest booking marketplace in this category and its consumer app really does send salons new business. That matters enormously if you have gaps to fill.
The subscription is the cheapest here: £14.95 a month for an independent, or £9.95 per team member on the Team plan. Card processing is competitive at 1.19% plus 20p in person and 1.40% plus 25p online.
The product itself is well built. If your book is full, your card takings are high and you rarely need new clients from the platform, Fresha is likely to cost you less than Youzse. We would rather say that than have you find out later.
What people tell us pushes them to look elsewhere
- A 20% one-time commission on every new client who finds you through the marketplace, with a £4 minimum per client.
- Costs that scale with your team: every extra bookable team member adds to the monthly bill.
- A 7 day trial, which is not long enough to move a real business across and test it properly.
- Client messaging is metered, so busy months cost more than quiet ones.
- The sense that the marketplace, not the salon, owns the relationship with a client it introduced.
- Public review sites and competitor reviews repeatedly mention billing surprises, support access and reminder reliability as things to check before committing.
Youzse and Fresha, side by side
| Youzse | Fresha | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription from | £19 a month | £14.95 a month |
| Team scaling | Flat per business by plan | £9.95 per bookable team member |
| New client commission | 0% | 20% one-time, £4 minimum |
| Card rate | 2.5% plus 35p, platform fee included | 1.19% plus 20p in person, 1.40% plus 25p online |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | 7 days |
| Extra locations | £15 a month | Priced per team member |
| Quotes and invoicing | Included | Limited |
| UK GDPR tooling | Consent, retention, Article 30 register, data requests | Standard |
Fresha figures from fresha.com/pricing. Youzse figures from youzse.app/pricing.
The number that usually decides it
Twenty new clients in a month, each spending £45 on their first visit, is £900 of new business. On Fresha the marketplace fee on that is £180. On Youzse it is nothing.
Youzse recovers its costs through the card rate instead: 2.5% plus 35p, with the platform fee inside that single number. On £6,000 of monthly card takings across 150 transactions that is roughly £203, against roughly £101 on Fresha's in-person rate.
So Youzse costs about £100 more in card fees and about £180 less in new client fees in that month. The busier you are at winning new people, the further apart those two numbers get.
Moving across
Youzse imports from Fresha directly: customers with their contact details and notes, appointment history, your service list with prices and durations and your reviews. Most salons are set up the same day.
The 30 day trial exists for this reason. A week is not long enough to run both systems side by side and be confident before you switch your booking link over.
Where Youzse costs more
Youzse charges 2.5% plus 35p on card payments. That is higher than the headline card rates on Fresha, Booksy and Vagaro, and it is higher on purpose: the Youzse platform fee lives inside that rate rather than being charged separately. There is one number to understand instead of three.
If you take a lot of card payments and win very few clients through a marketplace, a platform with a lower card rate and no marketplace listing will cost you less. That is a real scenario and we would rather you worked it out on a calculator than found out in month three.
Youzse works out cheaper when new clients matter to you. A 20% one-time fee on a new client, or 30% on a boosted one, is a much larger number than a few tenths of a percent on card takings, and it repeats every time you win someone new.
How we worked this out
Every figure quoted for another platform was taken from that company's own UK pricing page on the date shown at the bottom of this page. Where a platform does not publish a number, we have left it out rather than estimating it.
Watch the VAT treatment when you compare. Booksy publishes its subscription and card fees plus VAT. Fresha and Vagaro publish theirs without that note. Check what each provider will actually invoice you before you decide.
These platforms change their plans. If you spot something out of date here, tell us and we will correct it.
Third-party pricing and features on this page were last checked on 3 August 2026. Rival platforms change their plans, so check their own site before you decide.
Keep reading
- Switching
Leaving Fresha without losing your client list
What comes out of Fresha, what the Youzse importer reads, what does not survive the move and what to do about the booking links you have already given out.
- Salons and beauty
The Setora alternative for shops that outgrow the calendar
Setora is £39 a month per location for the whole platform with unlimited staff. Youzse is tiered from £19. Which is cheaper depends on your team size.
- Salons and beauty
The Solo alternative for when solo stops being solo
Solo by Secret Spa prices per professional and quotes VAT inclusive. Youzse starts at £19 a month and grows with staff, so compare before your team grows.
- Salons and beauty
The Slick alternative that prices the business, not the chair
Slick prices per column and beats Youzse on card rates. Youzse is one flat price from £19 a month with 0% commission on new clients. Compare the maths.
- Report
The State of UK Salon and Barber Software Pricing, 2026
An independent, dated comparison of published UK pricing and new client commission across 18 salon and barber booking platforms. Free to cite, with sources.
- Compared
Fresha or Square Appointments: marketplace reach against a free till
Fresha charges 20% on new clients but brings real marketplace reach. Square Appointments is free for one location with no commission and no marketplace.
- Compared
Fresha or Vagaro: two 20% marketplace fees, priced differently
Fresha and Vagaro both charge 20% on new clients. The difference is how the rest of the bill is built as your team grows.
- Compared
Fresha or Treatwell Connect: 20% against 35%
Fresha charges 20% on new clients from its marketplace. Treatwell Connect charges 35% and publishes no monthly software price.