Written by Youzse. Every competitor figure comes from that company's own UK pricing page, and where a company does not publish a number we have said so rather than estimating. Vagaro does one thing better than anything else on this list, and the first section says what it is.
The short answer
Most people leaving Vagaro are leaving because the bill rises with every bookable calendar, not because the software is weak. If that is you, the flat-priced options are Youzse from £19 a month per business, Setora at £39 a month per location with unlimited staff, and Slick from £20 a month per column.
If you are leaving over the 20% marketplace fee on new clients, Youzse, Setora, Slick and Booksy with Boost off all charge nothing to introduce you to a client.
If you chose Vagaro for its breadth across fitness, classes, memberships and retail, be careful. That breadth is genuinely the deepest here, and a straight swap to a hair and beauty platform will lose you features. Youzse covers memberships, classes, packages and gift cards, but it has no retail stock control for salons, and Vagaro has been doing the fitness and class side for longer and it shows.
The realistic alternatives to Vagaro
| 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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Fresha | £14.95 a month on Independent, or £9.95 a month per bookable team member on Team. Fresha does not state whether those prices include VAT | 20% one time fee on marketplace new clients, £4 minimum in the UK | Large consumer marketplace, polished calendar and strong discovery for empty columns | Salons that want marketplace reach and accept new client acquisition cost |
| 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 |
| 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 |
Every figure is the provider's own published number. Vagaro publishes £20 a month as an entry price, but the bill scales with bookable calendars rather than with locations or plans, so the entry price is rarely the price you pay. Model your real calendar count before comparing anything here against it.
Sources: Setora, Slick, Booksy, Fresha, Phorest, Square Appointments
Which one suits which business
Setora is the closest structural answer to the per-calendar problem, because £39 a month covers a location with unlimited staff. If Vagaro is costing you more than that because of calendar count, the maths is quick.
Slick is the cheaper option for a straightforward salon or barbershop that does not need the class and fitness side. From £20 a month for one column, prices stated exclusive of VAT.
Booksy with Boost off is the cheapest running cost for an established business with a full book, though at £40 a month plus VAT and £5 per extra team member it reintroduces per-person scaling, which is the thing you may be leaving.
Fresha has the lowest subscription but charges 20% on marketplace new clients, the same headline fee as Vagaro. It is a sideways move on commission and a saving on subscription only.
Phorest is the depth option for an established salon and is quote led, so you cannot price it from this page.
Square Appointments is worth considering if payments and retail matter more than treatment workflow and you are already on Square hardware.
Youzse is the fit if you want the calendar count to stop mattering and want memberships, gift cards, loyalty, quotes, invoicing and marketing included rather than added. It is not the fit if the fitness, class and retail depth is why you chose Vagaro in the first place.
Why people search this comparison
Most people do not search for a Vagaro 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 Vagaro genuinely does well
Vagaro reaches further beyond hair and beauty than anything else here. If you run classes, courses, memberships, retail and appointments in one business, it handles all of that natively.
It is also the most configurable. Almost everything can be tailored, which is exactly what a complex multi-service business needs and exactly what a solo barber does not.
It starts at £20 a month for one bookable calendar, or £30 for multiple locations. Vagaro also publishes UK card rates in its support centre: 1.15% plus 20p for tap, dip and swipe, 1.40% plus 25p keyed in and 1.15% plus 27p for contactless on a phone.
What people tell us pushes them to look elsewhere
- Pricing rises per bookable calendar, so the monthly cost is hard to predict as the team grows.
- A 20% one-time fee when a new client finds you through the Vagaro marketplace.
- The UK card rate is published in the support centre rather than in the main comparison table on the pricing page, so it is easy to miss when scanning.
- Several capabilities are paid add-ons rather than included, so the quoted price is rarely the final price.
- Reviewers often praise Vagaro support, but negative reviews and comparison sites still mention slow responses, unresolved issues after updates and setup complexity.
- The depth of configuration is a real time cost if your business is straightforward.
Youzse and Vagaro, side by side
| Youzse | Vagaro | |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription from | £19 a month | £20 a month |
| How it scales | Flat per business by plan | Per bookable calendar |
| New client commission | 0% | 20% one-time |
| Card rate | 2.5% plus 35p, platform fee included | 1.15% plus 20p tap, dip and swipe. 1.40% plus 25p keyed in. 1.15% plus 27p on a phone |
| Add-ons | Every feature on every plan | Several premium features cost extra |
| Free trial | 30 days, no card | Varies |
| Multiple locations | £15 a month per extra location | £30 a month tier |
Vagaro subscription and marketplace figures are from vagaro.com/en-gb/pro/pricing. UK card rates are from Vagaro support.
Which one fits
Choose Vagaro if your business genuinely is complicated: multiple revenue lines, a class timetable, memberships, retail stock and someone with the time to configure it properly.
Choose Youzse if you want the same breadth without the configuration project or the add-on list. Classes, memberships, gift cards, loyalty, quotes, invoicing and marketing are all included on every plan, and new clients cost you nothing.
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 Vagaro with your clients, services and diary intact
What comes out of Vagaro, what the Youzse importer reads, what the marketplace fee means once you leave and what breaks on the day you switch.
- 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 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
Vagaro or Square Appointments: configuration against a free till
Vagaro charges 20% on new clients but goes deep into classes, fitness and retail. Square Appointments has no marketplace fee and a free plan.